Longing and Lies (11 page)

A
t precisely six-thirty, Ashley and Elliot were seated in the front office of Happy Homes Adoption Agency. Elliot held Ashley's hand and the warmth and comfort of it was no pretense. She locked her fingers around his and easily slipped into her role as his loving wife.

“We at Happy Homes are very proud of our success record of pairing eligible parents with the perfect child,” Gail Hastings, the case worker said. She looked over their application, nodding her head as she reviewed the information. She looked up at them. “Of course we'll have to verify everything and make several house visits. It's all part of our procedure.”

“We totally understand,” Elliot said. “All we want is the chance to be the great parents that I know we can be.”

Ashley leaned forward, zeroed in on Gail. Her voice wobbled. “We've tried everything,” she said. “In vitro didn't work and we began running out of money. We're down to our last hundred thousand dollars.” She turned sad eyes on Elliot. “We can't risk going through the heartache and disappointment again. Adoption is our last chance.” She lowered her head and covered her face with her hands.

Elliot put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. He mouthed, “I'm sorry,” to Gail. She nodded her head in understanding.

“We'll certainly do everything we can, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan.” She handed Ashley a tissue.

Ashley sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Thank you,” she murmured.

“We have all of your information. We'll be in touch.” She stood. The interview was over.

Elliot helped Ashley to her feet. He extended his hand to Gail. “Thank you for your time.”

“Of course.”

They turned to leave. Once they were outside, Elliot spun her around and kissed her fully on the lips. “You were damned good in there and the tears were a nice touch.”

Ashley grinned. “I was kinda good, wasn't I?”

“Very. Let's go home and celebrate.”

 

Curled up together on the couch, Ashley sipped on a glass of wine and Elliot worked on a bottle of beer as they watched video images from several windows on their computer. The images were from five of the locations they'd visited.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Elliot said.

“What about audio?”

“I played the tapes earlier today. Nothing.”

“Hopefully by tomorrow, we'll get a hit from the e-mail account.”

She draped her legs across his lap. “This is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are hundreds of agencies and who's to say that the ones on our list are even involved?” She tossed her head back against the cushion of the couch and closed her eyes.

“We're just getting started,” he said. “We'll keep digging until we find what we're looking for.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “We have two more to visit tomorrow.” He took a last look at the recorded video then shut down the computer. “Patience,” he added.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. “I've been patient for twenty-three years,” she said softly. “I'm about out of patience.”

Elliot stroked her cheek. She captured his hand and held it against her face. “Ready to turn in? It's after midnight.”

“Your room or mine?” she asked.

“Let's do something wild and crazy.” He rubbed her thigh.

She sat up. “Something more wild and crazy than what's been going on since we met?”

“Yeah, my room, two nights in a row!”

She laughed. “You're on.”

“Last one in fixes breakfast,” he said, leaping up from the couch and making a move for the hallway.

Ashley grabbed the tail of his shirt, throwing him off his stride and pushed past him. She took off down the hall with Elliot hot on her heels. She yelped and giggled as she burst through his door.

He grabbed her and tossed her on the bed, landing solidly down next to her. He rolled on top of her, smothering her laughter. “You cheated,” he said, nibbling her neck.

“You got a head start.”

“You know what they do to cheaters?”

“What?”

“They get exposed…for who they really are,” he said, as he began unbuttoning her blouse.

“I plead guilty,” she murmured against his mouth. “Guilty as charged.”

 

Over the course of the next three weeks, they worked tirelessly, going on interviews, filling out forms and watching videos. The Trojan that was planted on the computers at the agencies through e-mail transmission turned up nothing out of the ordinary. From everything
they'd discovered so far, the agencies on the list were all above board.

In between being frustrated by their lack of progress, they explored the city together, sat up long into the night sharing stories of their youth, high school, college, movies and music that they loved and hated. They found out that their favorite movie of all time was
When a Stranger Calls
.

“I think I woke up the whole neighborhood with my screaming,” Ashley admitted over her laughter. “When the babysitter found out that the murderer had been making calls from the attic right in her house, oh my goodness, I lost it.”

“That part had everyone going. But the sequel got me,” Elliot admitted. “When that nut painted himself as part of the wall and stepped out behind her…”

“Yes,” she squealed, giving a little shiver. “That was over the top.”

Elliot talked about the rough life he'd lived growing up in Baltimore, the losses he'd seen, the destruction. “I guess that's why I chose the life that I did. Danger was part of my makeup. Survival. You know.”

“But do you ever get tired of it? I mean the never knowing.”

He breathed heavily as he twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. “Most of the time I don't think about it. At least I try not to. It's a job, a job that keeps my mind from focusing on me. But sometimes I wake up
in some strange hotel, in some strange city and I have to ask myself what the hell I'm doing.”

She listened to the steady beat of his heart. “What answer do you come up with?”

“I'm still trying to find out,” he said, his voice taking on a wistful tone. “Maybe one day I will.”

As Ashley lay curled next to him, she wondered if she would be a part of his
maybe
.

 

“It's been more than a month,” Ashley said as they drove to Justin's Restaurant for dinner.

The famed eatery owned by P. Diddy—aka Puffy to old-school buffs—was noted for the good food, friendly service and being a frequent haunt of celebrities. Somehow, through Elliot's vast array of connections, he'd secured VIP passes to see a one-night-only private show by Whitney Houston. Since her return to the spotlight after nearly a ten-year hiatus she was the hottest ticket in town.

“I know. I was sure we would have found something by now. Even I'm beginning to get impatient.”

“Maybe we've been looking in the wrong places?”

“Any ideas?”

“What about the hospitals? That's where they snatched my sister. Everyone knows that even with precautions, hospital security sucks, especially in urban and low-income areas.”

“If we took on the hospitals, that would expand our search exponentially. We're talking hundreds of
metropolitan hospitals and thousands of employees, not to mention patients and their guests.”

“True.” She blew out a long sigh, her small bubble of hope bursting in her ears.

Elliot stole a glance at Ashley and saw the disappointment that pinched the corners of the mouth he loved to kiss. He reached across the gearshift and grabbed her hand. “We'll map out a plan, starting with the most likely hospitals and work our way through them.”

She turned to him.

“Your sister is out there somewhere. If we can find the source of the abductions, I believe it will lead us to your sister. Don't ask me how I know.” His eyes creased in concentration. “It's just a gut feeling.”

Ashley swallowed over the sudden knot in her throat. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“Don't thank me yet. And don't go getting all teary on me, we have some partying to do tonight.”

She sniffed and her expression brightened. “That we do.”

 

When they arrived at Justin's they were met at the door by a tuxedoed security guard who checked their names off on the VIP list before handing them over to the hostess to seat them. The setting was straight out of
E! Hollywood
. A red carpet ran from the door to the center of the space. Multileveled seating gave the invited guests a good view from any location. The stage was
set up on a center platform and Whitney's band was in place, warming up with mini renditions of some of her hits. Just a quick look around attested to the who's who that had come out to support “The Voice.”

“I'm totally impressed,” Ashley said, as Elliot helped her into her seat.

He kissed the back of her neck. “That was my secret plan all along.”

Within moments a waitress came to take their drink and dinner orders. The show was scheduled to start in less than an hour and the feel of anticipation electrified the air. Even the
celebrati
were awed by the chance to see her up close and personal after such a long absence. What made it extra special was that it was not televised, there was no media, just friends and devoted fans.

Their drinks arrived first and just as Ashley was taking her first sip of her apple martini, she squinted into the muted lighting and swore she spotted Gail Hastings sitting on the far side of the room.

“Is that Gail, the case worker from Happy Homes?” she asked, trying not to point, but steering him in her direction with a lift of her chin. “Over there on the second tier.”

Elliot turned halfway in his seat.

“She has on the mint-green dress.”

Elliot stared a bit harder. “You're right, it is her.”

“Guess she has friends in high places, too,” she said half in jest, partly in curiosity.

“Hmm,” Elliot murmured. The hair on the back of his
neck began to tingle the way it did when he was within inches of his target.

They didn't have time to focus on it any longer. The lights dimmed, the MC came to the mic and introduced one of the greatest voices of her generation.

For the next hour the audience was mesmerized and transported as the diva took them from her early work, to everything in between, up to her latest album. Intermittently she would share a little anecdote about how she'd come to sing a song or the first time she sang it. And before anyone was ready to let her go, the show ended to a thunderous standing ovation.

“Oh my God, that was incredible,” Ashley gushed. “I can't begin to thank you for this.”

He winked at her. “I can think of a few things.”

She swiped his arm. “Naughty boy.”

“You spoil me.” He took her hand and kissed the back of it.

“Hey, there she is.”

Elliot still held her hand but turned in his seat. He pulled her up to her feet. “Get your purse.”

She took her purse and let Elliot lead her over to the bar.

“Gail?” she said, dipping her head to the side.

Gail turned from the bar and the surprise on her face was camera-ready. “Oh…Mr. and Mrs. Morgan.” She pressed her hand to her chest and looked around as if the answer to their sudden appearance was somewhere
behind them. “What a pleasant surprise. Did you see the entire show?”

“Yes, we did. Pretty hard to get tickets,” Elliot said. “You're one of the lucky ones.”

A tall, silver-haired gentleman came to stand by Gail's side. He stuck out his hand. “Dr. Ettinger.”

“Most people don't know we're married,” Gail said softly, allowing Elliot and Ashley in on their secret. “It just makes things messy at work. You understand.”

The bulb went off in Ashley's head. This was
the
Dr. Ettinger who actually owned and operated the agency. She'd run across his name and picture in the files.

“Of course,” Elliot said and flashed a grin. “Your secret is safe with us.”

“So you two are in the market for adoption,” Ettinger said, looking from one to the other.

Ashley linked her arm through Elliot's. “Yes, Doctor, we certainly are. Talking with your wife…Gail really gave us a lot of hope.”

“I know you two are eager,” Gail said, “but I'm confident we'll find a baby for you.”

“Yes, I'm sure we'll be able to help you,” Dr. Ettinger added.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Ashley said.

“Have they had their home visit yet, dear?” the doctor asked.

“No, they haven't.”

“Well, why don't we at least get that ball rolling while we finish up the background check.”

“Of course.” Ashley turned to Elliot with excitement in her eyes. “We'd welcome a visit. It brings us closer to our dream.”

“Good. You should be hearing from us this week,” Gail said.

“Thank you so much,” Ashley gushed.

“Of course. Our job is to bring good people together with beautiful children who need a home. Unfortunately, it often takes some time to find a good match,” Dr. Ettinger said.

“We, uh, totally understand that this whole process can be…costly,” Elliot said, “but we're willing to pay whatever is necessary to bring a healthy baby into our lives and make a home for him or her.” He spoke directly to Dr. Ettinger.

He clasped Elliot's shoulder and patted him. “We won't even concern ourselves with that right now. Let's just get you two through the maze of paperwork and take it from there.”

Elliot bobbed his head.

“We better get going, sweetheart,” Gail said, “Jackson and Phyllis will be wondering what happened to us.”

“We're meeting friends for a late drink,” Dr. Ettinger offered by way of explanation.

“Sure. Good night. Thanks for talking with us. We don't want to hold you up.” Elliot stuck out his hand and shook the doctor's and then Gail's hand.