Dead Ringer (34 page)

He and Zack started for the door. He wasn't going to let this go. He'd
be back.

"Wait," Mrs. Barrington said as she got up and started toward them.

Adrianna stared at her mother.

Tears filled Margaret Barrington's eyes as she turned to her daughter.
"I planned never to tell you.
Ever.
Because
it never mattered to me."

"Tell me what?" Adrianna asked.

"And then that letter came.
Mentioned the name Sarah."

Jacob held his breath.

Margaret Barrington started to weep. "Adrianna, you
are
adopted."

Allen stood outside the design shop. He saw the cops inside. Rage roiled
inside him. The cops were ruining everything. They were keeping his Sarah from
him.

Time was running out. The Family had to be assembled soon.

As much as he wanted Sarah, as much as he hated leaving her behind, he
realized he wanted Eve and the baby more.

The baby.

Just the thought made him smile. He had to collect Eve so they could
await the birth of their baby. He got in his truck and drove across town.

Outside the temperatures had dropped and the wind had picked up. The air
felt heavy with the promise of more snow.

Allen wound through evening traffic and soon parked in front of Eve's
house. His heart raced as he pulled out his phone and sent her a text message.
Up until now he'd been in complete control. He didn't like it when things
weren't right.

Loser.
Stupid.
Fool. The
words played in his head, beating him down. He shoved out a breath. "No!"

His fists clenched, he reached into his glove box and pulled out another
Taser. Soon he would get his plan back on track. He'd take Eve and the baby and
then double back for Sarah.

Eve pulled up in front of her house and dashed up the front steps. She
opened the door and shouted as she flipped on lights.

He shoved the Taser into his pocket and got out of the truck. He strode
up to Eve's front door.

He rang the bell. Impatience boiled. His need for her overrode all sense
of logic and fear.

He rang the front doorbell again.

This time he heard footsteps. He blew out the breath he was holding.
"Keep it together."

The door snapped open. Eve stood before him. She was as glorious as she
always was.
His perfect woman.

Recognition softened her eyes. "I can't talk now. I'm in a bit of a
crisis."

"I know."

Confusion darkened her eyes. "You know?"

"It's going to be okay, Kendall." Smiling, he shoved the Taser into her
belly. She convulsed and stared at him with frightened eyes before she
collapsed into his arms. "We're going to be a family."

Tuesday, January 22, 3:00
P.M.

Adrianna's laughter held no mirth. "This is some kind of sick joke, isn't
it? I'm not adopted."

Tears filled her mother's eyes as she stared at her. The immediate lack
of denial from her mother scared Adrianna. Chest tightening, she stared at her
mother's face, now so tight with worry. This was insane.

"Adrianna."

"Mom, what is this about? You need to say that I'm not adopted."

Tears streamed down Margaret's face, ruining the makeup that had taken a
half hour to apply. "I want you to understand that I love you more than
anything in the world."

Adrianna swallowed, had the sense that the earth shifted under her feet.
She was aware that the detectives were staring at them and absorbing every
detail of the conversation. At this moment, she resented their presence.
Whatever her mother had to say was private and between the two of them. "Can
you gentlemen give us some privacy?"

They didn't budge.

"We can't do that," Jacob said. "For your own safety we need to hear
what your mother has to say."

Dread hardened in Adrianna's stomach. She could barely speak. "Please,
just give us a minute."

Margaret shook her head. "Let them stay. If what they say is true about
these murders, I want them here. You might need them."

Somewhere deep inside Adrianna the whispers of old doubts grew louder.
She'd never felt like she fit in with her family. At family reunions, she was
the fair-haired one, not dark, like her cousins.
The one who
loved art and hated math.

"Why would I need police protection?" Adrianna clung to logic even as
she stared at the growing panic in her mother's eyes. "I didn't know these women.
I have nothing in common with them."

Margaret drew in a breath. "You might."

Her mother had always had a flare for the dramatic. She could turn a
hangnail into a major event. But the directness in her gaze set off alarm bells.
"What do you mean? How am I connected to these murders?" Adrianna could hear
the slight hysteria in her voice. "I'm
not
adopted." The last statement
came out of desperation. God, she needed her mother to say the words.

Margaret shook her head no. "You
are
adopted."

This was like a bad dream. She fully expected to wake up any moment. Or
better, a celebrity would burst into the room and announce she'd been punked.
Neither happened.
"But I've seen the pictures of when you
were pregnant with me. You told me I was a long delivery."

"I wasn't pregnant with
you
." She dragged in a shuddering sigh.

Adrianna's head was spinning. "I don't understand."

"I need to sit down," Margaret said.

Adrianna helped her mother to a chair and took the one across from her.
The detectives still stared, still hovered. "Tell me."

"I love you."

"Tell me."

Tears ran down her face as she started to recount the old nightmare. "A
month before you were born, I gave birth to a little girl. She was so pretty
and so perfect. She was everything to me.
My sweet Adrianna."

Adrianna stiffened. "
I'm
Adrianna."

Margaret sighed. "That was her name too."

Adrianna couldn't speak. Her mother hadn't given birth to her. She'd
been given the name of a dead child? Her voice hardened with shock and anger. "
Tell
me
."

"I came in to check on her one morning. She would have been just four
weeks old. Normally, she woke early and was kicking and trying to roll over.
Only that morning she was very still. I touched her and she was cold." She
raised a shaking hand to her temple as if the recollection made her head hurt.
"I remember screaming and calling your father. When he came in and saw our
little girl that way, he called our family doctor. The doctor lived next door
and came right over. He told us we'd lost our daughter to crib death."

Adrianna's heart beat faster and sweat beaded on her forehead. She
thought she'd throw up.

"I was so lost during those days. I wanted to die. Your father panicked.
He was terrified I'd try to kill myself." Margaret smiled. "Your dad had all
kinds of connections in the legal community. He heard about a baby who had just
been seized from a bad home situation."

"Me?"

"Yes. He pulled a lot of strings. Money changed hands, but he was
careful that all the paperwork was above board. Within a day, he laid you in my
arms. In that moment, I felt as if I'd been given my life back. I felt whole
again. I never looked back."

Adrianna's face flushed. In one moment, the life she'd known had been
changed forever. Everything she'd known as truth shattered.

Margaret laid her hand on Adrianna's. "I love you."

Adrianna pulled her hand away. "Do you?" The primal urge to lash out was
so strong. It wasn't logical. And she didn't care. "Or am I just a
replacement?"

Jacbo cleared his throat. "Mrs. Barrington, do you know anything about
Adrianna's birth family?"

Her shoulders had crumpled, but her gaze remained on Adrianna. "I never
asked questions. But my husband kept records." She knitted her fingers
together. "I have them at my house, locked in the safe."

Zack, silent until now, spoke up. "I know this is a tough time, but
those papers could help us figure out who's behind the killings. Perhaps even
link back to an unsolved double homicide twenty-five years ago."

Adrianna's life was crumbling. She couldn't think clearly.

Margaret lifted her chin. "I'll contact you when my
daughter
is
ready to speak to you. She has the right to see these papers before anyone
else."

The word
daughter
held an extra emphasis. And Adrianna found she
resented it. "I'll give you the papers as soon as I find them."

Jacob nodded. "I'm going to order a patrolman watch over you, Ms.
Barrington. Right now I believe you're not safe. I'd like for you to take a DNA
test."

She glanced up at him. "Why?"

"If your DNA is a match to the murder victims, then you need to be very
careful. You could be next on the killer's list."

The cold outside the shop was a welcome relief for Jacob. He had come on
a hunch and unearthed a mess. He felt for Adrianna Barrington. She had just
taken a right hook to the chin and had had her feet knocked out from under her.

He glanced at Zack. "That was something."

Zack nodded.
"Yeah."

A marked patrol car pulled up in front of the design shop. Jacob nodded
to the officer and held up his hand as a signal to wait. He flipped open his
phone and called Vega. He requested a forensics tech to do a DNA swab on
Adrianna. And soon as he called Kendall he was going to ask the same of her.

"I've got news for you as well," Vega said. His voice sounded tense.
"Dana Miller's body was found near Carytown."

Jacob hesitated. "Strangled?"

"Neck broken."

"She doesn't fit the profile of our last three victims."

"Her body was found in the trunk of Nicole Piper's car. Nicole's purse
was also in the trunk."

"Kendall's roommate."

"Yeah, I know. Ayden is on the warpath. Kendall called about an hour ago
and reported her missing." Worry coated each word. "Nicole's not answering her
cell phone and now neither is Kendall."

The muscles on the back of Jacob's neck tensed. "Is Kendall at work?"

"No. Supposedly, she ran home to check to see if Nicole had returned. No
one has heard from her and she's not answering her cell."

"Shit." He glanced back at the shop.

"And remember that guy you asked Mundey to check out? The guy who lives
behind Kendall? Cole Markham?"

"Yeah."

"Mundey just called and said Markham's story doesn't check out. He
doesn't sell insurance. No one's heard of him. And he's not renting the place
behind Kendall's. He's squatting."

"Get a warrant and meet us at the house."

Allen lifted an unconscious Kendall from the cab of his truck and
carried her toward the old home. In the setting sun's soft glow, the house's
imperfections weren't so visible. If he squinted, the house almost looked like
it had twenty-five years ago, when it had been so full of life and laughter.

He'd hated the house then because it had been a stark reminder of what
he didn't have. Its lush gardens, flower boxes, and welcome mat seemed to taunt
and remind him that he didn't belong. In those days he'd felt so adrift.
The outsider.

God, but he'd wanted to belong then and to feel like he was loved and
wanted.

Only years later during his exile did he come to miss this
place.
Here he'd at least had a connection to the people who
lived in this house. Here he'd at least had his sisters.

He'd tried to re-create that connection with other women so many times
but each attempt had failed.

Allen glanced down at Kendall's face.
So beautiful.
He leaned forward burying his face in her hair. It smelled soft with a touch of
spice. God, but she was so perfect.

A gentle nudge to her cheek only coaxed a soft moan from her. "Honey,
we're home."

She didn't speak. Not that he expected her to. After he stunned her with
the Taser, he'd injected her with a knockout drug. She'd sleep for another hour
or two.

He carried her up the stairs and through the front door. Inside, the
house's warmth wrapped around him. Smiling, he climbed the stairs with Kendall,
easily managing her weight. She'd gained a couple of pounds since last summer.
Then, her features had been too sharp and angular. But the last year had
mellowed her. He liked to think that God had been preparing her for his
arrival.

On the second floor he heard Nicole's moans. They were deep, labored.
Good. It was all coming together. Soon the Family would be complete.

He laid Kendall by the door, propping her back against the wall. He
reached into his pocket, pulled out his mask, and put it on. He wasn't ready to
reveal himself. Not yet. The moment wasn't perfect. He unlocked the door,
pulled Kendall's limp body up and pushed the door open. Nicole lay on the bed,
curled on her left side. She'd drawn her legs up close into a fetal position.
Sweat covered her body.

She raised her head and pushed herself into a sitting position. It took
her a moment to focus and to absorb the scene. "Kendall?"

"I brought her to you. She's going to deliver our baby."

Sweat had plastered her hair against her head.
"
Our
baby?"

He smiled. She'd understand soon. "Yes.
Ours."

He laid Kendall on the floor. "Did you find the water and crackers in
the little refrigerator? There are ice chips too. That's supposed to be good
for women in labor."

Nicole ignored him. "Is Kendall all right?"

"She's fine." He laid her on the floor in front of the bed, all the
while keeping his gaze on Nicole. He didn't fully trust that she really was in
labor.

Both women would fight the journey home, just as the others did. So he
had to be careful. "I'll be back soon. There's still one more sister I need to
bring to the fold."

Nicole's stomach contracted painfully as she tried to stand. "Don't
leave us here."

He backed away from her. "I'll be back."

Nicole climbed off the bed and walked doubled over to Kendall. She
dropped to her knees and pressed her fingertips to her throat searching for a
pulse. "She's barely breathing."

"I might have given her a bit too much, but she'll be fine."

Disapproval burned in Nicole's blue eyes. He took a step back,
remembering that his mother had always looked at him that way. No matter what
he'd done, she'd hated him for it. She'd resented his presence every minute of
every day.

Anger surged in him. "Stop it."

She cupped her hand to her belly. "Stop what?"

"Looking at me like that.
I'm doing what is right."

Nicole held her gaze, seemingly taking pleasure in his discomfort.
"You're a monster. And what you're doing is evil."

For an instant, his heart froze. He remembered when others had called
him a monster and a freak. He remembered scorn. He clenched and unclenched his
fingers. "If not for the baby, I would kill you right now."

She didn't flinch. Instead, she boldly stared at him. "You come near me
and I'll fight you until one of us dies."

His heart raced. "The kitten has grown claws."

With trembling hands, he backed out of the room and slammed the door. He
had to get the last sister. He needed Sarah to complete the Family.

It took almost an hour for Jacob to get a search warrant for the house
where Cole Markham was staying. When he and Zack arrived at the house it was
six in the evening. They'd brought Vega and Ayden and two detectives from the
city as backup.