Page 22 of 2nd Strike
Carl peers up at Charlie, his eyes still too hard—accusatory—for my taste, but given the circumstances, I’ll give him some slack.
“I don’t want to put Ethan and Lily through an investigation like that.”
For the first time, a bit of Charlie’s composure slips and her shoulders collapse. Damn that JJ for walking out. We could use him about now. Not only for legal advice, but to shore Charlie up.
It takes all of three seconds for my sister to realize her armor has failed and she straightens, tilting her chin up as she goes. “I understand. But, Ethan is a smart kid. He came to us with this. Before long, he’ll ask about the results. It might be best to tell him and Lily so we can move forward. And, Carl, I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
The man shakes his head, then scrubs his hands over his face. “I can’t believe this.”
“It’s a lot to absorb,” Taylor says, her voice gentle and carrying a soft comfort she’s probably had too much practice with. “You’re probably in shock.”
“I definitely am.” He stands and faces Charlie. “I apologize for what I said. I’m…angry.”
Charlie comes to her feet as well and holds both hands up. “I appreciate that. Thank you. No offense taken." She takes a deep breath and seems to grow a little taller. "I really do want to help. If you’ll allow us to keep working with you, I’ll do it pro-bono. This is personal for me. I’d like the chance to find your child.”
“That’ll be my job," Taylor states. “You and Meg need to find Ethan's real parents. Can you do that?"
"He's already found a biological match," Charlie says. “A cousin. We'll start there."
11
Charlie
The next day, I feel both relieved and ready to crawl out of my skin.
Taylor is now reopening the official FBI case—it couldn't be in better hands—and she plans to schedule a small press conference as soon as they have a solid lead on where the real Havers’ child is. Until then, she'll keep Carl, Lily, and Ethan mum on the situation.
The upper echelon at the Bureau has frozen me out and tried to take the case away from Taylor since she’s involved with my employee, but someone—JJ probably—specifically requested her as lead investigator.
Meanwhile, Meg and Matt are working with me to figure out who Ethan belongs to. Since his underage status puts his account in jeopardy at GenCo, I’m trying to get ahead of it and put Carl in touch with the owners of the site to correct the issue before we contact the cousin.
I've managed to track down Cora Drummond, a woman who knew our kidnapper fifteen years ago, and have an appointment to interview her at three. I'm hoping she’ll give me insight into Amelia Norris and why she abducted a baby. Since Ethan isn’t the child she stole from Carl and Lily, I suspect he wasn't the first or only victim.
The fact she claimed he belonged to them before killing herself confuses me—did she suffer from mental illness, even though my notes on the case don’t mention it?
I keep asking myself, what if she wasn't mentally ill? What if she honestly believed the baby she hadwasEthan Havers? Where did the mix-up occur? Was she babysitting more than one kid that day when she made the decision to run away with him?
I’ve asked Taylor to round up a list of other missing children who fit the parameters around that timeframe in the three-state area, but with her current workload, it could be days before she gets to it. If JJ were speaking to me, I would’ve had him pressure the FBI to cough it up sooner. He’s not, damn him, so I have to be patient.
I can't believe he walked out on me, no matter how pissed he might've been. Meg says I should call and apologize, and I should, but the fact is, if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change the way I handled the situation.
There was no point bringing him onboard until I had all the facts, which I didn't until Carl showed up and confirmed Ethan wasn't his. There was nothing JJ could've done before that was verified, and I'm not one to dump my shit in someone else's lap just to make myself feel better.
Meg wants me to talk about my feelings in regard to all of this—both Ethan and JJ—or she claims I’ll explode. Implode is more like it. My muscles, my bones, my very tissues feel like they’re pressing in on me.
I can’t talk about feelings. I try, but I seem to be missing that gene. My tongue gets tied, and I start itching every time I have to admit I screwed up, that I'm a failure on so many levels, most especially in the relationship department.
What Icando is relieve the pressure inside me by pumping bullets into targets. My Smith & Wesson is getting a workout as I run and dodge imaginary enemies at the gun range.
Standing in a lane for target practice didn’t suit—I needed to move, to get the adrenaline pumping and clear my head. Besides, standing still during an actual firefight will get you killed. I’ve always preferred practicing as if it’s real life.
I duck, roll, and come up on one knee.Bam, bam, bam.Satisfaction courses through my veins along with the adrenaline.
Before I meet with Cora, I want to read my notes on Lily's interview again, and dig deeper into Norris’s life at that time. She was a loner from all accounts, and it wasn't like she had to break into the Havers’ home to steal the baby, but she may have had help.
If it was premeditated, she would’ve needed to purchase items for him, arrange for new identities for both of them, and figure out where she was going to take him. Did she plan to keep him all along, or sell him on the black market? These are the questions that plague me.
Bam, bam, bam.I hit another center mass, shift behind a half-wall for cover, and reload. Lily was a small-time news reporter prior to dating Carl and got pregnant before they married. The marriage and subsequent pregnancy brought her immense fame, fans of the couple eating up their fairytale romance and garnering her an equal amount of prestige. Their wedding was a huge event, as if they were American royalty. I never follow that stuff, but Meg eats it up.
