Chapter Twelve

The dark look Kathryn gave him quickly demolished that grin.

“Have you moved out of the Morgan home?” Ben asked, helping himself to a second cup of coffee.

“No, much as I might wish to, I need to stay there until my son is found.”

“And what if your husband wants to use you as a punching bag again? What then?”

Kathryn bit her lip. That thought had been on the periphery of her mind since the confrontation, especially as she knew another row awaited her when she returned home. Ket was obviously furious she had brought her dad home. Why else would he have called in the sheriff? But what choice did she have?

“Don’t worry about me, Sheriff, my marital problems aren’t your concern.”

“But the lives and wellbeing of the people of Lobster Cove are…I’m sworn to protect, remember?” Ben’s lips lifted in a self-deprecating smile.

Kathryn swallowed. One thing she was sure about was that her attraction to Ben Asher had not faded over the years. What in the world was she going to do?

“So far I’ve hit dead ends on every lead about my…your son,” Ben stumbled over the words.

“He’s your son, Ben, can’t you accept that?” Her voice was soft, telegraphing a plea for understanding. When she raised her gaze, the fury and longing mixed on Ben’s face took her breath away. Her dad was wrong. Ben was never going to forgive her for keeping him from his son.

“I wrote to you, Ben, and never received a single word in reply.”

Ben’s look grew even more fierce. “Don’t lie to me, Kathryn. I wrote, time and time again, but there was never a word from you.”

“I’m not lying, Ben! When I realized I was carrying our child, I was thrilled…and terrified! My first thought was to tell you, but I never heard a word back from you. The weeks passed, and I was so alone. Fitz was drunk and you were ignoring me. Can you blame me for believing you didn’t want our child? Or me?”

****

Didn’t want her? Her face, her soft skin, her voice, her whispered promises in his embrace—these memories had kept him going through those first few months of the war. In dangerous moments, when his heart had pounded with fear, the thought of Kathryn waiting for him had given him the will to go on, the will to fight for his life.

But to return home to find her married to another man and holding another man’s child… He thought her betrayal would kill him.

Kathryn was rummaging in her purse. She pulled out a small blue comb and a child’s toothbrush. He gazed, fascinated, at the tiny items. Looking up, he saw tears in her eyes.

“Ben, I know you don’t want me, but think about our son. Can you get DNA from these to prove he’s your boy? I know if you accept this child as your own flesh and blood, you’ll move heaven and earth to keep him safe.”

“And what about my promise to take custody of the boy because you’re not fit to be his mother?”

Kathryn’s face blanched. The bruises and scrapes left by Ket Morgan’s fists stood out in in sharp relief. Guilt and shame blossomed in Ben’s chest. Morgan had used his fists to batter Kathryn, but he had used words, the threat to take the child she so obviously loved. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see which had hurt her most.

“Do you think your dad is up to answering a few questions?”

“Why? Do you think he snuck out of the nursing home and stole his own grandson?”

The bitterness in her voice made him wince. “No, Kathryn. I think Fitz knows a lot that goes on in this town, or that has gone on in the past. I’m hoping maybe he can give me some leads as to who hates the Morgan family enough to steal their heir apparent.”

Kathryn got up and walked to the door, but before opening it she turned to Ben. “Sometimes we have to make decisions about what’s best. They might not be the right decisions, but they’re made for the right reasons.”

He looked directly into her eyes. “But as we all learned in Sunday school, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”

He didn’t tell her that losing her had dropped him into his own private hell.

****

“You want to know who hates the Morgan family?” Fitz raised one bushy eyebrow as he looked at Ben over his coffee cup. “Son, if you’re looking for someone who hates that family, you’d better arrest the whole damned town ’cause I doubt there’s a soul living in Lobster Cove who has a kind thought about them.”

“What about people like Bertie Hanover?” Ben was surprised to see a flitter of fear cross the older man’s face before he hid it behind a dark look.

“I thought we were talking about the people here, not animals.”

“You think Hanover is an animal?” From his reading of the records, Ben thought that description of the man was probably unfair to animals.

Fitz snapped his mouth closed and turned away from the sheriff.

Cynthia cut in, casting an apologetic glance at Kathryn. “I’ve never met a family with as many enemies as Ket Morgan and his son. You know the joke in town is that old man Morgan does the laundry and his son is into pharmaceuticals. People say they’re in with the Mob.

“Money laundering for the Mob, and illegal drugs,” Ben stated flatly. He didn’t say that was what he’d been sent to investigate.

“And the wife is always the last to know?” Kathryn said, her voice bitter.

“You didn’t know?” Ben asked. “Or maybe you didn’t want to know?”

“Don’t judge until you walk a mile in someone’s shoes.” She glared at him. “They say hindsight is 20/20 vision. As I got to know Ket and his father better, I did suspect that not everything was above board. But I never imagined it was quite so…that they would be part of organized crime. Funny, but now it makes so many things fit…like well-dressed men arriving for business meetings late at night, and the secrecy around them…”

Ben couldn’t bear to look at the pain on Kathryn’s face. “What do you know about the factory, Fitz?”

Fitz chewed on the inside of his cheek again before answering slowly. “I’ve heard the rumors—hasn’t everyone who worked there? What stuck in my craw was the way Ket Junior brought in all those thugs to break the union. Broke Wendell Anderson’s kneecaps, the poor man will never walk again. Ken Green’s wife came home one day to find the kid’s pet cat hanging from the plant holder at her front door. Joe Allyson had rocks thrown through his window. He was told the next time would be a fire bomb. And Slugger Clark, who’d have been vice-chair of the union chapter if they’d got it going, was beaten so badly he lost a kidney and then they torched his house. Some of those guys moved out of town. One disappeared. Some of us got fired, which I guess is better than being maimed. I came home and spent a long time looking for reasons at the bottom of a glass. God help me, girl, when you said Ket Morgan had asked you to marry him, I thought well, at least we’ll be safe, he won’t have his in-laws maimed.”

Kathryn was staring at her father as though he spoke in tongues. Evidently, realizing there were horrors she never dreamed of, she reached out and grasped his hand. “They didn’t maim you, Dad, they just shut you up out of the way. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

“But that’s over now. Let’s find Alex, and get our lives back together. “

“If the Morgans will let us,” Kathryn said bleakly.

Silence lay thick in the room, the dusty silence of long-hoarded fears and secrets. Ben broke it by thanking Fitz and Cynthia, and nodding brusquely at Kathryn as he donned his hat and left.

****

After he left, Kathryn turned to her father and asked: “Do you know where I could find this Bertie Hanover?”

The old man drew in a sharp breath. “What do you want to know for?” Fitz chewed on his lower lip, refusing to meet her gaze. “Bertie Hanover is a thug, a psycho who Ket Junior hired to break kneecaps or whatever else was necessary to get his own way. You’d do well to stay away and let Ben deal with him and his cronies.” The old man pushed his chair away from the table and stood, adding bleakly, “If he can.”

“If he’s on Ket’s payroll and if Ket’s had him take Alex to punish me, Hanover may tell me where Alex is if I offer him enough money. He’s just the type Ket would hire to do his dirty work and we know there’s no honor among the likes of him. If he’s that close to Ket and he hasn’t got Alex, Hanover might just know who hates my husband enough to take my son.” Kathryn stood and gathered up her bag and car keys. “I’m going to call my old school friend Allie Jones who works in personnel, get an address, and go and pay Mr. Hanover a little visit. “

Fitz paled. “Jeez, girl, are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what the likes of Hanover can do?”

She laid her hand on his arm. “Dad, you know I have to do this. I have to find my son, and I can’t believe some pedophile just happened by the truck stop at dawn and snatched him. It’s too much of a coincidence. I’ll be back by dark.”

Her father’s protests followed her as she strode from the house, hearing only a bit of the conversation as she left.

“Let her go, Fitz. She’s been drifting and she needs to find solid ground. Hanover’s a lot of things, but he knows which side his bread is buttered. He won’t risk his neck by hurting Ket Morgan’s wife.” Cynthia said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I feel so damned useless. I’ve let that girl down so much…”