Rachel tried to get us back on course. “What happened when your brother got here?”

She started welling up.

“Katarina?”

“He said he needed to take Perry with him.”

Verne’s eyes widened.

Katarina’s chest started hitching, as if it was hard to get air. “I said to him no. I said I wouldn’t let him touch my children. He threatened me. He said he’d tell Verne everything. I said I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to let him take Perry. Then he punched me in the stomach. I fell down. He promised me he’d bring Perry back in a few hours. He promised me no one would get hurt unless I said something. If I called Verne or the police, he’d kill Perry.”

Verne’s hand were balled into tight fists. His face was scarlet.

“I tried to stop him. I tried to stand up, but Pavel pushed me back down. And then”—her voice caught—“then he drove away. With Perry. The next six hours were the longest of my life.” She sneaked a guilty glance in my direction. I knew what she was thinking. She had experienced this terror for six hours. I’d been living with it for a year and half.

“I didn’t know what to do. My brother is a bad man. I know that. But I couldn’t believe he’d ever hurt my children. He was their uncle.”

I thought about Stacy then, my sister, my words of sibling defense echoing in hers.

“For hours, I stayed by the window. I couldn’t stand it. Finally, at midnight, I called his cell phone. He told me he was on his way back. Perry was fine, he said. Nothing had happened. He tried to sound light, but there was something in his voice. I asked him where he was. He told me he was on Route Eighty near Paterson. I couldn’t just sit in the house and wait. I told him I’d meet him halfway. I packed Verne Junior and we went. When we got to the gas station by the Sparta exit. . . .” She looked at Verne. “He was fine. Perry. I felt such relief, you can’t imagine.”

Verne was tugging on his bottom lip with his thumb and index finger. He looked away again.

“Before I left, Pavel grabbed my arm hard. He pulled me close to him. I could see how scared he was. He said no matter what, never tell anybody about what happened. That if they found out about me—if they knew he had a sister—they would kill us all.”

“Who is they?” Rachel asked.

“I don’t know. Whoever he was working for. The people who bought the babies, I think. He said they were crazy.”

“What did you do then?”

Katarina opened her mouth, closed it, tried again. “I went to the supermarket,” she said with a sound that might have even been a laugh. “I bought the kids juice boxes. I let them drink while we shopped. I just wanted to do something normal. To, I don’t know, to put it all behind me.”

Katarina looked up at Verne then. I followed her gaze. I again studied this man with the long hair and the bad teeth. After a moment, he turned to her.

“It’s all right,” Verne said in the gentlest voice I’d ever heard. “You were scared. You’ve been scared your whole life.”

Katarina started sobbing.

“I don’t want you to be scared anymore, okay?”

He moved toward her. He took her in his arms. She settled enough to say, “He said they’d come after us. The whole family.”

“Then I’ll protect us,” Verne said simply. He looked at me over her shoulder. “They took my kid. They threatened my family. You hear what I’m saying?”

I nodded.

“I’m in this now. I’m with you till it’s over.”

Rachel sat back. I saw her grimace. Her eyes closed. I didn’t know how much longer she could go. I moved toward her. She held up her palm. “Katarina, we need you to help us here. Where was your brother staying?”

“I don’t know.”

“Think. Do you have any of his possessions, something that can lead us to who he worked for?”

She let go of her husband. Verne stroked her hair with a blend of tenderness and strength I envied. I turned to Rachel. I wondered if I had the courage to do the same.

“Pavel just arrived from Kosovo,” Katarina said. “And he would not come here empty handed.”

Rachel nodded. “You think he brought a pregnant woman with him?”

“He always did before.”

“Do you know where she’s staying?”

“The women always stay at the same place—the same place I stayed. It’s in Union City.” Katarina looked up. “You’ll want this woman to help you, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll have to go with you. She most likely won’t speak English.”

I looked at Verne. He nodded. “I’ll watch the kids.”

No one moved for several moments. We needed to gather our strength, adjust as if we’d entered a no-gravity zone. I used the time to step outside and call Zia. She answered on the first ring and started right in.

“The cops might be listening in, so let’s not stay on the line too long,” Zia said.

“Okay.”

“Our friend Detective Regan came to my house. He told me that he thought you used my car to leave the hospital. I called Lenny. Lenny told me to neither confirm nor deny any allegation. You can probably guess the rest.”

“Thanks.”

“You being careful?”

“Always.”

“Sure. By the way, the cops aren’t stupid. They figure that if you used one friend’s car, maybe they would look for another.”

I got her meaning—don’t use Lenny’s car.

“Better hang up now,” she said. “Love you.”

The phone went dead. I moved back inside. Verne had unlocked his gun cabinet using a key. He was checking weapons. On the other side of the room, he had a safe with ammunition. It opened by combination. I looked over his shoulder. Verne wiggled his eyebrows at me. He had enough firepower to overthrow a European country.

I told them about my conversation with Zia. Verne did not hesitate. He slapped my back and said, “I have just the vehicle for you.”

Ten minutes later, Katarina, Rachel, and I drove off in a white Camaro.

Chapter 38

We found thepregnant girl right away.

Before we vroomed off in Verne’s ride, Rachel jumped in the shower to rinse off the blood and grime. I quickly changed her bandage. Katarina loaned her a summer dress with a flower print, the kind that fits loose but clings just right. Rachel’s hair was wet and kinky, still dripping when we reached the car. Forget the bruises and swelling—I am not sure that I ever saw a more beautiful woman in my life.




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