"Dear God."
"Heaven only knows what that crazy man did to those poor boys," Tonia went on. "Or maybe it's better not to imagine."
"I was always nervous about his background, but I had no idea—oh, God. I have to talk to Erin. I have to call her. Right away."
"Be careful." Tonia poured Barbara a cup of tea. "She's under his spell. Don't be direct, or you'll just create resistance. We need to act quietly. Activate a support network for Erin. Soon. Like, right now."
"Yes, you are so right," Barbara said. "I'll get right on it. This instant Thank goodness you told me this. I had no idea."
Tonia smiled broadly and raised her cup. She clinked it against the one Barbara held in her trembling hand. Barbara's cup wobbled, and tea splashed out onto the tablecloth. "Go, Mom," Tonia said. "Erin's lucky to have a mother like you."
Barbara thought of the last few months. Her mouth tightened. "Hardly," she said. "But I'll do my very best for her from now on."
The doorbell rang again. Her cup clattered into the saucer, sloshing yet another brown wave of tea onto the table. "Who on earth?"
"I'll get it," Tonia offered. "You stay comfortable."
"No, that's all right."
Tonia followed right on Barbara's heels as she went to the door. Curious as a cat, that girl. Barbara had noticed that the first time she'd met her. She peered out the peephole. It was Connor's brother, Sean, and Cindy's strange-looking friend Miles, burdened with shopping bags.
She opened the door. Sean's grin coaxed an instant smile out of her. "Hi, Mrs. Riggs. I'm a taxi service for Miles, here," Sean said. "He was hoping to visit with Cindy. She doing OK?"
"Oh yes, she's much better, thank you," Barbara said. "She's upstairs. I'll call her. Come on in."
Miles's face was purpled with bruises, and he had a white bandage over the bridge of his nose. He was carrying a paper shopping bag full of videos, a saxophone case, and a big, dripping bunch of freshly picked wildflowers, mud dripping copiously from their roots. "I, uh, brought Cindy some stuff," he said. "X-Files videos, and flowers. And her sax. If she wants to, you know, like, practice." He held out the flowers to her.
Barbara smiled at him. "That's sweet, Miles. I'll call Cindy" She turned up the stairs. "Cindy? Hon? Come downstairs. You have guests!"
She turned back to Tonia. "Tonia, this is Connor's brother, Sean McCloud, and Cindy's friend, Miles.' Sean, this young lady is Erin's friend, Tonia… I don't remember your last name, dear."
"Vasquez," Tonia said, sticking out her hand to Miles, and then Sean in turn. "I'm glad to meet you."
Sean held her hand for a moment, and his face went thoughtful. "Wait a minute. I know you."
Tonia dimpled. "Oh, no. I'm sure I would remember."
"No, really. I never forget a face. Particularly not a cute one. None of us McCloud guys can. It's a weird family trait. One of the many. Hold on… it's coming to me." He scowled up at the ceiling, snapping his fingers. "Bingo!" he exclaimed. "You're a nurse! At the clinic. Right?"
Tonia blinked at him, her mouth dangling open. It was the first time Barbara had ever seen her at a total loss.
"What clinic?" Barbara asked.
Sean shot her a wry glance. "The clinic where my brother spent two months in a coma, remember? That clinic."
Cindy saved her the embarrassment of a reply by appearing at the top of the stairs in a baggy sweatsuit, rubbing her fist in her reddened eyes like a little girl. She stumbled down the stairs, shy and hesitant.
"Miles brought you flowers," Barbara said. "Isn't that sweet?"
Cindy gave Miles a wan smile. "Thanks. They're really pretty."
Miles gazed up adoringly. "I, uh, brought you some, uh, other stuff, too," he stammered. "Some vids. Your sax. You know. Stuff."
"That's cool," Cindy said. "You want to come up to my room?"
"Uh, yeah, sure." He looked around at the rest of them. " 'Scuse me," he mumbled. He bolted up the stairs after Cindy.
Sean turned back to Tonia. "I know I saw you at the clinic a couple of times. That uniform actually looked good on you."
Tonia's laugh sounded forced. "Thanks. You have to forgive me for not remembering you. It was a long time ago."
"A year and two months," Sean said. "To be precise."
"I thought Erin said you worked at Highpoint," Barbara said.
"I do," Tonia said. "I'm sort of a butterfly. I flit from job to job. Well, ran… I'd better be on my way. And that matter we discussed, Mrs. Riggs? Really, it's urgent. Get right on it, please."
"Oh, I will," Barbara said fervently. "Thanks for stopping by."
"Lovely to meet you," she called back over her shoulder. " 'Bye."
There was a long silence after Tonia left. Sean's green eyes were so much like his brother's. Bright, direct… compelling. Dark, fluttering panic threatened to unravel her. She steadied herself against the wall.
"Hey, Mrs. Riggs. Are you OK?"
How ironic, an offer of help from one of the few people on earth she could not share her problem with. "I'm fine, thanks."
"You sure? Can I help you out with anything? Anything at all."
The concern in his face made her feel ashamed for lying to him. She forced herself to smile. "Just dandy, and thanks for asking."
"OK, then. I'd better be on my way, too. Things to do. Glad that Cindy's doing better. You take care, now."
"Thank you, I will," she said.
Sean bounded down the walk and got into his mud-splattered Jeep. Barbara reset the alarm and stumbled back into the kitchen. She grabbed the cordless phone, sat down, and stared at it.
Both of her girls had been threatened by violent men. Erin six months ago by Novak and Luksch. Cindy by Billy Vega. And now her innocent, eager-to-please Erin had been swept off her feet by an unbalanced, controlling man with 3 family history of mental illness.
Her sweet girl who tried so hard, who deserved the very best.
It was unendurable. She was done with sitting around and doing nothing. It was up to her to protect her children, in any way she could think of. And Tonia's suggestion was a damn good place to start.
She dialed a number she had thought she would never dial again.
"Would you please beep Nick Ward for me?" she asked the switchboard operator. "It's urgent."
The slam of a car door jerked Connor out of his stupor. He twitched open the kitchen curtain to make sure it was one of his brothers. Not many people knew how to find the ramshackle, hand-built house out in the hills that Eamon had left to his sons, and the McCloud brothers liked it that way. It was a sure refuge from the weirdness of the world. Only their closest friends knew where it was.
It was Sean. This was going to be exhausting. He looked down at the bottle of Scotch on the table. His attempt to drown his sorrows in alcohol was as much of a failure as the rest of his life currently was. Instead of blunting emotions, like liquor was supposed to do, it had just blurred his capacity to mink clearly. The emotions had parried right on.
He didn't need Sean to scold him for sulking. He was already scolding himself, but there wasn't enough oomph behind it to break his paralysis. The kitchen door creaked open. He didn't bother to turn.
Sean's distinctive smell wafted into the room. Expensive citrus aftershave and well-tended leather. God, his brother was vain. But he loved him, even when Sean drove him nuts. The whiskey was making him maudlin. He buried his face in his hands and braced himself.
"I've been looking for you all morning." Sean's tone was accusing.
"You found me," he replied.
Sean was silent for an unnaturally long time. "I went by your house. Did you know that you left it unlocked? It's not a bad neighborhood, but you did get robbed a few months ago, remember?"