Читать книгу Top Secret Identity - Sharon Dunn - Страница 12

TWO

Morgan glanced over at the redheaded boy staring at the ground and then at his mother, a woman of about forty.

“His name is Richie. This is his first time riding. I’m Adele.” The mom gave away her nervousness with the wringing of her hands.

In the morning when she felt safe leaving the cottage to get a cell phone signal, Morgan had left a message with Brendan O’Toole, her contact at the marshals’ regional office in Des Moines. Even with all the doors and windows locked she’d had a restless night’s sleep. Though her nerves were on edge from the incident last night, she didn’t want to leave Alex high and dry. She’d swallowed her fear, gotten dressed and gone out to do her job. The marshals would get this cleared up soon enough and move her. She felt pretty sure nothing was going to happen to her in the daylight with all these people around.

The other four children in the therapeutic riding class were already being led around the riding arena on their horses.

Hoping to ease Adele’s fears, Morgan turned to face the boy. “Richie, you’re going to have a great time.”

Richie angled his body away from her.

“He has autism. He can’t talk, but he understands every word you say to him.” Adele patted the horse’s neck. “I used to ride all the time when I was a girl. I hope he loves it as much as I did.”

“I’m glad to hear you have some experience.” Morgan studied Richie, who continued to look at the ground. “How about if we get used to the horse?”

Adele took Richie’s hand and pulled him toward the horse that Morgan had already saddled. “Richie, this is Miss Smith, and she’s going to help you learn to ride.”

Richie nodded but didn’t make eye contact. He tugged on his shirt collar.

“Richie, meet George. He’s very gentle.” Using slow movements, Morgan took Richie’s hand and laid it flat on George’s neck. She moved his hand up and down. George angled his head toward Richie and sniggered. “He likes you.”

Richie grinned. Adele stepped in closer and stroked George’s nose.

In her peripheral vision, Morgan noticed a dark SUV pulling up in the lot. Two people, a man and woman, got out of the car. Morgan tensed. What were Serena Summers and Josh McCall from the St. Louis Marshal’s office doing here? They couldn’t have gotten the message from the Des Moines office and made the long drive that fast. But, now that they were here, she could talk to them about being moved.

“Miss Smith, what’s the next step?” Adele’s voice pulled Morgan from her anxious thoughts.

“I’m sorry. Do you feel comfortable leading Richie around? I’ll help get him into the saddle, and then I need to speak with these two people for a minute.”

As Josh and Serena drew near, Morgan instructed Richie to place his foot in the stirrup. The two marshals stood off at a distance, waiting for her to finish.

After Adele led Richie toward the group, Morgan crawled over the metal fence that surrounded the outdoor arena. Why hadn’t they told her they were coming? How could she ever expect to have anything that felt like a normal life if they could show up at any time? If Alex saw them, she’d have to make up a lie about who they were.

Both Josh and Serena nodded as she approached them.

The marshals were dressed more casually than the tailored suits and crisp white shirts they’d been wearing the first time she’d met them. Serena had pulled her dark hair up with a clip and she wore jeans and a button-down shirt. Josh dressed in a windbreaker, khakis and a polo shirt.

Morgan had met them once before when she’d been told that they were the ones handling the illegal adoption ring case. Her initial impression of Josh and Serena was that they were both good at their jobs, but there was a tension between them that she didn’t understand.

Morgan glanced around. It would be nice to hide in the barn while she talked to the marshals, but she couldn’t leave the class in case there was a crisis. Alex was in his office in the guesthouse. Hopefully, he’d stay inside so he wouldn’t wonder who Josh and Serena were. She didn’t like the idea of deceiving him.

Josh spoke first. “The reason we’re here is we just wrapped up a case that had some similar elements to it as yours. I don’t know if you saw the news story about a woman named Emma Bullock. She was found beaten nearly to death in a Minneapolis park. She had no memory of the assault or of who she was. She went by the name of Julie Thomas for a long time.”

So that’s why they’d come here. They probably hadn’t gotten her message yet. “I haven’t had time to watch the news.” She drew her attention to the students to make sure everything was running smoothly. “I don’t see how that relates to what happened to me in Mexico.”

Serena rested an arm on the fence. “As it turns out, Emma was trying to protect a baby at the time of the assault. Unfortunately, the baby was taken from her.”

Morgan’s chest tightened. More than anything, she hated that anyone would harm an innocent child. “Did they find the baby who was taken?”

Serena shook her head. The forcefulness of her words gave away how upset she was about the crime. “The missing baby’s name is Kay. Does that ring any bells for you?”

Morgan closed her eyes, trying to shut out the pain connected with knowing a child had been kidnapped. She shook her head. “Is this Emma woman Kay’s mother?”

“No,” Serena said. “Kay’s mom is a young girl named Lonnie. We’ve been unable to track her down either, and we’re afraid she may have met with foul play.

“For a while, we thought we might have found Kay. A blonde, blue-eyed baby was brought to the Denver airport by a man we know to be associated with this ring, and it was on the same day Emma was attacked.”

Josh pulled a photograph out of his jacket pocket. “As it turns out, there are two different babies. We call the little girl we intercepted in Denver Baby C. She’s in foster care right now.”

Morgan stared at the photo. A happy baby with a tuft of blond hair and bright eyes looked back at her.

“Does she look familiar to you?” Josh stepped toward her.

“Give her a moment to think, Josh.” Serena’s words were terse.

The tension between the two marshals had bubbled over. She wondered what the history was between them. It seemed personal. Maybe they had been involved at some point and weren’t anymore.

Josh shot Serena a look that had daggers in it and then turned to face Morgan. “A blonde, blue-eyed baby would be unusual in Mexico.”

The trauma of what she had been through made her memory foggy. “I definitely never placed a child who looked like that. But sometimes we had moms who would visit once and then change their minds.”

“It would have been shortly before you had to leave Mexico,” Josh said.

Morgan strained to put together a cohesive memory from that time. A vague picture materialized in her mind. “There was a mom with a blonde baby. I think the mom’s first name was Vanessa.”

Serena stepped closer to her, urgency filling her voice. “Do you remember her last name?”

Morgan shook her head. “If I had the records, notes and photographs from my office, I might be able to help you more.” Frustration rose to the surface. “Were you able to get anything from the agency office?”

“By the time we cleared the paperwork with the Mexican authorities, the place where you said your office was had a real-estate firm occupying it. We haven’t been able to locate the other woman you said worked there. Whatever you left behind got destroyed.”

Could her coworker have been a part of the deception? Anger burned inside her. The agency had represented itself as Christian. Had they used her to give the agency legitimacy? “So all you have to work with is what I witnessed.”

Josh cleared his throat. “We need to connect the dots in order to get the big fish behind all of this. We’re looking at multiple incidents in different states and now internationally. We put you under our protection because we believe your testimony might be valuable once our case is made.”

Serena picked up where Josh left off. “It would be helpful if you could remember any more details.”

The marshals weren’t hiding her out of the goodness of their hearts. She was in witness protection because they thought she might be of value. “I know that you expect me to help.”

Josh paced. “In all the dealings with these mothers and children, there must have been names mentioned. There has to be some sort of connection back in the States.”

Morgan shook her head. “We dealt with a lot of different agencies and people.” She tried to piece the memories together... “That night Josef attacked me in the office, I was going through the records. There was a pattern with three of the women, meeting with me and then deciding to keep their babies. And then a few weeks later, they’d be back ready to give up their kid. When they came back, they seemed agitated and afraid.”

Josh crossed his arms over his chest. “So you think they might have been blackmailed or coerced?”

Morgan nodded. “I noticed other things, too. My coworker started transporting the babies across the border to meet the adoptive parents. Adoptive parents are supposed to meet residency requirements in Mexico—they can’t just have their babies delivered.”

Josh shoved his hands in his pockets. Both of them must be mulling over what she had told them. “When you showed up, I thought maybe you’d gotten a message from my local contact,” Morgan said.

Josh looked at her. “Brendan never called us.”

“Last night at least two guys were prowling around the grounds. They tapped on my window and tried to open my door. Then when I was outside, one of them knocked me over.” Her voice tinged with anxiety. “Do you think whoever this big boss is could have found me already and sent someone?”

Josh seemed alarmed. “What happened after he knocked you over?”

“He ran off because Alex was coming around the corner. Alex thinks it was just teenagers goofing around, but I don’t know.”

Josh’s voice grew intense. “Did you get a look at him?”

“All I saw was his plaid coat,” Morgan said.

“That’s not much to go on.” Serena faced Morgan. “We can look into it from the angle of information having leaked out. I don’t think any details about your relocation have been shared with anyone outside the St. Louis office except with Brendan. If there’s even the possibility you’ve been found, we’ll move you.”

Josh looked directly at Morgan. “You haven’t said anything to anyone, have you?”

Morgan grew nervous, remembering how Alex had pressed her for details about her past. “No, I haven’t let anything slip.”

Serena glanced at the children in the class and the surrounding buildings. “Do you like it here, Morgan?”

“I do. I love it.” She’d hate having to leave. “It reminds me of where I grew up. It’s just that there are children here, and I wouldn’t want them being hurt at my expense.” Or Alex.

“Morgan, we’ll do everything to ensure you’re safe here.” Serena’s gaze was unwavering. “For today, we’ll stay in the area until we can clear this up.”

“We can check with local authorities. Find out if any other properties had prowlers. If it was teenagers, they might have decided to make a night of it,” said Josh as they headed out of the stall. “Call Brendan if you’re worried.

Serena and Josh headed back toward their car.

She listened to their footsteps fade as she turned her attention back to the class.

“Looks like the therapy riding class is going fine.” Alex had come up behind her without her noticing.

Again she looked at the student riders being led around the arena. “Yes, they seem to be doing pretty good. I haven’t had to jump in at all.”

“It’s pretty self-regulating once you get it started.” He studied her for a moment. “Who were those people you were talking to?”

Morgan turned away from Alex, gripping the top of the fence for support. “They were friends from Des Moines.” She squeezed her eyes shut, hating herself for lying.

“Maybe they could come out riding sometime.”

“Yes, that would be nice.” Her stomach coiled into tight knots.

“Listen, I’ve got a kid who’s going to come and help you with some of the manual labor a few days after school and on weekends. He’s worked for me for almost a year. Craig has some issues but he’s a hard worker, and I feel he deserves a chance. His father has had his share of heartbreak, most of them due to a drinking problem.”

In that moment she saw Alex’s heart. He wanted to give a troubled kid something better than what he had. “Everyone deserves a chance.” She turned her attention back to the class.

“I’m not throwing too much at you at once, am I? You seem distracted,” Alex said.

Richie had a big grin on his face as he rode George around the arena. The sun warmed her skin. She did like it here. It would be a shame to have to leave. She looked into Alex’s brown eyes. “No, Alex, you’re doing fine. I’m sorry if I’m not focusing like I should.”

Morgan looked out at the parking lot where Josh and Serena had just pulled out. Another slow-moving car went by on the road. At first, she thought the car was going to pull into the lot. Instead, it eased past.

The hair on the back of her neck electrified and she felt a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of the air. Why was the driver going so slowly? What was he looking for?

Alex touched her upper arm. “Something wrong?”

She shook her head, remembering Serena’s reassurance. “It’s nothing.”

“Good then. Craig should be here later this afternoon.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting him,” Morgan said.

“Tomorrow I’m going to the Waverly horse sale. I have funds to purchase another therapy horse. I’d value your opinion on picking one out.”

A horse sale meant crowds. And Waverly was one of the biggest in the Midwest. Even she had heard of it. “Isn’t there work to do around here?”

“No classes scheduled. We’ll get the horses squared away in the morning and head out.”

“Okay.” Her response sounded halfhearted. She might not even be here tomorrow.

“After you’re done with the class, there are some horses that need to be exercised. We try to make sure the boarded horses get out at least every other day. There’s a roster posted in the stable that shows when each horse was last exercised.”

Fear danced at the corners of her mind. She didn’t like the idea of riding alone when the marshals still hadn’t cleared up who the late-night prowlers were. “I suppose I can do that.”

Alex stepped toward her, concern etched on his face. “Are you sure everything is all right?”

She’d have to get beyond her own fear if she was going to do this job even if it was just for another day. “No, I’m fine.” And she’d have to learn to stuff her emotions a little better. Alex was way too tuned in to what she was feeling even when she tried to hide it.

Alex turned to go. She watched him amble back to the guesthouse.

Feeling uneasy, she returned to the class to help the students finish up and take the horses back to the stable to remove the saddles. She worked in the stable with no sign of Craig or word from the marshals. Alex had hired her to do a job.

Despite her fears, Morgan saddled up one of the boarded horses that needed to be exercised and headed for the trails that surrounded the property. The irony wasn’t lost on her that the horse she chose to ride was named Anxious Heart.

She could see a trail that looked like it led in a wide arc around the property with very little brush to obscure her view of the stable and outbuildings. She’d be able to see someone coming toward her from a long way off. She’d have time to get back to relative safety of the stable and other people.

She started Anxious off at a light canter. Sensing that the horse wanted to go faster, she pushed him into a gallop that turned into a hard run. The harder she pushed the horse, the faster he went.

She glanced side to side. She was the only one out here. Gradually, her anxiety subsided.

Out here in the quiet with only the steady rhythm of the horse’s hooves, she could forget herself. She could convince herself that the faster she rode, the further her trouble would be away from her. She could outrun the loss and the fear.

Anxious showed signs of tiring. Morgan let up on the reins and sat up straighter in the saddle. A light rain sprinkled from the sky when she turned onto the trail that led back to the stables. A calm washed over her that made her think she could make it through the rest of the day while she waited to see if the marshals would relocate her.

When she led Anxious Heart through the open door of the stable, she spotted a teenage boy hammering a nail into a loose board on a stall gate.

“You must be Craig.”

“Yup.” The boy didn’t stop working. He was a tall, thin kid with hair that was blond on top and black on the bottom. He looked to be about fourteen.

Morgan walked toward him. “Alex probably told you. I’m Morgan.”

Craig stalked across the floor and picked up a bucket. When he finally looked at her, she saw hostility in his eyes.

The response took her aback. Alex had said that Craig had some issues. She decided not to do anything to feed his bad mood, whatever it was about. “Well, it looks like you know what you’re doing. Alex said you’ve worked here awhile.”

Craig let go of the bucket, causing it to clatter when it hit the dirt floor. “I’ve been doing this job for eight months now.”

His anger toward her was off-putting, but she refused to play into it. Her response was soft. “That’s wonderful. You’ll probably be able to teach me a few things.”

Craig drew his mouth into a tight line and wrinkled his nose. He leaned over, picked up the bucket and stomped off toward the other end of the stable.

Morgan led Anxious Heart into his stall, pulled his saddle off and started his rubdown. In light of everything she was dealing with, she could handle one ornery teenager. A few minutes later, Craig left the stable without explanation. Morgan finished getting Anxious Heart settled in and walked toward the entrance of the stable, taking the time to stroke the noses of the horses who wanted the attention.

A coat that must belong to Craig hung on a hook by the door. Morgan examined the plaid pattern. The same one she seen last night when she’d been knocked over. Through the open door, she saw Craig filling the troughs in the corral with water. The coat was probably a common enough one, but it would have to be a pretty big coincidence if it wasn’t him who’d tried to scare her last night. The discovery eased her fear, but she’d have to find out for sure before she called Josh and Serena.

Alex walked across the grounds toward her. “So you’ve met Craig.”

“Yes, I met him.” Morgan shaded her eyes from the sun. “I think it was Craig who was prowling around last night.”

Alex nodded. “What makes you say that?”

“His coat is the same one the guy who knocked me over was wearing. Craig and his friend wanted to scare me last night.”

Alex shook his head as his expression hardened. “I’m surprised he did that, but I think I know why. Craig mentioned that his dad would like the caretaker’s job. Robert Jones has plenty of experience with horses, but he’s not reliable,” Alex said.

“I guess that explains why he was so hostile toward me just now. He views me as the person who stole his dad’s job.”

Alex seemed incensed. “He has no right to treat you badly.”

She appreciated his defense of her. It was kind of chivalrous, actually. She grabbed his hand at the wrist. “You said yourself he’s a good worker. Maybe he needed to blow off some steam, and that will be the end of it.”

Admiration shone in Alex’s eyes. “It’s your call.”

“‘A soft answer turns away much wrath.’” The verse had come easily enough to her mind, an old habit.

His face brightened. “Proverbs 15:1. I know it well.”

He looked at her at though he was waiting for her to say something more. A spark of connection had passed between them. But even that was a lie. She’d lost everything in Mexico, including her faith. She had wanted to make a difference in the world and instead she had unwittingly aided in children being taken from their mothers. “It’s a really common verse. I don’t know why I even said it.”

He took a step back. Her harsh response may have stunned him. “I’ve got some bags of feed to unload.”

It was better that she not foster even a small connection to him. The marshals had warned her against forming any attachments. “Do you need my help?”

“I’ll get Craig to give me a hand,” Alex said. “Maybe I’ll have a word with him about what he did last night and tell him he needs to drop the attitude going forward.”

“How about I do it?” she said. “Maybe I can build a bridge.” Given Craig’s background and what Alex had said about him, she was willing to give him a second chance.

“Suit yourself. But if he gives you any more trouble, let me know. I can unload the feed myself.” He ambled across the yard.

She stood watching Alex take bags of feed off the back of the truck. Alex was what her dad would have called “a good hand,” a man who wasn’t afraid of physical work.

She walked toward the shed where she had seen Craig go. Alex thought they had something in common when she’d uttered the Bible verse. He had no idea how all of that now rang hollow for her. She longed to get back to the place where faith was as comfortable as a pair of broken-in boots, but she didn’t know if she ever would. Disillusionment had taken up residence in her life.

She stood at the opening of the shed. Craig had his back to her, but she could tell he was holding something. He turned slightly and she saw a kitten cupped in his hands. When Craig looked up and saw Morgan, all the warmth and softness evaporated from his expression.

“What are you looking at?” Craig sneered.

“Are you taking care of those kittens?” She stepped toward him. He had made a bed for a mother and her three babies.

“Alex lets me keep them here. My dad says cats are freeloaders.” His words were harsh and defensive, and he even seemed a little embarrassed.

She reached over and petted the kitten Craig held. “Do you kind of wish your dad would have gotten my job?” She understood Craig’s motivation. His father having a job would probably eliminate some of the shame associated with having a parent who drank too much. The job would have made his father look respectable...or maybe it was more simple, a financial need.

Craig’s features compressed, revealing harsh lines. He pulled the kitten away from her. “What do you care?”

“Was it you who tried to scare me last night?”

“So what if it was,” he snapped. “It should be me and my dad living in that house.”

Morgan stared down at the black-and-white cat licking one of her calico babies. For a brief moment, she’d seen a different side to Craig. He was capable of compassion. He deserved a chance. “How about we wipe the slate clean and start over? Last night never happened.”

Craig offered a halfhearted shrug. “Whatever.”

His posture and words were defensive, but she thought she saw just a flash of gratitude in his eyes. It was a start.

She stepped out of the shed and headed back to the barn. She took in a breath of straw-scented air and began to feel a little more relaxed about staying at The Stables. Alex had been right about the late-night prowlers. The knowledge that she hadn’t been found made her feel more confident about the Waverly horse sale and going out in public. Maybe a day spent helping Alex would be fun.