Almost Dead (Lizzy Gardner #5)(34)

“No, I’ve got this. You take care of Chalkor. I’ll talk to Christina.”




Hayley pulled her Chevy into the parking lot of a strip mall off Birdcage and quickly found an empty spot. The battered beast of a car sputtered and jerked before the engine fell silent. The day care center was dark blue with white shutters. Long blades of bright-green grass had been painted all around the base at the front of the building, making it appear as if grass were growing right out of the pavement.

The moment Hayley walked inside she was assaulted by noise.

A half wall, three feet high and painted the colors of the rainbow, separated the front desk from a thousand-square-foot room filled with small tables and chairs, games, and lots of kids. Hayley had never been in a day care center before. It wasn’t anything like Child Services. These kids were actually having fun.

A woman in her early twenties stood near the front desk. She was on the phone and held up a finger to let Hayley know she’d be a minute.

A high-pierced scream caused every nerve inside Hayley’s body to tense. Pain or joy? Who the hell knew?

The girl finished her phone conversation and said, “How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Christina Bradley.”

“She’s around here somewhere. Let me find her for you.”

By the time the young woman helped a little girl with her drawing and then stopped two boys in the middle of a tug-of-war over a toy car, two other ladies had entered the room through a back door. The three women exchanged a few words, and then one of them looked over the sea of little heads and caught Hayley’s gaze. She was about five-four, wore a rainbow T-shirt and jeans, and had her light-colored hair pulled back in a ponytail. Even before she headed Hayley’s way, Hayley knew she’d found Christina Bradley. She looked just like Pam Middleton.

Christina introduced herself, then said, “If you’re looking for a job, we don’t have any openings right now.”

“That’s not why I’m here,” Hayley said. “Is there somewhere, a room maybe, where we could talk privately?”

“I’m unusually busy right now. Why don’t you tell me why you’re here?”

“It’s about your biological mom, Pam Middleton. She’s looking for you.”

Christina paled.

“Are you all right?”

Christina’s hand fell to her chest. “You caught me off guard, but I’ll be fine. Why don’t we go to my office, after all?”

Hayley followed her through a door and into a small windowless office. “Have a seat,” Christina said.

Hayley did exactly that.

“Pam Middleton,” Christina said. “Is that her name?”

Hayley nodded.

“What’s she like?”

“I’ve only met her once, for less than ten minutes. She looks a lot like you. She talks fast, and she comes across as a little uptight.”

Christina appeared to be holding back a smile. “Do you work for the adoption agency?”

“No. I’m with Lizzy Gardner Investigations in Sacramento.”

“How did you find me?”

“Yours was a closed adoption, which made things more difficult. I talked to your father, Dan Blatt, and your grandmother—”

“He’s not my father. I’d prefer it if we didn’t talk about those people.”

“I understand.”

Christina folded her arms in front of her. “So how long has this Pam Middleton been looking for me?”

“As far as I know, at least a couple of weeks.”

Christina audibly exhaled. “Do you know why?”

“Yes.”

“That bad, huh?”

Hayley didn’t know what to say to that, so she kept her thoughts to herself.

“Go ahead and tell me. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”

“The whole story or just the bottom line?” Hayley asked.

“Sum it up nice and neat for me, if you can.”

Hayley obliged. “Your mother had you when she was sixteen. She and her boyfriend decided they weren’t ready to raise a child, so they gave you up for adoption. Years later, they married and had another child. A daughter. She’s sick and she needs a bone marrow transplant. If you’re a match, you could be her only hope.”

Christina came to her feet, seemed to struggle to take her next breath. “Wow, you sure know how to tell it like it is, don’t you?”

Hayley remained silent.

After a long moment, Christina said, “So. Based on what you just told me, Pam Middleton would never have sought me out if it wasn’t for her sick daughter.”

“I wouldn’t want to speculate.”

Christina took a deep breath and then blew it out and began to pace the room. “Both my parents are together and they never looked for me.” She looked at Hayley, her hands rolled into tight fists at her sides. It was easy to see that she was fighting all sorts of crazy emotions. “How old is she . . . the sick girl?”

“Sixteen.”

“Have you met her?”

“No.”

She nodded and kept nodding as she paced. “God, I just feel like screaming. This is so out of the blue.”

The door opened, and the young woman Hayley had talked to when she’d first entered the building asked Christina if everything was all right.