Swallow The Hook Part 27

"I'll kill you if you try to take my baby away. I'll kill anyone who tries to take her."

"No one's going to take her," Frank said in what he hoped was a rea.s.suring voice.

What the h.e.l.l was the woman doing with a gun in the baby's room, anyway? Then it dawned on him: Brian had intended for them both to die. But he couldn't bring himself to shoot his wife, so he left her with a gun to do it herself. But she hadn't. Yet.

"You're lying to me. They'll never let me keep her now. Brian was right."

"No! Brian was not right." What could he say to this woman? She had lost everything-what could he hold out to her?

"Don't do anything foolish, Mrs. Finn. Think of Sarah. When she gets older, she'll want to know about her birth, her background. If you kill me, or kill yourself with that baby in your lap, can you imagine what the newspapers and TV will do when they get hold of the story? It would follow Sarah around for the rest of her life. Don't do that to her."

He saw her hesitate, and he bit back the impulse to say any more. Finally the hand with the gun dropped to her side.

"Let me be alone with her for a few minutes, to say good-bye."

"Slide the gun over to me first, Mrs. Finn."

The little silver gun came skittering across the floor and stopped at his feet. Frank picked it up, and with a wary glance over his shoulder, stepped out in the hall. He heard Eileen murmuring and singing to the baby.

He radioed to Meyerson and told him everything was clear, and to take Brian's body out of the hall.

After about five minutes the chair stopped rocking, and Eileen appeared in the doorway and held out the baby to him. "You take her," she said, and went back to the rocker to wait.

Frank let the state police have the arrest. What joy was there in taking that poor, broken woman into custody? Outside, amid all the commotion of squad cars and ambulances and the medical examiner, the baby still slept in his arms. The thatch of jet-black hair, the tawny skin, the delicately formed features were all from Sanjiv.

Then the sun moved out from behind a cloud. The brightness and the heat on her face awakened her, when all the noise had not. She looked up at him, another stranger in her short life, and he expected her to cry.

Instead, a gummy smile spread across her face-and the sweetness, the innocence, the joy in that smile was pure Mary Pat.

37.

THE WEEKS FOLLOWING the resolution of a big case were usually ones of quiet satisfaction, but ever since finding Mary Pat's baby, Frank had felt like Typhoid Mary, spreading misery wherever he went.

The Sheehans had greeted the news that their granddaughter had been found with icy silence. Over seventy-five couples around the country had been informed that the adoptions they'd arranged through Sheltering Arms were illegal. Constance Stiler had agreed to a plea bargain with the DA that would have her serving two years at the Albion Women's Correctional Facility for her role in the adoption ring and her reckless medical treatment of Mary Pat Sheehan, which meant her husband would have to go into a nursing home. Doug Penniman was also in custody, since the forensics tests had proved his gun had been used to shoot Sanjiv Patel. Patel was still awaiting the outcome of the tests that would prove he was baby Sarah's father; in the meantime, she was in a foster home. And so was Olivia Veech.

Anita, Ralph, and Pap Veech couldn't make bail, so they were in the county jail awaiting their trial on drug possession with intent to distribute. The DA would happily have charged them with partic.i.p.ation in the adoption ring, but Constance insisted that although Anita had sold her own baby to Sheltering Arms and recommended the same solution to Mary Pat, she wasn't actually on the payroll.

After her brief lapse in judgment, Meredith Golding had come to her senses and hired a high-priced lawyer. Her upcoming trial would probably make Court TV ratings soar.

Trudy Ma.s.sinay had taken one look at the homes of the rest of the extended Veech family and decided Olivia would be better off in foster care. But Olivia hadn't adapted well, and the first family who'd taken her in soon gave up on her, as had the second. The list of eligible foster families in Ess.e.x County wasn't very long, and word had soon gone out that Olivia was trouble.

Frank's day had gone straight to h.e.l.l when Trudy called to say she couldn't find another family to take Olivia, and might have to ship her out of county to a group home for troubled children.

Frank felt the greasy burger he'd eaten for lunch rise up in his throat. "I'll take her," he said.

"We don't normally place little girls with single men who work full-time, Frank."

Couldn't just one thing in this d.a.m.n case work out well? Was that so much to ask?

"If I find someone appropriate, can you push the official paperwork through so they can take her right away?" Frank asked.

"Yes, but who-"

"Just give me a few hours, and I'll get back to you."

Lucy said yes before he even had the request out of his mouth, but Edwin was adamantly opposed.

"We don't know anything about taking care of traumatized children," he objected. "She needs experienced parents."

"She just needs someone who understands her," Frank said. "Someone who doesn't a.s.sume that she's no good because of who her family is. Besides, if it doesn't work out, you can always give her back to Trudy, like the others did."

"Please, Edwin, let's try," Lucy begged. "She needs us."

Edwin's face had a look of stony anger that Frank had never seen before. He hadn't imagined this might stir up trouble between Edwin and Lucy when he'd raced over to the Inn with this plan to save Olivia. Still, he couldn't help feeling that he was right, that of all the children in the world, Olivia was perfect for Edwin and Lucy.

"The kid's as sharp as a tack, Edwin. She loves books; she spends her recess in the library. She's a little diamond in the rough who just needs some polishing."

"We have to take her," Lucy cried. "You're being selfish to say no."

"Selfish! What's going to happen when Anita gets out of jail and wants Olivia back? You'll be heartbroken, Lucy, and I'll be left to pick up the pieces. Have you thought about that, Frank?"

"Yes, I have. With the quant.i.ties of marijuana and PCP we found, Anita will probably be in jail for a good ten years."

Edwin sighed. "All right, we'll take her." In the ecstatic squealing from Lucy that followed, he turned to Frank and said quietly, "You'd better be right."

Frank left the Iron Eagle confident that he had done Edwin a favor, even if his friend couldn't see it yet. As he drove east down the narrow road to Beth Abercrombie's shop, a hand-lettered sign on bright yellow paper caught his eye. MOVING SALE-EVERYTHING MUST GO. Traveling too fast to make the turn, he turned around and backtracked.

As he got out of his car, he pa.s.sed two ladies leaving with shopping bags, chirping about bargains. He entered to find the shelves half empty, and Beth sweeping up mounds of Styrofoam packing peanuts.

"Hi. What's going on?" It might be lame to come in here acting like nothing extraordinary had happened in the past two weeks, but starting in with explanations and apologies and rea.s.surances seemed just as awkward, so he took the easier approach.

Beth stopped sweeping and studied him with un-blinking green eyes. "I'm moving to Oregon. My older son is there, and the younger one wants to move west when he graduates, so there's no reason for me to stay here."

"I see. This is kind of sudden, isn't it?"

"Not really. There's a vibrant arts community in Portland-I've considered moving before. The time seems right...now."

"Look, Beth, the way everything turned out. I'm sorry, but-"

She interrupted him with a sharp bang of her dust-pan against the side of the trash can. "There's no need to apologize, Frank. You were right about Meredith. I was right about Nathan. I guess it never occurred to either of us that we could both be right about Green Tomorrow."

So, she still had her back up. He didn't see how any of this was his fault, but there was no point in arguing. "You heard about Mary Pat's baby?"

"Yes, and I hope it all works out for Mr. Patel. He's a nice man and he's been through a lot."

"We've arrested Doug Penniman for shooting him. I can't figure what his motive was, though. Meredith and Extrom both swear they knew nothing about it-not that either of them can be trusted. Still, I don't see what purpose it served Extrom to have Sanjiv shot."

Beth began crumbling a packing peanut, making a mess where she'd just swept. "Is there any doubt that Doug was the shooter?"

"The bullet came from his gun; his prints are the only ones on it. He'd kept it in a locked gun case; then he tried to sell it. He was in town that day."

"I think..." Beth's voice came out raspy and hoa.r.s.e. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I think I might know why he did it."

"You do?" The night he and Beth had been together, she'd brushed off his questions about Penniman driving by her house.

"Do you know who lives down the road here?" Beth gestured behind her.

"It's all vacation homes, right?"

Beth nodded. "And one of them's been rented by Sean Nevins while he's supervising the work on Extrom's house."

Frank's blank expression kept her talking. "Sean let Doug drive Extrom's SUV, since they couldn't take the chance of being seen together in Doug's truck."

"What do you mean, 'take the chance'?"

Beth took a deep breath. "They were involved. With each other. You know, romantically."

Finally the lightbulb went on. "Doug Penniman is gay?"

Beth shrugged. "Well, bis.e.xual, I guess. I often walk down the road to the pond in the evening. I saw them one day, embracing, but they didn't see me. I kept my mouth shut-I know how difficult these things can be. A friend of mine left her husband for another woman. It was devastating for everyone."

"But what's this got to do with Mr. Patel?"

"You know that empty lot across from the Mountain Vista? People use it as-"

"I know-a lover's lane."

"I've heard Mr. Patel gets upset because kids leave beer cans and make noise late at night. So when he sees cars in there, sometimes he goes over and chases them away."

"So you think Patel must have caught Doug and Sean in the act? And Doug tried to kill him?"

"Face it, Frank. His life in Trout Run would effectively be over if that ever got out."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Now it was his turn to get testy.

"I didn't figure it all out until after you arrested Doug. And I didn't think at first that you needed to know about the affair with Sean-it was Doug's private business."

They glared at each other.

"You know, you're as stubborn as I am," Frank said.

A glimmer of a smile tugged at her mouth. Frank stepped forward and took her in his arms. For a moment she stood stiffly, then relaxed into his embrace.

"Good-bye, Beth. Good luck in Oregon." He kissed the top of her head.

She tilted her head back and kissed him full on the lips. "Good-bye, Frank."

38.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TONIGHT?" Earl asked Frank.

"Nothing much."

"You wanta come to the Mountainside? I'm going to shoot some pool with my cousin Donald and his friends."

The "no" formed reflexively. The smoke at the Mountainside made him cough. The music was so loud, he had to just smile and nod when people spoke to him. His eyes couldn't adjust to the dim light.

Then Frank thought of the TV dinners stacked in his freezer, the books beside his recliner, his bed neatly made. "Sure, I'll come. Thanks for asking."

"You wanna drive? My car's at Al's for a tune-up. Donald was going to pick me up, but it's out of his way."

They drove in silence, coasting down the long hill that preceded the steady climb to the Mountainside. Things had been a little strained between them since the incident with Anita Veech's medical records.

"So, how's Melanie?" Frank finally asked.

"I don't know. We broke up-she's dating a physical therapist from the hospital now."

"Oh-I'm sorry."

Earl shrugged. "It's no big deal. She was a little crazy, anyway. A girl who works with Donald is going to be at the Mountainside tonight with some of her friends. I'll check that out."

Frank smiled. So much for the heartbreak of young love.

"I hear Beth's moving away," Earl said.

"Yeah, all the way to Oregon."

"That's too bad."

Frank could feel Earl studying him for a reaction. "I think she feels like starting over in a new place. I can understand that."

"Hey, guess who else is moving away? Stan Fenstock-he's going to Nashville." Earl elaborated before Frank could ask why. "He wants to be a country singer. He's sung at bars and fairs around here, and I guess he decided he's going to try to make it in the big leagues."

"Good riddance," Frank said.

"Why do you say that?"