Cradle Of Secrets (19 page)

Tammie had been reading the letter from Byron Davco to Serena, tears filling her eyes. “He knew he was losing his battle with Alzheimer's when he wrote this.”

“Yes,” Serena said. “He told me about you. He even showed me pictures of you that Connie sent.”

“When Serena turns thirty years old, she'll be able to do as she pleases with the money Eleanor had set up in trust. Your father urged her to give it all to Turgis—the house, the money, everything. It's the family fortune, but Turgis wants it all. He'd never hurt Serena, because she holds the key to the money. But anyone connected with her is fair game.”

Serena started to cry again. “That's why he took my Ellie.”

“And Cash?”

Aurore shook her head. “When they took the baby, Cash was beside himself. He went after Turgis. With his work in the DEA, he knew these people. He'd already been arrested on that drug trafficking charge, but he didn't care. He's quite a brave man.”

Dylan couldn't have agreed more. But the word
stupid
came to mind, as well. Why hadn't he asked for help? This was too big for him to tackle alone. But he could see Cash walking through fire, fueled by his love for his wife and his baby, if it meant he could save them.

“How'd they get to the baby?” Dylan asked, pacing, unable to sit.

“That's just it. No one knows.”

He swung around and looked at the women in the room. “What do you mean, no one knows? You have to have some idea how they did it. Was the baby ever alone?”

“Never.” Serena shook her head. “Cash didn't want us to leave the house.”

“And there were no signs of a break-in?” Tammie asked.

Aurore shook her head. “I don't know how they're getting into the house. Byron had a security system put in place years ago. If he could have afforded an armed guard, he would have done that, as well. But it's not the only time. Every so often, one of these statues appears, here in the living room.”

Tammie's eyes widened. “What do you mean appears?”

“Just that. It isn't there when we go to bed, but it's there when we wake up.”

Realization showed on Tammie's face. “That's why you wanted me to lock the bedroom door at night.”

Aurore sighed bitterly. “Not that it would have helped. Turgis seems to have men everywhere.”

“Why did Connie and Aaron take Tammie?” Dylan asked.

Trudie closed her eyes and stood. “I can barely stand the memory of it. Eleanor called me. The stress must have brought labor on early. I raced right over, while Aurore helped her deliver Tammie in the upstairs bedroom.

“Byron had already fled with Serena and brought her to the church. Aurore met me outside, with Tammie in her arms. I brought her right to Connie and Aaron. They knew they had to leave right then, leave everything they had, or Turgis would kill Tammie, too. It made sense for Connie to take Tammie. They had no children of their own. It was easier that way. Meanwhile, Aurore had gone back into the house to help Eleanor, but the fire was already out of control.”

Tears rained down Aurore's cheeks, and she could hardly speak. “She was so weak, she could barely move. I tried to pick her up and help her, but when the smoke became too thick, she begged me to leave her, to save myself. She made me promise I'd take care of the babies, and I've dedicated my life to keeping that promise.

“This whole room was engulfed with flames and the exits were blocked.” She touched her face. “It was so hot, I almost didn't make it. I ended up running through the tunnel out back. By that time, the fire department had arrived, but it was too late to save Eleanor.”

Tammie pointed to the portrait on the wall. “How did the portrait survive the fire?”

“It had only been delivered the day before the fire, and it was in the barn with a bunch of other paintings Byron had waiting to ship. The fresh paint made Eleanor nauseous. She'd wanted to air it out before putting it up. Byron treasured it. He said it was the only thing he had left of his beloved wife and his baby girl.”

“Where's this tunnel?” Dylan asked.

Aurore waved a hand. “It's gone now. It was part of the original structure, a way for the servants to get to the barn in bad weather. The original mansion dated back to the late 1700s. It was one of the first homes in Eastmeadow. Most of the older homes had tunnels to the barns so servants could take care of the animals. After the fire, it was destroyed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. The opening was cemented shut after the fire and the tunnel was filled in. There's nothing but an ugly sc—” Aurore touched her face. “There's a black scar on the wall in the basement now.”

Tammie handed Dylan the letter. “Why would Turgis come after the family after all this time? If he's been quiet—”

“Oh, he was never quiet. Never!” Aurore said. “He took pleasure in taunting Byron, reminding him what a fool he'd made of both of them.”

“Daddy made yearly payments to Turgis. It wasn't payment for the money that was lost. It was in exchange for our safety,” Serena said. “Yours and mine.”

“Manuel Turgis is a greedy man. It was never enough.” Aurore paused. “Then Byron got sick.”

When Aurore couldn't go on, Trudie continued. “He was going fast, and he knew it.” She motioned to the letter in Dylan's hands.

“When was that?” Dylan asked.

“Two or three years ago. Maybe a little longer. His business started to falter. He lost control of it and could no longer manipulate the books to his advantage. That's when the payments stopped.”

Tammie was quiet. Dylan could see the wheels in her head spinning.

“My parents knew this?” she asked.

Trudie nodded. “I called your mom. You'd just finished college and moved to Vancouver. Since you weren't in Winchester with them, we all thought you were safe.”

“Until the boat explosion,” Tammie said.

No one said a word, but the message was clear.

Tammie looked at each of them one by one. “Turgis was behind the boat explosion, wasn't he?”

“I can't be certain,” Aurore said, a look of sympathy in her eyes.

Trudie added, “He's a very powerful man. He manages to stay under the radar of the law here in the U.S.”

Aurore threw up her hands in disgust. “He's considered a hero in Colombia. There are those who wish they could run him out, but no one will cross him for fear of what he'll do.”

Tammie sat silent. She could barely remember the explosion, but it was still in the back of her mind. She could almost feel the physical pain of it.

She wanted Dylan to come to her, to tell her the pain would go away, tell her she was safe and make her feel like she'd felt in the church that day. But it would be a lie. He could guarantee none of that. And she knew he wouldn't lie to her.

He was standing across the room, looking at her. For a moment, he looked helpless, but then his face turned hard.

“He hasn't met me yet,” Dylan said.

“What? Don't be foolish like your brother, young man. You don't know what you're up against. I don't care how many years you've spent in the military.”

“I'm not going to be foolish. But I'm not going to lay down and die, either. If Turgis is the reason my brother and his baby are missing, then I'm going to find him and I'm going to find my family.”

“At what cost?” Aurore said.

“Do you think you've done better here?” Dylan asked her. “Drugging Serena to keep her quiet? Keeping Tammie away from her family her whole life?”

“We did what we had to do.”

“Well, it wasn't enough!” His anger had gotten the best of him, and Tammie could see that he knew it. Dylan closed his eyes, as if the realization of what was happening to his brother hit him. Colombian gangsters weren't kind, and Tammie guessed he had a clear image in his head of what might have happened.

Dylan had spent years in the military. He'd probably seen more horrors than Tammie could ever imagine. He knew that if Cash had gotten in over his head with people like Turgis, there was no reason for them to spare his life.

T
he stair creaked beneath Tammie's bare feet as she quietly took each step down. She didn't bother to look at the portrait of her mother.
Eleanor.
The painting haunted her.

She should be falling-down tired, giving in to sleep. But her emotions were at war with each other. One part of her told her to run, that nothing here was safe. Another told her she had no choice but to stay and fight to the end. She wondered if her parents had felt that way when they made the decision to leave with her.

She hadn't left the house for two nights. Aurore had invited Dylan to stay at the house, rather than at the campground. It made sense. Even though no one had said anything, Tammie knew they all felt safer with him here. She certainly did.

In the past two days, Dylan had been in constant communication with his sister and his contacts in Chicago, trying to get more information they could use to find Cash and Ellie. As he did, Tammie would look at Dylan from across the room when he was busy talking on the phone. It was hard to imagine that she hadn't known him just a few short days ago. It seemed as if he'd always been here with her.

In the evenings, when it was quiet, she'd sit with him in the living room and he'd hold her. Despite the seriousness of what they were facing, he remained lighthearted during those moments. She loved his laugh, and the stories he told about his brother and sister.

Every once in a while, when he got quiet, she'd turn to look at him and see the pain on his face. A quick kiss and hug were enough to erase it. At least for the time being.

As she walked through the house, the moon shone bright through the large picture window and the French doors at the back of the living room, giving Tammie a clear view of the backyard. Slowly, she moved toward the window, only to be startled by the large, dark form sitting back in a wing chair that faced the backyard.

“Dylan, you scared me,” she said, putting her hand over her heart.

“Did I? I didn't think anyone was awake.”

His voice was low, but seemed to boom in the quiet room.

“What are you doing up?” he asked.

“The same as you, I suppose.”

Tammie didn't have to see his face to know how the day had worn him down. He was slumped back in a large chair that overlooked the garden that Sam Watson had so painstakingly taken care of.

He opened his arms for her to sit with him. There wasn't much room in the wing chair, so she sat on his lap, and he immediately wrapped his arms around her as she rested her head on his shoulder. The world didn't seem as scary when he was holding her like this.

“Do you think they're still alive?” she asked, her voice cracking. They hadn't spoken of it and yet, somehow, she knew that was what Dylan was thinking of now.

“I don't know,” he answered. “I pray they are. But I know what we're dealing with here, and that doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.”

“My heart breaks for Serena. To lose both of them…” Tammie bit her lip, tried to compose herself.

Unable to sit, she lifted herself to her feet, out of Dylan's embrace, and walked to the window. The night was still. Not even a stray cat was scurrying outside in the yard.

“It'll never be over, will it?” she said, finding her voice again. “Manuel Turgis will never leave this family alone. I've only lived with this for two days, and already I can't stand it.”

Dylan came up behind her. She was wearing a heavy terrycloth robe that probably made her look like a big polar bear, but vanity was the furthest thing from her thoughts. Her sister's baby was missing. Her sister's husband, Dylan's brother, had gone after the baby. He'd walked right into the lion's den to fight the beast, and the chances of finding them at all, never mind alive, were low.

Dylan's gentle hands on her shoulders made her want to weep all over again. But instead of saying a word, Dylan remained still behind her with his arms draped around her shoulders, allowing Tammie to take the same comfort she'd felt earlier.

She leaned back against him, felt a connection that wrapped around her like a lifeline. Without words, she placed her hand over his, letting him know how much his comfort meant to her.

Two hands connected. Wasn't that what life was about? A merging of souls through love. It startled her to even think of it, but she knew that was where she was headed with Dylan. He'd touched her heart so deeply by just being…Dylan. His strength and his love of family showed with every breath he took.

And he'd taken her care into his hands, as well. His faith in the Lord gave her a peace that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Oh, what it would be like to wrap herself in the strength that he had, to feel that safe and secure? And yet, part of her wanted desperately to tell him to run. Run as far as he could, away from her and the pain being with her could bring.

“You've got a lot spinning in that head of yours,” he said, breaking into her thoughts.

“I've forgiven my parents. They did what they had to do. I just wonder if I can ever forgive myself.”

He turned her around to look at him. “What are you talking about?”

“I doubted them. That I could ever doubt their love for me, even for a second, is horrible.” A tear slid down her cheek. “My parents were killed because of me, Dylan.”

“You can't think that way.”

“Oh, but I can. All this time, I've been so angry with them for not telling me the truth.”

“It's hard not to question something that seems so unfair.”

“Yes, I know. But the truth is, they put their lives on the line for me. It was because of me that they died.”

“Manuel Turgis is responsible for their deaths, Tammie. Not you.”

She shook her head. “I know it was nothing I did intentionally and it wasn't in my control. But the fact remains, Turgis was targeting me that day we were supposed to leave on that boat trip. Not my parents. It's only by the grace…the grace of God that I didn't make it to the boat on time, that the captain decided to fuel the tanks while waiting for me to arrive. If I hadn't been late—”

“You'd be dead, too.”

The abrupt remark hit her as hard as Dylan had meant it to. He'd shocked her. Wide-eyed, she looked up at him.

“Don't you see the crime in
that
, Tammie?” he said, his voice low and steeped with emotion. “I can't stand the thought that they could have succeeded in ending your life, too. Of never having had you in my life. Of never having had the opportunity to hold you in my arms.”

He pulled her into a tight embrace, and she closed her eyes, allowing the tears to fall.

“Don't say that, Dylan.”

“Why not? It's what I feel.”

“Then you need to stop. Don't you see that whatever it is we've been feeling can't go anywhere?”

“Too late. It's a done deal.”

He put his arms loosely around her, allowing her to flee if she wanted. But she held fast, resting her hands on his shoulders. Though her heart was in turmoil, she had to see this through.

“My parents spent their life protecting me from something I didn't even know existed, raising me without the fear they must have had the entire time I was growing up. They died because of me.”

“And you think that's going to happen to me?”

“Yes.”

“You're wrong.”

Tammie shook her head. “You don't know that. Manuel Turgis and his cohorts have hurt too many people. Fear has kept Serena from living a normal life, from being able to love her husband and raise her baby without fear. These people don't care who they hurt.”

“I don't care what kind of threats they pose, Tammie.”

She pulled out of his arms. “Well, I do. It's because of the threat they could hold over me that my parents died. I won't let them hurt you.”

“I don't want to lose you.”

She covered her face with her hands. “Don't you see? What kind of life could we ever have living under the threat that Aztec Corporation and Manuel Turgis has held over this family? So what if Serena pays Turgis the entire family fortune? That doesn't mean it will end. You know that.”

“I can't just walk away, Tammie.” He reached down and kissed her mouth, letting his lips linger on hers, resting his hand at the nape of her neck. When he pulled away, he left his hand in place and looked deeply into her eyes. “I've never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“Do you want to live your life like Serena and Cash? Do you want to worry about what might happen every time we walk out the door? I don't. I don't want to look into a stranger's face and wonder if that person means me harm or not. I have to live with that, but you don't have to. You can walk away from it right now.”

“If you believe that, then I don't know where you've been these last few days. Whether you wish it or not, I do have to live with this. Because the day I met you on that street is the day I stopped thinking about my life as being just about me and what I want.” She looked at his face and saw the raw emotion there.

“Yeah, that's right,” he said. “And I can't believe that you're not thinking that very same thing.”

“That's a luxury I won't allow myself,” she said, turning away from him.

What Tammie had seen in Dylan was something she'd longed for without even knowing it. He was the kind of man that made her think of a lifetime together. He held the principles and faith that matched her own.

But Tammie wouldn't go there. There was too much at stake.

“Why won't you just walk away from me, while you still have the chance to have a normal life?”

He closed his eyes. “Because I can't. For the first time I feel like there's something more to wake up to every day than just me. I used to think that being a Marine was enough. And for a long time, it was. But family is important. I know that with all my heart, and for me that starts with you.”

He tilted her chin up to look at him.

“How can that be? If we allow our relationship to go any further, there'll be no going back. What if we end up married?”

He smiled. “That's a nice thought.”

She shook her head. “How can you say that? Any children we may have together will be a target for Manuel Turgis. You know that. What kind of life would we have if we had to hide like Serena has done her whole life? I don't know how my parents were able to stand it.”

“Then we don't hide. I'm all for getting right in Turgis's face if I have to. I mean to make some noise, Tammie, and I mean to tell him that as of right now every single member of this family is not going to stand for it anymore.”

“This hasn't stopped for nearly thirty years. What makes you think they'll stop coming after us?”

His eyes glinted with a hardness that would have frightened her if she didn't know it wasn't directed at her.

“Let them. I want them to come after us. And I want them to know that I'm coming after them. I want them to know this family is not going to run and hide.”

She wrapped her arms around him and held tight.

“That's right, Tammie. You just stay here in my arms. It'll be all right.”

“I can't do this, Dylan. I just can't let you do this.” Tammie pulled away and backed up slowly. Then she ran from the room and up the stairs.

“Tammie?” he called after her. But she didn't turn around, and he didn't follow.

Instead, he stood rooted in place as he watched Tammie disappear into the darkness. He could barely see her as she moved, but his eyes searched until he could no longer see movement at all.

Sitting back down in the chair by the window, he closed his eyes and prayed. There'd been many nights when he was out on an op that had gone bad and he thought for sure he'd be leaving this earth to join God in heaven. Prayer had always been the glue that kept him together. Faith was the beam of light that showed him the way through even his darkest hours.

“I know I've asked a lot of You these last few weeks, Lord, but I'm asking for Your guidance again,” he said in the stillness of the room. “Please don't let me be blinded by how I feel about this woman. I don't want to lose her. Show me the way to save her, Cash and my little niece from what threatens them. Or give me the strength to walk away, if that is what needs to be done to save them. As hard as it is, I won't question Your plan.”

He sat in the darkness as the tears came. His heart swelled with emotion that he hadn't allowed himself to feel.

Fear. Love. Hate. They were all mingled into one.

Aztec Corporation was big enough to get lost inside. From what Sonny had uncovered, it was a tangled mess that led to no one in particular. It was a smart way to keep people from discovering those really responsible for the art thefts. And it made it almost impossible to know where to start to find who took the baby or how to find Cash.