Steeling My Haart (19 page)

        
The
following couple of days were a frenzy of getting used to having two small
children in her care. Although Nicky was being a fantastic support, Emma was
overwhelmed. She had managed to speak to Bill who had immediately given her a
week’s leave to sort out the arrangements. He had also called in a favor and
sent around one of New York’s leading child custody lawyers, who took one look
at the paperwork she was handed and was extremely confident in getting
everything wrapped up and legalized without a delay. He also discovered that
Emma was appointed as the custodian of both of the estates of Lily and Gary and
arranged for everything to be taken care of through his office.
 

        
She
felt a huge weight lifted after the lawyer had visited. The next thing on the
agenda had been to speed up her move to Oklahoma. The lawyer had been confident
of things being wrapped up by Thanksgiving. She was determined to have the
children away from the city and safe by then.

        
Nicky
was amazing. She was patient with both of the small children and her calm
demeanor helped to settle them into a routine with Emma. Her parenting
experience was also huge benefit in showing Emma how to become a parent
herself.
 
Nicky was such a support
when it came to the frequent meltdowns they were experiencing from a very
emotional Adie.
 
She always knew the
right thing to say whenever the situation got the best of Emma.

 
Leo was so small that apart from being
unsettled and fussy for a few days, he was soon into a different routine and
much happier. Mainly thanks to the constant reassurance and attention he had
from both Emma and her mom. The child therapist that had been assigned to them
to help with the bereavement was working closely with Nicky to reaffirm how to
deal with the emotional issues, and with time they hoped that Adie would be
much better.
   

        
Emma
had done very little work during the week following Lily’s death. She had been
in daily touch with Jennie and kept an eye on things from a distance. Both of
the children were now settling well with her mom. Her dad was due in later that
evening and whilst her Mom was bathing the kids and settling them to bed, she
decided to have a look through some of the files she had in her briefcase.

        
As
she opened it and took out her laptop, the mysterious brown package caught her
attention. She remembered how strange it was when she received it so late on a
Friday. Still, it couldn’t have been anything important because she hadn’t
heard anything from Jennie to state that they were missing any documents.
 
Taking it in her hands, she checked it
over again and noticed that it was inconspicuous.
 

        
Carefully
ripping the seal down the side of the document holder, she pulled out the
paperwork, but wasn’t quite ready for what she uncovered. She shook as she saw
photographs and copies of emails and texts relating directly to Gary. She froze
when she realized just what she was holding. It was evidence that Lily and
Gary’s deaths weren’t a random incident. They were targeted and the series of
events leading up to their deaths were outlined in the texts and emails she was
staring at. Suddenly she realized that she needed to contact the police and
immediately rang the number that Sergeant Davis had given her.
 
It rang out for a few seconds before the
stern voice answered, “Pete Davis speaking, how can I help you?”

        
Emma
waivered before she spoke, “Hello, Officer Davis? It’s Emma McKellan here.”

        
“Miss
McKellan, well, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.” The surprise was evident
in his voice. “What can I help you with, ma’am?”

        
“I
think you need to see something. I was handed an envelope when I left the
office on Friday, and with everything that has gone on, I had totally forgotten
that I’d just put in in my bag. I’ve just found it and opened it. I honestly
thought it was a work delivery and so didn’t think twice. It’s a file of papers
with photographs and emails implicating Gary in something illegal, I think.
Well, this on top of the strange texts and calls I’d been having from Lily the
week prior to her… well, you know…” Emma faltered fighting back a fresh wave of
tears. “I think this might be important.”

       
“Okay,
Miss McKellan, here’s what I want you to do. I’m on my way. I can be with you
within half an hour. Please try not to touch anything more than you have to,
and if you can find a clean plastic bag, could you put what you have inside it,
please? We might need it for evidence,” he told her with a tone of authority.

        
“I’ll
see what I can find, and thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”

        
“Not
a problem, ma’am. I’ll be with you as soon as I can.” He disconnected the call.

        
Emma
leapt up from the couch and found a large plastic Ziploc bag in the kitchen and
she placed the file of papers inside. She made herself a coffee and waited for
the officer to arrive. After a matter of minutes, Sergeant Davis arrived
accompanied by a rather annoyed-looking Officer Walters. They exchanged
pleasantries and Emma offered drinks to the two officers, but they were keen to
get down to business. Within a few moments of them taking a look at the
contents of the file and adding them to an evidence bag, they both looked
extremely enthusiastic at what they appeared to have found.

        
A
barrage of questions followed from the officers about the strange texts and Lily’s
behavior over the last weeks prior to her death. Even though a flood of fresh
emotion flowed through her, Emma answered patiently and gave them full access
to her cell phone. The more they probed, the more she realized that Lily knew
exactly what had been happening with Gary. So the wills and guardianship papers
she had prepared weren’t just an insurance policy, but Lily’s way of making
sure the kids safety wasn’t affected by Gary’s choices. It broke Emma’s heart
to think that Lily had sacrificed herself and Gary to save the kids. That made
her all the more determined to do the best she could for them.

        
“Ma’am,
I am so grateful for all of your assistance in this. I’m glad that we have this
and although a lot of this isn’t going to be admissible in a court of law, it
still gives us a huge lead as to what has happened. We can now allocate more
manpower to find the perpetrators. I think it’s safe to say, you’ve just found
us the evidence we need to make this a murder hunt.” Sergeant Davis’ words sent
a chill up her spine. She hoped justice could now be served and they could all
have closure.

        
“Thank
you, officers, and I’m just sorry I didn’t look sooner. I feel partly
responsible. If I hadn’t been in such a hurry and just opened the envelope…”
Tears pricked behind her eyes as they moistened. As the week had progressed she
had been getting better at fighting her grief.
 
She was cut off buy a firm Sergeant
Davis.

        
“Ma’am,
you can’t think like that. And knowing what we do about these crimes and the
people involved, it would have taken far more than this to prevent what
happened, so please do not blame yourself for anything. Just remember you’re
now responsible for helping to bring these criminals to justice. That should be
your focus, as well as looking out for those two children. We will be in touch
if we need anything else. I ask that you contact us as soon as you can if you
find anything else or you see or hear anything suspicious. I don’t think that
you or the two children will be in any danger. The gangs we are dealing with
aren’t known for targeting minors, especially those so young,” he tried to
reassure her.

        
“Thanks,
officer, and I will.” She showed them both to the door and after taking a few
minute to process the latest news, she headed to her laptop for a distraction
and managed to clear through a mountain of emails. As she was about to turn off
and head in to the bedroom for a long soak and an early night, her cell beeped.

BRUCE
J:
Just wanted to say hi, and wondered if
it is a good time to call? It’s about an idea I’ve had that I want to put to
you, but it’s not urgent. B

        
She
welcomed the diversion. So she picked up her cell and dialed his number. He
picked up within seconds, “Emma, thanks for calling me. How’s everything? Those
kids doing okay? I’ve not wanted to call in case it’s not a good time, but Lou
and I are thinking of you.”

        
“Hey
Bruce, we’re doing as well as can be expected. Had a strange turn of events
tonight that I’m still trying to get my head around, though. I was handed an
envelope of papers last week as I left the office to meet you guys, and I put
them in my briefcase, thinking they were work-related. I only remembered about
them tonight. It was a file of papers that someone had sent to me implicating Gary
and Lily in something pretty awful. I’ve just spent two hours with the NYPD
again. They’re sure that it’s murder.”

        
“Oh,
Emma, are you okay? Do you need us to come round?”

        
“No,
I’m not okay, but it would be nice to see you both. Is Lou with you?” she
asked, hoping that they would come round and ease the tension she was feeling.

        
“No,
he’s at home, but I’m about to leave the office, and I’ll get him to meet me at
your place in about half an hour, if that’s good. I’ve got something I want to ask
you and I think tonight would be a great time to discuss it,” he replied,
sounding excited at the prospect.

        
“Of
course. It’d be lovely to see you guys. My dad is due in tonight and he and my
mom are booked into a hotel for the weekend so it would be nice to have the
company. Mom is just helping settle the kids and then heading out to meet him.
I don’t know whether it’s more to give me a bit of space or that she’s missed
him so much.” She pulled a face and laughed as she explained to Bruce.

        
“Emma,
they are your parents!” Bruce retorted, laughing out loud at her remark.

        
“I
know, I know, and now I can’t bleach my memory of that thought.” She joined in
and laughed harder than she had in a few days at least, and it felt good.
Wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her sweater, she continued, “but it will be
good to see you both, too.”

        
“See
you in a while.” She smiled as he hung up, the weight of the evening lifting a
bit at the prospect of some nice company.

        
As
she put her cell phone down, her mom emerged from the spare room, overnight bag
in hand.

        
“Emma,
honey, your dad’s flight is due in soon, so I think I’ll head out and grab a
cab. Are you sure you are going to be okay on your own? I feel bad leaving you,
but if your dad can get to see the potential client on Monday morning it could
be pretty big for his business. We’ll be back by the evening which leaves us
plenty of time for being here to help you with the funeral arrangements, so
don’t worry.”

        
Emma
stood and took her mom in a warm hug, kissing her cheek, she said, “Thanks, Mom.
I don’t know what I’d have done without you. And, yes, I will be fine. In fact
that was Bruce. He and Lou are on their way over. I’m just sorry I can’t come
with you. I can’t wait to see Dad. Give him a hug from me and tell him we can
catch up properly on Monday.”

        
“Oh,
and who were the two men who were here earlier? You looked deep in conversation
with them. I thought it was Bruce and Lou at first but I didn’t recognize them.”

        
“They
were the NYPD. It looks like Lily and Gary were murdered.” The emotion was
thick in her voice as Emma repeated the explanation she gave to Bruce just
moments earlier.

        
“Goodness
me. What does that mean? Are the kids safe? What about you?” Nicky almost
shouted as she clutched her hands to her chest.

        
“Shh,
Mom, don’t wake the kids,” Emma interjected before explaining, “and, yes, they
seem to think we are all okay and safe. I got the feeling Lil has maybe died to
keep them safe. It’s breaking my heart all over again.”

        
“I
know. If that’s what has happened it’s truly heart breaking. Will you be okay?”
Nicky then took Emma into another hug and looked her right in the eyes. “You
have my number of you need me, honey. I told Adie I’ll be back on Monday when
she is asleep and she asked me if was going to die, too. Oh, it tore me apart,
but I guess all we can do is reassure her that we hope we aren’t going anywhere
soon. She’s a bright little button, and I already love them both to pieces. I’m
so glad you’re doing this, honey, and so incredibly proud of you. I know it’s
going to be hard, but they have a family here for them and we will love them
like they are our own,” she admitted out loud as they continued to hold each
other.