Live to Tell (Live to Tell #1)(99)

Garvey leans back in his chair, watching the speaker, but in his mind’s eye he’s seeing another doctor he once knew. A surgeon.

Dr. Pujari understood Jeremy to be Caroline’s sibling. That, of course, was the truth.

What he didn’t know was that the boy had been abducted from the home of his adoptive parents.

Garvey was fluent in Hindi. Of course, Caroline, Beverly, and Jeremy spoke not a word of it. The language barrier was a necessary measure of protection.

No one at the hospital thought it odd that Jeremy was frightened and crying for his mother. And no one had any reason to question that Garvey was his father—both Jeremy and Caroline looked just like him. Nor did anyone seem to suspect that Beverly, with her unusual golden eyes and fair hair, was not the children’s mother.

The tests had confirmed that Jeremy was Caroline’s blood relative and a capable donor. That was all anyone seemed to care about—and all they needed to know.

The surgery was a success.

Days later, Garvey and Caroline were on their way home.

When he bid farewell to Beverly at the hotel, he saw a glimmer of misgiving in her amber-colored eyes.

“You’re stronger than you think,” he assured her, as Jeremy played on the floor at her feet. “I believe in you.”

“I know.”

“You do what has to be done, and then you wash your hands and you move on. Right?”

Beverly nodded.

“Good. I’ll see you back in New York.”

Garvey kissed her on the cheek and walked away with his daughter in his arms, not allowing himself even a last glance at Jeremy, afraid he might change his mind.

The boy simply could not live to tell what had happened to him.



Lauren whirls at the sound of the voice behind her.

Stunned not to see Sam there, she fails to recognize the vaguely familiar face for a moment. Then she does, and she sees the gun, and the water glass slips from her hand, shattering on the floor.

Her visitor clucks her tongue and shakes her head.

“Who are you?” Lauren asks.

“Does it matter?”

“Your name isn’t Jessica.”

“Very clever of you. No, it isn’t.”

No wonder. No wonder Janet Wasserman didn’t know a new neighbor named Jessica.

“You don’t have what I asked you to get for me, Lauren.”

“How do you know?” Stalling for time, she glances down at the broken glass at her feet.

“You were supposed to bring it back from the church for me. You didn’t come in with it. I was watching you.”

“How do you know I didn’t stash it somewhere along the way?”

Jessica’s strange, amber-colored eyes narrow dangerously. The other day, sunglasses hid them. She looked for all the world like any other mom at the pool.

If Lauren had been able to see her eyes then, would she have been suspicious?

Possibly. But this isn’t about a delusional person fixated on a child’s toy. The woman’s expression is sharply focused; she’s completely sane and she means business.

So it isn’t just a toy. It’s something disguised as a toy, or something hidden inside a toy…

And she’s willing to kill for it.

“Where is it, Lauren?”

“Where are my children?” she returns, fighting to keep her voice from quaking. She can’t afford to lose her composure now. If she can stay focused, she might just have a chance…

“You’ll see your children when I get what I need.”

“What about Nick? Where is he?”

“Do you really care, Lauren?”

She says nothing.

“Nick and his friend won’t be making your life miserable anymore. You have me to thank for that.”

A chill slithers down Lauren’s spine. “What…what do you mean?”

“I took care of them. I met them at his apartment and I showed them this”—she brandishes the gun—“and then we went for a little ride. A one-way trip for the two of them.”

“Oh my God.” Lauren clasps a hand across her mouth.

“I wouldn’t be so upset if I were you. He sold you out, Lauren. You and the kids. And his girlfriend, too. I put a gun to her head and I asked him where the stuffed animal was, and he wouldn’t say anything. Not a word. Then I pulled the trigger, and wouldn’t you know, he started talking. He told me where to find what I needed. I guess he thought he had nothing to lose. Too bad he was wrong.”

“You killed him.” Trembling in disbelief, Lauren can’t seem to wrap her mind around it.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know. He called you, at the end. Isn’t that interesting? I didn’t even realize he had his phone in his hand until it was over.”

Dear Lord, the phone call. He really was calling for help.

And I couldn’t help him. It was already too late.

Nick…oh, Nick. I’m so sorry.

Nick is dead. She can’t seem to absorb it, and yet…

Beth… Beth is dead, too.

And the body Lauren glimpsed out the window just now, lying on the ground amid the backyard trees…

It’s not one of the children. That was immediately, blessedly obvious from the size, and the clothes, and the hair…