“Yes,” I answered, then my cell phone pinged with a text alert. I slid it from my pocket and checked the screen. It was from Lucinda.
Come back ASAP. I’m at Dom’s. We have a problem.
Chapter Nineteen
We found Lucinda, Dom, and Wiki in the apartment, gathered around Lucinda’s laptop. She was upset, her skin mottled and her neck blotchy. Dom and Wiki looked grim, their hands on their hips. The tension in the room was palpable the moment I entered, breathless.
“What’s the matter, honey?” I went to her side.
“Mom, you okay?” Ethan dropped Moonie’s leash, and the dog trotted off, sniffing.
“I’m fine.” Lucinda forced a smile, then looked at me. “Melissa went to see Mom at Bay Horse.”
“Why?” I asked, surprised.
“She went looking for me. She knows I go Monday nights.”
“Oh no.” I had forgotten, with so much going on. Lucinda visited her mother every Monday night, and I usually stayed home with the kids. We used to go with her, but my mother-in-law no longer recognized anyone but my wife and sometimes Allison.
“Look.” Lucinda gestured at the laptop, and the screen showed a Facebook post by Melissa.
Lucinda, I’m with your mother. You didn’t show up or call. Something must be keeping you away or you would be here. What’s going on? Please let me know you’re okay!
My heart sank. Under the post was a photo of Melissa, a freckled-faced redhead with rimless glasses, uncharacteristically somber. She sat next to my mother-in-law, Claire Romarin, whom I loved like my own mother. Claire had been a beautiful woman in her day, the origin of my wife’s wide-set eyes, straight nose, and pretty mouth, but my mother-in-law was frowning in the photo, distraught.
Lucinda glared at Dom. “My mother’s confused. She doesn’t know what’s going on. She doesn’t remember Melissa and she doesn’t know where I am. All this could have been prevented. All you had to do was tell Melissa we’re in the program. She wouldn’t have told anyone and she wouldn’t have gone to Bay Horse.”
“I’ll talk to my boss—” Dom started to say.
“A little late, don’t you think?”
“We have procedures.”
“And look where they got us! It’s bad enough I’m abandoning my mother, now she’s worried sick about me!”
Dom’s expression was grave, and I knew he felt terrible, which frustrated me more.
“Okay,” I said to Lucinda, “here’s what I think, honey. We can’t look back.”
“Why not?” Lucinda looked over, shedding my arm.
“Because it’s not about blame. It’s about what we do next.”
“Don’t take their side, Jason!”
“I’m not.” I was aware of Ethan looking from Lucinda to me. “We’re missing the big picture, playing the blame game.” I turned to Dom. “This post reveals where my mother-in-law lives. I think that puts her in danger. Did you get surveillance on her yet?”
“Unsure. I made the request this morning. Normally it takes a day or two.” Dom gestured to Wiki, who slid out his phone and started texting. “We’ll check.”
Lucinda’s hand flew to her mouth. “I didn’t even think of that! They could go there and kill her, for God’s sake!”
“Honey, we will deal with this. We can deal with it.”
“How? My mother’s in danger!” Lucinda turned to Dom, angry tears in her eyes. “You let Milo get away. You let our house burn down. Now my mother has a target on her back because you wouldn’t tell Melissa we’re okay!”
Dom pursed his lips. “Lucinda, we will—”
“You can’t let anything happen to my mother! She’s a wonderful person, wonderful! She’s been through hell! She lost my sister, she’s losing herself. She never did anything wrong to anybody, not once!”
“Honey, it’s going to be okay.” I put an arm around Lucinda again, but she looked alarmed, beginning to breathe oddly, her chest heaving.
“Jason . . . my heart’s pounding, so hard . . .”
“Okay, here, sit down.” I eased her into a chair, and Lucinda’s eyes rounded with fear.
“Jason . . . I think I’m having a heart attack. . . .”
“Mom!” Ethan rushed to her side, and Dom knelt in front of her.
“Lucinda, do you feel pain in your left arm?”
“I don’t know . . . my heart’s beating so . . . fast.”
I told Dom, “She has a heart murmur.”
Ethan hugged her, stricken. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“I’ll be . . . fine.” Lucinda patted him with a trembling hand. Her frightened gaze met mine.
“Honey, we need to get you to the hospital. Dom, should we call 911 or is it quicker to take her?”
“Let’s take her.”
“I got her.” I lifted Lucinda up and carried her to the door, while Dom hurried ahead and flung it open. Wiki took Ethan, and we all hustled down the stairs followed by Moonie.
Dom ran ahead to the white van, opening the passenger door. “Jason, put her in. I’ll drive.”
“Stay calm, honey.” I eased Lucinda into the seat, and she breathed with effort, her mouth slightly open.
“I’m scared,” she whispered, which wasn’t like her.
“It’s okay,” I told her, but I would never discount the worst-case scenario again. I was living the worst-case scenario.
“Mom!” Ethan wedged his way to her, starting to cry. “Be okay!”
“I’ll be fine.” Lucinda forced a smile, jittery.
I put my hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Ethan, stay here with Wiki.”
“Jason, no, you can’t go!” Dom hustled to the driver’s side.
“Yes, I am!” I reached for the back door, but Wiki restrained me with a surprisingly strong grip.
“Jason, stay.” Wiki met my gaze with new authority. “You’ll jeopardize her safety. Dom’s got this.”
“Dom?” I called to him, and he met my eye with a nod, giving me the answer I needed.
Lucinda looked over, agonized. “Love you,” she mouthed through the window.
I didn’t have to read her lips.
Meanwhile Dom had started the engine and was already taking off. Shards from the driveway flew as the van zoomed into the street. Ethan wrapped his arms around my waist, and we watched the van disappear into the darkness, its red taillights swallowed up by the night.
* * *
—
I stood behind the screen of the front door, looking out. The driveway was dark, still, and quiet except for the natural sounds. There was nothing to see, but I was too nervous to sit down. I assumed Dom and Lucinda were at the hospital and I was on tenterhooks.
Ethan curled up on the couch with Moonie, teary and exhausted. The TV was on, but we weren’t watching. I tried to shake off the frustration building up inside. I hated staying behind while my wife was being taken to the hospital by an FBI agent. It should have been me. What if there was a decision to make? I had to be there. She would have been there for me, no question.
Ethan emitted a sigh, and I crossed to the couch and sat down next to him. Moonie whipped his fuzzy head around, growling.