Chapter 22

 

Two days after their girls’ night, Camila moved into one of the guest rooms. Ethan and Kristen started renovating the attic right away, installing a bathroom and applying fresh paint. Within two weeks the attic apartment was ready and Camila moved in with her son. As promised, a security system was installed throughout the house.

It was the end of summer and the beginning of the new school year. Hailey started first grade and Helen stayed quiet. Kristen wondered if perhaps she’d given up or was sulking about the judge’s decision. Soon Helen was forgotten and the family grew closer.

Kristen and Ethan bonded in a way she never thought possible. From what she recalled from her marriage to his brother, they were never this close. Ethan was an amazing father to Hailey. He never missed a ballet recital and when the school put on a concert, he was there.

Hailey wanted to play baseball and when Kristen would have discouraged her, Ethan bought her a mitt and helmet and taught her in the backyard.

In October, Ethan started teaching martial arts classes. Kristen rolled out her paintings for the world to see. She was hosting her first art show at a small gallery in town and Camila offered to be her manager.

On this particular day, the morning started with light showers. Kristen dropped Hailey at school and stopped at the supermarket to buy groceries. She’d only started driving again after much coercion from Ethan and Camila.

She’d always been a careful driver, however, the residues of the accident made her scared to go behind the wheel. Since Ethan started teaching classes, he was unable to do all the errands, and she had to get over her fear and do what needed to be done.

It was Wednesday. She spent most of the day on the road. After returning with the groceries, she was off to the art gallery where she was arranging her show. Then she went to have the car serviced.

By the time she was done with her errands, it was time to pick up her daughter from school. She drove into the school parking lot and waited like she always did. After fifteen minutes, Hailey did not come out to her so she checked the time to make sure she wasn’t too early. It was 2:47. The school day ended seventeen minutes ago.

Kristen exited the car and walked briskly into the building. She met a few parents along the way who were also picking up their kids. When she reached Hailey’s classroom she saw the teacher, Miss Bent.

“Miss Broderick, how are you?” the teacher greeted.

Kristen scanned the classroom. “I’m fine, thanks. Where’s Hailey?”

Miss Bent looked at her in confusion. “Didn’t you send her uncle to get her?”

“Ethan was here?”

“No, not Ethan, her Uncle Matt.”

Kristen’s heart pounded heavily as the blood drained from her head. She stared at the teacher.

“A complete stranger came to pick up my daughter and you just let him walk out with her? Hailey doesn’t have an Uncle Matt!”

“But he had an ID, he said he was abroad and just returned. Hailey said she knew him.”

A million thoughts ran through Kristen’s mind. Who was Matt? Was he some relative Hailey met at her grandmother’s house? That still didn’t explain why he would come pick up Hailey.

Without further delay, Kristen called Ethan’s number. He took a while to answer and she knew he had to break his class to do so.

“Kristen, what’s wrong?”

“Someone named Matt picked up Hailey from school, claiming he’s her uncle. Do you have a relative I don’t know about?”

“I don’t know of a Matt in the family. Have you called my mother?” he asked.

“No. I’ll call her right away. She’d better have some good reason for sending someone to get Hailey.” They cut the conversation short, allowing Kristen to call the Broderick Mansion. The housekeeper was the one to answer. When asked where Helen was, she was told that Mrs. Broderick was on vacation with her husband.

“Where are they vacationing?” Kristen asked, her panic now reaching epidemic proportions.

“Somewhere in Greece, Miss Kristen.”

“How long ago did she leave?”

“A week ago.”

Then who was this Matt? The housekeeper didn’t know of a Matt either when asked and this made Kristen almost wet herself. With shaky hands, she hung up the phone and dialed the police. When the emergency operator came on the line, she was shaking so much that she could hardly speak. “M-m-my… my…” she stammered while trying gasp for air.

“Calm down Miss. Take deep slow breaths,” the operator encouraged. Kristen complied, inhaling several quavering breaths before she was able to go on. “Now, tell me slowly, what happened?”

“My daughter was kidnapped,” she breathed.

“I am going to ask you a few questions in order to assist you further.”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Where was your daughter last seen?” the operator asked.

“I came to pick her up at school and her teacher said someone already came to get her. She said her uncle Matt came to get her, but we don’t know anyone by that name. Hailey doesn’t have an Uncle Matt!” she spoke, her voice raised.

“Give me the name and address of the school.”

Kristen told them where she was and they asked a few more questions about family and if she was certain that Matt wasn’t a family member. The operator spoke to her calmly, telling her that the police were on their way and she should not panic but remain calm.

The police arrived within ten minutes of her calling, led by a Detective Cross. After-school kidnappings were increasing across the country and law enforcement officers took a call of this nature seriously.

The police and school personnel searched the school grounds to make sure Hailey was not there. They looked in every classroom and questioned some of the other students and teachers. It was just a precaution, given that Miss Bent saw Hailey leaving with the man. An Amber Alert was immediately issued after the police questioned Kristen and the teacher.

“This can’t be happening,” Kristen moaned, pacing the hallway of the school building.

“I’m so sorry,” Miss Bent said, clearly troubled by the way she was wringing her hands.

Hailey’s teacher had gone ashen when she realized her role in Hailey’s disappearance. The mystery remained as to who would take her daughter. According to the teacher, the man knew Hailey by name. He also knew her parents and grandparents.

Kristen knew that Helen was behind this. She must have planned this before she left for her vacation. That was the only explanation for this.

“Kristen,” Detective Cross addressed her. “We’ll need a recent photo of your daughter. We’ll need to monitor your calls in the event someone contacts you.”

She nodded her agreement. The police took Miss Bent aside to question her further, leaving Kristen alone. Kristen’s mind worked double to try to figure out who Matt could be. Weakness washed over her and her knees threatened to buckle beneath her. Someone gripped her shoulders, steadying her. She knew right away who it was. Ethan must have broken his class to rush to the school. His presence always brought her a sense of security. Kristen turned and rested her head on his shoulder and was engulfed in a strong embrace.

“We’ll find her,” Ethan said against her hair.

“When will it end?” she groaned. “When will Helen leave us alone?”

Ethan’s embrace tightened as he asked, “You think my mother is responsible?”

Kristen raised her head to meet his eyes. “Who else would do this?”

“But she’s on vacation, you said so yourself.”

“That proves nothing. It could be…”

Ethan completed her sentence, “Her alibi?”

“She’s the only one who would do this. This Matt fellow knew Hailey. Miss Bent said Hailey knew him. Where else would Hailey have met him?”

“The police will find the truth. We’ll find her.”

Kristen closed her eyes and rested her head in the crutch of Ethan’s neck. Inhaling deeply, she ran through her mind the last time she saw Hailey that morning. Her mind came back to the school when she came pick up her daughter. As she recalled the teacher telling her that her daughter was not in school, a flash of memory from another incident assailed her.

“Mrs. Broderick. This is your daughter’s school. Hailey has been in an accident. Please come right away.”

With a sharp intake of breath, Kristen pulled away from Ethan’s grasp. Reeling from the shock of the sudden memory, she staggered backward, leaning against the hallway wall.

Ethan rushed to her side, looking at her with narrowed eyes. “Kristen, are you in pain?” he asked when she gripped the sides of her head.

Giving her head a vigorous shake, she swallowed. “I remember,” she breathed. “I remember the day of the accident!”

“Yes, you remember the accident, I know.”

“Not the actual accident, before, while we talked, I received a phone call.”

“Yes, the phone rang and you answered it, then rushed out. I asked about it and you told me you’d tell me later.”

“Someone from the school called me and told me Hailey was in an accident. I need to speak with Miss Bent, now!”

The detective and two other officers were still speaking with the teacher, trying to ascertain the exact details of what happened. Ethan took Kristen’s hand and they both moved over to where they stood. The police officers and teacher turned in their direction when they approached.

“We’ll finish up here and wait for any calls at the house. It’s most likely they’ll call you there,” Detective Cross said. “The FBI are on their way.”

“We need to ask Hailey’s teacher a question,” Ethan said. When the woman nodded, he continued, “Did you call Kristen a couple of months ago about Hailey having an accident?”

“No,” she replied, her forehead creasing deeply. “Hailey has never had any kind of accident while here.”

One of the officers turned to Ethan. “Care to tell me what’s going on?”

“On the day Kristen met her accident, she received a phone call from this school that her daughter was in an accident.”

Miss Bent shook her head adamantly. “I assure you, I did not call you about any such accident. I can check with the main office, but if anyone was to call about Hailey, it would be me.”

“Why don’t you check to be sure,” the detective suggested.

Miss Bent moved off down the hall and one of the police officers followed.

Detective Cross typed on a small tablet. When he was done, he looked up. “I remember your accident,” he said. “I came to the hospital with the detective in charge. You had some memory problems, but can you now recount everything that happened before the accident?”

Kristen nodded, bringing back the minutes before she left in the car. It was as though everything came crashing back at the same moment. She’d been heading up the stairs and Ethan stopped her. They were discussing something that happened a long time ago. She was about to tell him everything when her cellphone went off. When she answered, a woman on the phone told her that she was calling from Hailey’s school and that her daughter had been in an accident. The woman insisted that she come right away.

By the time she recounted the events of the phone call and accident to the policeman, the teacher returned to confirm that no one from the school had called her.

“Do you still have the phone, so we can trace the call?” the policeman asked.

“No, it got lost in the accident.”

“Officer,” Ethan addressed him. “Her brakes were tampered with. Perhaps the one who called her messed with the car?”

The detective went back to his table and brought up a file from which he read. “According to the report, the investigator ruled it an accident. The brake hose was broken, but that’s not uncommon.”

“I know what the report said, but my mechanic insists that someone did it. The car was serviced a few days prior to the accident and a new hose installed.”

“Did you make your concerns known to Detective Marshall? He was in charge of that file.”

Kristen stepped in, “I asked him not to pursue it since we had no proof.”

“Where is the car now?”

“It’s at the mechanic. I haven’t had the mind to fix it,” Ethan replied. “How could the forensic team not pursue this?”

“According to the CCTV footage from the nearby traffic stop, Miss Kristen took her eyes off the road for a few seconds, that’s when she lost control of the car. As I said, it’s not uncommon for a broken hose to cause an accident. The brake fluid would have leaked easily.”

“What about now? Do you still think it was an accident?” Ethan asked.

Detective Cross twisted his lips as though concentrating. “We’ll have to take another look at the car. Also, when you have time, we need you to both come down to the department and make a statement. For now, we’ll concentrate on finding your daughter.”

The FBI team arrived shortly. After a brief consult with the detective, they asked the same questions the detective previously asked. They told Ethan and Kristen the same thing about the kidnapper contacting them and sent them home. As soon as Kristen pushed the front door, Camila accosted her.

“Where have you…?”  Camila’s voice trailed off when she noticed they were not alone. “What’s going on? Where’s Hailey?”

Kristen felt her eyes burn and the tears she’d been holding back erupted. She clung to her friend as Ethan explained what happened.

The FBI team went to work by attaching their equipment to the house phone and a device to her cell phone. The device was a router that would send the call through their system where they could trace the call.

The phones remained silent for three hours as Kristen began to go crazy. She paced, looked through the window and stared at the phone. “Shouldn’t we be out there doing something?” she asked one of the lawmen.

Ethan placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let them do their job, Kristen. They know what they are doing.”

“But, nothing is happening. Should they be searching the city?” her voice squeaked. “And how about you? You’re a navy seal, why aren’t you searching for your own daughter!”

“Calm down Kristen. You know I couldn’t love Hailey any more if she was…”

“You don’t understand… Ethan, you have to find her. I’m being punished because I didn’t tell you… because of what Andrew did. Please,” she sobbed, gripping his collar. “You’ve got to find her. She’s not just my daughter. She’s your daughter.”

“Take it easy. You’re not making sense.”

“We conceived her the night we made love eight years ago. What’s not to understand?”

Ethan’s hand dropped as he stared at her. He blinked and stepped back, raking his hand through his hair. All eyes in the living room now focused on the two of them.

“Kristen,” he stepped forward and gripped her shoulder. “What are you talking about?”

“That day of the accident, I was about to tell you when I got the call.”

“Go on.”

“Andrew couldn’t give me what I so wanted. That’s why he drugged us and sent you to our bedroom. When I realized it was you making love to me, it was too late.”

“Hailey, is really my daughter?” she nodded. “And all this time, you didn’t tell me?”

“How could I? Andrew made it so you would never know.”

Ethan’s face tightened. “It’s time you stop blaming everything on Andrew. You knew all along and didn’t tell me. You hated me that much that you would hide my own child from me?”

“No, it wasn’t like that!”

“We deal with this as soon as we find her,” he growled and walked away.

Kristen watched him stalk away from her to stand at the mantle where he rested his eyes on the wall. His pained expression nipped her in the chest and she wanted to make things right.