When Wishes Collide (16 page)

"No."

"You better not be lying," Wyatt warned.

"I'm not. I swear."

"Wyatt, ease up," she said, moving closer to them.

Wyatt shot her a dark look, as if he did not want her interference, but she didn't care. They were getting nowhere fast with his tactics. He stepped back, but he didn't let go of Ben's arm.

"Ben, where are you staying?" she asked, sending the boy a reassuring smile.

"Around," he said vaguely.

"Why don't you come home with me tonight? I can fix you something to eat, and you can tell us everything you know about the girls."

"I can't go home with you. You're a stranger."

"My name is Adrianna Cavello, and this is Wyatt Randall."

"So what?"

"So, we may be strangers, but we want to help you. Is someone waiting for you?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure. There are lots of people waiting for me."

"Well, then they can wait," she said, not believing him for a second. His face and hands were dirty and so were his clothes. She'd bet any amount of money that he'd been spending a lot of time on the street. "I just live a few blocks away," she added. "What do you say? It's cold out here, don't you think?"

"Is he going to be there?"

"Damn right I am," Wyatt said.

"Forget it," Ben retorted.

"You look like a smart kid, Ben, so I'll lay it out for you," Wyatt said. "We can either go to Adrianna's apartment or we can go to the police station."

"I knew you were a cop," Ben said sullenly.

"Then you should know better than to argue with me. It's your choice. What's it going to be?"

"We don't want to hurt you, Ben," Adrianna said reassuringly. "I promise you can trust me on that."

He didn't look like a kid who knew how to trust anyone, but he was caught between two bad choices, and he knew it.

"All right," he said. "I'll go with you, but I don't know anything."

"Don't even think of running," Wyatt said as he let go of Ben's arm. "Because the next time I catch you, you're going to jail."

She frowned at his rough tactics. "He's not going to run," she said firmly. "Come on, Ben, walk with me."

She was grateful that she didn't live far away, because she suspected that with every step Ben was concocting a plan to get away from them. But Wyatt was sticking to his other side, and she had no doubt that he would make good on his promise to chase Ben down if he was foolish enough to run.

She was relieved when they reached her building. Once they entered her apartment, she felt even better. Hopefully Ben would be able to tell them something that would help them find Stephanie.

"I'll make you some food," she said. "What do you like to eat?"

"Anything," he said, following her into the adjacent kitchen.
 

"How about scrambled eggs, pancakes and bacon," she suggested.

"That sounds okay," he said carelessly, but his eyes lit up at the thought.
 

"I love eating breakfast at night," she said. "It used to be a treat I shared with my mom."

"I like breakfast any time," he said.

Glancing past Ben, she saw the impatient frown on Wyatt's face. He wanted to get straight down to business, but she sent him a silent plea to go easy.

Wyatt took a seat at the counter. He pulled out the photo of his daughter and handed it to Ben. "Is this one of the girls you were with?"

"It kind of looks like her," he said.

"What's her name?"

"Emily," Ben said, apparently deciding that saying he didn't know wasn't going to work anymore.

"Emily what?"

Ben shrugged.

"She's not your sister, is she?"

"No, she's not."

Adrianna spun around at that answer. "So the other girl is your sister?"

"Sara is, yeah," he said. "Emily was just staying with us. Then her mom came and got her. She took Sara, too." Ben paused. "Can I have that banana?"

"Of course," Adrianna said, pushing the fruit bowl across to him.

"Where were you staying when this woman came to get Stephanie?" Wyatt asked.

"She said her name was Emily," Ben replied.

"Emily – whatever," Wyatt said impatiently.

"We were staying at a motel – the Fantasy Inn."

"Who was with you?"

"My mom and the girls and sometimes Rudy hung out there."

"Who's Rudy?" Wyatt asked.

"Some old dude who bangs my mom."

"Where is your mother now?" Wyatt asked.

"She's out somewhere."

As Ben continued to make short answers, Adrianna could sense Wyatt's anger beginning to burn. She paused from scrambling the eggs to say, "Here's the thing, Ben. We think Emily is in trouble and that the woman she was with might have kidnapped her."

Ben stared back at her. "She said she was Emily's mom," he repeated.

"She is her mother. She's also my ex-wife," Wyatt said, "And she stole Steph – Emily from me. She didn't have custody because she was a drug addict. She couldn't take care of our child, so the courts gave me custody. Her name was Jennifer."

Ben looked confused. "I don't know anything about that."

"What was the relationship between your mother and the woman who took Emily away?" Wyatt asked.

"They worked together at a club."

Wyatt sat up straighter. "What's the name of the club?"

"Ricky's. My mom said she was a waitress, but she's a stripper. She thinks I'm too stupid to figure that out." He paused. "Can I have cheese on my eggs?"

"Of course," Adrianna said, as she poured the eggs into a fry pan. She grabbed cheese out of the fridge and started grating while the bacon was in the microwave. It felt good to be cooking again, and it also felt good to be getting somewhere. Ben had finally given them information they could follow up on.
  

"Ricky's was closed down last month," Wyatt said. "What's your mother doing now?"

"I don't know."

"Why did your sister go with Emily?" Adrianna cut in. Something about the situation wasn't adding up. Why would Jennifer want to take another child with her?

"Because Emily was screaming she wouldn't go unless we went with her, but the woman said she couldn't take both of us, so she took Sara."

"And left you alone?" she asked, outraged at the thought.

Ben shrugged. "I'm old enough to be on my own."

"How old are you?" Wyatt asked.

Ben straightened on the stool. "Sixteen."

Wyatt shook his head. "Try again, kid."

"Fine, I'm fourteen."

"I'm betting you're closer to twelve."

"What does it matter to you?"

"You don't seem to have anyone looking after you."

"My mom's around. She's just out tonight."

"And the other nights when you went begging for food."

"She's had a hard time. She does the best she can," Ben said.

Adrianna inwardly sighed. Ben was protecting his mother, even though it was clear his mother wasn't interested in protecting him.

"I need to find the girls," Wyatt said. "Where should I look, Ben?"

"I tried to find them already," Ben replied. "They weren’t in any of the usual places. The lady said she'd bring Sara back when my mom got home."

"And when is that supposed to be? Don't tell me you don't know."

"I don't know," Ben said with a sullen expression.

"Can you give me a list of the places you used to go?" Wyatt asked.

"I'm tired."

"You'll feel better after you eat something," Adrianna said, setting a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of Ben and another full plate in front of Wyatt.

"I'm not hungry," Wyatt said, looking down at the food in bemusement.

"Eat what you want," she replied. "Pancakes are coming up."

Despite Wyatt's claim, he took one bite and then another and for a few minutes there was silence in the kitchen as both males cleaned their plates. They were fast eaters. By the time the first pancakes were done, they were holding out empty plates.

She flipped a stack of cakes on each plate and handed over her two favorite syrups, maple and blueberry.

It felt good watching them eat. She'd missed feeding people. It was what she was good at. What she needed to get back to doing.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Ben said a moment later as he slid off the stool.

"It's down the hall," she told him.

Wyatt stood up as Ben left the room. "You don't have a back door, do you?"

"No, but it doesn't matter, because he's not going to run."

"How do you know that?"
 

"It's cold outside, and it's warm in here," she said practically. "And because as much as he doesn't like you, he knows there are worse people in the world. I also don't think he has anywhere to go. You need to take it a little easier on him. You scared him back in the alley. You went into attack mode. It was the first time I saw you as a cop."

He frowned. "I wasn't acting like a cop but as a desperate father."

"You were acting like both," she said.

"Well, that's who I am. I didn't hurt him, Adrianna."

"Just remember that he's not the one who took Stephanie. In fact, he's probably been taking care of your daughter."

Wyatt stared back at her. "I didn't think of it like that."

"When he comes back, let me talk to him. We need to gain his trust. Or we'll never find out anything."

Ben returned to the kitchen with a wary glance. "Can I go now?"

"Why don't you stay for a while?" she suggested. "You could sleep here if you wanted. It doesn't sound like your mom is home tonight."

"She might have come back."

"Or maybe not," she said.

Ben debated for a long minute. "All right, I'll stay."

"Good. I have some sweats that would probably fit you. Let me show you what I have," she added. "Maybe we could throw your clothes in the wash, too. I have to run a load anyway."

Ben followed her into the bedroom. She opened a drawer and pulled out sweat pants and a t-shirt. "Will these work?"

He shrugged as if he didn't care.

"You can change in the bathroom. If you want to take a shower, feel free."

"I'm going to leave in the morning," he said firmly.

"Of course you are," she said.

Ben took the clothes and shuffled into her bathroom. She smiled as she heard the shower go on and then returned to the kitchen. She was surprised to find Wyatt doing the dishes.

"I can do that," she said.

"You cooked. I'll clean."

"Well, all right," she said, sitting down on the stool. "Ben's taking a shower."

"I heard the water go on. You have a way with him."

"I understand where he's coming from."

"Proving again how much I need you," he said, offering her a brief, somewhat pinched smile.

"I know you're frustrated, Wyatt, but Ben has already given us a few more clues to follow, like the club where his mom and possibly Jennifer were working."

"A club that was shut down," he said. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Jen was working as a stripper. How else would she make money?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I'm staying here tonight, Adrianna. I'll sleep in the chair or on the floor. I can't take a chance that I'll come back in the morning and Ben will be gone."

"I understand."

"Thanks."

While Wyatt finished cleaning up the kitchen, she got some extra blankets out of her hall closet and put them on the couch. Then she went into her bedroom to pull the comforter down. A few minutes later, a decidedly cleaner Ben walked in wearing her sweats.

She took the pile of dirty clothes out of his hand. "I'll run these downstairs to the laundry room."

"You don't have to," he said.

"It's not a problem. Why don't you sleep in here, Ben? Wyatt and I have things to talk about."

"I can't take your bed."

"Sure you can."

He stared back at her, as if weighing her motives. "I know you're just being nice to me so I'll help you."

"Actually, I'm being nice to you because I want to help
you
," she replied. "When I was fourteen, I lived on the street for two months. I remember what it was like not to have a bed or a home or clean clothes."

"My mom is coming back," he said, as if to convince himself as much as her.

"I believe you."

"What about the cop?" Ben asked, tipping his head toward the other room. "Is he staying?"

"Yes, and he's not here as a cop. He's a worried father. He wants to find his little girl. He's afraid she's in danger."