Finding Gracie's Rainbow (36 page)

“
I got the phone call
while Chandler was at work, so I called and told him that Gracie
had called and wanted to come home.” Janet watched as her husband
started drinking from the bottle he had opened. “It was going to
take me a couple of days, but I was going to bring her
home.”

Christian was watching
Janet as she talked, and he wrote while she continued to tell what
she knew. “I flew up there and took a taxi to the hospital. I felt
sick the minute I saw her. Her arm was in a cast, and they informed
me that she was expecting. I think she was two months along.” She
noticed that Chandler had sat back down beside her as he listened.
“It took more than a couple of days because Gracie wouldn't
wake.”

Chandler took her hand. He
was sorry that he had gotten angry at her. That was one thing that
rarely happened between them. “I remember you were gone for about
two weeks. Kim and Steven would call every day to see if you were
back yet.”

“
And then they flew her in
a plane that was equipped for a hospital bed, so I could bring her
back home. Two weeks after the phone call, I had her in a hospital
down here.” Janet looked over at Chandler then. “The bruises were
gone, but she was still in a cast, and she would only wake up for a
few minutes at a time. They were feeding her through an IV.” She
paused. “Gracie was like that for about four months.”

“
I remember when we
brought her home.” Chandler could start adding into the
conversation. “She never talked, and she was always nervous. Gracie
was not the same girl who had left a year earlier.”

“
A year?” Christian asked
as he looked up. “Mark has an uncle and a cousin who isn't Amish.
How did that happen?”

“
I think that Mark’s
father converted.” Janet stood and grabbed the letters from Mark’s
mother from her desk drawer. “I have stayed in contact with Mrs.
Cameron, and have been sending her pictures of Bea.”

Chandler looked at her
puzzled. “Why have you been in contact with them?”

“
They disowned Mark when
they figured out what he had been doing, and Bea is their
granddaughter.” Janet answered him honestly glad that the secret
she had been keeping was finally out. She handed the letters over
to Christian, including the last one that said if they needed them
to come down for the trail that they would be more than happy to
accommodate them.

Christian looked up after
he read them. “Write them back and ask them to come out. Gracie
said that she had been keeping a journal while she was there, and
she had given it to Mark’s sister for safekeeping. She had written
in a code. She also said that there was only one other person able
to read that code.”

Janet nodded her head. “We
invited the code when she discovered that Steven was reading her
journals when she was younger.”

Chandler smiled. “Oh, I
remember how upset she got because Steven was telling his friends
about it, and they were teasing her heartlessly.”

“
She said the day that Bea
was born Mark had beaten her.” Christian looked at Janet again and
watched as the smile disappeared from her face.

“
He found out that she was
here a week before Bea was born and came over when Chandler and I
were out.” Janet looked over at her husband as they both
remembered. “Our neighbors said that she was screaming and trying
to fight because she didn’t want to go with him.”

“
And then they said that
Mark had said something to her, and she had just got into his car
without a fight.” Chandler added. Neither Chandler nor Janet knew
what he had said to their daughter to make her do what he
wanted.

“
We got a phone call on
the night that Bea was born, and it was like I was in Pennsylvania
all over again. The bruising was bad and Gracie was scared enough
not to press charges against him.” Janet could feel the tears start
to sting her eyes. “After that he just left her alone. I' assuming
that was when Susan came into the picture.”

“
That fits the timeline.”
Christian stood as his phone started to ring, and he answered it as
he walked out of the room. He came back in and thanked them for
time they had given him. “It filled in a lot of holes. Thank you
and let me know what the Cameron’s decide to do. I would love to
have a look at that journal if the sister remembers what she did
with it.” He shook Chandler’s hand and looked over at Janet, who
was frowning. “One more question.”

She looked at him solemnly.
“That’s fine, Detective LaVern.”

“
How old was your daughter
when she married Mark?” He had been puzzled by the dates that were
written down in his file.

“
She would've been almost
eighteen.” Chandler answered for his wife.

“
Did you give your
consent, Mrs. McBride?” Christian opened his file again and looked
at his copy of the Wedding Certificate.

“
No, neither of us did.
Gracie had broken up with him the week before because she had found
out something she didn't like.” Janet looked up at Chandler as
Christian took the document out of the file.

“
So these aren't your
signatures?” He laid it down on the table in front of
Janet.

“
Absolutely not,” Janet
looked up at him feeling a lump in her throat. “She handed me a
letter before they left. I have watched the video from that night a
million times trying to figure out what had happened. . .” She
paused as Chandler walked over; placing both of his hands on her
shoulders. “We were having one of those dances for charity. Gracie
and Jackson won, but she had left before they announced
it.”

“
That was when Janet had
opened the letter.” Chandler continued for her. “Is there anything
else?” He handed the certificate back to Christian. “Why are you
investigating Gracie so much? I thought this was about
Bea.”

“
I promise that I will
tell you more later. It seems that Bea’s case has opened up another
one.” Christian noticed that Chandler was frowning now. “May I have
the video?”

“
How about I make you a
copy?” Chandler put the video in, and they all watched it while
Chandler copied it to a DVD. He took the DVD out. “She has never
danced competitively since then, and I think that it’s a total
waste.”

“
What about Jackson?”
Christian asked. He had been impressed by all of them, but he had
never known that Jackson could dance.

“
No, I think he pretty
much quit after Gracie left.” Janet answered as they walked to the
front door. “I think that Gracie has been teaching Bea
though.”

“
Thank you again for your
time.” He smiled as he left. Christian wanted to call Annie to tell
her what he had just found out until he noticed what time it was.
He was supposed to meet up with Dylan and Jackson in thirty
minutes. Christian was still thinking as he pulled up to his
apartment and carried in the briefcase that held the DVD tucked
inside it. That would have to wait until after he hung out with his
friends. It was too bad that he couldn't talk about the video; he
would love to tease Jackson about the dancing. He changed his
clothes and was out the door in plenty of time to make
it.

Jackson and Dylan were
playing a game of pool when Christian walked up to them.

“
Seems like you lost your
bet, Dylan.” Jackson nodded at Christian as he shot at a striped
ball.

“
What bet was that?”
Christian looked over at Dylan, who had put his hair up in a
ponytail.

“
I tried to bet that you
would be late because you love to work.” Dylan watched as Jackson
took aim at the eight ball. “Seems I was wrong. You're never late
for anything.”

“
I love the punctuality
thing, which is more than I can say about Jackson’s cousin.”
Christian smiled at Jackson, who had looked up enough to miss the
ball he had aimed at.

“
Annie?” Jackson asked as
Dylan chalked his cue. “She's usually pretty punctual.”

“
Couldn’t tell it by me.”
Christian walked over to the bar to order a drink and then walked
back over to the table. “How is it going with you two anyway? We
haven’t done this in a while.”

“
Gracie told me to get
lost.” Jackson was smiling as he said it. “I don’t know why Dylan
is here.”

“
Addie’s parents are
spending the weekend.” Dylan looked over his glasses as he
grimaced. “That apartment is only so big, so I decided to be the
big man and give them some room.”

“
Yeah right, we all know
you can't get along with her old man.” Jackson looked over at
Christian. “So where were you when I called this
morning?”

“
At the office scolding
Annie because she was late again for a meeting.” Christian smiled
at Jackson. “She really irritates me.”

“
Hate to break this to
you, but I figured that out last night.” Jackson pulled the balls
tight in the triangle on the pool table. “And I believe, Christian,
that the feeling was mutual.”

Dylan glanced over at them
puzzled. “Did I get lost in the conversation somewhere?”

“
Gracie and I decided to
treat them to dinner to thank them for their role while Bea was
missing.” Jackson grinned. “It was a civil war at the table and
later I found out that they had been assigned a case together.” He
looked at Christian. “She had taken yesterday off so she could do
some of her errands, and she never got any of her phone calls.
Christian got lucky because she had gone into the office to drop
off a file.”

“
She was still late.”
Christian said defensively. “I had been there for an hour waiting
on her to show. She used her kid as an excuse today. Why doesn’t
she have her husband do some of that stuff?”

“
Uh, because she’s
divorced.” Jackson straightened from where he had been bent over
the pool table and asked. “Why do you think she would be staying
with Gracie if she had a husband?”

“
She is divorced?”
Christian looked at him squarely. “I was told she was Mrs. Roberts
not Ms. Roberts.”

“
Some people don’t know
the difference.” Dylan spoke as he waited for Christian to break.
“Are we playing pool or discussing your women problems?”

“
I don’t have women
problems.” Christian took his cue and broke the balls as Jackson
smiled at him.

“
You thought she was
married, and she gets on your nerves, yet you don’t have women
problems.” Jackson sat down at a little table as he watched the
game. “Where is Claire?”

“
Last I heard she found
someone who could spend some time with her.” He bent over and
looked at the balls scattered around the table. “She wasn’t really
my type anyway.”

“
You’re solids.” Dylan
looked over at Christian. “I thought you were dating someone named
Danielle.”

“
She was a little too
scatter-brained for me.” He walked around the table looking for
another shot. “Why are we talking about my love life?”

“
Beats me. It sounds like
you don’t have one.” Jackson was laughing at him. “I can’t stay out
too late. I have call duty tomorrow.”

“
What does Gracie usually
do on Sundays?” Christian looked at him. “I need to talk to her and
Annie again.”

“
Don’t bother Gracie on
Sunday.” Jackson looked at him seriously. “That is strictly a
Church and family day with her whole family.”

“
I guess I could wait
until Monday then.” Christian said as he shot the last solid into a
pocket and started looking for a shot for the eight ball. “Ready to
lose, Dyl?”

“
I always do to you.”
Dylan hadn't taken one shot the entire game. He looked over at
Jackson. “Do you usually spend the whole day with the family on
Sundays?”

“
Except for when I'm on
call, I just hang around the apartment.” He watched as the eight
ball went into the corner pocket and glanced at his watch. “What
time is your ball and chain expecting you home?”

“
You know Addison isn't
like that.” Dylan laughed at his old friend. “I told her I would be
home in enough time to tell her parents good night. What time is
it?”

“
Almost eleven,” Christian
had looked at his watch. “I guess this is a night then. We should
do this more often.”

“
We should.” Jackson
agreed with him. “I had better go and get to bed. The weather is
supposed to be pretty tomorrow, which means at least two accidents
if not more.”

“
Better you than me,”
Christian sometimes envied him his job until he talked about losing
a child to some freak accident or a sickness.

“
I honestly think I would
rather do my job than yours.” Jackson studied him as they started
walking out the door.

“
I would rather be doing
something else right now.” Christian looked at him as he thought
about everything he had learned about Gracie in the last couple of
days. “Sometimes it can be a little much.”

“
Christian, I know what
you're working on right now, and I can't say that I like the tone
that you're using at the moment.” Jackson was disturbed as he
looked at his friend as Dylan had walked up and heard the same
thing.