Oh, no, I thought. That Ryan. He must have told.
“So naturally, my first fear ran toward what had happened to Kaylee. Maybe this abductor was interested in her twin sister, too. I called Lieutenant Cowan, who got right on things for us, and then it occurred to me to check your room to see if you had any phone numbers or notes that would give us a hint about where you might be.”
He paused. It seemed like minutes, but it was only some very long and deep seconds.
“I noticed that you had left your computer on. Pretty dumb to use a computer for what you were doing, especially when you have a father in the software business, Haylee. I had no other ideas and didn’t want to start calling around at that hour, so I began surfing through your computer. That’s when I called Lieutenant Cowan.”
I felt like I was shrinking, and in moments I would be only inches tall.
“Why did you do this to your sister, Haylee? Why did you lie about who was communicating with this man?”
I bit down on my lower lip and stared at him.
“The trace is happening now. We already know his name is Anthony Cabot, but that’s something you could have told us right away, isn’t it?”
I started to shake my head and then stopped. It was difficult even to consider lying.
“It won’t be long before we find out if it’s too late. Detective Simpson is on his way with the police. Do you have any idea what you have done? To your sister? To your mother? To me? Even to yourself?”
“You don’t understand, Daddy,” I said defiantly. “You never did.”
“Frankly, I don’t want to understand,” he said. “I don’t even want to try.”
“You are an accessory to your sister’s kidnapping,” Lieutenant Cowan rushed to say. He was practically steaming with impatience.
I started to shake my head, but he stepped forward and shocked me by putting handcuffs on me. “Daddy!” I cried.
Daddy made no move to help me. “Pray that she’s all right,” he said. “Pray for yourself and for her. That’s what your mother would say. And how right she would be right now.” He stepped back into the house and closed the door.
Another patrol car arrived, and a female police officer got out quickly to join us.
“She’s all yours,” Lieutenant Cowan told her.
As she led me away, I saw the police put Eddie in the back of their car.
Just before the female officer guided me into the rear of her patrol car, I stopped and turned back to my house.
Where the word came from I didn’t know. I wasn’t expecting to shout it. I had never said it like this, even when I was little. Neither had Kaylee, I thought, but this time I did.
“Mommy!”
22
Kaylee
He brought one of the kitchen chairs up next to the bed and sat without speaking for a long time. I was very uncomfortable and tried to pull myself into a crouch, but every time I bent my legs, he reached out and grabbed my ankles, pulling my legs straight again. Finally, I gave up and pressed my face into the blanket. Maybe I could smother myself to death, I thought, but every time I held my breath, my lungs burst with demand, and I gasped.
“Untie me!” I screamed.
He didn’t move; he didn’t speak.
I cried and pleaded until I was hoarse and then just lay still, waiting. So much time went by that I actually dozed off. When I awoke, I listened for some sound of him, but it was deadly quiet. Then I realized he was still there, still sitting in that chair looking at me. I tried to turn my head enough to look at him, but I couldn’t.
“What are you doing? What do you want?” I cried.
“I wanted you to have our baby,” he said. He sounded so different to me, like he was talking in a tunnel. I felt him reach out and touch the sole of my right foot and then my left. “You were ready, but you lied.”
“Untie me,” I said, no louder than a whisper. “Please.”