L.A.P.D. Special Investigations Series, Boxed Set: The Deceived, The Taken & The Silent (34 page)

“I—I don’t know.”

“You had lots of people worried about you.”

“Nuh-uh. Nobody wants me.”

Oh, Cody
. The child didn’t think anyone cared about him…and why would he? He’d been abandoned and then abandoned again. “Well, I was worried. And I know Mrs. Appleton is very worried. We care very much about you, so please don’t do that anymore. All right?”

Another silence.

“The Appletons are really nice people and they want you to stay with them.”

“I—I want to go home.” His voice quivered, his pain almost palpable.

“Where is that Cody?”

Now she heard a sniffle. “I—I don’t know.”

Her throat cramped. She took a breath, wishing she knew of some way to make him feel good, but anything she could come up with would be temporary. He was going to have to get used to being where he was sooner or later. “Look. I’m going to come over tomorrow and take you out for some ice cream. Would you like that?”

“O-kay,” he said through another sniff.

Before Macy had a chance to say anything more, Nancy Appleton was on the phone again. “I think he’ll be fine now. It’s normal for him to feel some apprehension at being in a strange place. I’ll do what I can to make him feel right at home.”

“Good. And if he gets out of sorts again, remind him that I’ll be there tomorrow to take him out for ice cream.”

“What time?”

Macy quickly scanned her Day-Timer for appointments. “Three o’clock.”

“That’ll work.”

Listening to the drone of the dial tone after Nancy hung up, Macy felt as sad as Cody had sounded. She’d had difficult cases before, but none that tugged at her heartstrings as much as this one.

She tried to shuck off the thoughts. It was a case. Nothing more. An attorney, a court-appointed advocate couldn’t afford to get emotionally involved.
She
couldn’t afford to. It could color her ability to do her job. But with Cody, remaining detached was almost impossible and she didn’t know why. From the moment he’d locked his little hand in hers and looked up at her, as if she was his savior, she was hooked.

She took a breath and regrouped. Tomorrow she’d see Cody and also give Mrs. Appleton the names of the clinicians to make sure the woman would get the child’s therapy in motion, if she hadn’t already.

The intercom buzzed. “It’s two forty-five.”

“Thanks.” Time for her to meet Detective Santini. She was on schedule. Almost. She still had to call Marilyn Joffrey.

CHAPTER EIGHT

AVOIDING ANOTHER LOOK at his watch, Rico paced in front of the park bench and drummed his fingers against his thigh. Being late seemed to be a way of life with Macy. Or maybe she was only late when she had an appointment with him.

The thought irked him, but in truth, he felt more apprehensive about the meeting than annoyed at her. He rarely ever thought about how he approached someone on a case anymore. He’d been doing his job long enough that it came as second nature to him. But he’d started to think of Macy as a friend and he didn’t want to hurt her.

He didn’t know if Macy knew her father had worked for Haven’s Gate, and he didn’t know what she’d do with the information if he told her. She may have already screwed things up by mentioning Rico was investigating Haven’s Gate.

“There you are.” Macy’s voice came from behind. He turned. The sun reflected off her hair, a bright halo of light that made it look like spun gold.

He tapped his watch. “For a while now.”

“I had some business to take care of.”

“You also had an appointment with me.”

She gave him a surprised look. “Is that a reprimand?”

Yeah. It was a reprimand. But he didn’t want to start their conversation that way. “No, it’s merely a reminder that my time is as valuable as yours.” He motioned for her to sit on the bench.

A slight breeze ruffled her hair and she reached to brush a strand from her eyes. “I should’ve called. I’m sorry.”

They sat together and he handed her one of two coffees. “It’s probably cold by now.”

Looking at the Starbucks label, she smiled. “Now I’m really sorry I was late.” Her fingers brushed his as she took the cup. She brought it to her lips and sipped. “No, it’s not cold. Thank you very much.”

He polished his off to the soft strains of guitar music coming from another part of the park. The Square also served as a respite for a few homeless people catching naps on the grass and he wondered how Macy felt about that.

“I’ve never been here before. It’s very nice.”

He pulled back, surprised. “Your office is practically around the corner and you’ve never been here?”

“I work a lot. Remember? And speaking of which, I don’t have a whole lot of time right now. What’s up? You said it’s both personal and business.”

“I said that?”

She nodded. “Succinctly. Why don’t we start with the business.”

He leaned against the wooden bench slats. “I’ve been scouring the records from Haven’s Gate that we had on file from the Ray investigation.”

“You have the Gate’s records? I didn’t see them in the file.” She shifted, fidgeted with her cup.

“They were filed separately. The data is old and names are redacted, of course.”

“What period do they cover?”

“A couple of years before and after the abduction.”

She relaxed and leaned back against the seat with him.

After a moment, she asked, “Can you get the earlier records?”

“I’d have to have a good reason to get a search warrant. But I could get information from other sources that might be just as good if I had the specific date your client’s baby died. And it would be even better if I had the name of your client.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Frankly, without some kind of personal information, I’m stymied.”

Macy took a long deep breath. Could she tell him the truth? If she did, would he keep it quiet?

He looked over at her. “Can you at least ask your client if she’d consent to give me that information?”

She tipped her head back and closed her eyes. Her palms felt clammy and her heart rate doubled, as if she was about to go into a courtroom. She looked at Rico. “Everything confidential?”

“Totally.”

She focused on her hands in her lap. “It was me. My baby was stillborn. Twelve years ago. March 21.” She brought her gaze back to his.

The surprise she saw in Rico’s eyes lasted only a millisecond. Still holding her gaze, he said, “I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago,” she said. “But when I learned, just recently, that my friend’s child had been stillborn the day before, I was dumbfounded. Twelve years ago I’d been told her baby had been fine, had been adopted. The physician and all the nurses told me that.”

“Did you two talk about it?”

“Not at the time, because she’d already gone home. I’d had a Cesarean birth and was under deep sedation. I wasn’t really with it for a day or so.”

“How did you find out her baby hadn’t been adopted?”

“I talked to her last week. When I saw the name Haven’s Gate on the back of the Ray baby’s photo, I wondered if they’d taken a photo of my baby, as well, because … I’d never seen him. Then when I saw Dr. Dixon’s name on the photo, I was shocked. I’d been told by my father that Dr. Dixon was only there for the birth of my child, and that I was lucky because he was one of the best.”

“You think that has some significance?”

She moistened her lips. Paused briefly. “Yes.”

“Maybe Dixon simply decided to stay on at Haven’s Gate after your child was born?”

“That’s what my father said.”

Rico blinked. “And you don’t think that’s the whole story?”

“No. Because they lied about my friend’s baby. My father lied, too.”

“Maybe your father thought he was saving you from more bad news.”

She’d thought of that. But her gut told her differently.

“You were very young,” Rico said.

She nodded. “Barely seventeen.” She looked at her hands, saw they were trembling.

Rico must’ve noticed, too, because he placed his hands over hers, his expression sympathetic, yet puzzled, as if he was quickly processing all the information she’d just laid on him. “And you told me the other story because no one knows about the child you had twelve years ago.”

The moment he uttered the words, something snapped inside Macy and she realized she’d wanted to tell him the truth all along. “Great powers of deduction, Sherlock.”

He smiled, but said nothing, apparently waiting for her to continue.

“My father thought it would harm his political aspirations. No one knows. My grandparents don’t even know.”

His hand was warm and calming — and there was no judgment in his eyes, only compassion. He reached up and brushed her cheek. “That’s a big secret to be carrying for so long.”

After a deep breath, she said, “It was for the best.”

His steady gaze said he didn’t believe her. “Who’s it best for, Macy?”

A knot twisted in her gut. She edged away from him and pulled her hand back…snatched up the coffee and took another long drink. It was stone cold, but she drank it anyway.

Rico didn’t need all the details on how she’d gotten pregnant or by whom. None of that…heartache mattered anymore. It certainly had no bearing on what she wanted to know now. “Well, you have the information you wanted,” she said. “What are you going to do with it?”

“I’m not going to scoop it to the National Enquirer if that’s what you’re asking. I’ll do what I said. More research.”

Even though it wasn’t warranted, she felt a sense of relief. Rico was a professional. He went by the book. It’s why she’d felt she could tell him the truth. How ironic. His inflexibility, the part of him she disliked so much, also worked in his favor. “No, that’s not what I was asking. I wanted to know the next step, that’s all.”

“I’ll get more information, and if it fits with my case, I’ll try to get a search warrant for the records.”

Finally.

“But a cold case won’t be first on anyone’s priority list.”

“Well, it’s a start.” They both rested against the bench. “So,” she said. “What personal stuff did you want to talk to me about?”

He tilted his head toward her. “I think we’ve talked about enough personal stuff. Don’t you?”

Nodding, she agreed. There was no reason to talk about what happened in the elevator. The whole incident would be better forgotten. She reached into her purse for a her keys and saw the manila envelope. “Oh, there is one other thing.” She pulled out the envelope and then the contents. “I found this inside my door last night.”

As he read, she saw his body visibly tense.

“Do you have any idea who sent this?” He scowled.

“Not a clue.”

“I’m going to have to keep this and get it to the lab to check for fingerprints. If they get a match, we can run it through AFIS, the automated fingerprint identification system.”

“I wasn’t careful when I opened it, so my prints will be on it, too.”

“Mine will be, too,” he said. “But neither of us will be on file in AFIS.” He grinned, looked at her from under his brows. “At least I won’t.”

She gave up another smile.

“Are you sure you don’t know anyone who’d send something like this? People who do this kind of thing usually have a reason.”

“I know the reason. He wants me to stay away from something, but I don’t know what?”

“Are you working on a case that might be threatening to someone?”

She thought about the Joffrey case. A whole lot of people might be threatened. The health plan, the surgeon, the staff at the hospital. Maybe a few ex-husbands of women she’d represented in divorce proceedings…or women whose exes she’d represented. “I’m always working on a case that might be threatening to someone. Right now, I have several pending and not everyone on both sides is happy, but I work attorney to attorney. Unless I interview someone, I don’t often have direct contact with opposing counsel’s clients until we get to court.”

“Any personal situations? Is there anyone who might be affected by what they believe you to be doing.”

“If you mean jealous exes, no. I haven’t dated anyone recently, so there’s nothing to be jealous of.”

“Until now.”

She frowned. “Now?”

“You invited me to dinner with your parents. That’s a date.”

Macy laughed. “I didn’t invite you and it wasn’t a date.”

Rico’s hand went to his chest as if she’d just stabbed him. “No? What was it?”

“Dinner with a friend. Don’t make it into anything more than that.”

“Close friends, I’d say.”

He was referring to the elevator. “Like I said, don’t make it into something more than it was.”

He held up both hands, a sexy grin still plastered on his face. “Okay. I’m cool. Friends it is.”

She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. He had an uncanny ability to lighten a serious moment in seconds. More than once, he’d made her laugh, and she couldn’t remember when she’d been so spontaneous. She couldn’t remember when she’d felt such physical passion with someone, either. Remembering the elevator, desire, hot and quick, pulled low in her belly. “Are we done now, so I can get back to work?” She stood.

“Not really.” He rose with her. “But we can come back to the rest later.”

As she started to leave, he caught her by the shoulder.

“Be careful. Okay?” He held up the manila envelope. “People who do this kind of thing are usually a little off balance to start with.”

***

It’s for the best
. Why did Macy think hiding her past was best? Rico knew what secrets could do to a person. He got up from his desk and headed for the door.

But he only knew part of Macy’s story. He didn’t know what circumstances had brought her to Haven’s Gate, pregnant at seventeen. But that wasn’t any of his business, either. She’d only told him so he would help her get some answers.

Oddly, he wanted to help her get them. A lot. Problem was, he didn’t know if he could get them if it didn’t have anything to do with his investigation. 

Still thinking as he exited to head for the police garage, he nearly bumped into Luke who was just arriving.

“Yo,” Rico said.

“Hey,” Luke answered. “What’s hot?”

“Not much. Same old. How about you? I hear you’ve got a political hot potato.”

Luke gave a snort of a laugh. “Yeah. That and all the crap that comes with it.”

“You’re complaining? I’d give up my beer night to get a case like that. Money, power, politics, corruption, a sex scandal. What more could a guy want?”

Luke laughed harder. “It’s becoming more of a pain than anything. A homicide without a body…well, you know what that’s like. Besides which, not too many congressmen like being investigated.”

“Threats?”

“A couple.”

“Seriously?”

Luke ran a hand through his sandy hair, which looked as if he’d combed it with a weed whacker. Rico remembered when Luke had been one of the best-dressed detectives around, giving up little ground to anyone except Jordan. Now, on most days, Luke looked as though he’d just rolled out of bed.

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

Rico knew that was true. Luke was one of the best detectives on the force. He’d had a bad time of it after his divorce, but he was back now.