Ann Peterson - A Cop In Her Stocking

“Thank you.”

“I want you to remember this, Megan.”

“Don’t you worry. I will.” She ended the call. She was still shaking, but at least she felt like she had a plan, a plan that was underway.

She’d wait for Doug to make his call, then give the lieutenant all the reassurances he needed from her end. He had no reason not to believe her. It would all go smoothly. It had to.

“Was that Doug?”

Ty’s voice jolted along her nerves like an electric shock. She’d been so focused on convincing Doug to call Lieutenant Wheeling and then doing her own explaining that she’d almost forgotten she also had to lie to Ty. “Yes. He promised to call your lieutenant back right away.”

Ty nodded. “Does he know anything?”

“Yes. He has Connor. That was him at the mall.” She tried to give him a relieved smile, but she wasn’t sure she remembered what that felt like. “So everything is okay.”

“Really?”

What did that mean? That he didn’t buy it? “Yes. He saw you with him at the store, and, well, he got jealous. He called me to let me know everything’s okay. Everything’s over.”

She expected him to look relieved. Something. But his expression didn’t change. “You have to tell Lieutenant Wheeling. But I have to warn you everything is not likely to be over instantly.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re going to have to investigate what happened. Make sure Connor is okay.”

“Why? There’s no need for it.”

“That’s good. I’m glad. But we have to confirm that fact in order to close the investigation.”

“But I’m telling you that he’s safe.”

Ty held up his hands.

Megan’s mind raced. If the police went after Doug for the story they’d concocted, he’d tell them the truth for sure. It would all be over. She couldn’t let that happen. “You can’t do anything if I don’t cooperate.”

“The department has an obligation to check on Connor’s welfare.”

“You can’t charge Doug with anything for taking his own son.”

“If he has Connor and the boy is all right, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

“So what happens now?”

“We tell Leo. He’ll take it from there.”

And judging by the squareness of the man, she’d be willing to bet he’d follow procedure to a T. Which probably meant she didn’t have much time before the police would know Doug didn’t have Connor at all. She had to head this off, or at least buy some time until she could give the kidnapper what he wanted and get her son back.

She stepped toward Ty and laid a hand on his arm. “I don’t want the police to harass Doug. He’s Connor’s father. I have to deal with him. Something like this…he’ll blame me. He’ll make things miserable for me, just because he can.”

She wasn’t sure if she could convince the lieutenant and the other officers out in her living room, but maybe she could appeal to Ty. He wanted to help her. If she could convince him, maybe he’d convince his lieutenant. “Things are fine between me and Doug right now. I don’t want to ruin that balance.”

“He took your son without telling you. That doesn’t seem fine to me.”

“He was upset when he saw I let Connor go shopping with you. I think he felt like you were trying to take his place with his son. But I talked to him. Now he understands that’s not true. I also talked to Connor. Everything is fine. Can’t this whole thing just be over?”

“It’s not that simple, Meg.”

“Can we try to make it that simple?”

He didn’t answer.

Seconds stretched, one after another until Megan thought she might fall to her knees and beg. She couldn’t let things unfold this way.

“All right.”

Ty’s answer was so low, at first Megan thought she might have imagined it. “Did you say yes?”

“I’ll talk to Leo.”

“Doug said he’d return the Lieutenant’s calls.”

“Good. He’d better do that. The sooner, the better.”

“He will.”

Ty stepped toward the hall, then paused. He turned back to face her, lines digging into his forehead and bracketing his mouth. “Who called earlier? Right when I left you?”

Megan had been ready with the story she’d cooked up with Doug, but she wasn’t prepared for this. Ty must have heard her cell phone ring as she closed Connor’s bedroom door. “It was…it was Doug.”

Ty watched her carefully. “That’s a coincidence. You were about to call him.”

He might have been just making a casual observation, but Megan didn’t think so. More likely, he suspected she was lying. A jitter seized her stomach. “A coincidence. Yes, it was. At least everything worked out. Connor is safe, and everything is fine.”

“Glad to hear Connor is okay. That’s the important part.” Again he started to leave, then caught himself. This time when he returned his gaze to hers, his eyes held something softer. Sadder. “I don’t understand why you’re still protecting Doug.”

She wished she could tell him the truth. That this wasn’t about protecting Doug at all but protecting Connor. She wished she could trust that if Ty knew the real situation, he would stick by her. But wishing didn’t change anything. He was a cop, and she was about to become a criminal. That was the way things were.

It was up to her to get her baby back, to make him safe. She was on her own.

TY DIDN’T BELIEVE MEGAN’S story. Not for a second. The entire time she’d been talking, her eyelashes had fluttered and her cheeks had flushed a delicate shade of pink. When she’d related the part about how Doug had seen the error of his jealous ways, her eyes had shifted to the side, as if she found something fascinating near his left ear. She was about as good at lying as the teenagers he discovered throwing toilet paper into the trees outside the high school last Halloween.

The thing that had him confused was why.

Had Doug threatened to hurt his own little boy? Told Megan he wouldn’t let her see him again if she got him in trouble with police? As much as Ty despised Doug, he couldn’t see him hurting his own son. He knew it happened all the time, parents abusing their children, using them as weapons against one another. But Doug? And no matter what Doug would or wouldn’t do, Ty could never imagine Megan leaving her son with a man who would threaten him.

He rubbed a hand over his face and walked into her living room. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the thought of Megan getting back together again with Doug jabbed at him. Stupid. It was none of his business what Megan decided to do with her life. If she was protecting Doug out of some desire to have him return to her and Connor, who was he to say anything about it?

Ty had had his chance. He’d made his choice, just as Megan had made hers. His feelings now had more to do with the self-centered fantasies he’d been entertaining since he’d learned she was back in Lake Hubbard. Fantasies that she’d realized her mistake, that she’d come here for him. Fantasies that he could undo the damage he’d done when he’d left her all those years ago.

Left her just when she needed him most.

When he’d stepped out of the living room to check up on Megan, it had been filled with officers. The mayor had already gone, but Baker and two other guys had stayed, drinking Megan’s coffee and waiting for word that someone had seen Connor. Now only Leo remained, standing in the kitchenette, a cell phone to his ear. A few overheard words, and Ty knew why the others had gone.

“You understand I’m going to walk in the next room and check with her on all this right now.” A pause stretched as Ty imagined Doug explaining.

Ty turned away. So Doug had come through on his promise. Megan should be happy to know that her faith in him was rewarded. And when Leo got off the phone, Ty would put in a few words, just as he’d promised.