Vanished

It was an incredibly evil tale, and John Taylor, like the others involved, could scarcely believe it. And oddly enough, no one had squeaked except “Louie the Lover,” but as the house of cards began tumbling down, the people he had hired began talking, to save their hides. They had no intention of going down the tubes for Malcolm. And in a matter of days, John Taylor had more testimony than he knew what to do with. They still couldn't charge Malcolm with kidnapping, because Teddy was his son. But they had charged those who had actually taken him. And Malcolm was charged with conspiracy, collusion, obstruction of justice, and consorting with known criminals, which was the best they could do against him.

The odd thing was that Charles Delauney had been an afterthought, a bit of serendipity that had come along at the perfect time for Malcolm. He was the perfect scapegoat to take the blame, after what Patrick had reported to Malcolm when Marielle had first seen him at Saint Patrick's. The timing couldn't have been better for him. And it only took another fifty thousand dollars to plant the pajamas and teddy bear at the Delauney home, to seal Charles's fate and confirm that he was guilty. Malcolm had easy access to the pajamas anyway, since he had the boy well hidden in New Jersey. He had kept him there for four months, waiting for the ports to open up again. And in May, he and Brigitte would sail after him on the Europa, after blaming Marielle for putting the boy at risk and causing him to be kidnapped. Malcolm was going to tell the world he was the injured party, and continue to find consolation in the arms of the devoted Miss Sanders. It was all so perfectly planned, and it would have gone off without a hitch if John Taylor hadn't ruined everything by finding Teddy at the last moment on the little German freighter. Two days later it would have sailed. The thought made everyone shudder. And somehow in Malcolm's mind, it was all a respectable plan, since the boy was his own son, and all he had really wanted was to get Marielle out of the picture, and allow the boy to become a German. For Malcolm it meant spending the rest of his life in Germany, but Malcolm loved it there anyway. He loved it better than his own country.

But for the moment he wasn't going anywhere. He was out on bail, pending trial in late July, and he and Brigitte were hiding out in upstate New York.

She had been charged with conspiracy too, and there was some talk of deportation.

And all Marielle wanted was to get out of town and spend some quiet time with Teddy. She didn't want to see Malcolm or Brigitte, and she was dreading the next trial, but she knew she had to be there, as a witness for the prosecution. In the meantime, she was thinking of going to Vermont for three months, but there were a number of things she had to do first, like see an attorney about divorcing Malcolm.

She was explaining some of it to John, when he came to talk to her before she made any firm decision to take Teddy away on vacation. He had been busy for days, but he still tried to drop by almost daily. His agents were gone from her home by then, and the police, and most of the servants were gone too. And she and Teddy were looking for an apartment.

“I thought we were going to talk before you made any serious moves.' He'd been in the press constantly since the trial, as the hero who found the Patterson baby. And other than that, he'd had his hands full with the case against Malcolm and Brigitte, and all their minions. There was a total of twenty-two people involved, all charged with various offenses. “And what's this about Vermont?” He looked worried and hurt. He hated the thought of her leaving, even for a few months. He wanted to keep her near him.

“I thought we could use some country air.” Particularly before she went through another month of trial. But this time she was prepared, and John would be with her. But she looked at him cautiously as she said it. She had a lot to say to him. But the right time hadn't come yet.

“Are you really moving?” He eyed her hopefully. In some ways, things had worked out better than he'd planned. She had the boy back, and she was free of Malcolm. The question was, what was he going to do? His eyes met hers now as he asked her if she was really moving out of the Patterson mansion. And she nodded slowly. She wouldn't be sorry to leave this house. The only happy memories she had there were of Teddy, and he was coming with her. “The house is Malcolm's.” Their eyes met and there were a thousand questions he wanted to ask her. “All we need is a small apartment,” she said softly.

“And what else? What do you want from me now?” He knew he had to ask her. He knew what he wanted, but he was afraid he couldn't have it. He wanted her. Forever.

“Your friendship” …your love …your life. But she knew that she had no right to say that.