Bed of Lies (26 page)

“Yes,” her mother said with a nod, “the devil definitely has his hooks in you, because the sanctified girl I knew never would speak to her mother like this. How dare you yell at me!”

“No, Mama, how dare you—”

“That's it! That is it!” Victor shouted simultaneously, shooting to his feet. “I've had enough of this, you ungrateful little—”

“We will speak privately,” her father suddenly boomed. “Nothing will get settled here with all of you barking and growling at each other like some . . . some rabid dogs.” He walked toward the apartment's hallway leading to her bedroom and master bath, expecting her to wordlessly follow him.

C. J.'s heart thudded wildly in her chest. Her chest heaved. Her face felt like it was on fire.

He paused at the hall's entrance and turned to her. “Are you coming, Courtney?”

Old habits die hard. At her father's question, she rose to her feet and walked past him, leading the way to her bedroom. She pushed her bedroom door open and he followed her.

When he shut the door behind him, she turned to him expectantly.

“Have a seat,” he said, gesturing to her bed.

She furrowed her brows and slowly sat down. He stood near the bed, looming over her like he loomed from the elevated pulpit at his church.

“I know you think me a . . . a proud man,” her father began, pacing in front of her. “But I am not. I want to start off by humbling myself to you. I want to tell you, Courtney, that I am sorry.”

She raised her brows in surprise.
An apology?
That wasn't what she had expected.

He lowered his eyes to his ebony, wrinkled hands. “I want to apologize for disappointing you, for not being the daddy I should have been. I should have listened when you turned to me for help. But I put my pride before my obligation, and I drove my precious jewel away. For that, I am deeply ashamed. Can you . . . can you forgive me?”

Her mouth fell open. Tears sprung to her eyes. She was at a loss for words. When he raised his dark eyes and stared at her expectantly, she quickly nodded.

“Of course, Daddy!” she said, her voice cracking with a well of emotion. “Of . . . of course, I forgive you.”

“Thank you. I am glad to hear it.” He sat on the bed beside her, reached for her hand, and held it. “I want us to be father and daughter again, Courtney. And I want it not just to have you standing beside me at a press conference, but standing beside me
period.
You're my child . . . flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood. It breaks my heart to have you so far away from me.”

“I will always be your daughter, Daddy, but I can't lie anymore.”

“And I would never ask you to lie.”

Maybe. But in the past her father had had no problem asking her to pretend, which was the closest you could get to lying. Was he about to ask her to do it all over again? She needed to know the truth.

“So there's no way possible that you could be that baby's father? You never did anything with that woman?”

He dropped her hand and sat back, looking stunned by her question. “How could you even ask me that?”

“Daddy . . .” She paused. She couldn't meet his eyes anymore. “Daddy, I know everything. I know about the other women and . . . and about all the affairs. I know, okay? Please, just . . . just tell me the truth.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I did not fornicate with that young woman. I saw her as a daughter, as a young lady with lots of potential who needed guidance and a helping hand. But she didn't seem to be of the same mind,” he said ruefully. “She came to the house one day and tried to seduce me. I suppose she had gotten word of my . . . my past indiscretions that I had committed in a moment of weakness. But I prayed to God long ago for forgiveness for that sinfulness. I told Him I would never do it again. So I told her no and she became angry, belligerent.” He shook his head. “I had to ask her to leave my home. The next day she told me she would be resigning her position as my assistant. Five months after that, I got a letter from her lawyer saying that she was pregnant and she was suing me for sexual harassment.”

C. J. pursed her lips.

“Perhaps you see this as justice due for the sins I have committed, and perhaps you're right. I know I have been tainted, Courtney. ‘Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked.' ”

“From the Book of Proverbs,” C. J. whispered.

Now her father was the one who looked surprised. A small smile crept to his lips. “That's right.”

“Look, Daddy, I don't see any justice in what you're going through now. I never wanted bad things to happen to you or Mom or even Victor. You're my family . . . the only family I've ever known.”

“You've never wished us ill will because you have a good heart,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “And I'm appealing to that good heart now, Courtney. Please, stand by my side. Show the world that you trust your father's word . . . that you believe me.”

She sat silently for several seconds, knowing that if she agreed to this, she would no longer live in anonymity. The guys at the newspaper and everyone else in Chesterton would know who she really was. And once again she would have to play the role of the devout preacher's daughter. She would have to smile sweetly, dress primly, and reenter that claustrophobic world.

But Daddy's worked so hard
, she told herself.
And he sounds like he's tried to change. It would only be temporary. I'll do this favor for him until the storm blows over. Until that woman's baby is born and she's proven to be the liar that she is.

C. J. took a deep breath and slowly raised her eyes. “I'll do it,” she said softly. “I'll do it for you, Daddy.”

His smile widened. He threw his arms around her, almost with relief. “Thank you. Thank you, my precious jewel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”

Chapter 24

Evan

E
van watched as the police car pulled off. His eyes locked on the taillights as the deputies made their way down the driveway.

The deputies had finished asking questions of him, his family, and the staff. They had examined every inch of the mansion grounds and still saw no sign of Isabel. They were now going home for the day while the search continued elsewhere in Chesterton.

He had called Terrence to tell him about Isabel's disappearance and to get an update on Paulette. Terrence said mother and son were fine, though Little Nathan, who had been born several weeks' premature, was in the NICU recovering.

“But they're alive. They're okay,” Terrence had assured him. “You just do what you have to do and take care of Lee.”

Evan closed his front door and headed toward the staircase. He walked toward their bedroom, hoping to find Leila there. He hadn't seen her in hours, not since her disastrous phone conversation with Brad. He pushed his bedroom door open and leaned inside the room.

“Lee,” he called out, but the bedroom was empty.

He walked along the west wing in search of her before finally heading to the east wing. He found her in Isabel's room, which was probably the first place he should have looked.

It was a little girl's perfect paradise with its soft pink walls, gauzy curtains, and silver details. Evan had outfitted it with a pearl gray armoire and dressing table, an oversized toy box, a wardrobe filled with costumes, and glass shelves covered with ballet figurines, unicorns, and Fabergé eggs. He had done it to impress Isabel, to make her feel like a little princess in a fairy tale.

Leila was sitting on Isabel's queen-sized bed, her face half-hidden by the bed's silk canopy. She was holding on her lap a framed photograph of her daughter, running her fingers over the glass and smiling at it lovingly.

She glanced up at Evan as he walked across the room toward her. Tears were in her eyes.

“I had this photo taken of her when she was two weeks old,” she whispered. “She was so tiny and wrinkly. Her foot was about the size of my pinkie.”

Evan silently sat on the bed beside her.

“I remember the day we brought her home from the hospital. Brad couldn't stay, of course,” she said, rolling her eyes. “He said he had to get to some important networking function. Chances are he had to run off to go see one of his girlfriends. But either way, I was home alone with Izzy for most of the night.” She touched the frame's glass again. Her tears spilled onto her cheeks. Evan rested a hand on her shoulder. “Izzy lay in her bassinet and I just stared at her, Ev. I did it for hours, watching her sleep, watching her breathe. I couldn't believe how perfect she was. I couldn't believe that I had helped make this beautiful little person. She was my own special little gift.” She finally raised her gaze from the picture frame to look at him. He saw an ocean of pain in her dark eyes. “Now I feel like I've squandered that gift, like I let it get away from me.”

“You didn't squander anything! We're going to find her, Lee,” he said, leaning forward and kissing her cheek. “You
have
to believe that.”

“I want to. And in some ways, I agree that I have to believe it. Because if anything happened to her, Ev.” She started to choke up again. She closed her eyes and shook her head furiously, dropping the picture frame to the bed.

Evan's cell phone started to buzz in his pocket, but he ignored it.

“If . . . if
anything
has happened to my baby and she doesn't come home to me, I'm done.”

He frowned uneasily at her. “What . . . what does that mean? What do you mean, you're done?”

“I mean I can't go on! I can't go about my life like everything is normal when I've failed at the most important thing in my life: being a mother and protecting my child. I don't . . . I don't want to be here! I don't
deserve
to be here, Ev!”

Evan felt like someone had reached inside his chest and wrenched out his heart. He shifted closer to Leila and cupped her face. He raised her chin so that she had to look at him. They were almost nose to nose.

“Now you listen to me. Listen to me, Lee, all right? Stop talking like this! I don't want to hear this shit come out of your mouth again!”

“I'm telling you the truth, Ev! I can't—”

“We are going to find Isabel! She is going to be okay!”

“You don't know that!”

“But even if by some far chance the worst-case scenario happens and we don't find her, Lee, you are going to continue to exist. You're going to continue to live because you have to.”

She didn't answer him. She obstinately closed her eyes instead, like shutting out the sight of him was the equivalent of shutting out his words.

“Lee, I
need
you! Our baby needs you! Did you forget about the baby we're going to have in less than five months? What about
that
child? Are you telling me you don't owe it anything?”

He knew he had gotten through to her with that one. She slowly opened her eyes to stare at him.

“You're going to get through this. We're going to get through this together. Because we love each other. We depend on each other! And if you go, I go. Understood?”

He released her long enough so that she slowly nodded, though he could tell she did it reluctantly.

“We'll get through this,” he whispered.

“Lee!” Diane shouted. “Lee, where are you?”

Evan dropped his hands from Leila's face and turned toward the opened door. “We're in here, Diane.”

The older woman raced into the room, clutching at her chest, gasping for air. “They found her! They found Izzy! Praise the Lord! Thank You, Jesus!” Diane said, raising a lone hand to the ceiling.

They both stared at her in utter shock. Leila gradually rose to her feet, taking a hesitant step toward her mother.

“What did you say?” she whispered breathlessly.

“I said they found her!” Diane was beaming. “They found her at Dulles Airport—of all places! She was trying to catch a flight to Los Angeles. Can you believe that? She couldn't get through the checkpoint because she didn't have any ID on her or an adult with her, so she had been wandering around the airport for hours. Someone recognized her and took her to the airport police. I swear I could give that person a big ol' kiss right now!” Diane turned to Evan. “The sheriff said he's been calling you on your cell phone, trying to reach you, but you weren't answering.”

So that's why my phone was buzzing
, Evan thought, but his attention was abruptly drawn to Leila, who dropped to her knees in the center of the bedroom floor.

“Oh, thank You, God!” Leila screamed, weeping and rocking back and forth on her shins. “Oh, thank You! Thank You! Thank You!”

 

The ride from the airport was a quiet one. Because he had sent Bill home hours ago, Evan had to drive their small caravan from Dulles back to Chesterton in his Range Rover. He sat in the front with Diane while Leila and Isabel sat in the backseat. As he drove, Evan stole glances at the rearview mirror, watching the mother/daughter reunion. Leila clung to Isabel like she was a newborn babe. She kissed the little girl's forehead and cheeks. She whispered to her as she rocked her in her arms. Isabel didn't say anything, seemingly too exhausted to speak. Her head drooped on her mother's shoulder listlessly.

“Why did you do that, baby?” Evan heard Leila ask. Her voice was fierce and passionate. “What got in your head to do such a thing?”

Evan had his suspicions. Though Isabel was precocious for her age, he found it hard to believe that she had bought an airplane ticket to LAX all on her own—with a prepaid debit card, no less, according to police. He also wondered how an eight-year-old had managed to get a cab from Chesterton to Dulles Airport, which was twenty miles away. It wasn't like there were cabs driving around their small town. Isabel would have had to call a cab service to achieve such a feat.

Or
he
would have had to call,
Evan thought as he drove, turning onto the road leading back to Murdoch Mansion.

He remembered again how Brad had sounded when Leila told him that Isabel had disappeared. The man didn't seem surprised or alarmed. He had been more concerned with scolding Leila and making her feel worthless than he was about the safety of his own daughter. But why would he be concerned if he had known what was happening all along?

Brad, you son of a bitch,
Evan thought as he pulled into his driveway.
You set up this whole thing, didn't you?

“I'm sleeping in Izzy's room tonight,” Leila announced as they climbed out of the car.

Evan nodded, knowing that there was no point in arguing. Leila wanted to keep her daughter close in light of what had just happened. He understood such a wish.

He watched as Leila, Diane, and Isabel slowly climbed the stone steps leading to the mansion doors with hands linked. He was relieved that Leila had gotten her happy ending, but a seed of discontent still sprouted within him. Something wasn't right about this. Evan could feel it in his bones.

About a half hour later—after he undressed and donned his robe—he headed to the east wing. He knocked on the closed door.

“Come in!” Leila called out.

He found her and Isabel in the queen-sized bed, munching on chocolate chip cookies and reclining on oversized pillows as they watched a cartoon on the wall-mounted television on the other side of the room. Isabel was in her pink pajamas. Leila had donned an oversized T-shirt and a pair of Evan's gym shorts. They looked like two girls enjoying a sleepover. When he saw them, he smiled.

“I just wanted to say goodnight,” Evan said from the doorway.

“Good night!” Leila called.

“Night,” Isabel mumbled, seeming to be entranced by her cartoon.

“I'll see you guys in the morning,” he said as he drew the door shut but paused to push it open again. “You didn't need anything, did you?”

Leila shook her head. “No, I think we've got everything. Cookies, milk, popcorn . . .”

“We didn't get ice cream,” Isabel piped. “You told me I could have ice cream if I wanted, Mommy.”

Leila bolted upright. Her cheeks flushed pink. “Oh, I'm . . . I'm so sorry, honey! I guess the housekeeper forgot to bring it.”

“She's probably in bed now,” Evan said, breaking into their conversation.

The older woman usually was out like a light by ten p.m., but she had stayed up late because of all the household uproar. She had even given Isabel a kiss on the cheek when the little girl walked through the door.

“I'll go get you some ice cream myself then,” Leila said, climbing off the bed. “I'll even make you a sundae! Just give me a—” She halted midway across the plush carpet, like she suddenly remembered something. Her hands fell to her sides. She turned back around to look at Isabel, who was still staring at the television while munching on a cookie.

Lee's too frightened to leave
, Evan thought.
She's scared to let her out of her sight.

“I'll stay,” he said, making her whip around to look at him. “Go ahead and make the sundae. I'll watch her.”

“Really? Are you sure? I thought you were headed to bed.”

“It's no big deal. I can wait.”

She ran toward him and kissed him on the cheek before darting through the door and down the hall, her bedroom slippers flapping softly on the marble tile floor. Evan waited until Leila disappeared around a corner before he turned back around to gaze at Isabel. The little girl seemed almost oblivious to his presence. Evan pasted on a polite smile.

“Today was pretty scary, huh?” he asked, talking loudly so he could be heard over the sound of the television. “Being in that big airport all by yourself.”

Isabel glanced at him and shrugged. “I guess,” she muttered before returning her attention to the TV.

“I heard that you were trying to catch a flight to Los Angeles.”

He walked toward her, shoving his hands into his robe pockets, trying his best to keep his tone light and casual. She was a kid, after all. He didn't want to make her feel like she had done something wrong. “Were you trying to see your dad?”

“I miss my daddy,” she mumbled between cookie bites.

Evan drew closer so that he was almost standing at the edge of her bed. He wanted to see her face when he said his next words.

“I know you do. I bet he misses you, too. I bet your dad was really happy to hear you were coming.”

A grin sprouted on Isabel's face, revealing one of her missing front teeth. “He said he was going to give me cotton candy as soon as I got there,” she said excitedly. “And then we were going to go to Disneyland and I could ride the teacups! And we could stay there until it got dark and I could see the castle light up! Cinderella lives in the castle, you know. Everyone thinks it's the prince's castle, but it's really
hers!
”

Bingo
, Evan thought. So his suspicions had been right. Brad had orchestrated this.

“So your daddy was the one who told you to run away?”

Isabel's smile disappeared. She removed the cookie from her mouth.

“He bought you the plane ticket, too. Didn't he?” Evan persisted.

The little girl lowered her head. Her eyes started to well up with tears. “He told me not to tell! Daddy said if I told, he would get in trouble. He said Mommy would be mad at me!” she sobbed, making her thin shoulders tremble.