“Did you bring the letter with you?” Jonathan got right to his point as he watched Leo slither into his home office.
Leo handed him the tattered, handwritten letter as he took a seat on the small chocolate-colored loveseat. He was not sure what Jonathan had in mind in terms of getting the blackmailer off of his back, but he trusted him. He was the master at fixing issues like this. All he could do was trust the man.
Jonathan lounged back in his leather office chair as he turned his back and forth. His eyes remained fixed on the writing as if it would give him some kind of clue or lead on to who was behind this.
Leo coughed, hoping to break up the long, awkward silence. “I need you to do something else for me.”
“You don’t think this bullshit is enough, Leo? What do you want me to do now? Kill someone for ya?” Jonathan’s temper was raised that day. Getting his client out of a dangerous situation wasn’t exactly in his work description. Yet here he was, on his day off, trying to decide if he should call in the big guns on it.
Leo knew what he was about to say wasn’t going to be easily accepted, “It’s not for me. It’s for Bailey.”
Jonathan slammed his fist and the letter down on his desk and removed his glasses. “Are you crazy? You know how I feel about her. What crazy scheme does she supposedly need help with today? She planning on robbing you blind and need me to hold the bag for her while she does it?” Bailey was only supposed to be Leo’s employee and her stories had been all lies or secrets. He was still receiving phone calls from her great-aunt about a stolen pearl necklace. Yet when he broached the subject with Leo, he defended her, even going so far to say that she was his girlfriend now. To Jonathan, she was still the gold-digging liar.
“Will you hear me out?” Leo demanded over Jonathan’s sarcasm. “It’s her daughter—”
“Her daughter? Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me, Leo.” He pushed back in his leather chair, sending it flying towards the wall as he caught himself on the edge of the desk.
“Yeah, it’s her daughter, Lily. Bailey put her in an orphanage or something when she came to work for me. She didn’t have the money to take care of her and she got fired from that job at the hotel, so she left her there.” Leo stiffened his back as he sat forward on the couch cushion. Just thinking about how brave she must have been to do such a thing gave him the courage to fight harder for her. “Well, now her ex-husband’s been sending these letters to our home saying he’s going to take the daughter away.”
“Shit, let him. Obviously Bailey couldn’t handle the job.”
Leo shook his head, “No, that’s the thing. He’s dangerous. He beat the shit out of Bailey. She even told me how he threw her down the stairs when she was eight months pregnant and it made her go into labor. She got real roughed up from him and finally got a divorce. They had worked it out so he wasn’t allowed to see Lily if he got the house, the car, and their money. But now he’s back, and he’s trying to make a move for both of them.”
Jonathan massaged his temple in frustration. Bailey certainly brought along her own special set of baggage wherever she went. “So, what do you want your agent to do about it?”
“I want you to help us out. Can you get info on this guy? We just need to know where he’s living, what he’s doing, and if he’s got anything in his life we should be worried about. We’re going to get the girl out of the home as soon as we can. Bailey’s at home now talking to her counselor about getting to pick her up today or tomorrow instead of during her meeting next week. But just in case, we want to be ahead of the guy. You know, like see his fight tapes.”
Leo smiled. The plan was sounding more realistic and less dramatic. All they wanted was some basic information, nothing too hard. He knew Jonathan and his detective and PR friends could pull it off if he asked.
Jonathan sighed as he stood up, walked to the door, and opened it a crack. He turned back to Leo as he motioned him out. “I’ll see what I can do for you all. But I’m going to focus on your blackmail case first and foremost. This whole crazy ex is secondary. I’ll call you as soon as I know something.”
“Thanks, Jon. I really appreciate that.” Leo patted him on the back as he walked out of his office.
But before he could get too far, Jonathan grabbed him firm by his arm, pulling him back into the office’s doorway. With a lowered, urgent voice, he warned, “Don’t be stupid about this, Leo. You know what you’re on probation for. You know that if you do what you did to that kid in Vegas, you’ll be behind bars before they have a chance to find your size orange jumpsuit. Swear to me you’re gonna keep it in check—at least until your trial in two weeks.”
Leo looked him square in the eyes and nodded. He knew what was at risk if he so much as touched another man. But it did not stop him from leaving Jonathan’s office and home and having his driver bring him directly to the orphanage on the address of the letter he found the day before.
The Boys and Girls Halfway Home Center was just opening its doors for the day. The red brick building looked just like a barn with the flowers in the garden and the large dangling trees. Leo drove around the massive parking lot as he suspiciously eyed each and every car that pulled in. When the parking lot filled with employee’s cars, he left his running by the curb and walked the property’s ground.
Gates, wires, and cameras home surrounded most of the actual. But from a white, seven-foot tall picket fence, he stared into a small chip in the wooden planks. On the other side was a playground with several sized slides and tunnels along with a track for the children to race their bikes and cars around. Four girls played on the swing set nearest him. They giggled as they talked about one of the workers and her mismatched socks.
Leo struggled to get a good glimpse at them, but, from the corner of his eye, he could see the faintest bit of a small, child with wavy brown hair. Her eyes were jet blue, just like her mom’s. Leo had never met the child before, nor had Bailey shown him a picture. But something told him that the little girl who kicked her feet in the dust under the swing was hers. And it took everything in his power to not burst through the fence to save her from the life she was leading or the dangers that lurked.
When the girls were called inside, Leo returned slowly to his car, sinking behind trees and out of the view of the office windows. Bailey most likely alerted them to a strange man who may be out to get Lily. He certainly did not want the staff to think it was him they were to be afraid of.
As he drove away, something caught his eye. A brand new white truck pulled in the lot in the same spot along the curve he had just been on. A man in a baseball hat and a woman in a yellow sundress hopped out and walked slowly to the main doors. Leo noticed how the woman walked ten feet behind her, dragging her feet all the way.
He thought about the way that woman walked the rest of the drive home, but he could not put a finger on why it bothered him so much. It remained on his mind as he gave Bailey a kiss on her forehead.
“Did you talk to Jonathan? What did he say? Will he help us?” Bailey was stirring a pan of cupcake batter as she nervously questioned Leo.
Leo sank down into one of the bar stools along the dining area’s island seating. He smiled as he studied the way her bare legs flexed as she skipped towards him and how her ponytail bounced along her back. “Yeah, he’s going to help. He’s going to give me a call as soon as his guys turn up info on him.”
“Oh my goodness—thank—thank you!” She quickly set down the silver mixing bowl and spoon and threw her arms around his neck in gratitude. “You have no idea how much this all means to me. I got a hold of my caseworker and left her a message that we're picking up Lily tomorrow. That’s why I’m making cupcakes. But I still want to be protected in case he dares to come here.” She swatted Leo’s hand away as he dipped a finger into the batter. “I mean, I’ve been trying to get in touch with people who knew him all day, but I’m coming up with nothing.”
Bailey raced to the sofa to retrieve the laptop she had been working on all day. She turned the screen towards Leo as he snuck another dip of the chocolate mix. She somberly said, “All I’ve been able to come up with is a picture of him at a truck dealership in Tucson. He must’ve bought a truck there. I mean he’s got fam—”
Leo tuned her out as he stared at the picture. A smallish man in a white tank top and gray cap shook the hand of another man in a suit. Beside him was a woman about half his age. She looked down and away from the camera as her feet turned awkwardly in on themselves. Behind him was a large white truck.
Leo wasted no time, “Bailey, are you sure this is him?”
“Yeah. It’s definitely him. And that must be his new girlfriend or wife or something. I don’t recognize her, but from the looks of her, he must be doing numbers on her.” She looked back at the photo of her ex-husband and the broken woman. She knew she should feel pity for her, but she was too overcome with anger.
“We gotta go.” Leo launched himself from off the stool and ran to where he placed his car keys. Bailey watched him curiously from her spot in the dining room. “Come on, Bailey! We have to go. Now. I saw him!”
Bailey’s blue eyes grew as she asked, “What do you mean ‘I saw him?’”
“I saw him today! After I went to Jonathan’s place I went to the home to survey the area. When I was leaving I saw that white truck, that man in the baseball cap, and that girl pull in.”
“No, no, no—” Bailey stood in disbelief, unsure how to get her feet to move.
“They went inside, Bailey! We have to go NOW.” He grabbed her arm, forcing her to drop the metal batter on the tile floor.
Her mind caught up with her as she screamed out, “He’s going to get my baby!” Leo closed the door behind her and led her out to the car. She shook in his arms as she sobbed uncontrollably. Leo fastened her into the seat and then hopped into the driver’s.
The roads passed in a haze and blur. Neither could speak as they each attempted to refocus their minds. Bailey silently spoke to her grandmother, “Gran? It’s me, Bailey. I know I haven’t spoken to you in a long time, but I need you to hear me now. You told me when Lily was born to fight for her. Well, I’m trying real hard to do that, but I’m going to need some extra help. Can you look in on Lily for me and tell her that her Mommy’s coming? I need her to know everything’s going to be okay, that I’m going to do what you told me to do.”
The couple pulled into the lot as Bailey unbuckled her seatbelt and ran out the car as Leo was still driving. Her feet couldn’t carry her faster through the black metal doors or the glass entryway. The same woman with the red glasses who was there when she first dropped off Lily still sat behind the same front desk reading her magazines. She looked up with surprise when she noticed Bailey standing in front of her, her chest heaving in and out from the panic.
“My daughter! I need to see my daughter now!”
“Do you have an appointment, dear?” The woman pulled out a black binder with a list of names on the first page. “Who’s your caseworker?”
“I don’t have an appointment, but this is an emergency. I need to see my daughter now!” Bailey did not realize that she was screaming. The woman stared at her from behind the desk, unsure if she should push the red panic button or call in Ed the head of the center’s security.
“Ma’am, I want to help you, but I need to know who your caseworker is first.” The woman stood, raising her arms as a defense.
Bailey tried to calm herself down as she began to pace. “Her name’s Jenna—Jenna Partridge… I think…” She could picture the blonde perky woman with the black business suit, but had trouble placing a name to the face.
“Jenna Parting, you mean?” Bailey nodded gratefully as the woman sat back down and dialed an extension. She whispered into the phone, out of range of the still pacing Bailey. A metal door leading to the office space opened moments later as the caseworker stepped out.
“Ms. Reed? What are you doing here?” She looked around the room as if she expected Bailey to not be alone.
“I have to see my daughter. It can’t wait for tomorrow. It’s an emergency.”
Leo stormed through the doors, past the security glass, to hear the caseworker say suspiciously, “Ms. Reed, your husband picked her up just a couple of hours ago. He had a note from you…”
She could not finish before Bailey sunk to the floor. Leo raced to her side, catching her by her arms. Joe had found Lily. It was too late. He was gone, and there was nothing she or Leo could do about it.
In the back of his truck, Lily struggled to buckle her seatbelt. The strange lady watched her before reaching behind her and clipping her in.
She hadn’t seen her dad in awhile, at least not after the fight that ended it all. She had always remembered him as bigger, like a giant stumbling through a room. But today, he was dressed up like he sometimes had for work. There wasn’t even that funny smell on his breath or clothing. Lily hoped this meant he had gotten better from whatever her mom had said had made him sick. Her dad had promised her that she was going back, to where she was supposed to live. Her stomach filled with excited butterflies as she thought of her bedroom above the garage in her great-grandmother’s home.
The woman’s eyes lit up as her high pitched voiced squeaked over the sound of the booming radio, “I’m so excited to be your new mommy, Lily! We’re going to have so much fun!”