The China Doll (14 page)

"How long have you known that?" Richard
asked.

"A little over a month."

"And you’re just telling us now? And only
after you got to play with all of us?" Richard was disgusted.
"Mitch, you let me know when you’re calling this in, because I want
to be there."

"Are you really sure you want to do that?"
Robert asked. "Be careful how you answer—a lot’s riding on it."

"I’m not only calling," Mitch said, "I’m
going to sit on this myself until I see that you’re kicked off the
force. Hey, sounds like it runs in the family."

Robert smiled coldly. "And the same goes for
you, Mister Hendrickson?"

"Keeping your job should be the least of your
concerns right now."

"Too bad," Robert said softly. "Because I
don’t think anyone is going to care about what you two have to say.
I think they’re going to call it sour grapes, myself."

Emily couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. "Sour
about what?"

"I told you I was thorough, Emily. I’m sorry
they didn’t believe me." He looked at Zainab, calm and quiet. "How
long have you been together now? Pushing three years? And he’s had
his business for almost that long, right? Still struggling, but
that’s a startup for you. He’s committed to that, though. But
you...where’s your ring?"

"Detective Teague, that’s none of your
business," Zainab said. "And I don’t think that has anything to do
with your investigation."

"Maybe not directly," Robert conceded,
looking at Richard. "But I needed to make sure that I understood
all of you. So I’ve been watching. All of you. And you, Richard,
you have been so fascinating. So serious, so dedicated. Such an
adult, and I guess you have been for years really. Between your
father’s untimely death and your mother’s complete lack of maternal
instinct, I guess you’d have to be. But then there’s the other
part. The guy we see before us stays at work until everyone else
has gone. But the other guy—he leaves fifteen minutes after that.
He gets into his car and drives to the South End. And he goes up to
the same apartment at the same time for the same two hours. And
then he comes down again and gets back into the car. By the time
the car gets back to your house, it’s him again. Good old
dependable Richard."

Zainab let go of Richard’s hand. He looked
straight ahead. "Look at me Richard," she said. It wasn’t a demand.
It wasn’t a surprise. "Please." He turned to her. He tightened his
jaw. "Who is she? How long? Please, you tell me before he
does."

He blinked, but only once. "Four months."

Zainab sighed. "Ever since I started my job."
She took a deep breath. "Ever since it would have made sense." She
waited a moment. "And now tell me her name."

Emily, Miranda and Jessie already knew who it
had to be. They all thought Zainab probably did too. But she
deserved to hear him say it. "Sophie," he almost whispered. "Sophie
Gorman."

"Of course."

Emily leapt over to Zainab. "You’re coming
home with us tonight. Hellie will be really happy to see you. You
can stay in the other bedroom, just until we sort this out, okay?"
Zainab didn’t say anything, but by the way she let her weight fall
onto her, Emily knew it was the right thing to do.

Jessie pounded Richard’s chest. "How could
you?" she screamed. He didn’t move. "I thought you were better than
everyone! The parents who died, the friends who don’t think before
they act, everyone who’s out to screw themselves and everyone else!
But you’re just like them!"

Zainab gently pulled Jessie away from
Richard. "Jessie, please don’t do this to yourself. It’s going to
be alright," she said. Jessie sobbed, heartbroken, as Zainab hugged
her.

Robert looked at Zainab with the closest
thing he had shown to remorse that whole evening. "As you can see,"
he said slowly to Richard, "I think a phone call from you will cut
both ways tomorrow, but it’s up to you."

"You prick," Mitch said angrily. He loved
Zainab too. "Don’t worry, I’ve got this."

Robert sighed. "Mitch, Mitch, Mitch. You
think you’re safe, don’t you? Because if I’ve been following you
around, I wouldn’t have seen anything except for a guy who goes to
work early and comes home late, and in between doesn’t even flirt
with his very attractive secretary. But there are other ways to
follow you, and you should know that."

Emily looked at Mitch, and Mitch blinked.
"What is he talking about?" Emily whispered.

"Emily, don’t do this now."

Robert clicked his tongue. "Sorry, councilor,
but I think you had your chance. And it’s a shame, because you’re
the one here with the most to lose. The job you worked so hard for,
the pretty, hotheaded wife, the beautiful little baby girl, that
nice new house you just bought. She’s just too damn curious. One of
us is going to have to tell her. Who do you think it should be?
I’ll give you the same warning I gave Alex."

Mitch couldn’t move. Emily could. "What is
going on?"

"It’s nothing," Mitch said, but she could see
the sweat on his brow.

"It’s obviously something." She paused. "It
always is."

Mitch licked his lips. "It’s
just...email."

Emily felt all of the blood rush to her face
and the rest of her body go cold. "Email of what? Words? Pictures?"
She flashed to him sitting in that study at home, alone, for so
long. She’d felt like such a jerk for being mad.

Mitch closed his eyes. "It wasn’t real."

"Who is on the other end of them?" The words
just came tumbling out. If she had thought, she wouldn’t have
asked. She didn’t want to know.

"It isn’t what it sounds like."

"Who?!?" Emily shrieked. Mitch couldn’t open
his mouth. Emily didn’t dare move toward him, because she wasn’t
sure anyone would hold her back. "Say it. Or can’t you admit that
whore got to you again?" She turned to Robert. "It was Kyra Allen,
wasn’t it?" Silence, which enraged her more. "You’re just as much
of a coward as he is. You’ve got nothing on me, you piece of
garbage, I’ll be happy to—"

"Yes!" Mitch shouted. "Emily, stop! I’m
sorry. Yes. It was Kyra."

Emily took her ring off her finger and threw
it at Mitch’s face. It just barely missed his eye. "Was it good for
you, baby? Want to show us what you got from her? How about you
show me what you sent back?" She wished she could have thrown
something else at him. "You make me sick."

Mitch bent to pick up the ring. Emily looked
down on him, even when he stood up. "I want to explain, but not
here."

"I’ve got it, you moron. You work so late you
pretty much just sleep next to me, but you find all kinds of time
to sit in the dark and jerk off while you get your e-porn from
her." She put her finger in his face. He didn’t move. "I begged you
to meet me for lunch, or come down to your lobby to see me before I
had to pick up Hellie. But you never had the fifteen or even five
minutes to spare. How long did it take to read your email? How much
time did all of those minutes add up to?"

"You don’t understand—"

"That again?!?" Emily threw her arms open.
"You’re right, I didn’t, because it didn’t make sense. But now I do
understand, clearly. Fine, you didn’t screw her, you just pretended
to. Ireland or your computer—just another place for you to play
pretend. And you deserve it, because this grown up, married,
daddy-thing is too much for you…never mind that it was your idea."
She took a breath. "Go back to work, Mitch. Go back to your email,
go back to your fantasy girlfriend. Come back tomorrow after I’m at
work and my daughter is at preschool. Get your stuff, and get out.
And stay out."

Zainab looked at everyone in the room.
Everyone had lost something. She stood and walked up to Robert. He
didn’t move. "Is there anything else?" she asked calmly.

He shook his head. It took him a moment for
him to find his voice. "No, that’s all."

"Glad to hear it," she said.

"Yeah, me too," Jessie said, her face white
and red. "And just for the record, Bobby, you weren’t the only one
faking things." Then she stormed down the stairs.

"Jessie, wait!" Richard called out as he ran
after her.

Zainab turned to Miranda. "You should go
after him," she said. "He’s going to need someone to talk to."

"That’s a great idea," Alex said quickly.
"I’ll drive you home."

"The Hell you will!" Miranda said angrily.
"Stay away from me!" She ran down the stairs after Richard.

"Miranda!" Alex called. He ran past Lucy, but
not before she gave him a look that would chill the sun. She shook
her head at Robert, and then left herself. Joanna looked at Emily,
who forced a smile. She forced one too, then left.

"Sorry, but I’ve been waiting all night to
say this," Emily said as she stood up again. "Detective Teague, get
the Hell out of this office now. And take him with you," she
gestured at Mitch. "So help me, I hope I never see either of you
again."

"My pleasure," Robert said as he turned
around.

Mitch stayed where he was. "Emily, we need to
talk."

"Wrong. We
needed
to talk. I begged
you to be a husband, but you always had an excuse. Enjoy those
excuses now, alone." Still he stayed. "Get out of here now!" she
shrieked. Mitch, tearful, finally obeyed.

Emily and Zainab cried when everyone was
gone. Then they both laughed at how ridiculous it all was.

Miranda hadn’t slept the whole night. Jessie
screamed at Richard until two in the morning about her mother,
about Lucy, about Zainab. She threw things, she cried, she told him
he was worse than everyone else. She alternated that with telling
Miranda what an idiot she was for marrying Michael and then being
with Alex. Miranda knew that half of Jessie’s tears were over
Robert. Miranda pleaded with her to calm down anyway. And Richard
didn’t defend himself, he just begged her to go to sleep. And then
Jessie cried and hugged Richard until they both fell asleep on the
couch.

Throughout the night, Alex had called every
number they had. Miranda finally shut off and unplugged all of the
phones. She could have kissed Richard right then for having the
sense to hire a security guard.

At five in the morning, she took a shower
after having lain in bed for two hours and done nothing but stare
at the ceiling. Then she paced in her room until six. She should
call Emily to check on her and Zainab. But she knew Emily would be
getting Hellie ready for the sitter. Oh, God—was Hellie going to
grow up without her father? She should call Mitch, but what was she
going to say? Was he going to stay with his parents? Then there was
Lucy. Miranda couldn’t conceive of her being someone’s victim, much
less...Alex, Alex, Alex. Ruthless, cold blooded, callous—the old
words, but they just didn’t stack up. How could he? She thought of
what Richard had said. Richard knew all along? His
father...Joanna...it was so confusing. She was happy to be
confused.

At seven, Miranda realized that she couldn’t
deny what she was thinking or feeling anymore. She grabbed her coat
and ran downstairs.

Richard was coming out of the kitchen with
some coffee when she came down. Jessie was still sleeping under a
blanket on the couch. "Where are you going?" he asked, looking at
his watch.

"Where do you think?" she replied as she
opened the door. She was gone before he could stop her.

He flopped onto his chair and threw his head
back. One more thing he wasn’t going to be able to fix today.

~~~

Miranda didn’t walk, she ran. She was sure
one moment that he was going to be there, and then equally sure the
next that he wasn’t. She was running fast—that’s why her heart was
beating the way it was.

She got to the corner. She stopped. She
looked at the house. She trembled. She put one foot forward and
then the other. She had to know either way.

She got to the bottom of the stairs. She
looked at the door. She walked up the stairs. She put her hand on
the door. It was cold. And then she remembered where she was, and
that this had been her home during the happiest time of her life.
And that she wasn’t allowed to go back, whether he was home or
not.

Before she could move her hand, the door
swung open. She gasped as she fell forward. Two strong arms pulled
her up and in. The door slammed shut. He pushed her against the
door. "What took you so long?"

Miranda couldn’t believe her eyes. Michael
Abbot. His face looked just a little older, and he was more tanned
than he had been before. But those were still the same dark eyes,
and that was still the same voice. "Bastard," she said
breathlessly. "You’re not supposed to be here."

"How long did you think I could stay away?
How long could I ever stay away from you?" He leaned forward and
kissed her. She punched him once in the chest then stopped. She
grabbed his back and pulled him into her. She wanted to take him in
as if for dear life.

He kissed her ears and neck. "God, I missed
you," he whispered. She moaned and pulled at his wavy hair, now a
little shorter than it had been. She closed her eyes. She could
stay here forever, just as always.

But she couldn’t. She pushed him back and
stepped away. "No!" She put her hand on her mouth as if she could
wipe him away. "That’s not why I came here."

He pulled her back. "Who are you trying to
convince, me or you?"

"You, you crazy, stalky creep!" She
remembered to be angry. "You made me think I was losing my mind.
That I was imagining you. But you were there. You were stalking me
just like you always used to. Well, now I know, so you’re little
game’s over, and you’re going to have to stop." He was smiling and
moving closer. She turned around again. Her face was burning.

"But the music in the café—wow, you’ve got to
get points for creativity on that," she said quickly. "What did you
do, break into the house when I wasn’t there and grab my iPod?"