Danielle Steel: Vanished

“I never shoulda done it. It was crazy. But it was so damn much money, and it sounded so easy.” And it had been. Until now.

Taylor looked at Tom. “Who the hell would have paid him that much to frame Delauney? Somebody really has it in for your client.”

“I wish to hell I knew who,” Tom said sourly.

“The word is, the kid's still alive, but I don't know where, or who's got him,” Louie said in a whisper, glancing over his shoulder.

“What makes them think so? Can you find out?” Taylor was suddenly all business.

“I'll ask. But I think someone's keepin' it real quiet. There's a lot of money changed hands, and they must have hired good ones, because no one's talkin'.” Except for Louie, thank God. Taylor found himself praying that Louie's pals were right, and that Teddy was still living.

“You have any idea where he is? Any hint? Any clue? Anything we can go on?”

“Maybe he's already out of the country.” They had thought of that. But for months they had held a tight rein on the ports and the airport, and even the frontiers into Canada and Mexico. They had closed down everything tight, until very recently. By now they figured that Teddy was either dead, or no one was going to try moving him out of the country. But that suddenly made John wonder. The pressure on the ports had been lightened only the week before. It was worth another look. He looked at Louie with an interested expression.

“You just gave me an idea, Louie. I love ya.”

“Yeah? Then what are you gonna do for me? Listen …I'll give the money back … I only spent ten grand. You can have back the other forty. Give it to the FBI, Christ, give it to the judge. But shit, I don't wanna do more time for a lousy pair of kid's pajamas.”

“Tell you what.” Taylor looked at him seriously. “If we find anything, I'll make a deal for you for helping us find the kid. If we don't find him, you could be in deep shit. But I'll do what I can. I'll call you.”

“Yeah … let me know …” Louie the Lover looked nervously at Tom, and John Taylor went to make a phone call.

“Thank you for talking to us,” Tom said quietly. “This could mean my client's life.”

“Yeah,” Louie smiled nervously, “and my ass. But … eh … I don't like to see people hurt a kid. Stinks. You know what I mean. Like the Lindbergh thing. I was in the joint then, doing time for a little bank robbery. Made me sick, guys like that …killing a baby.”

“Do you think they could have killed him?” Tom felt sick as he thought of it, not just for his client. He had come to admire Marielle through the trial, and he couldn't bear the thought of her going through that. Especially not after the other children she'd lost, and what she was facing with Malcolm.

“Hard to tell,” Louie answered seriously. “Sometimes when there's a lot of money involved, it could go either way. And word on the street is, this one's a big ticket.”

“I wish I knew who did it.” He knew for certain it wasn't Charles Delauney. He had believed him before, but now he had no doubts whatsoever. But if it had been this professionally done, he also wondered if they would ever find out who had done it. Or find poor Teddy.

And when Taylor came back, he looked grim.

“What's up?” Tom asked him.

“I don't know. Maybe it's a wild-goose chase, but we're going to tear the port apart for the next few days. You never know what you're going to find there. But I hear we've got ten freighters and six passenger liners to pull apart. That ought to keep us busy for a few minutes. And Louie, you do your stuff too, and see what you hear.” And if nothing else they could get a statement from him about planting the bear and the pajamas. But Taylor knew it might prove not to be that easy, in the end, to protect him. “I'll call you.”

“Thanks for lunch.” Louie looked at both of them, and he wasn't sorry he had come. If they found the kid, maybe it would be worth it. A man had to do something he felt good about once in a while, even if it cost him.

And as they left the restaurant, Taylor slipped into a phone booth, and made another call. He called Marielle at the house, he hadn't wanted anyone to hear him. “Hi there. It's me.” He knew she'd recognize his voice. “Will you meet me at the same church we went to yesterday, say … in twenty minutes?”

“Sure,' She sounded surprised. And when he met her there, she'd come alone. She'd slipped out the back door, and walked down the street like anyone else before anyone noticed. She was wearing a scarf over her head, a wool jacket, and dark glasses.

“Is something wrong?” She looked worried, and he smiled to reassure her.

“No, but I'm going to be very busy for the next couple of days. If you don't see me, don't be worried.”

“Does it have to do with the new evidence they mentioned in court this morning?” She seemed surprised. She had seen him literally every day since the night of the kidnapping. He was her only support now.

“Yes, it has to do with that.”

“Is it …does it have to do with Teddy?” …had they found him … or worse, found his body? But she didn't dare ask him.

“I don't think it has to do with anything, but we're checking it out. Don't worry about it, I'll let you know if anything turns up,” he assured her. He didn't want to raise her hopes, it wasn't fair to do that. “But I want to ask you a question first. Something my office turned up accidentally this morning.” It was what had led him to think of the port, that and something Louie the Lover had said. The two together had started a bell ringing in his head. Before that, he just figured it was a mistake, or something she hadn't told him. “Are you and your husband going anywhere in the next two weeks?”

“Malcolm? He's hardly spoken to me in weeks, and last night he told me he was going to divorce me.” But she didn't look upset. She was taking it all pretty well considering what she'd been through.

“Nice guy. So you're not planning a trip with him?” He was sure she wasn't, but he'd had to check it.

“No. Why?” She looked puzzled.

“You don't think he'd plan a little honeymoon, to try and patch things up?”

“Not with me anyway. He told me his lawyer would call me.”

“When was all this?”

“Last night, after church,” and then suddenly she remembered something he'd said in Teddy's bedroom. “He said he was going away. Is that what you mean?”

“Maybe.” But he didn't tell her that Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Patterson were booked to sail on the Europa. He could only assume that Malcolm was taking Brigitte and planning to pass her off as his wife. It had been done before, and on shipboard, people tended to be pretty discreet. Nice little trip he'd planned for himself, while Marielle was waiting to hear from his lawyer. What a bastard. “Anyway, I just wondered. I figured it was a mistake.”

“Did you think I was planning to slip out of town?” She smiled, but even when she smiled her eyes were sad now. She had been through too much in the past four months. He wanted to hold her in his arms, but it didn't seem the time or place to him and he was busy.

“Don't plan on leaving town without the FBI on your heels, Mrs. Patterson.”

“Actually, that sounds very appealing.” She smiled as they walked out of church. “When will I see you again?”

“As soon as I can get away. Ill come by the house, or I'll call you. Or I'll see you in court on Friday morning.” He smiled gently and put an arm around her shoulders.

“Take care of yourself.” He knew that when he wasn't busy, he would worry about her every moment. He followed her most of the way back to the house, and then watched as she ran up the street to the Patterson mansion. He took a cab then to his office.