Chapter thirteen #2
“I was chatting with a friend of mine who’s the intake nurse at the hospital where I worked at the time when a cop came in flashing Amber’s picture,” Adrian said.
“He asked if we’d admitted anyone who looked like her.
He spun a story that she had mental health challenges, had gone missing, and her husband was looking for her.
To be fair, he was a beat cop, probably believed the story, but I knew the truth. ”
“Was there any press coverage of her going missing?” Ryan asked.
Adrian shook her head. “Again, friends with the police chief. They kept it all very quiet.”
“And it was then we realized that Zoe really needed to stay a secret,” Clara said. “Anthony is the type of worthless horse manure that if he ever got his hands on her, he’d use her as leverage to get Amber back. And we didn’t want either of these ladies to ever set foot in his presence again.”
Amber sniffed. He grabbed a tissue from the box and handed it to her. She looked up at him with a watery smile and murmured a thank-you.
“So we made a plan,” Adrian said. “I moved back home to help. We set Zoe up in her own room and gave her all the care we could. Although by then, she was strong and catching up to her adjusted age fast. I put some feelers out to folks who I thought might know who could have helped Amber and started the long, slow process of tracking her down.” She paused, then added, “I also have a friend who works at a free maternal and child health center that doesn’t require papers.
Zoe doesn’t have a birth certificate, but she’s had all the checkups and vaccines she should for her age. ”
“Your notes suggested there’s danger now,” Juan said. “Has something changed?”
Adrian cast Amber an apologetic look. “Sorry about the notes sounding so ominous. We assumed you knew you had a little girl, so would know who we were talking about.”
“We also weren’t sure of your situation and thought it would be better to talk on the phone first,” Clara chimed in.
“And we thought it best to stay mostly out of sight. We don’t think anyone’s been following us, and we’ve been careful with our phones, only using the burner, but we didn’t come this far to make a stupid mistake. ”
“Like be seen on the street talking to you,” Adrian said. “As to what’s changed,” she continued, returning to his question, “three months ago, Anthony saw her. Saw Zoe.”
Clara nodded, setting her drink down. “I had her out at a park a couple of towns over and when I got home, the lawn service guy hadn’t pulled his truck all the way in, so I parked on the street.
Until then, we’d done a good job of keeping her out of sight of everyone in the neighborhood.
We didn’t play in the front yard, we always parked in the garage and made sure the door was closed before taking her out, those sorts of things.
But that day, I had to get her out of the car on the street. ”
“And it just happened to be the same day Anthony was talking to a contractor about repaving his driveway,” Adrian said.
“He saw me. Saw us. From a distance, but close enough to see Zoe’s resemblance to you,” Clara picked back up. “I don’t know that he knew, but he paused in talking to the contractor, and I felt his beady little evil eyes tracking me. I could practically feel his calculation.”
“Once again, we found ourselves making plans,” Adrian said.
“I never stopped poking around and asking questions in the hopes of identifying the group who helped you, but I’d been cautious about it, wanting to protect your identity and Zoe’s existence as much as possible,” she said, nodding to Amber.
“After that day, we didn’t have the luxury of taking such precautions. ”
“The time for that had passed,” Clara said with a nod. “Finding you was the best chance of keeping Zoe safe. We figured between your claim to her, our knowledge of what happened, and, if you needed it, our money, we could fight Anthony and keep both of you away from him.”
“What happened next was a series of trains, buses, and one very long road trip,” Adrian said.
“But before we left, Adrian picked one nurse she trusted and told her everything,” Clara said. “She worked on our behalf to find the people who helped you, then put it through the grapevine that we needed to contact you.”
“We traveled around somewhat aimlessly while nothing happened,” Adrian said.
“I assume our story was being verified, though, because somewhere in Georgia, we got the information that you’d been brought to California.
Whether you were still here or had left and moved somewhere else on your own, my friend couldn’t tell me, but we decided to buy an old RV to make our way west. We were in Montana when we learned you’d settled in Mystery Lake. ”
“As luck would have it, on our first night here, I saw you at the Dirty Boom,” Clara said. “I’d stopped in to get us some takeout and saw you park and walk inside.”
“That’s when you left the first note on Amber’s car,” Juan said. Clara inclined her head.
“You don’t believe you’ve been followed, but do you think Anthony Ely will come after you?” Ryan asked. “After Zoe?”
“He’s the kind of man who doesn’t like to lose, and Amber slipping away would be unacceptable to him, so yes, he wouldn’t think twice about using Zoe to get back what he believes is his,” Clara said.
“But you should know, Chief, that what Anthony did to Amber and Zoe isn’t the only thing that makes him human scum.
We’re pretty sure he’s mixed up in something big, something ugly and dangerous. ”
“Care to explain?” Ryan said.
Clara glanced at her daughter, who nodded. “Over the past year, about a dozen people have visited Anthony at his house. And within a week of those visits, someone close to them has died.”