Janice Kay - The Baby He Wanted

She shook her head, but some crinkles formed on her forehead. “Not really, although...he looked sort of familiar. Do you know what I mean?” she appealed to him. “He might just have had an ordinary face, but it’s like, oh, if you see someone out of context and can’t place them. They’re a stranger, but not.”

“Like a grocery checker you notice at the next table when you’re eating out.”

“Exactly like that,” she said gratefully. “But it was such a quick glimpse...”

“If his face doesn’t show up clearly on video, we’ll have you sit down with a police artist. However briefly you saw the man, I’m betting the artist and you can come up with a portrait.”

She looked doubtful, but said, “I’ll try.”

“What worries me is that he saw you, Lina. You’re memorable, not ordinary.”

“I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are. I had no trouble recognizing you.” If he sounded a little dry, who could blame him?

“Yes, but you and I—” Color rose in her cheeks. “We...”

He knew what they’d done.

“I mean, we spent quite a while together. Talking and...”

Yep. And. They’d done a lot of that, too.

Blushing furiously, she said, “The other people in there must have seen something. And...and they’d have heard what was said.”

“If we get anything useful from those who were in the bank, I’ll worry less about you. From what I heard before I came over here, I’m not optimistic. It’s also possible he’d just pulled the mask off when you saw him.”

She stared at him, stricken. “If he did...that means he was going to kill Maya either way, doesn’t it?”

“I’m afraid so” was the best he could do. The video could be grainy; the guy’s face might be caught at an angle so that distinguishing features weren’t clear. Or no camera had pointed the right way to capture his image at the moment he’d been unmasked. But her friend had had a close look at him.

“Oh, God.” She hugged herself again.

Very aware of the passing minutes, Bran said, “Lina, I have to get back to the bank. You and I need to talk, but we’ll save that for later. I’m only going to ask one thing right now. Is that baby you’re carrying mine?”

She seemed to shrink into herself, making him feel like a bastard, but he had to know. After a minute, her head bobbed. “Yes.”

Damn. It was like seeing someone running out in front of his car, knowing he would never be able to brake in time. His vision had sharpened and time slowed, but his reactions had slowed, too.

He could only nod. “All right.” Really? It was all hunky-dory? No problemo?

Do your job. “Lina, I won’t be able to get away for hours. I don’t want you to go home until we know more, in case the guy did recognize you. Do you have family close by? Or a friend who will let you spend the night if necessary?”

She stared at him. “But... I don’t have anything with me. Except my purse.” Looking more like a satchel, it sat by her feet.

“As soon as I break free, I’ll come get you. Then we’ll figure out what to do. But if you’re the only one who saw his face and this guy by any chance did know you, he can’t afford to let you identify him. Do you understand?”

She nodded, her face so white he was afraid she might keel over. But her back stayed rigid. “Yes. I saw what he’s willing to do.”

Damn. She had.

“Tell me where you’ll be.”

“Let me make a call.” She dug in the bag for her phone, and a moment later was talking to someone. She finished by saying, “I’ll tell you all about it when I get there. Thank you, Isabel.” The call ended. She told him the friend’s name and address.

He took her phone from her and added his number to her contacts, then put hers in his phone. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

They both thanked the manager on the way out. As they crossed the street, Bran said, “I’m going to have you take a look at the parking lot. Do you remember what vehicles were here when you arrived?”

“Yes.” They walked past the bank so she could see the lot. “Those are the same cars that were here then.”

“Okay. Where did your friend park?”

“I noticed it on Maple.” That was the street they’d just crossed. My car is only half a block from hers.”

“Is that why you parked where you did?”

“No, there wasn’t any room in front of the bank.” She saw something on his face. “They didn’t park in the lot, did they?”

“No, they’d have gotten as close to the front door as they could. Preferably blocking any view of the bank from passing traffic.”

“Close to the front...there was a gold Camry. I noticed it because my parents have one like it. And a cargo van. My car is really small, so I could have squeezed in between the van and the Camry, but I’m not very good at parallel parking and it would have been tight.”

“Okay,” he said, keeping his tone relaxed. He didn’t want her to freeze up. “Describe the van to me.”

“It was white, with panels instead of windows along the side. On the back, too, I’m pretty sure. I remember thinking I wouldn’t like having to rely totally on mirrors.”

“Was there a company name on the side or the door? A decal of any kind? A bumper sticker?”

But she was shaking her head. “Nothing. I doubt I’d have noticed a bumper sticker. I mean, I barely glanced at the back of the van when I was thinking of trying to squeeze in behind it.”

“I don’t suppose you noticed the license plate.”

“Not a chance.” She hesitated. “I guess it might have caught my eye if it had been an out-of-state license or a custom one.”

That was his guess, too, given how extraordinarily observant she had proved herself to be.

With a hand on her arm, he nudged her into movement again. “Getting away was the smart thing for you to do. You had no reason to focus on the van.”

Cops clustered outside the bank’s front door. The medical examiner was just going in. Bran nodded at him.

“Which car is yours?” he asked Lina, looking to the cross street.

“The Kia.”

He had her point out her friend’s, too, before asking, “You feel steady enough to drive?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes. Anyway, it’s not that far to Isabel’s.”

He insisted on walking her to her peanut of a car and watched as she wedged herself behind the wheel and adjusted and fastened the seat belt. How in hell did women who were eight months pregnant still reach the pedals?

Shaking the thought off, he waited until she had closed the door and then rolled down the window to look up at him.

“Okay,” he said. “Keep an eye out behind you on the way. If any other vehicle seems to be sticking with you, I want you to come right back here. Call me, too. Don’t wait until you get here. Do you understand?”

Lina bit her lip but nodded.

“And call if you remember anything else you think I should know.”

“I will.”

“If it looks like I won’t make it before bedtime, I’ll let you know. This Isabel understands you might have to stay, right?”

“Yes. She teaches at the middle school, too. We’ve gotten to be good friends.”

One hand flat on the roof of her car, Bran looked down at her. “I’d suggest you have a glass of wine, but I guess you can’t do that.”

She actually tried to smile. “Probably one glass wouldn’t hurt anything, but I made a no-alcohol, no-caffeine vow once I realized I was pregnant.”

“You don’t smoke, do you?”

“No. I never have. And I wouldn’t.”

Feeling foolish, he nodded. “I’ll call, Lina.”

Without another word, she pushed a button so her window glided up and put on her turn signal before pulling out onto the street. Afraid she’d get a ticket if she didn’t? No, he thought; Lina Jurick was a law-abiding citizen. A good girl, who had done something very uncharacteristic the night she’d gone to a cheap motel with him.