A Face to Die For (Forensic Instincts 6)

“Well, I am.”

Quickly, Casey called John and explained.

“I’m a few blocks away having a cup of coffee,” he said. “I’ll get the car and be there.”

Gia’s and Dani’s anxious gazes were on Lina, and they both stood up and went to her.

“What can we do?” Gia asked.

“Just send good vibes my way.” A weak smile touched Lina’s lips. “And be here when I come back. I’m bringing answers. This charade is ending today.”

“Please be careful,” Dani said. “This Jimmy Colone is dangerous.”

“Not to me.” Lina sounded almost guilty as she spoke. “That’s why I haven’t been touched. Angelo’s loyalty to me and my family must have extended to his brother, as well. So I’m being spared while the two of you have been through hell. I’m so sorry.”

Casey’s cell phone rang.

“I’m back and in my lair,” Ryan reported. “Patrick called to let me know that he and Marc have the Brandos covered. So I’m down here digging up info on Jimmy Colone. I’m getting somewhere. Tell the girls to hang tight.”

Casey had barely hung up when John Nickels called to say he was right outside the building.

Lina hugged both her sisters and took off.

Claire stared after her, her brows drawn and a flicker of apprehension in her eyes.

“What is it?” Casey asked.

“I’m not sure that Lina’s really free of danger,” Claire replied. “We’re missing something, something besides Jimmy’s frantic state. A plan, a deception—both.” Claire massaged her temples. “I’m uneasy—no, I’m worried.”

“Should we be doing something more?” Casey asked.

A tentative shrug. “Other than that one time I experienced an emotional connection, I’ve never felt in touch with Jimmy Colone. Maybe it’s because he’s cast in a strange web of shadows. Maybe it’s because I never had a personal item of his to hold or touch. But he keeps fading in and out of my awareness. Sometimes I can almost grab on to the feeling, and then it dissipates. He’s there, and then he’s not. It’s frustrating. But I am deeply connected with the girls. So that apprehensive feeling that I have… let’s just say I’m glad Marc and Patrick will be following the Brandos and that John will be with Lina. Because something’s not right.”

Brooklyn Bridge

2:20 p.m.

Donna stared out the passenger seat window of their car, watching the water below and feeling as if her entire world was crumbling around her.

“Why didn’t you tell Casey Woods the truth?” she blurted out.

“You know the answer to that.” Joseph was driving home on autopilot, as tormented as his wife about the current crisis. “I’d be admitting to being complicit in events I knew nothing about.”

“What about those you did? You knew Lina wasn’t our natural child. You knew Angelo made arrangements for us to have her. You knew questionable strings were pulled to make that happen. You knew—and so did I.” Donna dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “But at the time, we didn’t care. We didn’t ask a single question. And now… dear God, we’re paying the dearest of prices. Worse, so is Lina.”

Joseph’s hands tightened on the wheel. “When Angelo brought Lina to us, we had no idea what Jimmy had done or that she was one of three triplets. So, yes, we leaped at the chance of having a child. Do you remember the depth of your depression before then? You wouldn’t even leave the house except to go to those support group meetings with other women desperate for a child. I was terrified I’d lose you, that’s how bad you were.”

“I remember. I also remember that that’s how we managed to invent that story about my high risk pregnancy confining me to bedrest for a huge chunk of my term.”

“It worked. And because of it and thanks to Angelo, we got Lina. And given the circumstances, we were desperate to protect her.”

“So we lied.” Donna wasn’t putting on blinders anymore. “We told her she was our natural child. We invented a beautiful lie about her birth.”

“Okay, fine,” Joseph snapped. “We looked the other way. We latched onto our opportunity. We brought Lina up believing she was our biological child. We’re not the first set of parents to do that, and it’s a choice, not an illegality. So that’s the extent of our guilt. But confessing to the adoption would bring us under investigation for a double homicide. I can’t allow that—not for my political future, but mostly not for Lina.”

“That’s out of our hands now, Joseph, and you know it. Casey Woods says she has DNA evidence, and I believe her. So the investigation Forensic Instincts is conducting will bring the truth to light.”

Joseph pressed down on the gas pedal. “The only way to extricate ourselves from the allegations of murder and kidnapping is to get Jimmy to admit the truth. And he’s about to—if I have to beat it out of him.”