The Carter Legacy: 3 Book Box Set, page 84
‘New friends huh?’ he laughed in delight as she pulled with all her might to get him to move. ‘Well you can never have too many friends, especially new ones.’
‘Yeah,’ she nodded, enthusiastically setting her curls bouncing again, ‘I got to go to a new school again.’
‘Well okay then,’ he glanced at Katie as he stepped toward the door. ‘Let’s go meet your new friends then.’
‘Hailey,’ Katie admonished, ‘Detective Dexter is probably busy.’
‘No,’ his mouth curved into a smile, knowing that he was annoying the hell out of her. ‘I’ve got time.’
Katie clamped her lips together, her eyes flashing in irritation as he turned and headed up the steps, with her daughter leading the way. Casting her eyes heavenward and praying for patience, she sucked in a breath and followed along behind them.
Passing through the main doors they climbed a small flight of steps and then in through the internal glass doors, into a world of color and a cacophony of sounds. Katie stopped abruptly and blinked.
‘Not exactly what you expect when you think of a library is it?’ Dex’s mouth curved in amusement.
Katie shook her head slowly as her gaze took in the glossy, cherry colored wooden path, which meandered through a forest green carpet. Dotted across the carpet were several little tables. Each looked like little toadstools and was surrounded with a scatter of brightly colored cushions. Children hopped happily from table to table, chatting with their friends and swapping books. It was like a little enchanted forest and it was adorable.
Highly polished, neat book stacks surrounded the main area, interspersed every now and then by comfy looking couches and chairs. To the left was a huge archway, but from where she stood Katie couldn’t see where it led.
‘Cass has done an amazing job with this place,’ Dex smiled fondly; ‘she’s really brought the community together.’
‘Hmmm,’ Katie hummed non-committedly.
‘You came!’
Katie turned to see Cassandra striding across the floor in her signature thin and spiky heels. Seriously, how did the woman walk in those things?
‘I’m so glad you came!’ Cass smiled widely as she came to a stop beside them.
Dex watched as Cass rocked slightly on her toes, leaning the barest inch toward Katie, almost as if she wanted to reach out and hug her but was unsure of how she would react.
‘Hey Cass,’ he smiled warmly and wanting to diffuse the tension between the two women, he leaned in and dropped a fond kiss on Cassandra’s cheek. ‘You look good.’
Katie’s wary expression instantly formed into a scowl.
‘She’s engaged you know,’ she snapped, her cheeks suddenly flushed pink with embarrassment. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but the obvious affection between the two had made her stomach clench with an unwelcome and unfamiliar feeling.
‘I am aware of that, seeing as it’s my best friend she’s engaged to and I’m the best man,’ he smirked, ‘why? Jealous?’
Dex hadn’t meant anything by what he’d said; he’d simply meant she looked good, as opposed to the last time he’d seen Cass when she was ill with a chest infection, due to the gunshot wound she’d sustained.
‘You wish,’ Katie’s eyes narrowed.
‘At ease children,’ Cass laughed easily, ‘or I’ll have to put you both in time out.’
Cass glanced down to see a beautiful little blonde girl with big blue eyes, staring up at her curiously from behind her mother’s legs.
‘Hi,’ Cass smiled, her voice soft as she leaned down. ‘You must be Hailey?’
Hailey nodded mutely as she continued to watch Cass cautiously.
‘My name’s Cass,’ she held out her hand. ‘It’s nice to meet you.’
Hailey glanced up at her mother questioningly.
‘It’s okay,’ she nodded, ‘Miss Grayson here is a friend of Detective Dexter.’
Hailey blinked slowly and turned her attention back to Cass, who was still smiling warmly as she held out her hand. After what seemed like an eternity she tentatively reached out and placed her tiny hand in Cass’s.
‘It’s nice to meet you,’ Cass shook her hand gently.
‘You look like Chloe,’ Hailey tilted her head thoughtfully as she studied Cass’s face, ‘the lady who was at the bad house.’
‘Yes, I do,’ Cass replied softly. ‘That’s because Chloe is my sister.’
‘She is?’
Cass nodded.
‘I hear you’re starting your new school tomorrow, is that right?’ Cass asked, smoothly changing the subject. She knew that night at Adele Evans’ lake house had been extremely frightening for Hailey and she didn’t want her dwelling on it.
‘Yes, I am,’ Hailey frowned.
‘Aren’t you excited?’
‘Not really,’ Hailey shook her head. ‘I liked my friends at my old school.’
‘Well I’m sure you’ll find some new friends you like just as much,’ Cass told her reassuringly. ‘In fact here come two of your new classmates now.’
Cass stood up and beckoned over a tall woman with honey colored hair, who was accompanied by two young girls about Hailey’s age. One was a golden blonde and the other had bright red hair.
‘Hi Lindsey,’ Cass greeted the woman as she approached.
‘Sorry we’re late Cass,’ she blew out a rushed breath. ‘Ally’s dance class ran over.’
‘No problem,’ she replied as she was almost barreled over by a mop of honey colored curls. She stumbled back slightly before regaining her balance, as the little girl wrapped her arms around Cass’s tiny waist and squeezed enthusiastically.
‘Hey there Ally cat.’
‘Hey Cassie,’ Ally grinned.
‘How are the ballet lessons going?’
‘Awesome,’ her grin grew wider. ‘Josie says I’m ready to take my first exam next month and after that I’m going to start tap.’
‘That’s great,’ Cass beamed.
Ally glanced over and caught sight of Hailey, still tucked behind her mom’s legs, watching them curiously.
‘Hey,’ Ally turned toward her, ‘you’re the new girl, aren’t you? What’s your name?’
Hailey looked up at Katie who nodded encouragingly.
‘Hailey,’ she replied quietly.
‘My name’s Ally and this is Sabrina,’ Ally nudged her red-haired friend who stopped chewing her ragged fingernail long enough to give a wave. ‘You wanna come play with us?’
Hailey looked up at her mom again.
‘Go on,’ Katie smiled softly, ‘just stay where I can see you, okay?’
Hailey nodded silently before stepping shyly out from behind her mom.
‘Come on,’ Ally grabbed her hand and towed her toward the nearest table with Sabrina trailing along behind.
‘Cass,’ Lindsey asked, ‘do you have a moment?’
‘Sure,’ she nodded, turning toward Katie and Dex. ‘Would you excuse me?’
Dex nodded and stepped out of the way as the two women disappeared suddenly leaving him alone with Katie.
They stood silently staring at each other for a few moments. Katie knew Dex had plenty to say to her and she wasn’t really sure she was in the mood to hear it.
‘So,’ Dex finally broke the silence.
‘So,’ she echoed.
His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
‘You didn’t think to mention you were moving?’
‘No,’ she shrugged.
‘No?’ he repeated.
‘No,’ she frowned, ‘and I would have thought it was obvious.’
‘What is?’
‘That I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want you to know,’ she snapped. ‘Why does everyone find this such a hard concept to grasp? When someone doesn’t tell you something, it’s pretty obvious they didn’t want you to know.’
‘Yeah, I get that,’ he scowled back at her. ‘You know, being a detective and all, it was pretty clear you didn’t want to be found. What I want to know is why?’
‘Why?’ she parroted.
‘Yes why,’ he ground out, trying desperately to search for his patience. He was usually the voice of reason, the one with the most even temperament of all his brothers and friends, but as soon as he got within ten feet of Katie all that famous patience went straight out the window.
‘Because,’ she shrugged.
‘Because?’ he repeated, ‘what are you… twelve? That’s not an answer.’
‘Yeah well, lucky for me I don’t answer to you,’ she replied stubbornly. It seemed he brought out the worst in her as well.
‘Katie,’ he sucked in a breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. ‘I’m trying to help you here; I’m trying to be a friend. I thought after Boston we’d reached an understanding of sorts and yet the first chance you got, you up and ran.’
‘That’s none of your business.’
‘The hell it isn’t,’ he replied. ‘I’m making it my business. You keep pulling this disappearing act. I’ve tracked you halfway across the country and back again over the past several years. The fact you’ve been using false identities is enough for me to haul you into the precinct and question you.’
‘Then why don’t you?’
‘Maybe I should,’ he snapped, ‘maybe then I’ll finally get some answers. At the very least it’ll stop you from disappearing the minute my back is turned.’
‘Fine,’ she crossed her arms defensively, ‘go ahead and arrest me.’
‘Jesus Christ woman,’ he cast his eyes to the ceiling, ‘why do you have to make everything so fucking hard?’
‘I don’t know,’ she countered sarcastically. ‘Why do you keep chasing me when I clearly don’t want anything to do with you?’
‘I have no idea,’ he sighed.
It was a question he’d asked himself repeatedly for months. From the moment he’d known about Katie’s existence he’d been hell bent on finding her. It had almost been a compulsion, like a drug he’d been unable to resist. He’d told himself it was to keep Cass and Chloe safe, he’d even told himself it was because it was like a puzzle and he loved a good puzzle. He loved figuring things out, it was partly what had driven him to become a cop in the first place, and later a detective, when he could’ve just taken over his father’s multi-billion-dollar Telecommunications Company or simply lived off his sizable trust fund.
He’d made a million different excuses as to why he’d been so obsessed with finding Katie, but none of them rang true. The truth was, he didn’t know why, he’d just felt it deep in his gut. He’d had to find her, just as he was now at a loss as to why he couldn’t just let her walk away and not give her a second thought.
‘I don’t know,’ he murmured as he glanced at Hailey who was sitting on a large blue cushion listening to Ally chatting away to her. ‘Your kid is an absolute sweetheart…but you…’
He turned back to fix Katie with his piercing gaze.
‘You’re a pain in my ass,’ he told her bluntly. ‘You’re contrary, you’re stubborn, you piss me off…’
‘Then leave me alone,’ she hissed.
‘I can’t,’ he snapped back, ‘because I know you’re still in trouble.’ He drew in a breath as her eyes widened and his voice softened. ‘I know you’re scared,’ he continued. ‘Whatever it is you’re running from Katie, just let me help you.’
‘Why?’
‘Why?’
‘Yes,’ she frowned, ‘why do you want to help me? What’s in it for you?’
‘It’s my job,’ he replied as if it should be obvious. ‘I help people, it’s what I do.’
‘I don’t believe you,’ she replied quietly. ‘What do you want from me?’
‘I don’t know,’ he answered, ‘I just know I can’t walk away from you.’
‘I’m not your responsibility detective,’ she shook her head slowly.
‘Katie…’
His words were suddenly cut off by a commotion across the room.
‘What the hell?’ Dex frowned as he turned toward the front desk to see a hysterical middle-aged woman crying and screeching at Cass. His eyes widened as the woman turned and he got a good look at her distraught face.
‘Oh hell,’ he swore, as he left Katie and shot across the room.
‘IT SHOULD’VE BEEN YOU,’ the woman screeched. ‘WHY WASN’T IT YOU? WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT YOU?’
‘Ma’am please,’ Cass replied gently, her hands raised in a non-threatening manner as she tried to calm the woman down. ‘I’m sorry but I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘YOU SHOULD BE DEAD! WHAT CRUEL, SICK, TWISTED JOKE IS THIS THAT YOU SHOULD LIVE? YOU DON’T DESERVE TO BE HERE. HE TOOK MY DAUGHTER. HE DEFILED HER AND MURDERED HER. HE SHOULDN’T GET TO HAVE A DAUGHTER, WHEN HE TOOK MINE FROM ME!’
Cass’s face suddenly drained of color as the woman’s words finally began to make sense.
‘You’re…’ she swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry and her heart pounding in her chest, as her stomach clenched painfully against the bile rising in her throat.
‘Mrs Thompson?’ Dex stepped up next to Cassandra protectively. ‘You’re Mrs Thompson, aren’t you? Your daughter was Marissa Thompson?’
She cut her teary bloodshot eyes over to Dex as she tried to figure out who he was and how he knew her.
‘My name is Detective Dexter,’ he told her gently, ‘I worked on your daughter’s case.’
He’d recognized her the moment he’d seen her. After the little dolls murder case had been wrapped up following the death of Adele and Carson Evans, he’d attended the press conferences and all the meetings the department had scheduled with the families of all Philip Carters’ victims. He’d sat through every briefing, relived the details of the case every time he’d had to speak with another one of the families. Every face, every tear, every expression of inhuman grief was so indelibly etched in his mind he knew he’d never be able to forget.
Rosa Thompson had been the mother of Marissa Thompson, the first little doll Philip Carter had abducted, raped and murdered. She shouldn’t have known anything about Cass.
God damn reporters, he thought to himself grimly. They had pursued the story relentlessly, not giving a damn that Chloe and Cass were innocent of any involvement in their father’s crimes. In fact, they were just as much victims as the other little girls.
‘Mrs Thompson,’ Dex soothed, ‘I know you’re hurting. There is nothing in this world that will ease your pain or bring your daughter back to you, but coming here and screaming at Cassandra won’t change anything. It won’t make you feel any better; all you’re doing is hurting her. Cassandra had nothing to do with her father’s crimes. She was only a child herself. You can’t punish her for what he did.’
‘Mrs Thompson,’ Cass swallowed painfully, ‘I’m so, so sorry for what he did. Sorrier than you could ever know. If there was any way I could give her back to you, give you back the years that were stolen from you, I would. If Marissa….’
Cass’s head snapped to the side sharply as Rosa Thompson’s hand cracked across her cheek, so hard it left an imprint in her flesh.
‘DON’T YOU DARE,’ she hissed, her dark eyes blazing furiously. ‘DON’T YOU DARE SPEAK HER NAME.’
‘THAT’S ENOUGH!’ Dex commanded forcefully, grasping the older woman’s arm before she could hit Cass again. ‘I am sorry for your loss,’ he told her. ‘I am sorry for everything that has been taken from you, for everything you and your family have lost, but that does not give you the right to assault Miss Grayson. If you dare raise your hand to her again I will arrest you, whether she wants to press charges or not.’
Rosa snatched her arm away from Dex angrily, before turning back to Cass.
‘I hope you burn in hell with your father, you deserve no less,’ she whispered viciously, before spitting in Cass’s face.
‘Right that’s it,’ he grabbed her arm and marched her toward the door.
Cass wiped her face with a shaky hand. Her eyes burned with hot tears that she refused to let fall in front of the crowd which had gathered to watch the spectacle. Her cheeks flushed with shame and embarrassment, she excused herself quietly and turned toward the doors which led to the staff area.
She couldn’t look up; she couldn’t bear to see the accusation or sympathy in everyone’s eyes. She could feel the weight of every gaze burning into her back like a desert sun. She forced herself to hold her head high and her back ramrod straight as she walked through the doors in a slow measured pace, even though all she wanted to do was run and hide.
The doors swung shut behind her and she collapsed against the wall. The corridor stretched out in front of her, making her office seem impossibly far away. Leaning back against the cool exposed brick wall, her chest ached with the pressure and her body began to shake. She could feel the hot tears as they slid down her cheeks, stinging slightly where the other woman had struck her so hard and with so much hate that her skin was still throbbing.
‘Are you okay?’ a quiet voice asked.
Cass looked up to see Katie watching her with unreadable eyes.
For a few moments she couldn’t speak. Her throat burned with the tears she was trying to hold back. She wasn’t sure she could speak, not without it coming out as an unintelligible sob. She drew in a shaky breath and swallowed hard.
‘I guess I should get used to it,’ she finally whispered, once she was sure she could hold a conversation without bawling like a baby.
‘No one should have to get used to that,’ Katie frowned. ‘You didn’t deserve the things she said to you. I’m sure no one else thinks that you are in any way to blame for what that man did.’
‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that,’ Cass let out a quiet and bitter laugh.
‘What do you mean?’ Katie asked in confusion.
‘The press has been after Chloe and I to give statements, to tell our side of the story, but neither of us want to. It was bad enough what he did to me…’ she drew in a painful breath, ‘but what he did to Chloe,’ she shook her head. ‘You can’t even begin to imagine the abuse she suffered at his hands. She has a right to her privacy; her pain is not for public consumption. I am certainly not going to make her re-live it for the sake of the cameras. The press isn’t happy we’re not talking, so they started formulating their own theories and now they’re just getting nasty. They’re trying to imply we knew about the murders.’
