Chapter 7
Rachel read the message twice.
Then she said, “I’m going.”
Thomas immediately said, “No.”
She turned.
“Marisol is there because of me.”
“No, she’s there because Donna kidnapped her.”
“She wants me.”
“That doesn’t mean you walk into a warehouse.”
Rachel pointed at Eli.
“She already came after my child.”
Thomas lowered his voice.
“That’s exactly why you stay here.”
Rachel’s eyes flashed.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“I know.”
“Then stop.”
“I’m trying to keep you alive.”
“I kept myself alive without you.”
The words hit him.
But he didn’t back down.
“And you shouldn’t have had to.”
Rachel’s anger broke for half a second.
Then Hale interrupted.
“Nobody is going anywhere until we have a plan.”
Luis said, “Donna said no police.”
“Kidnappers always say that.”
“She knows you.”
“She knows my name.”
“She knew we were going to the house.”
Hale looked at him.
“And I’m dealing with that.”
He stepped into the hallway and made a call.
I stayed near the window.
Eli watched everyone.
Too quiet.
Children notice more than adults want them to.
He looked at Rachel.
“Is Donna going to hurt Grandma too?”
Rachel froze.
“What?”
“The lady in the picture.”
“Oh.”
She sat beside him.
“I don’t know where she is.”
“What’s her name?”
“Margaret.”
“Did you think she was dead?”
Rachel nodded.
“Why would someone lie about that?”
Rachel looked toward Thomas.
“Sometimes people lie because the truth gives someone else power.”
Eli frowned.
“That’s stupid.”
A tiny laugh escaped me.
Rachel almost smiled.
“Yeah.”
Then Eli reached beneath his hospital blanket.
“I found this.”
He held up a small folded paper.
Rachel stared.
“What is that?”
“It was inside the pie bag.”
My stomach dropped.
“The bag from the diner?”
He nodded.
“I put it in my pocket when we ran.”
Rachel opened the paper.
Her eyes widened.
“What?”
Thomas stepped closer.
She handed it to him.
There was one sentence written in block letters.
DON’T TRUST THE MAN WHO KNOWS TOO MUCH.
Thomas frowned.
“Who wrote this?”
I thought back.
The pies.
The counter.
Donna.
The customers.
Then I remembered something.
“The man at the counter.”
Rachel looked at me.
“What man?”
“The customer who stood up when Donna shoved Eli.”
“What about him?”
“He touched the bag.”
I could see it clearly now.
When Donna was arguing.
When everyone was focused on Eli.
The man had picked up the fallen pie.
He had put it back inside the bag.
At the time, I thought he was helping.
Thomas asked, “Who was he?”
“I don’t know.”
Hale returned.
I handed him the note.
His face changed.
“You recognize the writing?” I asked.
“No.”
“But?”
He looked toward the hallway.
“The man from the diner.”
“What about him?”
“He gave a witness statement.”
“So?”
“He used the name Patrick Lane.”
Luis went pale.
Rachel noticed.
“You know him.”
Luis nodded slowly.
“That was the name Charles used when he opened secret accounts.”
Thomas stared.
“My father used an alias?”
“Yes.”
Hale checked his phone.
“The witness gave a Chicago address.”
Luis said, “Fake.”
Hale typed something.
A moment later his jaw tightened.
“You’re right.”
Rachel whispered, “Who was he really?”
Nobody knew.
Then Thomas looked at me.
“Can you describe him?”
“Mid-fifties. Brown hair going gray. Scar near his chin.”
Luis’s face collapsed.
“No.”
“What?”
“Left side?”
“Yes.”
Luis sat down.
“That’s Robert.”
Rachel frowned.
“Who is Robert?”
Luis looked at her.
“Your father.”
Rachel laughed because the alternative was screaming.
“My father died before I was born.”
Luis said nothing.
Rachel stopped laughing.
“No.”
“Margaret told you that.”
“My mother told everyone that.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Luis’s eyes filled with guilt.
“Because Robert worked for Charles too.”
Thomas stepped back.
“This is insane.”
Luis shook his head.
“No. This is what your father built.”
Rachel stared at him.
“My parents both worked for Charles?”
“Yes.”
“And they both disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“And somehow nobody thought I deserved to know this?”
Luis looked ashamed.
“I was trying to protect you.”
Rachel slammed her hand against the table.
“Stop saying that!”
Eli jumped.
She immediately softened.
“I’m sorry.”
But tears were pouring down her face.
“Everybody keeps protecting me.”
She looked at Thomas.
“Donna protected you.”
Then Luis.
“You protected me.”
She held up the photograph.
“My mother protected me.”
Her voice broke.
“And somehow every person who protected us left my son hungry.”
Nobody answered.
Because there was no answer.
Hale’s phone rang.
He stepped aside.
Rachel sat beside Eli again.
Thomas watched her.
“I have an apartment downtown.”
She looked up.
“I don’t want it.”
“I’m not offering it to you.”
She frowned.
“I’m giving it to Eli.”
“Thomas.”
“You never have to see me.”
His voice shook.
“You never have to forgive me.”
He looked at his son.
“But he is never sleeping in a station again.”
Eli looked between them.
Rachel closed her eyes.
“He needs stability.”
“Yes.”
“He needs a home.”
“Yes.”
“He needs school.”
“Yes.”
“And I’m his mother.”
Thomas looked at her.
“I know.”
“You’re not taking him.”
His face twisted.
“I would never.”
Rachel studied him.
For once, she believed him.
Hale returned.
“We have a problem.”
Luis gave a bitter laugh.
“Only one?”
Hale ignored it.
“The Fulton warehouse was supposed to be empty.”
“Supposed to?”
“It was sold last month.”
“To who?”
Hale looked at Thomas.
“Whitmore Holdings.”
Thomas stared.
“My company?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t buy it.”
“Your signature is on the purchase.”
Thomas pulled out his phone.
He scrolled.
His expression darkened.
“My CFO would know.”
“Call him.”
Thomas did.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Then he checked his email.
His face changed.
“What?”
“There’s a resignation letter.”
“From your CFO?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Four minutes ago.”
Hale’s jaw tightened.
“Name?”
“Steven Markham.”
Luis stood.
“I know that name.”
Thomas looked at him.
“How?”
“He was a junior accountant under Charles.”
Rachel whispered, “So Donna has someone inside Thomas’s company too.”
“Maybe more than one.”
The hospital door opened.
A nurse entered.
“Mr. Whitmore?”
Thomas turned.
“There’s a man downstairs asking for you.”
Hale immediately asked, “Name?”
“He wouldn’t give one.”
Hale reached for his radio.
The nurse continued.
“He said to tell Mr. Whitmore that Margaret is waiting in the chapel.”
Rachel stood so fast her chair fell.
“My mother?”
Hale held up a hand.
“Nobody moves.”
But Rachel was already at the door.
I followed.
So did Thomas.
The chapel was one floor down.
Two officers went first.
Empty pews.
Soft lights.
No Margaret.
Only an envelope on the altar.
Rachel opened it.
Inside was another photograph.
Margaret.
Alive.
Sitting in what looked like a warehouse.
Beside her was Marisol.
Both women were tied to chairs.
Rachel nearly dropped the picture.
Thomas caught it.
On the back was a handwritten message.
MIDNIGHT.
BRING THE RECORDING.
BRING RACHEL.
BRING THOMAS.
NO POLICE.
Then one final line.
ELI STAYS BEHIND.
Rachel stared at those words.
“Why mention Eli?”
Hale looked toward the chapel door.
A terrible realization crossed his face.
He grabbed his radio.
“Lock down the pediatric floor.”
We ran.
Up one flight.
Down the hallway.
Eli’s room door stood open.
The nurse who had been guarding him lay unconscious beside the bed.
Rachel screamed his name.
The bed was empty.
On the pillow sat the stuffed hospital bear I had bought him.
Around its neck was a gold chain.
The missing locket.
Rachel grabbed it.
Opened it.
The photograph was gone.
In its place was a message.
May you like
NOW YOU HAVE SOMETHING I WANT.
AND I HAVE SOMETHING YOU LOVE.
