Saving Madeline Page 11

“But I always come to see you.”

  “I know. This time it’s a little different because your mom didn’t know.”

  “You should have told her, Daddy. Now she is gonna be mad. Couldn’t you just give her some money?”

  Parker laughed. “I wish that would take care of it. Don’t worry, sweetheart. Everything will be okay.”

  Madeline nodded confidently and turned back to Caitlin. “I’m glad you’re going to help my dad. What’s your name?”

  “Caitlin McLoughlin.”

  “That’s pretty. Do you have kids?”

  She smiled and shook her head. “No, but I do have a sister just a little bit older than you who lives with me.” That wasn’t exactly true, but she didn’t want to get into an explanation with Parker there. Besides, it wasn’t as though Parker and Madeline would ever meet Amy.

  “Can I play with her? Do you live near me? My mom might let me go to your house, if you could pick me up.” Madeline’s brown eyes were eager.

  “I don’t know,” Caitlin stalled, feeling drawn toward the child but knowing that was unwise, given the circumstances.

  Madeline turned to Parker. “You’ll take me over there, won’t you, Daddy?” She smiled at Caitlin. “He always takes me. We go lots of places. One day we went to a candy place with my preschool. It was fun. They make candy there. We got to eat some.” Then she was off on another tangent, and Caitlin was glad the subject of playing with Amy had been left behind—at least for now.

  At the police station, Madeline skipped ahead down the hall, stopping to peer in windows. Sally turned to Parker. “You’d better say good-bye. Your ex-wife is here. We have to turn Madeline over to her.”

  Parker stiffened. “Can’t you put her in state custody?”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t have a legal reason.”

  “Please.” His voice was an agonized whisper that matched the pain on his face. It was so acute and private that Caitlin had to momentarily look away.

  Madeline was coming back to them now, singing a song Caitlin didn’t recognize.

  “Mr. Hathaway,” Sally was saying, “I gave you my word that I would do everything I could to keep Madeline safe, and I mean it. But it will take time.”

  “Find out where her mother lived before the house they’re in now. I know for sure it was a meth house. That’s why I set them up in this house.”

  “I’ll have a good talk with your ex-wife,” Sally promised. “Threaten her if I have to. That should keep her clean. But for now, you need to say good-bye and go with Officer Clegg.”

  Parker knelt on the floor in front of Madeline. “Sweetheart, I have to go now. I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

  With the sudden clarity that will sometimes affect small children, Madeline clung to her father. “I don’t want you to go. Can’t I stay with you? Please?”

  “Hey, it’s okay, sweetheart. You’re going back to Mommy’s like you always do. I’ll see you soon.” He hugged her, his entire face drawn tight.

  Caitlin didn’t have the heart to break in and tell them he wouldn’t likely have visiting rights for some time. Her own eyes watered.

  Madeline was consoled, her trust all too apparent. “Okay.”

  “Now remember what I told you. Don’t eat anything if you don’t know what it is. Like if it’s in the cupboard or something. Or on the TV in a bag. Only eat what Mommy gives you. Even if you find it in her purse, don’t eat it.” Parker glanced up at Caitlin and Sally in challenge, and neither woman objected, but Caitlin found it difficult to hide her shock. If Madeline’s mother wasn’t doing drugs, this kind of talk could be damaging. If she was, the cautions, however needed, were equally horrifying.

  “I know,” Madeline said in an aggrieved voice that she would likely perfect in her teen years. “You always tell me that.”

  Caitlin knew, as Parker must, that all the coaching in the world often fell apart. Studies had proven that even children rigorously taught not to handle guns did so when given the opportunity out of their parents’ sight. Natural curiosity was too strong for such young children to show discipline. Which, of course, was why parents were needed to guide them through the hazards of life until they had the maturity to understand and control their actions. Caitlin still had to keep all cleaners and other hazardous items out of Amy’s reach, and she’d been five for twenty-two years.

  “It’s time,” Sally said gently. She gave Caitlin the wry smile that she used when she was emotionally engaged.

  Parker kissed his daughter’s forehead. “You go with Detective Crumb and Ms. McLoughlin.”

  “Her name is Caitlin, Daddy.” Madeline reached up and took Caitlin’s hand.

  Surprised and a little touched, Caitlin squeezed it lightly.

  Parker met Caitlin’s gaze. “When will I be able to leave here?”

  “Tomorrow. After the arraignment, we’ll go over your case.”

  “Okay.” He turned and went with the officer who had driven them to Manti.

  Sally started down the hall. “Your mother is anxious to see you, Madeline. But after you give her a hug, I need to talk to her a bit by myself. Caitlin, you probably have to get back to the courthouse, so I’ll find someone to stay with Madeline while I talk with her mother.”

  “I’ll stay. They’ll just think I’m taking an extra long lunch. Madeline and I will go see what’s in the vending machine.”

  “There are donuts on my desk,” Sally offered. “I’ll have them brought in.”

  “I love donuts,” Madeline chirped.

  Caitlin laughed. “We all do. And trust me when I say you need to eat as many as possible while you’re young.”

  “You can say that again.” Sally stopped in front of an open door. “She’s in there, Madeline.” In a lower voice, she added to Caitlin, “Her name is Dakota Allen. Apparently she dropped the Hathaway after the divorce.”

  Caitlin walked into the room and saw a woman about her height pacing the room. But any further resemblance was nil. Dakota wore jeans with wavy script down one leg, the waistband so low and tight that though she wasn’t a heavy woman, rolls of skin bunched over the top. Her chest spilled out of a tight tank top which she wore under a short camouflage jacket. Blonde hair with dark roots coming in and too much makeup completed the picture. Caitlin wondered, as she always did when she saw such women, how Dakota Allen could possibly think she looked anything but cheap and trashy.

  Madeline did not, as Caitlin expected, pull away and race to her mother. Instead, it was Dakota Allen who sprang across the room and hugged her daughter, practically ripping her from Caitlin’s grasp.

  “Oh, Maddy, I’ve missed you so much! I was so scared!” She talked high and fast and had an odd, nervous laugh.

  “I was just with Daddy.” Madeline’s voice was petulant.

  “He has no right taking you like that! He’s never going to again. I promise you. Never!”

  Madeline had been returning her mother’s hug, but now her arms dropped to her sides, and Caitlin could tell she was fighting tears. “Why are you mad at Daddy?”

  “Because he stole you away! And look at your hair! He changed the color to hide you from me. What a mess!”

  “He didn’t steal me! I just saw him like I always do. And I like my hair. It’s like Grandma’s.” Madeline began crying in earnest now. “I want my daddy!”

  “I can’t believe you’re acting like this! I’ve been so worried, not knowing where you were. It’s been horrible!” Dakota tried to pull Madeline to her, but Madeline resisted. Dakota continued to talk rapidly, trying to make Madeline understand, to come to her way of thinking.

  Madeline put her hands over her ears. “No entiendo,” she said.

  Caitlin caught Sally’s eye and dipped her head slightly. Do something.

  “Uh, can I talk to you for a moment, Ms. Allen?” Sally asked. “I know you’re anxious to take Madeline home, but there are a few more things we need to take care of. Caitlin and Madeline can visit the vending machine while we talk.”
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br />   Dakota stood, looking in confusion from Sally to Madeline. “Okay,” she agreed. In a high, false voice, she said to Madeline, “Go with this nice lady for a minute, and then I’ll take you home.”

  Even with her hands over her ears, Madeline heard and walked over to Caitlin, slipping her hand in hers. “Can I have a candy bar? Chocolate.” Tears stood out on her pale cheeks.

  Dakota smiled. “Say please, Maddy.”

  “Please?” Madeline repeated obediently, without glancing at her mother.

  “Sure,” Caitlin said. “As long as it’s okay with your mom.”

  Dakota nodded. “It’s fine. Thanks.”

  Madeline pulled Caitlin toward the door, and gladly Caitlin escaped. After meeting Dakota Allen, her sympathy with Parker had grown. She understood, perhaps even better than he did, what danger Madeline was in. Not necessarily from getting into a stash of drugs but of growing up to be like her mother—a spoiled, self-indulgent woman who lived off government aid and the largesse of others. A woman who didn’t create a stable home for her children but who flitted from bad relationship to bad relationship as her hormones and opportunity allowed, her days seen only through the lens of alcohol and drugs. It was an affliction commonly passed from mother to daughter unless somewhere the cycle was broken.

  Apparently Parker Hathaway had also been caught in that cycle, though his parents had not led him there. What had broken it for him? These were questions Caitlin would have to know the answer to before she could understand him well enough to defend his actions.

  Or at least that’s what she told herself.

  Sally would have a lot of information on Parker, and as his attorney, she would have access to it all. Likely there would be more she’d have to track down. Maybe it was time to give Kenny a call. She’d been meaning to touch bases with him anyway,

  to see if Wyman Russell had been nosing around. With all the distractions today, she’d almost forgotten that little problem.

  “Haven’t you ever done anything you might have otherwise considered wrong to protect someone?” Parker had asked.

  She believed, as she’d told him, that the end didn’t justify the means, and yet she wouldn’t change her own decision any more than he’d change his. Maybe her father hadn’t understood all the implications of the motto. Sometimes the possible cost of the end was so great that the means, as long as they weren’t too horrible, were justified.

  “Isn’t that the candy machine?” Madeline asked.

  “Oh, yeah.” They had been about to walk past it. “What do you want?”

  “Can I have two?”

  Caitlin laughed. “Yes, I think I have enough change. But only two.”

  Madeline grinned up at her. “You’re really nice.” She pointed out the candy bars she wanted before adding, “Will you ask my mom if I can play with your sister?”

  “Boy, you’re persistent.”

  Madeline giggled, her dimples showing. “Daddy says that’s part of my name. But it’s really not.”

  “I always say that about Amy, too.”

  “That means we’ll be the bestest friends.”

  For a brief moment, Caitlin wished with her whole heart that such a thing could be possible.

  • • •

  “Please, sit down over here.” Sally indicated a couch along the wall. “There are some important matters we need to discuss.”

  “What?” Dakota’s eyes narrowed, and she held her arms stiffly to her sides as she sat.

  “Well, to begin with, you should know that psychologists have counseled in kidnapping cases like this that it’s probably best to play down the whole experience, and especially not to verbally attack the parent responsible.”

  “Parker kidnapped my daughter!”

  “I know that, and you have every right to be upset. But in Madeline’s eyes, she just went for a visit with her daddy, and she doesn’t understand why you’re so upset with him. When you voice your anger at Parker, Madeline feels she has to choose, and that’s simply not a good place for a child of that age to be.” Sally knew she was overstepping her bounds by talking this way to Dakota, but she felt she owed it to both Parker and Madeline.

  “So I just ignore what happened?”

  “I’m not saying that. I’m saying Madeline’s going to feel a lot of guilt and resentment if she has to choose.”

  Dakota nodded. “I guess I see that.” She shook her head. “I’m never letting him come near her again. How do I know he won’t take her away?”

  “You don’t. That will all have to be worked out in a family court. Do you have a lawyer?”

  “No. But I definitely want to press charges. I want him punished!”

  “If you’re willing to compromise, a plea bargain might be better. Faster. Less stressful for your daughter.”

  “I don’t want him to get off. I want him to pay. He took my little girl who I love more than life!” Tears watered Dakota’s eyes. “And that reminds me—I really want to thank you for finding her. Thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome.” Sally inclined her head, trying to reconcile this sudden graciousness with the harsh woman who wanted Parker to rot in jail. “As for charges, I’m sure the DA’s office will be in touch, and Family Services will likely want to talk with you as well.” This last would be about the drug accusations, but Dakota would find that out soon enough.

  “Family Services? Why? I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “Well, they like to cover all the bases, especially when the child involved is as young as Madeline.”

  “Oh.” Dakota’s gaze wandered to the door. “Is that all?”

  “Well, as part of the case, we have to do a little background on you and Madeline. You’ve been at your house for only three months. Where were you before that?”

  “At a friend’s.”

  Sally didn’t speak but nodded as though expecting more. This tactic often worked with suspects. Dakota wasn’t an exception.

  “Parker and I’d broken up sometime before that, and I didn’t know where to go. Couldn’t really afford the apartment where we’d been. So I moved in with a friend.”

  “A man?”

  Dakota bristled. “He was just a friend.”

  Sally knew he’d been more than that. She saw it in the way Dakota held her body, in the way her eyes slid past hers. She knew it because of the lifestyle Dakota lived. Yes, occasionally friends were just friends, but that usually wasn’t the case when people of the opposite sex lived together. “And what was his name?”

  “Ron Hill.”

  “He lives in South Salt Lake?”

  “Jordan. But he doesn’t live there anymore.”

  “And where is he now?”

  Dakota shook her head. “I don’t know. And I don’t see what this has to do with anything.” She stood, rubbing her hands together. “I’d better go find Madeline.”

  Sally knew that was as far as she’d get, and legally she couldn’t detain Dakota or force her to answer. She’d have to leave the questioning for Caitlin in court, if the case went that far.

  Madeline’s voice floated into the room from the open doorway, and seconds later Caitlin and Madeline came into sight, each eating a chocolate bar.

  “That looks yummy!” Dakota cooed. “Are you ready to go?”

  “I guess. Want a bite, Mommy?”

  “No, thanks. I’m just anxious to get you home. Your brother’s missed you so much.”

  “Where is Reese?” Madeline scanned the room, as though expecting to see him under a chair or perhaps sleeping on the couch.

  “He’s with his daddy.”

  “Oh.” Madeline’s smile had vanished again, and Sally felt her heart go out to the child.

  Dakota took a step toward Caitlin. “Thank you so very much for everything. I’m very much indebted to you. Thank you for your help in bringing back my girl.”

  “You’re welcome.” Caitlin appeared as surprised as Sally had felt—not so much at the thanks but the graciousness
of it.

  Madeline tugged on Caitlin’s hand. “You forgot to ask.”

  “Ask?” Caitlin lifted a brow.

  “If I can play at your house with your sister. The one that’s five.”

  Ah, Sally thought. Like most young children, Madeline seemed to have a good memory when it concerned fun.

  Dakota blinked her surprise. “Well, uh, I’m sure this lady has a lot to do, Maddy. Maybe we can work something out another day.”

  Sally recognized that cop-out. She’d used it enough with Randi. Given enough time, even children with good memories forgot.

  Madeline stamped her foot. “But I want to play with her today.”

  “We’ll see. Right now we have to get your brother. And I’m sure this lady is working.”

  Caitlin nodded, and the excuses seemed to mollify Madeline for the moment.

  “She’s helping Daddy,” Madeline stated. “I don’t remember what.”

  Dakota hesitated, her eyes meeting Caitlin’s. “Don’t you work here at the police station?”

  “I thought you knew. I’m the appointed counsel for your ex-husband.”

  “You’re his lawyer?” Dakota asked, aghast. Her eyes glittered darkly at Caitlin.

  “Appointed by the court,” Sally reiterated. “Parker doesn’t have the means to get his own attorney right now.” Then an idea occurred to her, something that might help in the short term. “Caitlin here is going to try to get him out working again as soon as possible so you can get child support.”

  Dakota’s eyes opened wide. Apparently, in her vengeful mood, she hadn’t thought about the money. “Well, I’d better go.” Taking Madeline’s hand, she marched from the room. Silently, Sally and Caitlin watched them walk down the hall. Only Madeline looked back at them and waved.

  “I have this feeling she’s not going to let Madeline play with Amy,” Sally mused.

  Caitlin snorted. “You think? If looks could kill, I’d be dead.”

  “She wants him prosecuted.”

  “I’d feel the same way in her shoes, but”—she shook her head—“I don’t like that woman.”

  “Maybe that’s because you like a certain client just a little too much?”

  “That’s completely uncalled for!”