Trumped Up Charges

“And Matilda is your mother’s housekeeper?”

So he had talked to the other officers. “Yes. Matilda Bastion. She’s worked for Mother for years. She’s practically part of the family.”

“Where is Matilda now?”

“At the hospital. When I couldn’t leave, she went to be with Mother.”

Thoughts of her mother attacked anew Hadley’s fragile hold on control. Janice was still in surgery, but unless they found the girls quickly, she’d have to be told about the abduction. As if cancer wasn’t enough to deal with.

“Who was going to watch your daughters while you were at the hospital this morning?”

“Matilda. They were excited about staying with her. She’s so good with them.”

“Does Matilda have a key to the house?”

Hadley nodded, but even in her fractured emotional state she could see where this was going. “Matilda had nothing to do with the abduction.”

“I’m just making sure we have the facts straight.”

Hadley checked her watch for the hundredth time that morning. It was five before twelve. Lunchtime for the girls. Were they hungry? Were they crying for her? Were they safe?

A new wave of anxiety coursed through her veins. “What kind of monster would take two little girls from their beds in the middle of the night?”

“I don’t know, but I can assure you that we’re doing everything in our power to find out.”

The doorbell rang. The jarring noise splintered Hadley’s rattled nerves. She hesitated for a heartbeat and then jumped up and ran to the door, praying it was a police officer bringing Lacy and Lila home.

She swung open the door and stared into the face of the last person she’d expected to see. Her muscles clenched. Resentment and old hurts attacked with dizzying force. Her hand clutched the door, ready to slam it in his face.

“Hadley.”

The sound of her name on his lips reached deep inside her, striking chords she didn’t want to acknowledge.

He opened his arms and her traitorous, angst-stricken body fell into the only port in this terrifying storm.

* * *

HADLEY’S HOT TEARS fell on Adam’s neck and rolled beneath the collar of his shirt. His reaction hit hard and fast, his senses reeling from the fragrance of her hair, the softness of her skin.

Damn. How could he think of that now? He was here to help. Start getting caught up in the good, the bad and the ugly of the past and that would be impossible.

A man about his age in navy blue slacks and a white sports shirt stepped into view behind Hadley. The girls’ father, no doubt, the man who’d swept Hadley off her feet and helped her move on in record time.

The one whose neck should be catching her tears.

Adam disentangled himself from Hadley quickly and extended a hand to the man.

“Adam Dalton. Hadley and I go way back. I heard about the abduction and came to see if I could do anything to help.”

“This is Detective Shelton Lane,” Hadley said.

So he wasn’t the husband. Still his handshake was far from friendly and his gaze and stance were clearly meant to be intimidating. Adam wasn’t fazed. It was hard to bully a former marine.

“How did you hear about the abduction?” Lane asked.

“It made the news.”

“No names were given in the AMBER release.”

“Police leak,” Adam quipped honestly. “You know how fast those travel.”

The detective scowled.

“I’m not here to interfere in the search,” Adam assured him. “I’m just here to offer my support. Do you have a problem with that?”

“I don’t, but it’s not my house.”

Adam turned back to Hadley. “I’d like to help if I can, but say the word and I’m out of here.”

“You’re here. You may as well stay. Maybe you can come up with something we haven’t.”

He doubted it. He knew about raiding terrorist hideouts and sneaking past enemy lines on craggy mountainsides. He knew nothing of tracking down a kidnapper of innocent children.

But then he did have a reputation for being a whiz at eking out danger.

Hadley led them to a small sitting room off the foyer.

“I’ll make some coffee,” she said.

The detective brushed her offer aside. “Can that wait? I only have a few more questions.”

“What good does it do to keep going over and over the same information? There’s nothing more I can tell you. If I had any idea who took Lacy and Lila, I’d have screamed his name the second you walked in or gone after the monster myself.”

Lane spread his hands in front of him, palms up. “I understand your frustration, Ms. O’Sullivan. But try to bear with me a few more minutes.”

The detective had referred to her by her maiden name. Odd, since she was married. But then the detective’s focus was surely on more important matters than getting her name straight.

“Any problem with my listening in?” Adam asked.

“That’s up to Ms. O’Sullivan.”

“Stay,” Hadley said. “Then you won’t have to ask the same questions when the detective leaves.” She dropped into an upholstered chair by the window and took a tissue from the box on the table.

The detective took a chair near Hadley’s. That left the sofa for Adam. Before they could get started, the detective’s phone rang.

“I need to take this in private,” he said, “but I’ll only be a minute.” He hurried out of the room.

“I hate to ask, but can you bring me up to speed?” Adam asked. “Just the basics for now.”