Sins of the Father (11 page)

“You think he was trying to help Datello
bring down the family?”

“I’m not saying that we have proof of that.
It seems like a distinct possibility. I don’t think Rick acted out
of conscience or that he wasn’t serious when he threatened to
implicate you in what he’d done. I do believe that he was loyal to
Datello and vice versa.”

I pushed the ice cream in front of Johnny
and scrubbed my hands over my face. “I can’t think about this
anymore. The
last
thing I want in my head right now is Rick
Hamilton.”

“I’m sorry, Helen. We can’t ignore part of
the case simply because it dredges up painful memories for
you.”

“We don’t have to make her sit through the
discussions, David. Sweetheart, you look exhausted. Why don’t you
go lay down and take a nap? It’s been an exhausting day for
you.”

“I’m still hungry.”

Johnny grinned. “It is almost lunch time.
What would you like?”

“Mexican, but I don’t have any –”

“We’ll go pick something up,” David offered.
“Johnny’s right, Helen. You look tired. We can pick this up later
after you’ve had a chance to rest and get something to eat.”

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Johnny said. He
walked with me into the bedroom and pulled back the blankets and
sheet from the bed. “Come on.”

I kicked off my shoes and crawled onto the
mattress. “You think this overwhelming fatigue will pass too?”

Johnny pulled my pants down to my pubic
bone. His fingers skimmed over my bared belly. He leaned over and
planted a succession of soft kisses. My back arched into the light
touch.

“Yeah?”

“We can’t. Not with David out there waiting
for you.”

His tongue circled my navel and wiped away
my rational objections. I whimpered and dug my fingers through the
hair at the back of his scalp.

“Think we might finally get our wedding
night?”

“Yes,” I said. “Right now.”

“That would take far too long.” Johnny’s
mouth nibbled its way higher.

I ripped the buttons open on my blouse while
his hand disappeared beneath the stretchy Lycra that encased my
hips. His teeth clamped onto one nipple through a lacy bra. I
almost shot off the bed.

“Easy,” he murmured. “How about I take the
edge off for you now, and we can take our time later tonight?”

Johnny’s fingers already slipped between
slick folds of flesh and inflicted exquisite pleasure. His other
hand kneaded my tender breast. Johnny captured the cry from my
throat in his mouth and moaned softly.

“That’s it, baby. Let it go.”

Indeed, I had no other choice. My muscles
seized before turning to the consistency of spongy mush. Johnny’s
lips wandered to my ear. “Are you all right?”

“Mmm. Completely.”

His whiskers tickled my flesh. “Sleep. I’ll
come wake you when we get back with lunch.”

“Not Mexican.”

“I thought you wanted –”

“Spicy Thai noodles.”

Johnny chuckled. “I’ll get both. God forbid
you change your mind again before I get home.”

My arms tightened around him suddenly.
“Johnny?”

“Yeah, sweetheart.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said. “Get some
rest.”

I waited until I heard the front door close
before I flew out of the bed and started tossing clothes into a
small bag inside the closet. Not too many. Nothing that Johnny
would notice was missing.

In the back of my closet, I retrieved my
Plan B documents – driver’s licenses, passports, ungodly amount of
cash, untraceable pre-paid cell phones and the clothing I would
wear in less than fifteen minutes.

I ran to the bathroom and jerked open
drawers until I found what I was looking for. With a handful of
hair, I started cutting without regard for style. Piles of shorn
locks soon floated in the toilet. The sobering glimpse of my face
in the mirror snagged my attention for a moment. I reached out and
touched it.

“My God. I could
be
Crevan.”

Snap out of it, Helen. We don’t have time
for this.

I threw the scissors in the drawer and
slammed it shut. Next, the glue. I slathered it haphazardly on
cheeks, chin and partway down my neck. I patted the light
sprinkling of a false beard, darker than the stringy blond wig I’d
soon don, over the tacky adhesive.

Back to the closet, I retrieved one final
box. Heavy bastard. I could’ve used this when I was trying to
convince everyone that I was putting on weight quickly. I shimmied
into the latex suit designed to add inches to my flat belly and
toothpick thighs. The image in the full length mirror in the closet
revealed someone who looked like they were suffering from the
swollen belly and wasted limbs of late stage liver disease. No time
to debate if the costume was convincing. I pulled on a pair of
oversize jeans and a t-shirt, which I quickly covered with an open
flannel number. Next came the wig.

I surveyed the disguise.

It wasn’t the most convincing man I’d ever
seen, but it looked nothing like Helen Eriksson. Eriksson
Orion.

No, this wasn’t the plan that was first and
foremost in my head. I didn’t have one. That was part of the
problem. When Johnny suggested that we bring David back out to work
the case, I had little choice but to step up my timetable. It
didn’t matter if Maya had my test results back or not. I couldn’t
risk anyone finding out what Gillette really said to me. What if he
wasn’t the only one who knew the truth? He had partners after all,
two of whom were currently held in custody at Bay County
Correctional.

I pulled the wedding band off my left finger
and slipped it between the grates on the forced air duct on the
closet floor. “Forgive me, Johnny.”

Totally unfair. He’d worry like crazy that
I’d been abducted again. Even though he knew the truth of what I’d
really done to Rick Hamilton, I knew he could never forgive what I
was about to do. Understand it? Maybe. Never forgive it.

How could I allow my father to be punished
for giving me a better life than I could’ve ever had with the
biological family that should’ve raised me? How could I have
allowed him to suffer all these years behind bars when I alone had
the ability to stop that travesty from taking place at all?

Last step. I pulled the MacBook, with all
the evidence of who I had to become and how I facilitated it, out
of its hiding place over the past couple of months. I quickly
filled the bathtub with water and mounds of bubble bath. I ran to
the kitchen and grabbed one of the frozen shakes we kept stocked in
the freezer and hurried back to the enormous whirlpool tub.

I sucked on the straw in the shake until my
left eye throbbed in protest from too much cold fluid sluicing down
my throat.

The laptop perched on the edge of the
tub.

I shoved it into the water, shrieked when
sparks flew. I dropped the milkshake on the floor, kicked it across
the room. With a small travel bag slung over my shoulder, I dashed
through the house, overturning chairs, knocking lamps to the floor.
He wouldn’t expect me to go quietly. Not a chance. I flung the
front door open and depressed the button on the control panel that
would open the gate.

I strolled off my property without looking
back. When I set this plan into motion in January, when I was
afraid Johnny would remember too much about our past and be less
than forgiving, the first thing I did was purchase a reliable used
car. It was stored in the much emptied storage facility that still
housed some of my belongings from Georgetown.

Johnny had no idea.

I headed off in a direction I knew would not
cause our paths to inadvertently cross on his way home from
bringing both Thai and Mexican food, and pulled out the cell
phone.

City Taxi Service made their number
unforgettable. All sixes. I doubted that Johnny was at his first
restaurant by the time I crawled into the back of the car that
picked me up from a forested street corner not far from my
home.

I gave the address in a low mumble and stuck
ear buds in place. Though I listened to nothing but the taxi driver
on his cell phone, it was intended to discourage him from talking
to me. Turned out he had no interest in chatting with the
customer.

Excellent. Society’s lack of interest in
total strangers could only aid my plan. My ugly disguise would help
too. Just fringe enough to keep people away, but not so
objectionable that I’d stick out like a sore thumb.

If only the rest of the plan could go this
smoothly.

By the time I got to the storage facility
and shoved a crisp wad of cash over the front seat, I was convinced
that this had a chance. I put the consequences for success or
failure out of my mind.

In other words, Darkwater Bay could never be
my home again. I severed the emotional twinge that throbbed outward
from my heart.

Johnny Orion was better off without me. If I
hadn’t proven that before, surely now he would understand,
especially when it was too late for him to stop what had to be
done.

Chapter 10

I was out of Darkwater Bay almost at high
noon. It was just under fifteen hours by the time I reached my
destination by car. First task was sleep. I holed up in a cheap
hotel near LAX and paid with cash and took a power nap. Before
moving to the next phase of the plan, I’d abandon the car – and my
first disguise – after picking up more money from a bank in Beverly
Hills. The only feminine article of clothing rolled up into my bag
was a lightweight sweater, cropped pants, sandals and a black wig,
the next change of girly clothes would have to be purchased. I
could withdraw five thousand dollar increments all across the
United States without raising any banking red flags. My offshore
bank had been informed to expect sudden activity.

Johnny had no clue that this account existed
at all. I told people my father was wealthy from an inheritance. It
was true. But he was stinking rich because of his business dealings
outside the law. How could I tell Johnny that we were living off my
father’s mountain of ill-gotten gains plus interest? He could claim
dirty hands until the stars fell. One thing I knew for certain.
Johnny Orion had no idea what being a real criminal looked
like.

By mid-morning, I had the car parked where
it was sure to be towed quickly. Even if local police managed to
trace it to Johnny or Darkwater Bay, they’d find no forensic
evidence that would prove I had been inside it. For all intents and
purposes, I simply vanished without a trace.

Maya’s threat to come clean if I didn’t keep
her informed of the plan was the only snag I could conceive.

I pulled out one of the disposable cell
phones and dialed the number for her office.

“Winslow.”

“Maya, it’s me.”

“Oh my God! Where are you? Johnny is out of
his mind –”

“I’m keeping you informed,” I cut off her
tirade immediately. “Remember our bargain, Maya. Believe me, what
I’m doing must be done. Either Johnny gets over it or he doesn’t.
Either you’re really my friend and keep your promise, or we’re done
talking right now. You decide.”

“Jesus, Helen. You can’t put me in a
position like this.”

“I can and I am.”

“How can you do this to him?” she hissed.
“He loves you, Helen. I thought you loved him too! Is this because
you’re freaking out about the pregnancy?”

“Of course not. This is serious business. I
think I know who abducted me when I was born, Maya. If Johnny found
out what I was doing, he’d try to stop me. I will not be stopped.
Do you understand what I’m saying? Andy Gillette told me that I was
already sold. He was merely facilitating the
second
sale.
I’m not sitting around waiting until I’m nine months pregnant and
more vulnerable than ever to put an end to this nonsense once and
for all. Do you understand how serious this is?”

“Of course I do, but honey, Johnny can
protect you. He can make sure that –”

“I barely escaped yesterday. Do you think
this was what I wanted? Thank God I know how to defend myself or
God only knows where I’d be right now.”

“Shit. Then… then someone really came after
you again?”

“Yes,” I lied. “Please, Maya. I’ll stay in
touch with you, but you’ve got to promise me that you’ll keep what
I’m doing quiet. Who knows? Maybe Johnny will focus his efforts on
getting the guy who’s been pulling the strings all along. I need
you now. I won’t know what’s going on in Darkwater Bay if you don’t
keep me in the loop.”

“I understand.”

I could almost see her nodding consent.
Foolish woman.

“Listen to me very carefully. I may not
always be able to contact you by phone. I’ll try to send text
messages to your cell phone or email from an untraceable account.
The last thing I want to do is make you a co-conspirator should
Johnny blow a gasket when this thing is over.”

“Helen –”

“Maya, it has to be this way. He’s too close
to the situation to be objective. Sometimes they’re the ones who
need protection most of all.”

“I don’t know about this. It seems to me
that you’d be much safer here. Helen, the FBI is looking for you,
for God’s sake. They won’t just look locally.”

“Believe me. David could walk past me right
now and wouldn’t recognize me. I know what I’m doing. This is the
only way to stay out of the clutches of whoever is trying to kidnap
me, Maya. I’ve got to stay off the grid. That includes Johnny’s and
the FBI’s radar. Please help me. I can do this alone, but it’d be a
lot safer with your help.”

Silence stretched.

“Please.”

“How will I know it’s you contacting
me?”

I released a silent sigh. “The email will
look like spam. I’ll try to let you know that way when to expect my
calls. I need you to keep me abreast of Johnny’s investigation into
Terrell Sanderfield.”