I"m not speaking ill of the dead. I could imagine being in Sammi"s shoes, living in that house, a lifetime of Janie and her abuse, trapped in a nowhere town where everyone expects you to end up a drunken wh.o.r.e like your mother and her mother before her. G.o.d gave Sammi one a.s.set: beauty. She"d be a fool not to use it, and Sammi was no fool just a screwed-up kid with dreams of escaping the future everyone predicted for her.
So who would want Destiny? Trent Drayton"s parents. After all, she was their granddaughter, white-trash mommy or not. How many times had they been to town since last fall and accidentally b.u.mped into Sammi and their granddaughter? Seen her in worn hand-me-downs and a rusty stroller? Seen her going in and out of that hovel Sammi called home? With Sammi, Destiny had the most loving and attentive mother a child could want, but people like Frank and Lauren Drayton wouldn"t see that. They"d see their flesh and blood growing up in poverty.
Sure, they could give Sammi some money and set her up in Peterborough, where they lived. But that would mean dealing with Sammi herself, treating her like a real person.
Taking Destiny legally was tricky. They"d need to prove Sammi was an unfit mother, which she wasn"t. In the end, the Draytons would probably blow a huge wad of cash on legal fees only to be court-ordered to follow option one: providing for Sammi and her baby.
Why not spend that money on a more permanent solution? Get rid of Sammi for good, make it look like she"d run away, then tell the authorities that she"d handed Destiny to them on her way to a new life. Get some legal doc.u.ments quietly drawn up, pay Janie to sign over her rights, and, boom, Frank and Lauren Drayton have adopted a beautiful baby girl.
I"d like to think no one would ever do such a thing. But I know better. There are people out there right now trying to find out how they can hire a hitman for jobs just like this. Got a problem? Put a bullet through it.
By seven, I was pulling out of the driveway heading to Peterborough.
Chapter Thirteen.
Finding the Drayton home required nothing more than locating an area phone book. At a population of 130,000, Peterborough was still the kind of city where its wealthiest residents didn"t fear putting their full names and addresses in the White Pages.
Locally, the Draytons were a big name. They owned Drayton Windows and Doors a manufacturing plant that was one of the city"s leading employers. By leading, I mean in terms of number of residents employed, not in wages or working conditions. I had a regular guest who worked at Drayton"s factory and, for him and his wife, a weekend at the Red Oak was their only vacation. The nonunionized plant paid ten bucks an hour, a mere two dollars over the provincial minimum wage. Benefits included a discount on factory seconds and not much else.
Given the working conditions, one could a.s.sume that business was struggling and their only choice was to pay these low wages or shut down and put everyone out of work. But, having seen the Draytons" cottage, I strongly suspected their year-round residence wasn"t going to be a modest bungalow.
The address led me a few kilometers beyond the official city limits. A stone wall marked the boundary between road and estate, but it wasn"t more than three feet high for show, not for privacy. No gate blocked the driveway. A metal grille was embedded at the end of the cement drive to keep the free-roaming horses in. On either side of the drive, a large bra.s.s plaque proclaimed The Draytons. If I lived in a place like this and kept my employees hovering on the poverty line, I"d be ashamed to put my name on the mailbox. But that"s just me.
Beyond the gates, a lawn stretched over several acres. In the middle were two ponds, separated by a wooden bridge. In one, a fountain jetted into the sky. The other had a gazebo and a wooden dock with a paddle boat. Yes, the pond was big enough for a paddle boat.
Horses roamed free in the yard. Seeing that, I felt the first sting of envy. Not that I"m a horse person. I ride now and then, and have even considered rescuing a couple of dog-food-bound nags for the lodge, but I wouldn"t count horse-ownership among my lifelong dreams. And, being practical, I"m not sure I"d want horses and horse s.h.i.t in my front yard. Still, seeing the horses roaming free, it was like the picture-perfect image of wealthy country living, the kind you only see in Lotto 6/49 ads.
Behind the ponds, at the end of the winding concrete driveway, stood the house a two-story stone country manor with a wraparound porch and huge bay windows. L-shaped, it was set at a forty-five-degree angle to the road, so the full size was proudly displayed to anyone drooling from his car.
To be fair, I should point out that the Draytons were renowned philanthropists in Peterborough. Every year, their company donated an entire thousand dollars to the United Way. And at Christmas, according to my guests, they held an employee skating party on their ponds and served free hot chocolate and day-old donuts. For this event, they rented Port-a-Poos, so no snowy-booted kids traipsed through the house. I understood the precaution. If I was an employee, I"d find as many excuses as possible to use the indoor washroom, accidentally spill hot chocolate on the Oriental carpet, and mash jelly donut on the spa towels.
Next door to the Drayton estate, a gravel driveway led to an empty lot separated from the estate by a stand of pines. I drove up it and parked behind the trees. From here, you could see that the driveway had once led to a house. The bones of the foundation poked up beneath a blanket of sod, like a prehistoric skeleton waiting to be unearthed. A small house, not more than a thousand square feet. Not exactly the Draytons" ideal neighbors, I"m sure. They"d probably bought out the residents and demolished the house.
My plan was simple: break in and look for signs of a baby. Like I"ve said, I didn"t know much about babies, except that they needed their own special everything, from car seats to beds to bathing products. Breaking into the Drayton home, though, would be a big step up from illegally entering the Ernst residence. You spend this kind of money on a house and you might as well advertise in the Thieves Home Journal: Thieves Home Journal: "Hey, we got stuff, and lots of it," meaning the Draytons probably couldn"t even get insurance without an alarm system. "Hey, we got stuff, and lots of it," meaning the Draytons probably couldn"t even get insurance without an alarm system.
Whatever the security features, though, I couldn"t wait until dark. At night, Frank Drayton and the kids would be home. I needed to get in now and see proof that they had Destiny.
The house and garage backed onto forest, remnants of the former conservation area. All the lawn was up front, where people could admire it. The problem with this, as any security-conscious person could tell you, was that all an intruder had to do was cut through the forest and come out within a few feet of the Draytons" back door.
Minutes later, I was behind their garage, which was a miniature of the house, complete with large windows along the sides and back. Security tip number two: do not put windows on a garage. Why would you? Do you read the morning paper in there? All you"ve done is provide window-shopping for the casual thief. One glimpse inside the garage a.s.sured me that there were no cars present, which meant no one was home, the Draytons not being a one-car kind of family.
Getting past the security system was easy. They had one that kept people from opening the doors, but didn"t do jack s.h.i.t for the big bay windows at the back, left open on this sunny spring day.
I selected the back window farthest from the garage-side door and pulled on a pair of latex gloves. When the screen was out, I pushed the window up as far as it would go, hoisted myself inside, then replaced the screen and closed the window to the six-inch opening.
I inhaled and looked around. I was in a main-floor laundry, with the kitchen to my right.
On the drive, I"d compiled a mental list of all the baby items I could think of. If the Draytons hadn"t gone public with their new baby yet, they might hide the obvious things like a crib or baby toys, but could easily slip up when it came to dirty clothing or bottles. A quick flip through the laundry baskets revealed no obvious baby clothes, so I moved on to the kitchen.
I checked the dishwasher for bottles, and the fridge and cupboards for baby food.
From the kitchen I moved through the dining room, doing a quick visual scan for any kind of feeding chair, then into the living room and family room, searching for toys or a playpen. In the center of the family room I stopped and inhaled. For someone unaccustomed to babies, the scent is obvious, be it spit-up or a wet diaper or baby shampoo and talc.u.m powder. Here I smelled only wood cleaner, potpourri, and stale popcorn.
Next stop: the home office. I shuffled through papers, memos, and recent check stubs. While a check written to a hitman would clinch it nicely, no one would be stupid enough to leave such a thing lying around. What I looked for was anything with a baby connection adoption forms or a receipt for baby supplies or the scribbled number of a local judge. When nothing suspicious popped up, I headed for the stairs.
The pin-neat bed and light layer of dust on the sports trophies told me the first bedroom belonged to Trent.
I glanced in the en suite bathroom, then moved on. The next hall door led to a walk-in closet with more towels and linens than we kept for the whole lodge, but no baby supplies. On to the main bath, where I checked for baby shampoos or diapers.
Across from the bathroom was another bedroom, this one belonging to a teenage girl. Trent"s sister. Again, I performed only a basic survey, in case a stray infant toy had been dropped behind the bed or in the suite. Nothing.
I looked more carefully in the guest room, in case they were using it as a makeshift nursery. No crib, no baby linens, no empty bottle kicked under the bed. And no baby smell.
The door across the hall was closed. I touched the handle, then noticed the master suite at the end of the hall. This room must belong to the younger brother. I"d have more luck with the master suite, so I moved on for now.
In Frank and Lauren"s bedroom, I checked all the places someone could stash notes and receipts and scribbled phone numbers. No sign of a baby or anything connected to babyhood or adoption. I pulled a chair to the closet and looked on the top shelf.
Finally, standing on the chair, looking at stacks of dusty photo alb.u.ms, I had to admit it. There was no baby here. My brain popped back with "yes, but you could check bank records, phone records..." I was grasping at straws, unwilling to relinquish my one and only idea. I should have thought it through A noise cut me off in midthought. Not a car in the drive or a key turning in a door lock. A toilet flushing.
Chapter Fourteen.
Rule one of breaking and entering: check the G.o.dd.a.m.ned house for people.
The first tingle of alarm quickly evaporated. I wanted answers? Here was my source. I knew the Draytons had Destiny. What better proof than a confession? The toilet flush had come from downstairs. Either Lauren had returned, or she"d never left. As I crept to the hall doorway, I pulled out my gun. Then I concentrated on listening.
Footsteps padded across the hardwood floor. I ran a quick mental inventory on my knapsack. None of my supplies could be used for binding, but I"d seen bandage rolls in the main bathroom. They"d do.
A squeak came from below. A chair being reclined. Perfect. Lauren was relaxing, probably with a book or magazine, enjoying her morning coffee. I could slip up behind, put the gun to her head, and she"d never see me. I"d take the bandages, but only as a last resort. With someone like Lauren, the cold steel of a gun pressing against the back of her neck would be enough.
I took three steps toward the main bathroom.
"Mom?"
My heart slammed into my throat and I stopped so fast my shoe squeaked on the wood.
"Mom!" A racking cough, then a muttered, "How long does it take her to pick up medicine?"
The younger son, home from school, sick. No problem. He"d still know what happened to Destiny. I"d just The image flashed in my mind. Pressing the gun to the head of a teenage boy.
My G.o.d, what was I thinking?
I took a deep breath.
Destiny wasn"t here. If she was, I would have found something. She wasn"t here and the Draytons probably didn"t have anything to do with her disappearance, and I"d been ready to hold a teenage boy at gunpoint to prove it.
I crept back into the master bedroom and looked out the window, which overlooked the back of the house. There was a two-foot-wide overhang between floors, more architectural than structural, and I wasn"t sure whether it would hold my weight.
I removed the screen then slid through the open window, grasped the window sill, and lowered myself until my feet touched wood. Still gripping the ledge, I tested my weight on the overhang. Next I maneuvered the screen back into place. An imperfect job, one I hoped would be blamed on the cleaning staff.
Footsteps stomped up the stairs. I ducked beneath the sill, listened. A door slammed as the boy retreated to his room.
I crouched on the overhang and looked at the ten-foot drop. If I broke my ankle, it"d serve me right. I hit the ground hard, but straight, then I hightailed it back to my truck.
An amateur"s mistake. I"d been so busy laughing at the Draytons" lack of security I hadn"t taken the most basic precautions.
Sure it had been a sound lead. But even if I could believe Frank Drayton would hire a hitman to kill his granddaughter"s teenage mother, I had to consider the kind kind of hit it had been. Professional. That required someone like Jack or me, and to get us you needed top-notch, Mafia-grade criminal connections. When your average Joe hires someone to off a lover or business partner, he ends up with semicompetent drug-addled morons. of hit it had been. Professional. That required someone like Jack or me, and to get us you needed top-notch, Mafia-grade criminal connections. When your average Joe hires someone to off a lover or business partner, he ends up with semicompetent drug-addled morons.
I remember a case from the eighties. Helmuth Buxbaum. I once went on a Sunday-school trip to his house, to swim in the indoor pool. A true pillar of the church. When his wife started interfering with his nightlife of cocaine and hookers, he decided to get rid of her. So, for twenty-five thousand dollars a decent sum, I might add he got himself the Beavis and b.u.t.t-Head of hired killers. They arranged for Buxbaum to be driving past with his wife while they feigned car trouble. He"d pull over and they"d shoot her. First time they tried it, Buxbaum pulled over right on schedule. So did a helpful OPP officer.
They tried it again. Using the exact same plan. Ten hours later. With the same car. On the same highway.
That time, they managed to kill Buxbaum"s wife. And guess what? The OPP officer had called in the earlier stop, as per procedure. Didn"t take much to put two and two together, and come up with three complete idiots. Buxbaum, the killer, and the getaway driver were caught and convicted, though the getaway driver admitted he recalled little of what happened that day because he"d been dead drunk. Yes, drunk. On a hit. These are the kind of criminal masterminds the average millionaire businessman can hire.
Who could have hired a pro to kill Sammi? Who would would? That question put me right back at square one. Why would anyone who didn"t have a direct interest in Destiny"s welfare kidnap her and kill her mother?
I was in a motor sports shop getting parts for the ATVs my alibi for the trip into the city. When I realized I needed the exact specs, I took out my cell phone, which I"d had switched to "answer only" during the break-and-enter, and saw I had four calls and two new messages from the lodge.
If Emma just wanted me to grab something, she"d call once. Last year, I"d been in town when we"d had a small fire, from a guest throwing his cigarette into a brush pile, and Emma had only called twice. Four times meant... h.e.l.l, I couldn"t even imagine what it meant.
I hit speed-dial so fast my fingers punched the wrong b.u.t.ton and I had to try again. Finally the call went through, straight to voice mail, meaning someone was on the line. I jammed the end and redial b.u.t.tons in rapid succession. Too fast for the phone apparently. With a growl of frustration, I slowed down, only to get the busy signal again.
I disconnected and flew through the keys to retrieve my messages. The first began with at least five seconds of silence. My heart jammed in my throat, picturing Emma in the midst of a heart attack, struggling to speak. Then, "G.o.d-f.u.c.king-d.a.m.n it."
A click as Jack hung up. The second message began right away, Jack again.
"Nadia? Where are you? f.u.c.k." Click.
The last two calls had come after those. Jack, I was sure.
s.h.i.t.
Did I really expect him to buy the "I ran into town early to grab those parts" excuse?
To be honest, I hadn"t even factored Jack into the equation. Like I hadn"t factored in the possibility of someone being in the house.
Last night, I"d been furious at his suggestion that I was obsessing over Sammi, that in my determination to find her, I"d get sloppy, maybe do something stupid... like fly off chasing the first lead that came to mind, and break into a house mid-morning without checking for occupants.
I called the lodge again. Emma answered. I hesitantly inquired after "John."
"I think he"s outside on the porch," she said. "Do you want to talk to him?"
"No, no. That"s fine. If he asks, just tell him I"ll be back in an hour. What I really called for was that part list. I forgot it in my room. Could you ask Owen what we need again?"
As I parked, there was no sign of Jack. I took the parts to Owen in the shop, talked to Emma, and learned that the first batch of guests had paid for early check-in and were expected for lunch. Still no Jack.
Half of the weekend"s guests had specifically requested shooting lessons, which meant probably three-quarters would want them others would hear their stories at meal times and decide they wanted to give it a shot... so to speak. So I could hide out at the range until lunch, checking equipment.
There are two paths to the range: a shortcut through the woods and a scenic route past Crescent Lake. I took the latter to run a quick inventory on the boathouse, this being our first full house since spring thaw. Two lifejack-ets had been chewed by mice, and replacements were already on order at Canadian Tire, but unless every guest decided to join the sunset canoe ride, we"d be fine.
When I reached the junction between the main path to the range and the lake route, there was Jack leaning on his crutch, blocking my way.
"Where were you?" he said.
I was tempted to say "the boathouse," but knew that wasn"t what he meant, and he wouldn"t appreciate having to expend more words to get the proper response.
"Following a lead," I said as I brushed past him.
"What lead?"
I considered speeding up. With his injury, I could easily outrun him. But speed wasn"t Jack"s style at the best of times. I could escape him all day, and I"d wake up tomorrow morning, sit down to breakfast, and have him plant himself across from me, asking the same question.
I eased back. "Whatever you"re hiding out from, it"s bigger than you"re letting on, isn"t it?"
His face screwed up in an unspoken "Huh?"
"I won"t press for details. The point is that if you need me here, I"ll stick around as much as possible. Yes, I am a little preoccupied, but I"ve got your back."
He stared at me, dark brows creasing over a deep furrow. "You think... ?" His lips worked, as if he hadn"t yet figured out how to finish the sentence. "No one"s coming after me, Nadia. It"s not..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It"s not like that. You want to know? I"ll explain later. But watching my back?" He shook his head. "I"m trying to watch yours. Only this " He knocked his crutch against the cast. "Slows me down."
"I don"t need your help, Jack. Let"s " I pulled my hands from my pockets and leaned against a maple tree, the bark cold under my fingers. "Let"s cut through the bulls.h.i.t, okay?"
"Bulls.h.i.t?"
"The only reason you"re here is because you needed a place to go, and I was the only one offering. So now you"re stuck, and you feel obligated to at least pretend everything"s the way it used to be. Maybe you think that"ll make the situation more comfortable, but it doesn"t. You"re a paying guest; you don"t need to make nice, okay?"
"Make nice?" The words rolled out awkwardly, as if he didn"t recognize them. A soft sigh as he repositioned his crutch. "Been a while since I called. But "
"You were going to. When, Jack? This week? Next?"
He rubbed his mouth. In the silence that followed, I inhaled through my mouth, the air suddenly too thin.
You stupid twit. You were still hoping, weren"t you? Still praying it was all a big misunderstanding.
"I would"ve called," he said finally. "Wouldn"t just... leave."
"You don"t owe me anything, Jack, especially explanations. But don"t insult me by pretending, okay? There was never any obligation, and I always knew that someday you"d stop coming around."