Deadly Intent (3 page)

“This judge is such a stickler for the rules. If I’d been able to get hold of Stanley Biddle instead, it would have been a done deal.”

“Don’t worry about it. This will work out better, anyway. It gives me time to go shopping tonight. I need to pick up some toys, clothes, and furniture for his room. And food.”

“Furniture? You don’t need to go overboard, Maven. He may only be with you for a few weeks.”

“But I want him to be comfortable while he is.” Everyone deserved a place to call their own.

Paul gave her a thumbs-up.

That made her feel better. Hopefully, it meant he wasn’t mad at her for saying no—or too hurt. Good thing. She’d need his truck.

6

The next morning, Lizzie pulled into her drive with the boy.

As Maven hurried out to meet them, the screaming told her all she needed to know.

Lizzie opened her car door, clearly distressed. “He won’t stop screaming. I am so sorry for doing this to you. I think he may be too much for one person to handle. I hope you won’t hate me after this.”

“I won’t hate you. It was my decision, not yours.” Maven opened the back door farthest from the boy.

The screaming continued.

Maven sat down, but didn’t touch or even look at him. Whatever connection they’d had yesterday seemed to be gone. Fighting back her own tears, she wondered what she’d gotten herself into—again.
I
n
eed a little help here, God. This was Your idea not mine.

Perhaps the screaming was triggered by memories of being abandoned in the park. Chances were he’d arrived there in a car.

Not knowing what else to do, Maven sang. “
Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so…”

He still muttered sounds and tears trickled down his cheeks, but he was no longer screaming.

She took a deep breath and sang it again.

He was watching her. His eyes were wary, as if waiting for the next bad thing to happen.

“Hi, sweetie. I know it’s all so scary. But the ride is finished, do you want to come in the house now? You’ll be staying with me for a while. I think we’ll have a lot of fun together.” She made no move to unbuckle him. Instead, she sat quietly with her hands in her lap.

Lizzie sat on Maven’s front steps and watched. “There’s a bag of toys for him in the trunk. His favorite ones from the shelter. Do you want them?”

“Just one. Pick his most favorite if you know what that is.”

A moment later, Lizzie handed Maven the little brown teddy bear from the play room. “He always wants this one near him.”

Maven held it up to the boy. “Hey, sweetie. Do you want this?”

His gaze moved to the teddy bear, but he didn’t answer her question.

Maven sat with the bear extended.

Tentatively he reached for the bear as if he thought it might be snatched away.

She handed him the brown teddy bear. “Now, I want you to hold this while I unsnap your buckle, then we’ll go into the house. OK?”

His body tensed as she touched the buckle, but he didn’t scream or start thrashing about. After unbuckling him, she walked to the other side of the car and opened the door. She held out her hand, but he ignored it.

He slid down out of the car.

The two of them walked side by side towards Lizzie who was back on the porch. She shook her head as she smiled at Maven. “I can’t believe how much patience you have.”

“It’s one of my gifts, I suppose. You can’t be a teacher without it.” Maven opened the door and held it open.

The boy stood on the small porch staring at them.

“It’s OK, sweetie. I promise, you’ll be safe here.”

After several moments of staring at Maven, he apparently decided it would be safe. He walked inside.

She shut the door. Maybe she should lock it? The boy looked as if he might bolt from the house at any moment. She decided to double check the windows, as well. She’d heard of kids leaving their house in the middle of the night while their parents slept. It was hard to know what he might do. Or did it mean something?
Poor little boy, how scary this must be for him.

“Come on, let me show you your room.” Maven made her voice sound cheerful and excited. In truth, she was terrified with her decision to bring this boy into her home. What had she been thinking? How would she be able to take care of him twenty-four hours a day?

“Sounds great.” Lizzie followed behind Maven.

The boy walked behind them.

Maven opened the door to his room. “Ta-da! Here it is. Your new room.”

The room had been transformed from a stuffy, old antique-filled guest room to simplicity. The space was bare except for a small child’s bed, the carpet, and a red and yellow toy box with a matching desk.

She walked in, praying the boy would follow.

Lizzie took the bag of toys and gently dumped them in the middle of the room. “I can’t believe what you did with the room. It’s so different.”

“And truthfully, I think it’s a lot better. I’m done with those stuffy old antiques. They made me feel as old as them.”

“You aren’t old at all. I’m older than you. And I’m not old! We’re just getting started.”

“Amen to that, sister.”

“Of course, if you ask me, your wardrobe could use an update. Not just the room.”

“When I lose another ten pounds, I’ll let you take me shopping.”

“Speaking of that, will you be able to run now?”

Maven looked at the little boy, now her foster son.

He’d gone to the toys in the center of the room and was making his circle. Why was the circle so important to him? Was it just a habit?

She took Lizzie’s arm and went out of the room so the boy couldn’t overhear. “We shall see. Only time will tell.”

“Well, I’ll leave the two of you to get settled in. I’ll be in deep prayer, Maven. You are an amazing woman to do this, but if it becomes too much don’t hesitate to tell me. We’ll put him back in the shelter, if necessary.”

“Thanks, Lizzie.”

“I’ll see you both tomorrow at the park, right?”

“Mmm. I’m not sure about that, Lizzie. That’s the park where he was found. It might not be the best idea to take him there.”

“I see your point, but we can stay away from the area he was found in.”

“Let me think about it. I’ll call you later or you can call me to see if I’m still alive and sane.”

Lizzie hugged her. “You will be just fine, Maven. God bless you for helping him.” Her friend left the room.

And then it was just the two of them.

7

Maven stood in the doorway watching the boy…she couldn’t keep calling him that. Paul was right, he needed a name. Her mind sifted through a list of possibilities. None of them seemed right. And then it hit her.

Moses.

It was perfect.

Moses had been left by his parents and so had this little boy. Moses had been found and taken in by the Pharoah’s daughter. And even though Maven wasn’t a king’s daughter, she would love this little boy the best she could while he was with her.

Moses seemed content with sitting in his circle.

Maven walked over to the circle, but sat down outside of it. “I don’t know what to call you. Can you tell me your name?”

His gaze met hers. Well, that was something.

Pointing to her chest, she said, “I’m Maven. Can you say that?”

No response.

“For now, I’m going to call you Moses. Moses was a brave man and a hero. Just like you. You are so brave. Is it all right if I call you Moses?”

He stared at her saying nothing.

She stood back up. “OK, I’m going to fix us lunch. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me, Moses.” She walked to the kitchen.

Hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. All kids loved that, didn’t they? She sighed. Who knew what he liked? After starting lunch, she went back through the hall to check on him.

He was still sitting in the same spot, but instead of staring at the wall, his gaze was focused on the desk.

“Hey, Moses.”

He jerked at the sound of her voice, almost cowering.

Her heart broke. She knew from experience that special needs children often weren’t as easy to care for due to their circumstances. Perhaps that was why he had been abandoned in the park. She spoke again, softer and sweeter this time. “Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

His gaze turned towards her. He stood up and walked over. Obviously, he understood her words.

She moved out of the doorway and opened the bathroom door.

He followed.

When she pointed at the toilet, he walked in.

Not wanting to shut the door lest he lock himself in, she walked to the kitchen to give him privacy. Water was boiling in both pans, so she put in four hotdogs and dumped in the box of macaroni. As she was stirring the macaroni, she heard the toilet flush and the water run in the sink. Somebody had taught him basic hygiene. A few moments later, he peeked around the corner of the hallway.

“Come on in. I’m just cooking our lunch.” She pointed at the stool by the kitchen island. “You can sit there if you want and watch while I cook.”

He walked over to the stool but made no move to get up.

“Need some help?”

A very small shake of his head. He’d actually responded! That was definite progress. Moses climbed up on the stool by himself and settled in to watch her with his elbows propping up his little head.

Maven carried on a monologue of what she was doing and why as she cooked.

Moses said nothing, but his gaze followed her as she moved around the kitchen.

~*~

Moses had eaten both hotdogs and two helpings of macaroni and cheese. Eventually, he made his way to his room.

Maven cleaned up and mixed up a cake. While it was baking, she went to check on the boy.

He was back in his circle but had curled up in a ball and was asleep.

She returned to the kitchen to get her cell phone. After fielding questions from an anxious Lizzie, Maven got to the point of her call. “I have an idea about how to find Moses’s identity.”

“Moses?”

“Well, I couldn’t keep thinking of him as ‘the boy,’ so that seemed like a fitting name.”

“Well, I get the similarities, but I’m pretty sure he won’t grow up to free his people. Still, it’s a pretty good biblical reference.”

“You never know what God has planned. Anyway, I think you should take his picture and forward it to all the elementary schools in Ohio. He might be old enough to be in school. Someone might recognize him. And while you’re at it, you might want to contact the Cleveland and Columbus TV stations to do a story on him. Someone must know him. Nobody lives in complete isolation.”

“Mmm. Both great ideas. I can’t believe we didn’t think of it. I’ll get busy on tha—”

Screams erupted from the bedroom.

“Gotta go.”

Maven ran to the bedroom.

He was still inside the circle in a fetal position.

“Sweetie. Moses.”

More screaming.

She sat down outside the circle. Not knowing what else to do, she started singing.

He’d liked that earlier, but not this time.

She jumped up and started dancing and singing like a crazy woman.

After ten minutes, the screaming turned to soft sobs.

She wasn’t sure how long she could continue, but she figured it was as good a workout as running in the park with Lizzie. Her blood was pumping and sweat oozed from her pores.

Moses giggled.

“Do you think this is funny?” She held out a hand, not expecting him to respond. “Come on, dance with me.”

He stood up and stepped out of the circle.

Would he take her hand? She held her breath and prayed. But it didn’t happen.

However, he did jump up and down.

Following his lead, Maven did the same.

Soon the two of them were jumping around the room while she sang.

Eventually, she slid down to the floor. “Enough, enough! I’m exhausted.” She leaned against the child’s plastic desk she’d bought the night before. It was filled with art supplies. She pointed at the chair. “You can sit here.” She got up on her knees and opened the desk lid. “I thought you might like these.” Pulling out some paper and crayons, she made a crude doodle, and then handed it to Moses. “OK, you have fun and I’m going to frost the cake.”

8

Maven peeked out of her window. Paul’s car was in the driveway. He was probably getting ready for his big date for the night. Whom had he asked out? Not that she cared, but she was a little curious. She hoped he wasn’t mad at her for saying no—or hurt. Paul was a good friend. After her refusal, they hadn’t discussed it again. Instead, they’d gone shopping for Moses.

Lizzie had made no secret about liking him. Surely, he hadn’t asked her. If he had, Lizzie certainly would have told her. Well, she hoped it wasn’t her friend. She wasn’t sure why that made a difference, but it did. But, of course, he had a right to ask anyone he wished, even Lizzie. She didn’t want to ruin their friendship over a date. A date? She rolled her eyes at the ridiculous idea. It had been almost twenty years since she’d been out on a date with anyone except her husband.

Paul had been widowed for more than three years. He was probably lonely, and needed some female companionship.

She’d read an article saying that widowed men were more likely to marry again than widowed women. Probably had something to do with wanting someone to create a home for them.

And that was certainly true for her. She’d loved her husband very much and couldn’t imagine being involved with another man—ever. Sure, she’d love a little companionship, but nothing more. And what man in his right mind would settle for that? She picked up her cell and speed-dialed Paul.

“Hello.”

“Happy Birthday.” She sang even though her throat hurt from all the singing with Moses.

“Oh, thanks.” He sounded glum.

“If you’re not too busy, can you come over for a minute? I’d like you to meet Moses.”

“Moses?”

“You were right, I couldn’t keep thinking of him as ‘the boy.’ So, Moses, it is. You know because he was abandoned by his parents just like the other Moses.”