Chapter 9
9
Noel walked back into the house. Sucking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, she calmed her tumultuous thoughts. Then she walked directly to Pamela. The woman was clutching her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks. Pamela wasn’t paying attention to Roger, who was still in the kitchen and being attended to by Horticia. Mike paced the floor, his phone pressed to his ear, but she couldn’t hear what he said. She assumed he was talking to the Fugates.
Blowing out another cleansing breath, she placed her hand on Pamela’s shoulder as she sat beside her. “Pamela, we’re going to find Tad and Penny?—”
Pamela wailed again, and Noel tried a different tactic. She shook the crying woman’s shoulder. “Pamela, I know you’re upset, but you must realize how this looks.”
Pamela turned her red and swollen eyes to Noel. Her brow furrowed as she shook her head. “What do you mean?”
“You essentially kidnapped your children from their father's home in Montana and brought them to Jamaica.”
“I didn’t kidnap my own children. It was my weekend to have them, and I asked Stan if we could spend a week on vacation, and he refused, saying they needed to attend school. I’m sick and tired of having to ask my ex-husband for permission to be with my kids.”
Noel slowly shook her head. “That’s not all you did. You didn’t just bring Tad and Penny on a vacation. You sent a message to your husband, telling him that if he wanted the kids to come back, he needed to pay.”
Pamela scrunched her mouth to the side, but she remained quiet.
“And Stan said the only way you’d get the money was to sign your visitation rights away. You agreed. That sounds like you decided to sell your kids.”
Pamela rocked with her arms tightly wrapped around her waist. “I love my kids. And they’re old enough to tell their father they want to spend time with me. I never felt like I was signing my rights away. I agreed that I wouldn’t take them without his permission anymore.”
“Bullshit!”
Pamela and Noel jumped simultaneously at the sound of Mike’s harsh outburst.
“They told me exactly what you said. And you knew we came with the paperwork. You were signing away your visitation with them—no more weekends or weeks. So don’t pretend how much you love and care about your kids,” he bit out.
“I do love them!” Pamela argued. “I just didn’t like having to go through Stan for everything. I’m sick and tired of dealing with his shit.”
“Should have thought of that before you banged one too many pool boys?—”
“Stop it!” Noel ordered. She wasn’t sure Mike would listen or be used to taking orders from a woman. But he closed his mouth and turned to walk to the windows overlooking the beach. Looking back toward Pamela, she said, “You can look at this situation however you want to put yourself in the best light. I can tell you that there was nothing maternal about your actions. You took your kids out of the country even if you say it was for vacation. You took them without permission from their dad, who has physical custody. And then you negotiated a deal with him for them to return to the States. And that deal was that you would receive a large amount of money. I’m telling you right now, Pamela, no judge in the country will believe your story. I guess Mike had it right. I’m calling bullshit, too.”
“Okay! Okay!” Pamela cried. “But I never harmed my children. We came here for a vacation, and yes, I wanted money. After being in that family for almost thirteen years, I’m tired of putting up with their bullshit, too. I was pushed around in the divorce and forced to?—”
“You were not pushed out of marriage, but you had multiple affairs that were well-documented,” Noel pressed.
“Don’t kid yourself,” Pamela sneered. “Stan was far from a perfect husband.”
Noel’s patience snapped, her voice sharp and cutting through the tense air. “You’re not getting this! This is not about your marriage. This is not about you and Stan. This is not about whether or not you’ve spent your alimony and want more. This is about you acting in a way that was not in the children’s best interest. And you will be the first person the police look at when trying to figure out what happened to Tad and Penny.”
Pamela’s lips parted as if to protest, but the weight of Noel’s words seemed to finally sink in. The fight drained from her, and a ragged breath escaped her lips. Her eyes shimmered with tears, her shoulders sagging. “I promise,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I had nothing to do with this. I swear, I don’t know what happened to them. I just want my kids back.”
Noel softened slightly but kept her tone firm. “Then no more excuses, no more lies. If you want to help your children, you need to be honest with me.”
Pamela nodded, a tear slipping down her cheek. “Okay... what do you want to know?”
“I want to know why Roger is here. Is he your significant other? Is he your boyfriend? Is he just someone you hang out with? Did he know ahead of time what your plans were? Is this something you planned with him? Did he know you would ask for more money on this trip? Did he know that you planned to shake Stan down for more money and use your kids?”
Pamela’s voice hitched. “Roger is my… lover. But also a friend. He gets me… understands what it’s like to always want what we deserve. We’re not exclusive, but… he’s fun.” She shrugged. “We like each other.”
“Whose idea was it to come to Jamaica?”
Before Pamela could answer, the door creaked open, and Landon stepped back into the room. His presence filled the space, his eyes immediately seeking out Noel’s. She stood, turning to face him, her question hanging in the air as she waited for the results of his investigation. His expression was unreadable, but a tension in his posture made her heart pound.
“What did you find?” she asked softly, her gaze locked on his, searching for answers in the depths of his eyes.
He shook his head. “There are prints in the sand that follow what Horticia said. Three larger booted tracks coming from the east. Then all of those except Horticia’s footprints go back toward the jungle. I can tell there was a struggle?—”
Pamela whimpered, and Noel plopped back onto the sofa next to her.
Landon continued, “The police arrived and are on the beach searching. I talked to the chief. He only had two men he could spare. He agreed that I should work the case and report our findings to them.”
Noel glanced outside, hearing the wind pick up. The water in the distance was now choppy whitecaps, and the clouds were a darker gray than when they’d flown in. The rain had not started, but she instinctively knew they wouldn’t make their flight back to the States before the storm hit. The kids are out in this. Oh God, keep them safe.
“Noel?”
She jumped at Landon calling her name. “Sorry. I was… sorry.”
“I asked if any new information had come in from here.”
Noel cut her eyes toward Pamela before turning her attention back to Landon. “I was just asking Pamela more questions.”
“And?”
“I asked about Roger… if he knew her plans or was in on her plans to come here with the children. Or even if he knew of her plans to fleece Stan.”
“I didn’t!” Pamela cried. “I was telling you that Roger is my friend. He wanted me to ask for more time down here just so we could enjoy it like we did last time.”
“Did he know about your plans?” Noel pressed. She glanced at Landon again, finding his attention riveted on her.
“Yes,” Pamela barely whispered.
“Whose idea was it?”
Pamela lifted a trembling hand to her brow, her face contorted in anguish. “I… well… I’m not sure. We talked about wanting to come to Jamaica for a vacation. I hadn’t thought about bringing the kids.”
Noel looked toward Landon, and he nodded, so she continued to press. “When did your plans change?”
Lifting a hand to her brow, Pamela winced. “Um… I can’t… I don’t… I want my children back?—”
Mike stepped closer, and Noel’s gaze shot to him. “You should have thought of that before you tried to sell them to their dad.” His voice was as hard as a rock, and his expression was just as unyielding. He was now leaning over the two women sitting on the sofa.
“Back up,” Noel ordered, anger flowing through her veins. “You’re not helping to find the children you care so much about.”
The tension crackled in the air, thick and suffocating. Tad and Penny were out there somewhere, and every wasted second felt like a blow to Noel’s resolve. Just as Mike seemed ready to push further, a furious Landon intervened, yanking him back with a firm grip.
“Move away, man. If we want those kids back and safe, then we’ve got to know what the fuck we’re dealing with. I’m working with my people, and Noel’s doing great getting Pamela to talk. If you can’t help, go somewhere, sit down, and shut up.”
Mike's sneer turned into a grimace. “I love those kids…”
“Then stop interfering,” Landon ordered.
Mike turned and walked over to the sliding door, then onto the porch. Noel nodded at Landon, then glanced at Horticia in the kitchen, bandaging Roger’s head. Her gaze remained on them momentarily, their mannerisms seeming closer than she would have expected. She jerked suddenly as Landon moved closer. Turning back to Pamela, she kept her voice soft but firm. “If you want your children back, you have to start talking. When did your plans change? Whose idea was it to bring the kids along?”
Pamela's gaze seemed to focus. “I wanted to bring the kids. They live at the ranch and are always doing things there. I live in a condo now, and while there is a pool, a park, and tennis courts, there’s not as much for them to do.” She scoffed. “At this age, they’re so active that when I have them, I can’t compete with their life with their dad.” Her face started to crumple.
Noel jumped in again. “You asked for a week, then decided to bring them for the weekend. Why? And whose idea was it to threaten Stan that you would keep them here? Which is a really half-baked idea… surely you had to have known that.”
“It was mine! Okay? It was my idea!” Noel jumped as Roger walked into the room, his forehead bandaged and blood stains still covering his collar where it had dripped.
“What was the plan?” Landon asked, moving closer to the young man whose face was contorted with either pain, fear, or anger… or a combination of all those emotions.
“She came back from asking Stan if the kids could come for a week and was upset. She was getting the kids for the weekend anyway, so I told her we should just come on and bring the kids with us. They could at least have a weekend here.”
“How did a weekend getaway, which the father didn’t agree to, turn into an extortion plan to offer giving up visitation rights for money?” Landon continued.
Noel watched Pamela closely. She was more interested in the mom’s reaction to Roger’s words than in what he had to say. Pamela stared at Roger with confusion, tilting her head to the side.
“When we arrived yesterday, Pamela was happy, and the kids seemed to have a good time. I told her that she ought to let Stan know where the kids were, and… I kinda joked that she could tell him that if he wanted them back, he’d need to up her alimony.”
Noel swung her gaze over to see Roger grab the back of his neck, shrug, and look down at his feet. “I don’t know… the idea just kind of bloomed from there. We’d been drinking, and she called Stan while the kids were sleeping. It was… it just happened from there.”
Pamela’s eyes widened, and her lips pressed together. Noel watched Roger who was now staring at Pamela with an almost pleading little-boy expression. Horticia walked into the room, her face splotchy from crying, but her eyes boring straight into the back of Roger’s head.
Then Pamela’s phone rang, and everyone’s gazes jumped to the device vibrating on the coffee table. She looked down and shook her head. “I don’t recognize the number.”
Noel stood quickly and moved to Landon’s side. Looking at him, she whispered, “What’s next?”