Free Trumped Up Charges by Joanna Wayne

Matilda’s supposedly dead brother. And they don’t have Lacy and Lila or we would have heard. We don’t even have a plan for what to do about the ransom. I can’t snap my fingers and have five million dollars drop from the sky.”
    “All good points,” Adam agreed. “So maybe we should look at this from a new angle.”
    “Why not? Do you have one?”
    “I have a good marine buddy whose brother is one of the top hostage negotiators in the world.”
    “This isn’t a hostage situation.”
    “It’s not your typical hostage situation, but the kidnapper is holding the girls hostage. Besides, Chuck Casey’s brother was involved in at least one famous child abduction case.”
    “What case was that?”
    “Three years ago the son of a Houston shipping tycoon was taken from his private school following an after-school football game.”
    “I remember that case,” Hadley said. “Wasn’t it a former chauffeur who abducted the kid?”
    “Yes, and according to Chuck, his brother Fred is the main reason the family had a happy ending. I’m not sure Fred is available or even in the country, but we can ask.”
    “Call your friend,” she said. This might be exactly the break they needed. Except... “Let Fred Casey know up front that I don’t want any risky heroics. I won’t take chances with my daughters’ lives.”
    “I’ll make sure he knows that.”
    “Perfect. I’ll get showered and dressed while you try to get in touch with him. I need to check on Mother in person and find out if she ever got in touch with Matilda.”
    The last time Hadley had checked in with her mother and her private nurse had been at ten after nine last night. Her mother had left messages for Matilda to call her back but hadn’t heard from her. The nurse had suggested Hadley not call again until morning. She had just given Janice an injection to control the pain and felt her patient needed to rest undisturbed.
    Adam dropped a couple of pieces of wheat bread into the toaster. “It could be that Matilda was dodging Janice’s calls.”
    “I find that difficult to believe. But if she is, I’ll pay a call to Matilda and confront her about Quinton myself.”
    “Mind if I tag along?”
    Oddly, she’d just assumed that he would. In a matter of hours, she’d let him back in her life—an act that would have been unthinkable before.
    Desperation had changed all the rules.
    “You can come, but don’t expect a warm greeting or any thanks from Mother.”
    “I won’t. That same warning might go for you when you call on Matilda.”
    Hadley sincerely hoped he was wrong about that. But if Quinton wasn’t dead, and Matilda had conned Janice out of money for his funeral, then Hadley didn’t know Matilda at all.
    “You’ll have to live with the whiskers until I get my hands on a razor, but if it’s okay with you, I’ll just throw what I’m wearing into the washing machine, dry it and wear it again,” Adam said. “That won’t take long and I’ll smell a lot better.”
    “No problem. The downstairs laundry room is just past the walk-through pantry.”
    Hadley pointed in the right direction. She could have offered him her razor, but for some weird reason she liked the edgy look of his whiskered chin. It fit better with her ragged appearance.
    He grabbed the toast from the toaster and set one on a saucer. “Munch on that with your coffee,” he said. He took the other with him as he left.
    Hadley stood and walked to the kitchen window. Her gaze fastened on the gingerbread-style playhouse her mother had gotten her handyman to build for the girls. They’d clapped their hands and started yelling when they saw it for the first time.
    Lila had smelled the miniature pot of petunias and then peeked through the curtained windows, her eyes wide with wonder. Impetuous Lacy had opened the bright pink door and rushed inside.
    Furnished with a child-size table and chairs, non-working refrigerator and range and a shelf full of plastic dishes and