Kingsley Baby Trilogy: The Hero's Son\The Brother's Wife\The Long-Lost Heir (50 page)

Bradlee shrugged, her heart still pounding painfully inside her. “The staff, I guess. Iris, for sure.”

He glanced down at her. “Any chance she’d let us borrow it?”

Bradlee shrugged again. “I don’t know. After the kidnapping, she wouldn’t let anyone come near this room. Now, though, maybe her feelings have changed.”

David turned to stare down at her. “Are you saying you haven’t been in here since that night?”

“I’ve wanted to, but…”

He shook the handle again, though they both knew it was futile.

Another thought came to Bradlee. “How did you know where to come? This house is a maze of corridors.”

It was his turn to shrug. “Don’t ask me. I somehow just knew.”

The comment was more telling than he realized. For some reason his words were more important to Bradlee than all the other proof of his identity, including the DNA test results and his resemblance to Andrew. His knowing how to find the nursery was concrete evidence to Bradlee that he really was Adam. A doubt she hadn’t even known she harbored flitted away, and all her feelings for him—the bond they’d once shared—came rushing back. She wanted to put her arms around him and tell him how glad she was that he’d been found, how happy she was that he’d come home, but she knew such an action wouldn’t be appropriate. Not yet, at least.

“So what do you suggest we do now?” he asked. “Short of breaking in.”

She couldn’t help smiling. “That would be a first for us, you know. I’ve been told we used to try and break
out
of the nursery every chance we got. Andrew could manage it, but you and I always got caught.”

“Why was that?”

She grinned. “Because you were a slowpoke, and I always had to wait for you.”

He gave her a bemused glance. “So it was my fault, was it?”

“If you must know, Adam, you were a bit of a chicken back then.”

The moment she said his name, something changed. The playfulness between them disappeared, and Bradlee felt her awareness of him deepen. He stared down at her, his expression enigmatic.

“So you took care of me,” he said softly. “And you always waited for me.”

“Yes. I always waited for you, no matter how long it took.”

She caught her breath at the look on his face. A look that told her he just might kiss her if she would let him.

Slowly he lifted his hand to skim his knuckles across her cheek. “Why?”

Because you were my best friend,
she thought.
My soul mate. Back then, I loved you more than anyone in the whole world.

But she knew it was impossible for three-
year-
olds to have such feelings, that the publicity and interest in the kidnapping through the years had not only kept her emotions alive, but had embellished them. She knew what she was feeling at this moment wasn’t real, and so Bradlee said nothing. But her heart quickened at the gentleness of his touch, at the dark intensity of his gaze. She tried to let him know, without saying the words, that if he wanted to kiss her, she wouldn’t push him away.

He dropped his hand from her face and took a step back from her. Disappointment, keener than any Bradlee could imagine, ripped through her.

“It sounds to me as though we were quite a pair back then,” he said softly.

Bradlee drew a long breath. “We were, Adam. We really were.”

Bradlee was already seated at the breakfast table when David came down the next morning. Their gazes touched briefly before he glanced away to greet the others at the table—Edward, Pamela, Jeremy and Iris, who had insisted on coming down this morning, even though she still looked pale and listless.

The atmosphere at the table was cordial, but Bradlee couldn’t understand the lack of warmth. Adam had been missing from their lives for over thirty years. Why were they not gushing with gratitude that he’d been returned to them?

Maybe it was because of the impostor, she thought. The man who’d claimed to be Adam. Iris—the whole family—had opened their arms and their hearts to him, only to find that he wasn’t Adam, after all; and that he’d been involved in Andrew’s death.

The Kingsleys had given the impostor the welcome that should have been David’s. On some level Bradlee could understand the family’s wariness, even though they had proof that David was Adam, but she couldn’t help resenting their attitude toward him just the same. She wanted to grab them and shake them until their formal facades crumbled away, exposing their true emotions.

She caught David’s eye and he smiled slightly, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. His shrug was almost imperceptible, but it spoke volumes.

“So how long are you planning to stay with us?” Pamela asked. Her makeup was flawless, even so early in the morning, and her hair had been pulled back and fastened neatly with a gold clip. A few wispy tendrils remained at her temples, covering the scars left by the surgeon.

Edward, still wearing pajamas and a silk dressing gown, frowned at his wife across the table. “For God’s sake, the boy just got here. Leave him alone.”

“Don’t scold me as if I’m a child.”

“Then stop acting like one.”

Iris, seated at the head of the table and looking fragile but regal in a black tailored suit and ropes of pearls, set down her delicate porcelain cup with a clatter. “Stop this, both of you. I will not have this petty bickering at my breakfast table.”

“All I said was—” Pamela began, but a sharp look from Iris silenced her.

As if to cover his mother’s embarrassment, Jeremy said, “Mother tells me you’re an attorney…David.”

“Yes, I am.”

“She says you’re a public defender in New York City.”

“Yes.”

“But you graduated from Columbia.”

“Right again.”

Jeremy smiled, but the action looked more like a smirk. “Columbia is a fine school. You must have had offers from a number of firms. Why did you decide to join the public defender’s office?”

David shrugged. “I knew I would have the kind of challenges there I wouldn’t get in a private law firm.”

“Challenges, yes, but hardly compensation,” Jeremy said.

David met his gaze. “Believe it or not, there are more important things to me than money.”

Bradlee could almost see the wheels turning in Jeremy’s head. If David wasn’t interested in money, perhaps there was still a chance for
him.
As if to confirm her thoughts, she saw him glance down the table at Iris, who showed no outward reaction whatsoever to David’s statement.

“In fact,” David said, setting his napkin aside and standing, “maybe this is a good time to set the record straight.”

His eyes met Bradlee’s for just an instant, then in turn he let his gaze fall on Jeremy, on Edward, then Pamela, and lastly, Iris.

“I didn’t come here for your money,” David said slowly. “All I want from any of you is the truth.”

They all sat silent for a moment, as if what he’d said didn’t quite compute. Then Edward, looking as if he needed something other than orange juice this morning, roused himself long enough to murmur, “The truth? What truth?”

“The truth about the night I was kidnapped,” David replied. He had everyone’s attention now, and Bradlee glanced down the table, observing the various emotions. Jeremy was looking a bit self-
satisfied, Edward puzzled, Pamela disgusted, and Iris—

Bradlee couldn’t tell what Iris was feeling. It was as if a mask had fallen over the older woman’s face, hiding whatever emotions might have been revealed.

“Before my mother died, she told me an incredible story,” David continued. “Apparently, Raymond Colter had an accomplice. Someone who was in the house that night. Someone closely connected to this family paid him to kidnap me. That’s why I’m here. To find out who stole thirty-
two years of my life. And I
will
find out,” he finished. “I promise you that.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Bradlee could feel the shock permeating the table, and if she hadn’t felt so dazed herself, she might have found the Kingsleys’ reactions amusing. They weren’t used to being blindsided this way.

But as it was, Bradlee was also stunned into silence. Someone who had been in this house that night—perhaps someone at this very table—had paid Raymond Colter to kidnap Adam. Someone
had
been in the nursery that night. Someone
had
stood over Bradlee’s bed.

It hadn’t been a nightmare. The shadow was real.

Bradlee felt herself trembling all over as she realized the implication of David’s words. He was looking for the truth and unless she missed her guess, whoever had been in the nursery that night would do anything to keep him from finding it.

But why should that be so shocking? Wasn’t that exactly the reason
she
had come back here?

Presently, everyone at the table seemed to collect their wits. Pamela said in shocked outrage, “How dare you accuse any of us—”

Edward muttered, “My God, how could you think—”

Jeremy pushed back his chair and stood. “Now, see here—”

Only Iris and Bradlee remained silent. Bradlee glanced down at the end of the table. Iris’s complexion had gone nearly as white as her hair. She had a hand to her heart, as if near collapse. When David spun away from the table and strode from the room, she put her hand out as if to stop him, but still she said nothing.

Bradlee scraped back her own chair and stood. “If you’ll excuse me…” She hurried from the room, feeling all eyes on her as she escaped through the kitchen, in the same direction David had taken.

She followed the flagstone walkway that led to the garages. David was just backing his car out, and Bradlee waved him down. He stopped when he saw her and got out of the car.

She hurried toward him. “Did you mean what you said in there?” she asked breathlessly. “Did your mother really tell you that?”

“I don’t expect you to believe me,” he said. “I’m not even sure I believe it. But it’s something I have to find out.”

“I do believe you,” Bradlee stated quietly.

He’d started to say something else, then stopped. He stared down at her, his eyes darkening with suspicion. “Why?”

The words tumbled out of her, as if in a rush to be heard. “Because I’ve always thought someone was in the nursery that night. Someone who didn’t belong there. I think I may have seen the kidnapper.”

He grabbed her arms. “You mean you saw Raymond Colter?”

Bradlee shook her head. “No. It was someone I knew. Someone—”

His grip tightened. “Who was it? Tell me who it was.”

“I don’t know—”

“But you just said it was someone you knew.”

Bradlee winced as his fingers dug into her skin. Almost instantly, his hold on her eased but he didn’t release her.

“I think it was someone I knew. But I didn’t see a face. All I saw was…a shadow.”

Disappointment flashed in his eyes. “Then how do you know it was someone you knew?”

“It’s just…a feeling I have.” Bradlee realized how lame her words sounded, and she felt like weeping all of a sudden. She wanted to help him. More than anything, she wanted to help him.

“A feeling.” Abruptly David released her. All the urgency faded from his expression.

Bradlee ran a hand through her hair. “Ever since the kidnapping, I’ve had nightmares. There’s this shadow standing over my bed, and I know it’s someone I know, but I can’t see a face. Maybe because I don’t want to see it.”

His eyes narrowed at that. “You were only three years old back then. The kidnapping must have terrified you. It’s only natural you’d have nightmares.”

This time, it was she who grabbed his arm. “But I know I saw something that night. I’ve always known it. It’s haunted me for years, thinking that if I could just remember, I might know where you were. I might be able to bring you back.”

“Everyone thought I was dead.”

“I never did.”

“Maybe you should have. Maybe the nightmares would have gone away.”

She caught his arm again when he would have turned away. “I want to help you, David. Please. I…owe you that much.”

He stared at her hand on his arm, then slowly lifted his gaze to meet hers. His eyes were cool and distant, revealing none of the emotion, none of the warmth she’d glimpsed the night before, outside the nursery.

“You don’t owe me anything. And I don’t want your help. This is something I have to do on my own.”

“But, Adam—”

If possible, his eyes grew even colder. “My name is David.
David.
I’m not that little boy you remember. I’m a grown man, Bradlee. I don’t need a guardian angel anymore. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your mouth shut. You won’t tell anyone what you just told me.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s pretty damned simple. If someone in this house—someone connected to this family—had something to do with my kidnapping, what do you think they’d do if they thought you saw something that night?”

A shiver of fear swept over Bradlee. “But you just told the family that you’re going to find out the truth. Whoever is responsible for your kidnapping is bound to find out what you plan to do. You’ve deliberately put your own life in danger.”

He got into the car and slammed the door. “Go back to L.A., Bradlee. Back to your photography. Let me handle this.”

“You still don’t get it, do you?” She put her hands on the open window of the car and stared down at him. “I’m not going anywhere. Not until I know you’re safe.”

“Just what I need,” he muttered. He gave her an exasperated glance. “All right, get in. I have a feeling you’d be more dangerous going off half-
cocked somewhere on your own than staying with me. At least this way I can keep an eye on you.”

“Where are we going?” Bradlee gave him a dazzling smile. He blinked twice before he answered her.

“Just get in. I need to get away from here for a while. When I know where we’re going, I’ll let you know.”

Bradlee, feeling unaccountably elated, hurried around to the other side of the car before he could change his mind. But as she opened the door, she glanced up and her elation faded. A movement at one of the second-
floor windows drew her gaze, and Bradlee shivered, certain that someone was standing up there, watching them.