Free Trumped Up Charges by Joanna Wayne Page A

cooking paraphernalia, it was every little girl’s dream.
    “You’ll play in it again,” she whispered to no one. “You’re coming home.”
    She had to hang on to that hope or she’d never make it through the day. Already her body felt as if it had been used for a punching bag. The fear for Lacy and Lila was eating away at her like acid, corroding her nerves and brain and sucking her energy.
    She was still staring out the window minutes later when Adam reappeared wearing one of her mother’s robes, his dirty clothes in hand. Even in pink silk, he looked virile, a man’s man. Tough but not arrogant or chauvinistic. That had been one of the first qualities that had attracted her to him.
    “Chuck got hold of Fred and explained the situation to him. He said to count him in.”
    “Is he in Texas?”
    “He’s in D.C. now, but he’ll catch the first available flight to Dallas. He said he’ll call when he gets to town. He said to assure you that he never takes unnecessary risks with lives, but he also has a couple of requirements before he’ll agree to get involved.”
    “Which are?”
    “He expects complete honesty from you about every detail. He wants no surprises about the facts.”
    “What else?”
    “He needs you to trust him completely. Second-guessing him and veering from the plan will jeopardize the girls’ safety.”
    Complete trust would mean everything was out of her hands. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m not sure I can promise that.”
    “Then trust in me, Hadley. If I think Fred is making a mistake, I’ll step in and either take over or find someone who can. Someone who believes in you fully and doesn’t have to play by the rules.”
    Trust Adam. She had once. He’d betrayed her. But this was different. This was about his abilities as a decision-maker and his hero qualities. They had never been in question.
    “Okay, Adam. Tell Fred the girls are in his hands.” Now, if the kidnapper would just call back and give them a place and a time and five million dollars would fall like manna from heaven.
    A lesser miracle would do just fine, too. As long as it brought Lacy and Lila home.
    In the meantime, she’d call Detective Lane for an update. It had been almost twenty-four hours since she’d discovered their empty beds.
    * * *
    M ATILDA ’ S SANDALS CLICKED against the concrete steps of the church. She’d slipped out of the Thursday morning mass early, not wanting to leave with the others and face the questions of friends and acquaintances. They’d all want to know about little Lacy and Lila and she was too upset to talk about the kidnapping.
    She was frightened for herself as well as the girls. Keys to Janice O’Sullivan’s house had gone missing from her key ring sometime since Monday morning. That was the last time she remembered using a key to Janice’s house. When Janice was home, Matilda always rang the bell and Janice would let her in.
    She hadn’t realized they were missing until the morning the girls had gone missing. If they turned up in the hands of the kidnapper, she could be in real trouble. Officer Grummet had made it clear from his questioning that he already thought she might be involved in the crime.
    And now Janice had left a message asking about Quinton. Matilda had no choice but to tell her the truth. That would cost Matilda her job. That was no one’s fault but her own. Lying always led to more lies. The end result was never good.
    Matilda should have never let Quinton back into her life. He’d talked a great story of redemption when he’d called last week and begged her to see him. He’d convinced her he’d finally found religion and turned his life around.
    She probably hadn’t been that hard to convince. She’d prayed for it for so long. He was her only brother. She loved him. And she owed him. He’d saved her life more than once when their daddy had staggered home drunk and had come at her.
    But if Quinton was behind this abduction, if he