Deception (3 page)

Sabrina nodded as she wiggled out of Anna’s arms. Anna focused her attention on Sabrina as if Patti weren’t there.

“Well, well, Miss Sabrina. What do you want now?”

“I want to play.”

“OK, then. We go to your playroom.”

Sabrina and Anna walked towards a closed door.

Anna looked back at Patti. “You can come.”

Patti followed them down a marble tiled hallway to another door.

Anna opened the door and Sabrina ran through the doorway.

It was larger than Patti’s living room and kitchen combined. Two purple overstuffed sofas formed an
L
shape. Orange and white pillows littered the sofa and the floor. Lots of windows and a sliding door made up one wall to let in the afternoon sun. Huge modern art hung on the walls, also in shades of purple and orange. Toys were scattered across the floor, and a large flat screen TV hung on the wall.

This room felt like more like Jamie.

Overflowing bookcases lined the wall. Jamie loved to read as much as Patti. It was one of their few common interests. They’d often read the same book, and then discussed it into the wee hours of the morning.

Patti’s eyes teared up at the memory. Funny how she’d forgotten that.

Sabrina ran to the toy chest and grabbed a baby doll.

“Miss Sabrina,” Anna called to her in a stern voice, but she glanced at Patti with a smile.

Patti had a feeling Sabrina had Anna wrapped around her little finger.

“This room is a mess. You need to put your toys away before you can play.”

Sabrina looked at Anna as if deciding whether to push her, or not. “Otay.” Sabrina sat the doll back in its crib and began picking up the toys and placing them in the toy boxes.

Anna turned toward Patti. “Miss Jamie very strict. She always make her clean up before letting her play again. Of course, the room will be a mess again before you know it, but it is a rule.”

Patti motioned around the room. “This looks much more like Jamie than out there.”

“She spend most time here. Other room just for show.”

Patti stepped closer. “Anna, why would she leave in the middle of the night without telling you?”

Anna’s eyes darkened and a troubled look crossed her face. She walked over and sat on the couch. Patti followed. “Miss Jamie would never do that. She adore Sabrina.
Ella es una madre muy buena
.
Miss Jamie would never leave without telling her goodbye. We have a routine.”

Patti’s stomach flip-flopped at the conviction in Anna’s voice. “What’s that?”

“They give each other kisses and more kisses. Then, Miss Jamie take Sabrina’s picture with her cell phone, and Sabrina take her Mommy’s picture with mine. More kisses and hugs, and then Miss Jamie leave, but she calls her two or three times as she is traveling to the airport.”

“Then what do you think happened?”

Anna shook her head. “I don’t know. Miss Jamie would never leave Sabrina without saying
adios
, unless…”

“Unless? Unless what, Anna?” Her voice grew urgent. “If you have an idea what might have happened, you need to tell me.”

Anna shook her head. “All I was going to say is something bad must have happened.”

“Do you know anything about her job? Where she works or why she travels so much? Anything. If we knew, we might be able to track her down.”

Anna looked at Patti for several long moments as if trying to decide how much she should trust this stranger. Finally, as if she’d come to a decision, she nodded. “She not really work much the first few years we live here, and she didn’t travel, but then she start to travel some. About a year ago, she began to travel
mucho
.”

“What did she tell you about the travel?”

“She not talk about it. I know when she get home from trips, she acted nervous and upset. Sometime, I hear her crying at night during her dreams. After a few days, she would calm down and be OK.”Anna sighed and twisted her hands. “Until she would leave again.”

Nightmares had always been a problem for Jamie, especially during times of stress.

“How long have you worked for her?”

“I moved in with her when she pregnant. I drove Miss Jamie to the hospital. I was her Lamaze coach.” Anna said, naming a popular birthing process.

More guilt, but Patti refused to accept it. She hadn’t known Jamie was pregnant. She’d have helped. A little voice in her head asked if she was sure about that. She ignored the voice. “Do you know anything about Sabrina’s father?”

Anna shook her head. “These are things she won’t talk about. When I try, she either gets sad, or mad, so I stop asking.”

“What
does
she talk about?” Patti asked as she picked up a tiny orange pillow off the sofa and hugged it to herself. She needed to learn more about Jamie’s life with Anna and Sabrina.

Something was wrong.

It wasn’t like Jamie to be secretive. If anything, Jamie was the opposite. She had loved to tell everyone about everything, always assuming everyone wanted to know about the minutia of her life.

“Lately, she’s been talking about moving home. She said soon we would live in Ohio.”

“Really?” Patti’s mouth dropped open.

She hadn’t talked with Jamie in almost seven years. The last thing she expected was her sister to have a child, and then desert her. They hadn’t been raised in such a way. Her worry moved up another notch and was close to becoming anxiety.

Patti turned to Anna. “Did she say why she couldn’t move back right now?”

“Just the job was not over, but soon it would be finished and she could go home. She would smile when she talked about going home, about you. She loves you
mucho
. Miss Jamie didn’t smile much lately.”

The rocks in Patti’s stomach grew larger.

“She want me to go with them, but I don’t know. Not after I hear her tell Sabrina about the snow and the winters. They sound very bad.”

“They can get nasty.”

“Where is your luggage? Your things? I will take them up to the guest room.”

“The airlines lost it. From now on, I’ll only take carry-on luggage. I guess I better go shopping.”

Anna tapped her chin and frowned. “Not necessary. You look same size as Miss Jamie so you can wear her clothes. She not mind. Very nice of you to fly down to help Sabrina. God bless you, such a good woman.”

Patti bit her lip, shamed by Anna’s words. She didn’t feel like a good woman, and she was sure God hadn’t been pleased with her attitude when she’d first learned about Sabrina.

She’d come down out of guilt, not love. But now that she was here, she was so glad she’d made the right decision. “I didn’t know I had a niece. Did Jamie tell you why she never told me about Sabrina?”

“She say you very busy. No need her interrupting your life.”

Patti stared at Anna.

Why would Jamie say such a thing? Jamie knew she’d never be too busy to spend time with her niece, no matter what the situation between the two of them.

Something was wrong.

Patti bit her lip and moved over to where Sabrina sat in front of a huge Victorian-style doll house. It was obvious Jamie had spared no money when she’d purchased it. It was as elegant as the house she stood in at the moment.

Sabrina looked up at Patti. “Want to play with me?”

“I do.” She eased herself down on the floor, wishing she were a bit more limber. She needed to get back to exercising regularly.

6

Patti sat on the most comfortable sofa she’d ever experienced. Money might not be able to buy love, but it sure could buy comfort.

Across the room, Sabrina still played with the huge doll house, oblivious to the adults in the room.

Anna had to know more about Jamie’s comings and goings.

“Jamie may have told you not to talk about her private concerns, but I think this constitutes an emergency.”

Instead of answering, Anna turned on the baby monitor sitting on the coffee table and stood. “I take you up to your room. You must be very tired.”

Anna walked over to Sabrina. “I be back in a few minutes, sweet baby. Then, we make dinner and eat.”

“I’m not a baby. I’m a big girl. Aunt Patti said so.” Sabrina waved goodbye to Patti and moved to the rocking chair with her baby doll.

Anna led the way down the hall. At the end of the hall, she pointed at a door. “This is the guest room, you can sleep there. Jamie is your sister. You go in her room, borrow clothes, do whatever you want.”

“Thanks, Anna.” Patti patted Anna’s shoulder. “I know you must be worried, but Jamie has always been irresponsible. I’m sure she’s fine.”

Anna looked at Patti with sorrow in her eyes. “No, she is not fine. Miss Jamie never leave Sabrina like this. And she would always call once a day when she was gone, sometimes two times in a day. Something is very wrong.” Anna’s lips thinned. “Miss Jamie is not irresponsible. It has been a long time since you see her. You do not know Miss Jamie, now.”

Patti’s stomach clenched. She didn’t want to acknowledge the truth in Anna’s words, but she was right. She had no idea what kind of mother Jamie was. Who was she to make the judgment Jamie was a bad mother?

Patti fought the overwhelming urge to explain to Anna it wasn’t her fault.

Jamie was the one who betrayed Patti, not the other way around. Her twin walked out of her life.

Instead, she agreed with her sister’s biggest fan. “I suppose you’re right, Anna.”

Anna nodded, satisfied, and scurried back to Sabrina.

Patti stood in front of the guestroom, but instead of entering, she went back to Jamie’s room. For several seconds she stood there, feeling the need to knock, but knew it was ridiculous. She opened the door and walked inside.

The room had a homey feel to it, unlike the living room downstairs. The furniture, including the bed, was a simple California Mission style with a rich oak color. The soft green wallpaper was complimented by pink curtains and carpet. There were tons of pillows on the unmade bed.

Other than the bed, the room was spotless.

Patti smiled and shook her head as she stared at the unmade mess.

Jamie hadn’t changed much.

Their mother forced them countless times to make their bed.

Jamie argued it made no sense when it would get messed up again that very night.

Patti stood in the middle of the room, not sure what to do. Maybe she could find a clue as to her sister’s whereabouts.

The computer was a logical place to start, so she walked over to the desk in the corner and booted up. While waiting for the computer, Patti rummaged through the drawers. She found the expected stamps, pens, paper clips and other such items, but nothing personal.

No address book. No pay stubs. Nothing to tell Patti where Jamie worked, or who her friends were. However, she did find a checkbook.

Patti opened the cover, and then closed it. It felt like a violation of privacy. She fingered the embossed initials and then flipped it open once again.

Patti blinked at the numbers.

Wow.
What could Jamie be doing to make that kind of money?

She set it aside and continued her search. In the third drawer Patti opened, she hit the jackpot. It was stuffed full of papers. Hopefully, she’d could find a clue to Jamie’s job in the mess.

Patti pulled out the papers and put them in piles. Some were health insurance statements, while others were old bills and an assortment of documents. She came across statements from a stock company.

She shuffled through the papers until she found the most recent statement. Patti shook her head and stared at the numbers.

Her sister was a wealthy woman.

Her own savings account barely contained three thousand and she didn’t own any stocks.

Ashamed, she shrugged off the jealousy and focused on Jamie.

Among the statements was a piece of paper with a user name and password written on it.

Patti snorted.

The password was “Sabrina.” How obvious.

Patti hit the keys and within seconds, she was logged in. She looked through the document files. Having found nothing of interest in them, she searched through every file on the hard drive, but again, she found nothing to help her find Jamie.

She walked over to the closet and stuck her head in. Not a closet, but more like a dressing room. It was huge, but mostly empty. One side held shelves for shoes and purses. Most were sneakers and simple sandals with a few dressier pairs. On the opposite side hung Jamie’s clothes.

Curiosity got the best of her. Patti browsed through them. Again, nothing fancy. Considering the mansion Patti stood in, Jamie’s clothes weren’t what she expected.

She walked over to boxes sitting on the far side of the walk-in. She looked through each of the boxes and was disappointed to find nothing.

She turned to leave, but her gaze fell on a purse thrown haphazardly in the far corner.

Her stomach clenched.

Women didn’t leave their purses—for any reason. She’d heard of women running back into burning buildings to get them.

Maybe Jamie was using a different one at the moment, Patti reasoned, trying to reassure herself.

Patti opened the Gucci handbag. Just the usual things: a brush, makeup, some gum.

She opened the billfold. Her breath faltered. Inside were several credit cards and a driver’s license. The license showed the address of the house Patti was sitting in at the moment.

It was Jamie’s current purse.

Patti’s concern moved up several notches from mild anxiety to apprehension.

Why would Jamie walk out of the house without her purse or her child? She stared down at the license, barely able to breathe.

Her heart reached out to Jamie’s.

Where are you, sis? Are you in trouble?

Nothing. No answers. No connection with her twin. Tears dripped on the license she still held. It didn’t matter. She knew the answer.

Jamie hadn’t left this house willingly.