MARY CLARK - Piece of My Heart

“Do you know whether she ever contacted the guy?”

“I have no idea. Oh my goodness, do you think he might be the one who killed her? Why would he do that?”

“Alex’s nephew, Johnny… the one who is missing? He’s Michelle’s baby.” Lindsay’s eyes widened as she realized the implications. “Did Michelle ever tell you the father’s name?”

Her brow furrowed, Lindsay shook her head. “No, but the weird thing is that she actually recognized his wife when he was kissing her in the parking lot. She was in charge of the marketing campaign for the restaurant Michelle was managing in Rehoboth Beach and had become good friends with the owners. In hindsight, Michelle realized it should have been a red flag that her boyfriend never dropped in on her at work. Once she saw him with his wife, she understood why.”

Laurie was deep in thought, wishing they had looked further into Michelle’s death when Johnny first disappeared. Sandra would surely remember the name of Michelle’s former employer. Hopefully, the restaurant owners could link them to their marketing consultant. From there, they could locate Johnny’s biological father, and hopefully find Johnny.

“Oh wait!” Lindsay exclaimed. “She also told me that he was an architect.”

Laurie thanked her for her time and walked her to the elevator.

As soon as Laurie was alone again in her office, she called Marcy and Andrew. Andrew answered and quickly brought in Marcy on the speakerphone.

“Do you have Sandra’s contact information?” Laurie asked.

“She left us a phone number and email,” Andrew said.

“Do you think she’s the one who took Johnny?” Marcy asked. “I assume the police can pull up her address. I’ll go there myself right now if I have to. Beg her—mother to mother.”

Laurie laid out what she had learned from Lindsay Hart. Even over the phone, she could tell it was a lot for Marcy and Andrew to digest. From the very beginning, Michelle had known the identity of Johnny’s biological father but never told him about the child they had conceived. Now it looked like a belated change of heart may have led to both her murder and Johnny’s abduction.

Marcy’s voice cracked on the other end of the line. “My god. That poor woman. It was already so heartbreaking to learn she’d fallen on hard times and a drug overdose, but murder? Because she told that man about Johnny’s birth? But bless that neighbor for getting at the truth. I think this is finally the breakthrough we’ve been praying for. I feel it in my bones.”

“Me too,” Andrew said. “It all clicks. We’ll call Sandra right now, Laurie, and get the name of that restaurant.”

Chapter 53

Nearly three thousand miles from the nation’s capital, in Portland, Oregon, a woman who now went by the name of Alicia Nelson wiggled into a pair of body-hugging Spanx as she called out to her nine-year-old daughter in the next room. “Bella, I hope you’re brushing your teeth and getting dressed. I can’t be late for this presentation today.”

She managed to tug the zipper at the back of her dress to the very top on her own, and then inspected herself in the mirror. Ah, the magic of shapewear. She considered this peacock-colored sheath dress her lucky charm when it came to landing new clients. Two weeks ago, she could have slipped it on effortlessly, but that getaway to San Francisco with Ben the previous weekend had been a nonstop culinary adventure. A few pounds were a small price to pay for the first trip she had taken with a man since her divorce from Daniel.

She noticed that she was smiling involuntarily as she thought about Ben. Daniel was her college sweetheart, the love of her life, the father of her sweet, beautiful daughter. They were supposed to have spent their entire lives together.

She still woke up in the middle of the night, anxious from the guilt about leaving him. She told herself again and again that he’d given her no choice. She had to leave, not only for her safety, but for Bella’s. At the same time, though, she had come to accept that loneliness would be her punishment for the divorce. If she didn’t spend the rest of her days with Daniel, she would have to spend them without romantic love.

But then she met Ben. It was serious now. He knew Bella and adored her. Of course he adored her. Who didn’t? And last weekend, in San Francisco, she finally told him the truth about her past. The irony? Ben’s last name was Robinson, just like hers used to be when she was Roseanne Robinson, or Ro-Ro as her friends all called her. Oh, how she still missed that nickname, but she’d left it in the past, along with Daniel.

She found Bella slapping butter onto a hot Pop-Tart on the kitchen counter.

“Can you at least use a plate or a paper towel or something?”

She tapped her face with an index finger, and Bella planted a good morning kiss on her cheek.

As her daughter perched on her tiptoes to reach for a plate, she said, “Mom, shouldn’t you care more about me eating junk food and not a few crumbs?”

Bella was nine, going on thirty. In some ways, it felt like yesterday that she was riding around on her Frozen -themed toy Jeep. In others, it was a lifetime ago.

“lf buttered toaster pastries are my daughter’s only vice, I’d say I’m doing pretty fine in the mothering department.”

“Better than fine. The very best. You look nice, by the way. I know that’s your favorite dress. Oh, that’s right! You have the winery meeting today! You’re going to wow them.”

Asked to pitch marketing ideas to a small but growing winery, her hope was to convince the owners to launch a high-end weeklong luxury winefest to draw oenophiles from all over the country.

“Thanks, sweetie. My lucky dress and I can’t wow them if we’re late, though.” She needed to drop Bella off at her science camp before making the drive down to Willamette Valley.

“I’ll grab my backpack, then I’m ready.”

She was wiping a few pre-plate pastry crumbs from the counter when the phone rang. Her heart leapt at the sight of the 302 area code. Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Her former life. Her nerves settled when she realized she recognized the rest of the number.

“Hello?”

“It’s April. Sorry to call so early.”

April Meyer, the owner of the Sand Bucket and her favorite former client. What began as a marketing job for a new restaurant in a vacation town had led to a close friendship. The Meyers were one of only three pairs of friends who knew how to reach the woman who used to be Roseanne Robinson.

“I work full-time and have a nine-year-old who acts like a CEO. It’s never too early. Nighttime? Now, that’s another issue. I’m comatose by nine-thirty.”

“Someone called me about you,” April said.

This was the message she had been dreading since “Alicia Nelson” moved all the way across the country to the Pacific Northwest. Daniel had found her. He was going to ruin her life again. She braced herself for the news as April continued.

“Her name’s Marcy Buckley. She’s lives in Washington, D.C.”

“I don’t know who that is, but, April, you know how careful I’ve been about protecting my identity here. You’re probably the most honest person on the planet, but can you please tell a little white lie and say you don’t know where I am? For all I know, she’s working for Daniel to find me—”

“She’s not. Her son is missing. But it is related to Daniel. Honey, you might want to sit down.”

Chapter 54

Leo was struck by the overpowering smell of disinfectant as he entered the Bleecker Street Boxing Gym.

A man laced up his boxing shoes from a bench inside the door. Noticing Leo’s wrinkled nose, he said, “Trust me, bud, it’s better than the alternative. You’ll get used to it. Haven’t seen you here before. Are you looking for a sparring partner? My dad still likes to get in the ring, even though he’s turning seventy next month. You might be a good match for him.”