Emergence (2 page)

“My son has not been abused!”

“Then you have nothing to worry about, do you?”

Emma threw the door open and picked up Jake and his backpack, stomping out of the building. Her shaky fingers fumbled with his car seat strap and he reached his hand to her cheek. “It’s going to be okay, Mommy.”

Closing her eyes, she leaned her cheek into his hand before she realized what she was doing. She was letting her two-year-old son comfort her. She forced a smile and kissed his forehead. “Of course it is, you silly billy. We’re going to go home and have chicken nuggets and ice cream. You want some ice cream?”

He nodded.

“Ice cream it is!’

“Miss Thompson?” a woman asked behind her.

Emma shut the minivan door and turned to face the assistant director.
Great. Now what
? “Yes?”

The young woman leaned close. “I think it’s wrong what they’ve done. Jake’s a sweet little boy. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“Thank you,” Emma mumbled, surprised at how much the woman’s admission meant to her.

“I may be out of line, but I know this isn’t the first daycare Jake has had issues at.”

“Well…”

“Oh no! I’m not judging.” The woman held up her hands, a business card between the fingers of her right hand. She handed it to Emma. “I just thought Jake might be better with a nanny, especially since you’re always racing to get here before we close to pick him up.”

More guilt washed in at the newest evidence supporting her greatest fear. She was a terrible mother. Biting her lip, she took the card. “Thanks.”

“Good luck.”

They drove the short distance home, Jake singing to a children’s CD as Emma fought to keep the lid on her rising panic. The daycare had called Child Protective Services and she was about to lose her job. How could things get any worse?

After an early dinner, Emma took Jake in the backyard and pushed him on the swing on the new play set she’d had installed a month ago.

Before it all began.

While he dug in the sandbox, she sat next to him, dipping her bare feet into the sand.

Jake looked up at her with a blank look.

Her heart stuttered. She recognized that look.

“You’re going to see the ocean.”

She forced a smile. “I’ve never seen the ocean. That would be fun. Maybe we can go to Gulf Shores for vacation next summer.” Although she doubted she’d have much vacation time left after all of this.

He shook his head, tears in his eyes. “No. I won’t be with you.”

Terror flooded her blood stream. “Of course, you’ll be with me. We’re a team, you and me, remember? We’re a package deal.”

He shook his head.

“I will
never
leave you, Jake.
Never
.”

“I know. But you won’t have a choice.”

She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him toward her, his eyes widening. “I won’t let anyone take you from me either, okay? I won’t. I promise.”

Jake wrapped his arms around her neck. “I know, Mommy. I know.” But his voice was soft and sad.

He didn’t believe her.

Chapter Two

Jake was quieter during his bath, and Emma forced a cheerful conversation, to the point of endless babbling. At bedtime, she rocked him in his chair, reading his favorite stories.

When she closed the cover of the last book, Jake took her hand in his. “I’m sorry, Mommy.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know.”

She paused, unsure she wanted to broach the subject of this afternoon. “Was it like the other times?”

“Yes.”

His word hung heavy in the air, filling her with grief. The incidents were becoming more frequent.

“Miss Martha said you told the little girl that she would fall off the slide and break her arm, but it happened when she fell off the table. See? It was different than you saw it.”

“I tried to stop it.”

She stuffed her disappointment. “Like the boy at your old daycare?”

“Yes.”

That had been one of the first incidents.

“Do they always scare you? The things you see in your head?”

“Yes.”

Her arm tightened around his waist.

“I know I wasn’t supposed to say anything. But I saw her in my head. Her arm bent funny and she screamed and screamed. She fell off the slide in the story in my head. I tried to stop her from getting on the slide but she fell off the table instead.”

“It’s okay, baby.”

But it wasn’t. Emma was terrified. She had no idea what was happening to her son or how to stop it.

“I’m tired.”

She tucked him into bed and kissed his cheek. “We get to spend the day together tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to go to work?”

She smiled. “Not tomorrow.”

Standing, she reached to turn off the lamp.

“Mommy, can I sleep with the light on?”

He’d never wanted a night-light before. “Of course, baby.”

After rubbing his forehead, she left his room, cracking the door behind her. She leaned into the wall, choking back her tears. She had to figure out a way to help him. Maybe the director had been right. Maybe he needed psychological help.

Moving to the kitchen, Emma made a cup of tea and wished she had someone to talk to. A partner to help her with these decisions. But between Jake and her job, which had longer hours than acceptable with a small child, there was no time for men and dating. And she sure wasn’t falling for the lines her boss threw at her.

She’d been foolish enough to fall for pretty words and a pretty face once. And look where that got her.

The thought filled her with guilt.
That
got her the little boy in the next room. He was her entire world, and while she’d love to redo the circumstances of his conception, she’d never, ever wish he wasn’t hers.

The phone rang, making her jump in surprise. She didn’t have many friends, no family she kept in contact with. The phone rarely rang. Putting down her cup, she reached for the phone.

“Hello?”

The silence that followed unnerved her. Finally a man asked, “Emma Thompson?”

She considered hanging up. Something in the voice on the other side of the line frightened her. But what if it was Child Protective Services? “Who’s calling?”

She was greeted with more silence. Then a dial tone.

Her heart raced.

Calm down
. It was probably a sales call. But she double-checked the doors and windows anyway.

The next morning Emma called in sick to work, thankful that Tyler was away from his desk and she could leave a message. Aside from Tyler’s wrath, she still had to deal with an angry client, but nothing could be done about that.

Next she called the nanny service. Emma needed to be a model employee to keep her job. If she had a nanny watching Jake at home, she wouldn’t have to worry about leaving work late or Jake getting sick. And perhaps Jake would have fewer incidents if he weren’t around other children. She breathed a sigh of relief when the agency agreed to send someone for her to interview later that morning.

While she picked up Jake’s toys and stuffed them into a basket, the phone rang again.

“Hello?”

Silence.

“Who is this?”

Nothing.

She quickly pushed the off button, holding the phone to her chest. Why was she letting these phone calls get to her? She was becoming paranoid.

The doorbell rang promptly at eleven and Emma found a plump, elderly woman on her doorstep.

The woman smiled. “Hello, dear. I’m Mrs. Pemberton and I’m here about the nanny position.”

“Thank you for coming.” Emma led her to the living room and gestured to the sofa. “Please, have a seat.”

“And where’s my future charge?” The woman swiveled her head, searching the room.

“He’s playing in his room right now so we can talk first.”

The woman clasped her hands and chuckled. “Of course, dear. Quite right. What a sensible girl you are.”

“Thank you.” Emma looked down to hide her frown. Something about the woman didn’t seem right, which was insane. If Emma had special-ordered a nanny, Mrs. Pemberton was exactly what she’d have picked: a warm grandma figure with a cheerful smile. So why did she make Emma so nervous?

“Why don’t you tell me about your boy. He’s two?”

“Yes, but he’s always been very mature for his age. He’s an only child and it’s just he and I.”

“No father in the picture?”

“No.”

“No custody issues?”

Emma knew these were standard questions, but her hair stood on end. “No.”

“And what would my duties be?”

“Um...” Why did this woman make her so nervous? “I’m an accountant.”

“Oh, my. What a dry job for such a pretty thing.”

Emma shook her head, taken back by her statement. “No, I love it, actually. I just don’t love the hours. I’ve only been with the firm for a few years and it takes long hours to prove your loyalty. Unfortunately, long hours don’t work well with a small child. Which is why I decided to try a nanny. I’d rather Jake spend those hours at home with a loving caregiver than a sterile daycare.” While not entirely true, it sounded much better than telling her that Jake had been expelled.

“That is so smart of you, dear. I think the best thing for a child is his mother, but if that’s not an option, a grandmother is the next best thing. Does Jake not have a grandmother around to help?”

Emma stared at her for a moment. Had she told Jake’s name to Mrs. Pemberton? She knew she hadn’t told the agency. After she’d hung up this morning, she’d thought it odd that they hadn’t asked.

“No, my mother lives in Joplin, Missouri.”

“And you two aren’t close?”

“No.” Fear swamped her head, making it hard for her to concentrate. This was ridiculous. The woman in front of her looked harmless. Her questions were somewhat invasive but not threatening. So why did they feel otherwise?

“No other family then? It’s just you and Jake?”

Nausea churned in Emma’s stomach and she swiped at her forehead. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Pemberton, but I suddenly don’t feel well. Do you think we could reschedule?”

The older woman’s eyes widened. “Don’t be silly, dear. I’m already here and we’re almost done. I only need to meet Jake.”

Emma stood. “I’m really sorry. I—”

“Mommy?” Jake stood at the corner of the living room, staring at the older woman.

Mrs. Pemberton’s eyes narrowed and her mouth pulled into a tight line before she smiled again. “You must be Jake. I’m going to take care of you, won’t that be nice?”

Jake’s gaze turned to Emma’s, his face pale.

“I suddenly remembered Jake has a doctor’s appointment.” Emma pulled the older woman from the sofa and toward the door.

“Can’t you reschedule, dear? You know, I can help you with those kinds of things. Would you like me to come tomorrow?”

“But we didn’t even discuss a salary.”

The older woman placed a hand on her chest. “Didn’t we? Oh dear, now you’re going to think I’m senile.”

Emma pushed her to the door. “I’ll be in touch.”

Mrs. Pemberton looked over her shoulder. “But don’t—”

Emma shut the door and locked it, closing her eyes. She’d been unbelievably rude with no just cause. And she’d blown any chance of hiring a nanny from that agency.

“She was a bad woman.”

Emma froze. “What?”

“She was a bad woman. She works with the bad men.”

Choking back a sob of fear, she picked up him. “What do you mean? How do you know?”

“I just do. She’s bad.”

She sat in the chair, holding Jake on her lap while she stared at the place on the sofa where the woman had sat. If Mrs. Pemberton really was dangerous, she’d been in her house. Close to Jake.

“I should call the police.” But even as the words left her mouth, she knew the impossibility of it. What would she tell them? That she’d received strange phone calls and an elderly woman showed up for an interview that Emma had arranged?

For the first time in her life, she wasn’t sure what to do. Even after Jake’s conception, when she’d discovered her life had been thrown off her carefully planned track, she never questioned what to do. She graduated from college, seven months’ pregnant, and found a good corporate job in Little Rock with excellent benefits. Her life changed and she adapted. But how did she adapt to this? How did she protect her son?

“It’s going to be okay, Mommy.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do.”

The fact that she counted on him being right proved how warped her life had become.

Chapter Three

Dread simmered in Emma’s chest all day, making her jumpy. Her encounter with Mrs. Pemberton had shaken her so badly she hadn’t left the house all day. And she hadn’t called any daycares. Which meant she had to call in sick again. Soon daycare wasn’t going to matter, because she wouldn’t have a job to go.

Get it together, Emma. This is ridiculous
. She was an old woman and Emma had simply overreacted. Jake thought she was bad because he’d sensed Emma’s anxiety. In fact, the more she thought about it, she could attribute everything to Jake’s sensitivity. The children’s accidents had been a coincidence. Jake couldn’t predict the future. He was an intelligent child, mature for his age, and that frightened people.

After dinner, she’d convinced herself hiding at home was ridiculous and told Jake they were going to walk to the park.

He shook his head, backing away form her. “No, Mommy. It’s not safe.”

Emma chastised herself. Her paranoia had freaked Jake out. “It’s safe, Jake. Mommy was overreacting.”

Jake’s eyes welled with tears. “No, Mommy. We can’t.”

His fear scared her and she almost caved. But she wasn’t doing him any favors by catering to his irrational thoughts. Still, she had to be gentle with this. “How about we skip the park and just take a walk to the pond. We’ll take some bread and feed the ducks.”

He was silent for a moment then nodded. “Okay.”

The sun was low in the sky and the air was cooler than usual for September, so Emma slipped Jake’s arms into his jacket and zipped him up. “We can’t have you getting a cold now, can we?” She tapped him on his nose and laughed.