Losing Ladd (29 page)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Malcolm checked his watch again, the
silver hands on the navy dial warning it was growing late. He
didn’t want Felicity to feel like he was counting the minutes but
in fact he was. He needed to get back to the hotel. Cal should be
with his family. He should enjoy his daughter’s first visit to
Tennessee, not stand around and hold the fort for his boss while he
sat doing nothing at the hospital. Lacy and Emma Jane could stay
with Felicity. Malcolm glanced over at his wife as she held their
daughter. Emma Jane was sound asleep in Lacy’s arms, her long black
lashes a standout against her creamy white skin. The child was a
beauty. Reaching over, he caressed the butter soft skin of her tiny
hand. Everyone thought their babies were beautiful but Emma Jane
truly was. From her ruby-pink lips to her full head of jet-black
hair, the girl was perfection. Like her mother, he thought, moving
his gaze from baby to woman.

Emma Jane was going to
grow up and look just like Lacy, their coloring identical. He hoped
so, anyway. Lacy was beautiful, inside and out. The layers of black
hair had grown out from her pixie cut, the ends textured into
points around her ivory-skinned neck. Despite living in a small
town, Lacy kept her appearance stylish, on the cutting edge of
fashion. The fitted royal blue halter dress and black strappy heels
were the bounty gained from a few quick trips to New York and Los
Angeles. But Lacy would look good in anything. Petite and curvy,
she was more beautiful than any glamorous model yet maintained her
country girl charm. And that’s what Lacy was, he mused. A country
girl, through and through. When family called, she answered. When
the going got rough, she dug in her heels and picked up a shovel.
Lacy was youthful, vivacious, yet strong as an ox and not afraid to
get dirty. Malcolm still couldn’t keep up with her when they hiked
up the mountain, but he enjoyed trying. Staring at her now, Malcolm
didn’t think anything would slow her down, not even baby number
two. Excitement rippled through him. “
What
about our travel
?” he’d asked her when she
broached the subject of a second child. She merely laughed.
“
Don’t think any babies are going to
slow
me
down
!”

He chuckled. Nothing slowed Lacy
down.

Glancing over at Felicity and Travis’
parents, Lacy whispered, “What’s so funny?”

“
Nothing.” This wasn’t the
time or place to be running through the positives in his life. Not
when Nick and Felicity were hurting so deeply. “I’m sorry, it was
just a fleeting thought I was entertaining. Listen...” He leaned
close, momentarily distracted by the rich perfume she wore.
Decadent, a supple blend of violet and suede, it was a
sophisticated woodsy floral and his absolute favorite. As he kissed
her near the ear, wisps of hair tickled his nose. “I need to get
back to the hotel. Will you be all right by yourself?” Ashley
hadn’t made it on account of Albert’s appointment running
long.

“
Of course.” She shooed
him off. “You go on. I’ll stay with Felicity.”

“
You don’t think she’ll
mind?” Malcolm asked.

Lacy summoned a quick smile and patted
his hand. “I don’t think she even knows you’re here. She won’t miss
you but I will.”

She winked and he pecked her cheek.
“Thanks.”

A nurse entered the room and Malcolm
rose, instantly wondering if they had news on Travis.

“
Mrs. Parker?” she asked
the room at large.

Travis’ mother raised her hand.
“That’s me.”

“
I have your son’s
things,” she informed her and walked over, handing Mrs. Parker a
white plastic bag imprinted with the hospital’s logo.

“
Thank you.” Mrs. Parker
set the bag in the chair beside her.

Felicity registered the delivery but
didn’t utter a word. In the center of silence and grief, Malcolm
had a sinking feeling. Had Travis died? Is that why they were
returning his possessions? When the nurse exited the room, Malcolm
hurried out after her. “Miss?” he asked, despite her obvious
forty-plus years of age. “Do you have any word on
Travis?”

Her eyes filled with the detached
compassion of a professional. “No, sir. His mother simply asked for
his things.”

“
Oh.” Relief floated in.
“Thanks.”

She smiled and continued down the
well-lit corridor, her rubber-soled shoes noiseless on the spotless
Linoleum flooring. Returning to the room, Malcolm wondered at the
contents of the bag. Was Travis’ phone inside? The photos he’d
taken were the only solid proof they had as to the identity of
Jeremiah’s cohorts. Malcolm wanted to run the images by Felicity
for a positive identification before taking them to the police, and
while he was sensitive to the timing, Malcolm knew the police would
need any and all evidence they had to make charges against Jeremiah
stick.

Approaching tentatively, Malcolm
called out softly, “Mrs. Parker?”

She looked up at him and the pain in
her gaze took a gash out of his heart. But Malcolm was on a mission
that would ultimately serve her son. The rationalization alleviated
the stab of guilt he felt at asking, “May I see if Travis’ cell
phone is in the bag?”

Mrs. Parker stared up at Malcolm while
her husband asked, “Why?”

“
I think there might be
evidence in the way of photos.” Darting a peek toward Felicity, he
said, “Travis used his phone to snap some pictures of Jeremiah.
There were two men with him. I’d like Felicity to take a look and
see if the men are the same two that were with him this
morning.”

Giving a silent okay, Mr. Parker
nudged his wife to check. She rifled through the bag and pulled out
a cell phone. “Here.” Mrs. Parker glanced over at Felicity and
Malcolm felt a strange tension pull. Then it occurred to him. Mrs.
Parker wasn’t blaming Felicity for what happened, was
she?

Shaking the absurd thought, Malcolm
took the phone from her and said, “Thank you.” It was insane for
him to even think it. Taking a seat by Felicity, he asked gently,
“Do you mind?”

She shook her head. Malcolm searched
Travis’ phone, scrolling through his photo album. When he located
the photos, he handed the phone to Felicity. “Were these the men
with Jeremiah?”

Peering at the image, she said, “Yes,
it looks like them.”

“
Can you zoom in on them,
just to be sure?” She’d only glanced at the photo and Malcolm
needed her to be sure. He wasn’t going to mention it to the police
if she wasn’t absolutely positive that these were the same
men.

As though surprised by his request,
Felicity did as he asked. Nodding, she said, “Yes, that’s
them.”

Lacy craned her head to look as
Felicity handed the phone back to Malcolm. “Thank you. I’m sorry to
ask, but this will help the police locate them.”

“
Let me see them,” Lacy
said.

Malcolm hesitated. Lacy was beautiful
and wonderful but she was also nosy.

“
C’mon, now.” She jabbed
out an open palm. “You never know if I might know them.”

Doubtful, considering she’d spent most
of her adult life living in Atlanta. But resigning himself to the
inevitable, he handed the phone to her. Why not? She was spending
her day sitting in a room doing nothing. Might as well give her
something to look at.

Lacy peered at the image, her blue
eyes those of an eagle honing in on its prey. Awkwardly she tried
to zoom in, but cradling Emma Jane in her arms was proving an
encumbrance. “Let me help you.” Reaching over, Malcolm took his
daughter from her mother’s arms.

Lacy released her child without
looking up, riveted to the small cell phone screen. “I’ve seen
these men before.”

Malcolm’s antennae shot up. “What?”
Hugging Emma Jane to his chest, he peered over her shoulder. “What
do you mean you’ve seen them before?”

“
Yes, yes.” Pressing her
lips together, she zoomed in on each man’s face as closely as she
could. She gnawed on her lower lip as if she thought staring hard
enough would force the recollection. “Yes!” she cried out, nodding
vigorously. As she flipped her heart-shaped face to his, Malcolm’s
heart took a leap. “I
thought
I saw Robby Ladd the other day.”

Malcolm gaped at her. “What are you
talking about?”

“
At the gas station, the
other day. I wasn’t sure at first. He looks so different with his
beard and mustache. But I remember having a funny feeling, like I
knew him from somewhere.” She glanced back at the image and nodded.
“But looking at it now, I’m sure of it. That’s Albert’s oldest boy,
Robby.”

Beside him, Felicity came to life.
“Uncle Albert’s sons?”

The Parkers had tuned in as
well.

“
Yes,” Lacy announced,
“but they’ve been gone for years. Word was, they robbed a gas
station and Billy was sent to juvie for it, but Robby ran out of
town.” She fixed her gaze on Malcolm and a pang of remorse swept
into her gaze. “It was around the same time I left town with
Jeremiah.”

Malcolm stiffened. “Jeremiah and these
guys were in trouble together back then?”

She nodded, darting a guilty glance
toward Felicity and the Parkers. “It was never proven and Jeremiah
denied it, but that was the story. He helped them with the robbery
and then left town. I wonder what they’re doing back?”

Wonder? Malcolm wanted to explode.
They were back in town on account of Jeremiah! “How do we find
them?” he asked her quickly. “Any idea?”

“
Oh, heaven’s no.” She
feathered a hand to her breast. “I haven’t heard or seen either one
of them since my move to Atlanta.”

“
They have any other
common friends?” Malcolm prompted, eager for any lead he could get.
“Men that Jeremiah and the Ladd brothers would know and connect
with?”

“
Not that I’m aware of. I
can ask Annie. Maybe she’d know, but as far as I can remember, the
boys were loners.”

“
Do you think Albert would
know?” Felicity asked, suddenly engaged in the
conversation.

Malcolm turned to her, a sleeping Emma
Jane rousing at his neck. “I doubt they’d contact their father,
especially if they’ve hooked up with Jeremiah.” Delicately prying
Emma Jane’s grip from his collar, he exchanged Emma Jane for the
camera. Energized by the new information, Malcolm stood. “I need to
get this to the police.” Now that he had a positive ID, it would be
possible for the police to draw a straight line between the Ladd
boys and the hair sample and prints they collected from his office.
Pecking Lacy’s head with a kiss, he said, “Thanks, sweetheart. You
might have busted the case wide open.”

She beamed, her blue eyes glittering
with happiness. “Oh, good!”

“
Call me when you know
something about Travis, will you?”

“
Of course,” she exclaimed
and wriggled her fingers. “Toodles!”

Malcolm strolled into the office, a
new vigor sweeping in with him. “We’ve got our first
lead.”

Cal glanced up from a letter in hand,
briskly re-folding it as he asked, “We do?”

“
Lacy positively
identified the two men Jeremiah has been meeting with.”

“
Who are they?”

“
Robby and Billy
Ladd.”

Cal’s mouth fell open. “Albert’s
boys?”

“
One and the
same.”

Tiny photo images mixed with a slew of
memories and Cal pieced the information together in his mind. He
recalled feeling like he’d seen the dark-haired men in beards
before, an uncanny sense that he knew them from somewhere. Turns
out he did. From twenty years ago. “Is she sure?”

Malcolm grinned. “Seems to
be.”

“
Well, I’ll be... Robby
and Billy.” A thought struck. “Does Albert know?”

“
I doubt it. According to
Lacy, the boys were estranged from their father. She said Jeremiah
used to tell her stories about how Albert took a belt to them when
they were kids and there was no love-loss between them. When she
left town with Jeremiah, Robby took off while Billy ended up in
jail.”

“
I think I remember
hearing something along those lines.” But Cal had never been close
with the Ladd brothers. He knew who they were to see them around
school, but that had been the extent of it. “How did they hook back
up with Jeremiah?”

Malcolm shrugged. “That’s a piece of
the puzzle yet to be solved. I’ve alerted the authorities to their
identity and approximate whereabouts. They should have them picked
up for questioning by sundown.”

Relieved, Cal said, “That’s good to
hear.”

“
Why don’t you go ahead
and get out of here,” Malcolm prodded. “You’ve got a daughter in
town who I imagine is anxious to see you.”

Cal smiled. “Thanks.” Collecting his
personal items, he slid the aged letter back into its envelope and
placed it in a slim leather portfolio. “If you need
anything—”

“
I know where to find
you,” Malcolm finished for him. Coming around behind the desk, he
swapped places with Cal, asking, “By the way, have you seen
Nick?”