Betrayal of Trust (12 page)

R
aven felt chubby hands climbing up her leg and she glanced down. Anaya’s beautiful brown face looked up and her arms lifted, eliciting a smile from Raven’s lips.

“Hey there, doll,” she said pulling the child into her arms. “I think you’re even more gorgeous today than you were last time I saw you.”

The toddler responded to Raven’s friendly tone with a giggle. Her face split into a grin. She held up two fingers. “Two?”

“Two? Two what?”

“She’s telling you that’s how old she is.” Keri’s husky, amusement-filled voice preceded her into Raven’s personal space.

So far she’d had very little to say to her sister, who
still
hadn’t brought up the barbecue. But who could even think resentful thoughts while holding such perfection in one’s arms?

“No calls yet?” she asked.

Keri smoothed the little girl’s pigtails. “None.”

The sorrow in her sister’s round brown eyes touched Raven’s heart. “Don’t give up. It’s been less than a
week. Maybe this time around the clip will get into the right hands.”

“I hope so, Rave. I don’t know how long they’ll let me keep her. A beauty like Anaya will be so easy to place for adoption. I’ve prayed and prayed, but I can’t help but feel like there’s no point in airing this story in Missouri. Mary wasn’t from around here. It’s just not likely that anyone from her past will recognize her.”

“What if her real family isn’t a good choice to raise her? It’s possible they’re druggies or worse. Why did Mary run off?”

“No. It wasn’t like that. Mary was a victim of an online predator. She was only fourteen and this guy started talking to her through instant messages and e-mail. After a while some of their e-mails back and forth were pretty graphic. Her parents were strict Christians and found out about it. Of course they immediately forbade any further contact and took away the Internet, but it was too late. By then, they’d talked on the phone a couple of times. She went to meet him one night and he kidnapped her, raped her and drove her here to Kansas City where he kept her tied up in a seedy motel. It was only by the grace of God that he didn’t kill her. One day he just left and didn’t come back. The owner of the motel found her tied to the bed after three days with no food or water. She thought she was being rescued. Instead he turned out to be a pimp. He got her well and put her to work.”

Keri’s eyes were filled with tears by the time she finished the story. “Mary’s greatest prayer was that her daughter never ever have to taste the street life. She was this close to calling home, Raven! This close.” The frustration flowed from deep inside Keri, the problem solver. The one who always made things happen. “If only we could get this out!”

Anaya yawned and laid her chubby cheek against Raven’s shoulder. Raven pressed a kiss on the soft skin. “If I were Katie Couric, I’d get this little girl on the
Today
show tomorrow.”

Keri gave her a watery smile. “I know you would, Raven. I appreciate all you’ve done. Don’t think I don’t, okay? I’m just afraid we’re wasting our time.”

“Rave,” Ken’s voice broke into the conversation as he filled the doorway to Keri’s office. “You about ready to wrap this up? We should get back to the station.”

“All right. Here, take her, she’s starting to drool on my shirt anyway.”

A laugh bubbled from Keri’s lips. “You loved every second of holding that warm, sweet baby in your arms.”

“You’ll never get me to confess,” Raven said with mock determination. “Shoot me, beat me, boil me in oil, I’ll never admit to wanting one of my own.”

She stopped short, her own shock reflected on her sister’s face. “Well, then,” Keri said. “That was more than I would have guessed. Looks like running into ol’ Matthew again is starting to bring out your Molly-Homemaker side. I just knew it was in there somewhere.” She laughed.

Raven squelched her irritation at her own slip of the tongue and rolled her eyes. “Don’t order my wedding dress just yet, little sister.”

“Well, that’ll be a relief to poor Dad. Can you imagine marrying off three daughters in less than three years? Not to mention his own wedding if Ruth ever talks him into actually taking the long walk down the aisle.”

Raven bristled at the very sound of Ruth’s name. “If we’re lucky, she never will.”

Keri scowled. “I don’t get why you have such a problem with Ruth.”

“I don’t get why you
don’t
have a problem with her.”

“For one thing, Dad’s crazy about her. She’s good for him. She makes him laugh.”

“She sure isn’t Mom,” Raven muttered.

“No, she’s not. She’s Ruth and she makes Dad laugh. I remember how he laughed at Mom’s silliness. Don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“He has that same tender affection for Ruth. Sure, her Texas eccentricity can be overpowering at times, but her heart is as big as her home state and believe me, she makes him happy. You might as well accept it, because I’d be surprised if they aren’t married by the end of the year.”

“Raven! You coming or not?” Ken’s impatience usually grated on Raven like a squeaky shopping cart, but this time his grumpy insistence came as a welcome excuse to boogie on out of there before she said something she’d regret.

“All right. I have to go, Kere-Bear.”

“Wait, before you go. I have to tell you something.”

Raven snatched up her purse from Keri’s desk. “Tell me what?”

“Dad and Ruth are coming tomorrow for the weekend.”

“I know. Dad told me when I called home the other night.”

“You called Dad? Is everything okay?”

“That’s an insulting implication.”

“Well, you have to admit…”

“Oh, all right. I don’t call Dad enough, but in this case, I just called to say hi and he told me about your little get-together.”

Keri laughed. “I wouldn’t exactly call it little. Probably every man, woman and child within a four-mile radius is going to show up for barbecue.”

Everyone except me
.

“Anyway, I didn’t figure you’d want to come help out, but Justin said I should ask. Would you care to offer your wonderful services to help feed the poor?”

“Actually, Justin’s right. I’d love to come and help out.” A sense of relief streamed through Raven’s body. She smiled and gave her sister a one-armed hug. “What time will you start barbecuing?”

“We won’t actually until Saturday, but Dad and Ruth are coming tomorrow so that we can prepare the meat and side dishes. Want to come help with that?”

Raven walked toward the door. “I think I’ll pass on that one,” she tossed over her shoulder. “See you on Saturday.”

“Be here early. By eight at least. We have a lot of meat to cook. I imagine people will start lining up pretty early and come through more than once.”

“All right. I’ll be here by eight.”

Ken growled at her when she met him outside. “’Bout time. I had to circle the block four times.”

“Sorry.”

“I should have let that gang of hooligans have your hubcaps. That would serve you right.”

“Sheesh, you are a grouch. And chuck the cigarette out the window. You know I don’t let anyone smoke in here.”

He took one last, long suck and flicked it out the window. “Happy?”

“Very.” She tossed him a smug grin. “Hey Ken, do you know anyone who works for network news?”

A short laugh shot from his lips. “If I did, would I be working at a local cable channel?”

“How should I know?” Her defenses rose at the possible slight to the channel where she just happened to be the new anchor. Where was his loyalty?

“Why do you ask, anyway?”

Raven lifted her feet and rested her knees and shins on the front dash while she sank down in her seat. “Keri thinks we might be wasting time airing the segments in Missouri. She thinks Mary’s parents live in a whole other state.”

“Don’t tell Frank. He loves this bleeding-heart stuff. Besides viewers are calling and e-mailing like crazy.”

“I know. But what’s the point in airing something that isn’t going to do any good?”

“Are you serious?” Ken tossed her an incredulous look before focusing back on traffic.

Raven nodded.

“Ratings?” Ken shrugged. “I don’t know. If I had a way to get this out for you, I would, you know.”

“I know you would, Ken. And I appreciate the thought.” Raven smiled and touched his hand. It wasn’t often she caught a glimpse of Ken’s gentle side, but at times like this, she knew he cared about her. “I guess we need a miracle.”

Ken’s cynical laugh filled the SUV but stopped as abruptly as it had begun. “What? You mean you’re seriously going to pray for a miracle?”

Raven shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. As a last resort.”

“Never thought I’d see the day, little girl.”

Raven didn’t answer. Rather, she turned to stare out at the traffic, not really seeing anything as her thoughts took her upward.

Here’s one for you God. How about getting this story out on a national level? Help me help this little girl and I’ll
…Raven conjured up the image of Anaya’s sweet face.
I’ll go to church again on Sunday
.

Matthew sat at his desk, glad to be home. He clicked on his e-mail and scrolled through the spam, forwards and other junk mail. He stopped scrolling and opened an e-mail with the subject line: Anaya

A smile lifted the corners of his lips as he reached for the phone.

Raven slammed in the door and tossed her keys on the counter. She’d spent the entire afternoon editing the piece from the mission, unable to shake the deal she’d made with God. She knew better. God didn’t make deals. It was His way or the highway.

“Come on, Ginger, let’s go watch TV.” She reached for her stuffed cat and stopped short. Ginger’s chair was empty? When did Ginger get up and slink away?

Must have left Ginger in the living room. “Here, kitty, kitty,” she said with a grin. No sign of Ginger. Bedroom? After checking every room possible, Raven’s humor turned sour. Where could the stuffed cat have gone?

Had someone broken in? Panic gave her a nudge. She began a thorough search of anything valuable. Digital camera? Check. Laptop? Check. Mother’s princess cut diamond engagement ring and ruby necklace? Check. DVD player, VCR, TV, camcorder. Everything sat in its proper place, mocking her with the absurdity of the idea that someone might have actually stolen her thirty-year-old stuffed cat instead of something with resale value.

She spent the next half hour combing every inch of her house. Finally, she plopped dejectedly onto her sofa. She had no choice but to conclude that her beloved childhood toy was lost. She must have stuck it away in a box somewhere by mistake during one of her sporadic
periods of cleaning. Ugh. She’d been so distracted lately. There was no telling where it was.

Suddenly only chocolate would do. Lots of it. A blissful chocolate fest wouldn’t bring Ginger back, but it would definitely take her into oblivion for the time being. She shoved herself up from the couch and headed into the kitchen to snag some rocky road ice cream. The flashing light on her answering machine caught her eye. She pressed the button and continued to the freezer.

“Raven. It’s Sonny. I’ll call again later.”

Beep.

“Hi, Raven. It’s Sonny again. I guess you’re still not home.”

Beep.

“Raven. Are you there? You’re not ignoring me, are you?”

Sheesh, Sonny. Don’t you have a life?

Beep.

“Raven, it’s Matt. Judging from the fact that you never returned my call or acknowledged my note, I guess you don’t want anything to do with me. But I have some news you are definitely going to want to hear. Call me.”

Raven stopped short. “Note?” She stared at the answering machine as though it held any answers for her. “What note are you talking about, Matt?”

The clock on her microwave flashed ten-thirty, by all rights too late for anyone with a shred of politeness to make a phone call. And she never would call his home phone that late because his mother or Jamie would most likely be in bed. But she wasn’t above taking a chance that he might be lying in bed watching late-night TV.

Without a second thought, she reached for the phone and dialed his cell.

He picked up on the first ring. “Raven?”

“Yes. I just got your message. What note?”

“What?”

“The note you left. I never got one. And I didn’t get any messages from you, either.”

“Seriously?”

“I promise. I never received either.”

“That explains why I didn’t hear from you while I was up at the lake with Jamie.”

“I’m glad you tried to contact me before you left. I thought…”

“That I kissed and ran away like Georgie Porgie?”

Raven’s heart lifted at the humor in his voice. “Something like that.”

“I already told you my position won’t change. I wrote a note telling you I was going out of town and inviting you to join us for a day at the lake.”

A rush of heat flooded through her. “I would have enjoyed that.”

“Me too.”

Silence reigned between them until Raven cleared her throat and got back to the matter at hand. “So, Matt. What news do you have for me?”

“Oh, I sent your piece about Anaya to a friend of mine in New York. He likes your presence and thinks Anaya’s story is worth pursuing nationally.”

Raven’s heart skipped a beat. “Are you serious? Matt! Network news?”

“Yep. He’s going to call your boss and get it all set up.”

“Do you realize Anaya will have a chance to grow up with her own family if this works?”

“Do you realize you didn’t mention what this could do for your career?”

“Think it’s character growth?”

Laughter rumbled from Matt’s chest. “Could be.”

Anaya’s sweet face crept to Raven’s mind. She grinned to herself.
So, You took me up on my challenge, huh, God? I guess I should have made the deal that Anaya has to find her family before I go to church again.

But that wasn’t the deal. And there was only one thing she could do. “Matt. How would you like to pick me up for church on Sunday?”

The old stuffed cat winked at him from its perch on the sofa. By now Raven Mahoney should have figured out that someone had been in her apartment. She would know he’d taken the one thing she cherished the most.