Annabelle placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“Let me see that, Ann.” Cassie had leaned forward as well and was eyeing the paper in Annabelle’s hand. Annabelle handed it over and Cassie turned it around to study it. “This other mess is a mystery to me. What are these underscores?”
“I think they’re missing letters.”
“What about the ‘fourth’ and the ‘ss’ nonsense?”
“I don’t…” Annabelle’s voice trailed off. She straightened. “Cass, when you filled out those forms for the doctor you worked for, what was the abbreviation for a person’s social?”
“SS.”
“You think it refers to a social security number?” Dylan asked.
“Could be.” Annabelle said.
“A ‘fourth’ social security number?” Cassie asked.
Annabelle shook her head. “I have no idea. If it is a social security number that Max referred to, then was it one of four numbers?”
“Maybe it was four specific numbers inside the social,” Dylan suggested, getting excited again.
“Which four?” Cassie asked. “And whose number?”
“It would have to be my dad’s,” Dylan said. “This message was for you, Miss Drake, and he wouldn’t want you off searching for some un-known person’s social, right?” He paused then, and considered something. “But you don’t know his social, do you?”
“Nope.”
“Then he knew that we’d be working together. Because I do.”
Annabelle took a deep breath. “Well, we don’t know for sure that his social is what he was referring to, but if he was, Dylan, which four numbers? The last four? They’re easy enough to separate out. A social security number is three groups of numbers – three, three, and then four.”
“Fourth SS. That has to be it.” Dylan was definitely excited now. “The last four numbers are three-nine-two-four.”
“Mama, my crayon broke. Can you get me another one?”
Trinity hadn’t yet moved from where she’d been sitting beside Cassie, listening in on the conversation. But now, she turned to her daughter and spoke at last. “Sure, baby. Why don’t you go ahead and get it. In my purse. You know where they are.” Her purse was on the floorboards, beside Cassie’s purse and bag, and Annabelle’s backpack.
Emma dug around in the bag for a few seconds and then came out with a box of crayons. She dumped the whole box on the carpet and chose the purple.
“No, I want yellow.”
“It doesn’t show up on the pink paper, though.”
“I know, but it’s my favorite color,” Emma insisted. “Can you highlight with it?”
Highlight? Annabelle was impressed. How many four-year-olds would think of doing that?
“So, so far we have four numbers and a clue that leads to Columbia University,” Dylan said, drawing Annabelle’s attention back to the matter at hand. “We still need to fill in the missing letters.”
“And don’t forget the ‘plus T’ part.”
Annabelle chewed on her lip for a moment, staring at the paper that Cassie now held between them all. And then she blinked. “If the ‘plus T’ is attached to the numbers, then either the ‘T’ represents a number, or the numbers represent letters.”
“Well, heck, that’s easy enough to figure out. What are the third, ninth, second and fourth letters of the alphabet?” Cassie asked.
“C, I, B and N.”
They turned to Trinity, who had instantly supplied them with the letters.
“That’s impressive, Trin. How’d you do that so fast?”
“I’m a kindergarten teacher.” Trinity smiled. It was the same smile that Cassie had given Annabelle earlier. Tired. Scared. But willing to help out, if she could.
Annabelle placed the letters, in order, in the spaces. “Crap, I think we have it. Craig Brand.”
“Plus T,” Dylan reminded her.
“Okay, Craig Brandt. Columbia University Medical Center.”
“Well, I guess I know where we’ll be headed next.” Cassie said as she leaned back in her seat once more and sighed heavily. “That is, after this business with Jack’s daughter.” She cut her gaze to Annabelle. “By the way, what’s going on with that, anyway?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think she’s supposed to be here, though. Jack was really surprised. And not at all happy. He practically barked the order for her to wait for him at the airport. I’m guessing she stopped by to see dad without dad’s permission.”
“Or her mother’s, I’m betting.” Cassie said. “Where does her mother live?”
“In Essex, apparently,” Dylan supplied. He wasn’t one to forget what little information Jack Thane was prepared to give him. “With another of his kids. A twelve-year-old boy.”
“His name is Ian,” Annabelle nodded. “And I’ve never met either of them. Or their mother.” What Annabelle was more interested in, at the moment, was how Jack had found out so quickly that Clara was at the airport. Did he have friends currently staking out the airport? Unless it was needed for some job he was currently working on, she sort of doubted it.
What was far more likely, and what made Annabelle markedly uncomfortable, was the prospect that Jack was having his kids watched. She could see that. They would make easy targets if someone wanted to send him a message.
And that’s what made her uncomfortable. She made an easy target too.
“What’s his ex’s name?” Cassie asked then, breaking the silence that had stolen over the group.
“Beatrice, I think,” Annabelle answered.
“When did they get divorced?”
“The year before we met. So… Ten years ago. He’s been re-married three times since then.”
“Unbelievable,” Dylan shook his head, his expression one of barely hidden disgust. It was readily apparent to everyone in the car what he thought of Jack Thane.
“That is pretty impressive,” Trinity finally offered. “I mean, he’s pretty hot, I’ll admit, so I can see why someone would marry him. And he’s loaded, too. That’s obvious,” she gestured to the car around them. “But why can’t he hang on to a wife?”
“Cass thinks he’s codependent.” Annabelle said, smiling as she leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes. “Getting married for the wrong reasons, maybe. To the wrong people.” The Vicodin was beginning to make her sleepy. That, and the majorly stressful events of the past twenty-four hours. And the rough night of partying she’d had before that. Sheesh, when she really thought about it, she was running a rather hefty sleep deficit.
No one said anything after that. The car’s inhabitants fell into a weary silence. Even Rose and Emma curled up on the soft carpet of the car and Trinity covered them each with one of her sweaters and the Victoria’s Secret hoodie that Annabelle offered.
In a while, the limousine rolled to a smooth stop and everyone looked out the window.
They sat silently and waited while a door opened in the front and Jack got out of the cab. He moved around the car to the door on Annabelle’s side and opened it.
“I would ask you to stay here, but I realize that’s pointless,” Jack said as he leaned in, his arms draped over the door and the top of the car. He looked Annabelle in the eyes. She smiled wearily.
“Yup. Pointless.”
“Hell, I’m coming too. I’ve been looking forward to this.” Cassie leaned over Trinity to open the other door. Trinity took the cue and climbed out of the car to let Cassie out after her.