“I never meant for any of this to happen,” she offered. “I asked you here because I knew you were the only one who could protect her. I had no choice. None.”
Whoa. Hold on.
“What are you talking about? What am I protecting her from?” I kept my eye on the weapon even as I shoved my jacket aside, ready to grab my gun if necessary. The last thing I wanted was to kill her. No matter what she’d covered up for her son, she was also a victim.
“There’s nothing worse than the loss of a child. That’s not something you’d understand. When you have them, it changes you. It’s funny. All I’d ever wanted to be was a mother. I had a difficult delivery, a doctor who shouldn’t have been practicing.After that I couldn’t have another child. I guess as a young girl growing up in Germany, I longed for the fairytale. I thought I found that in an American Army officer. He was so handsome and so sweet. We talked for hours and after a couple months, I was madly in love with him. I don’t know why I kept his picture. Maybe to remind me of what I was working for all these years.”
She walked closer, taking the picture from my hand.
Jesus. The pain on her face was palpable. However, given her state of mind, she was highly unpredictable.
I backed away, giving her a little room. Even in the shadowed light, I could tell she was lost in the memory in a way indicating psychosis.
“Jameson was kind until he wasn’t. I believed we were so in love. I even thought he wanted to marry me, but I found out he was already married. He even had a child waiting for him in the United States. I tried to break it off, but he… He wasn’t very kind to me. Eight weeks later, I found out I was pregnant.”
“Did you tell anyone what happened?”
She kept the faraway look in her eyes. “Not until then. I’d hoped to put it all behind me. After I told my parents, they tried to have him arrested, but the American forces were far too powerful even though my father was an important man. And of course, there was no evidence. The babies didn’t count. My parents wouldn’t allow me to get rid of them. I was only sixteen years old. When they were born, I adored them. But something happened to my little Samuel. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. The doctors said he’d been without oxygen for too long and would be mentally impaired. I didn’t care. I loved them with all my heart.”
My fucking God. “I’m so sorry.” I took a step closer, eyeing the weapon.
She nodded, but I had a feeling she was barely paying any attention, reliving her own horror. “Word got out about the children and their birth made it very difficult for Jameson with his career and his family. Little did I know he’d made a deal with my parents. One day the babies disappeared from the nursery. I asked my parents what happened and they told me it was for the best. They were given to a nice American couple who would raise them as their own and my life wouldn’t be ruined. Can you believe that? I cried for months, begging them to bring my babies home, but they wouldn’t do it.”
Her struggle was real, the memories eating her alive.
“How did you end up in the United States?”
“I’d always wanted to come to the States. When I had a chance to go to law school in New York, I jumped at the chance. I’d cut ties with my parents at that point.”
“You came here in hope of seeing the children.”
“Yes. After two years, I saw one of them. Little Steven. He was with his adopted father at a store. I knew it was my child. A mother always knows. I never bothered them, but every so often I watched them. The two boys were very close. Well cared for, although I learned later no family is perfect. I moved on with my life, but they’ve been a part of me. Always. I had an opportunity to open this business with a friend of mine who already lived in Miami and I jumped at the chance. Moving on was the right thing to do. I lost touch with my boys. From what I knew, Steven had his own life. They’d been teenagers when I left New York.”
“And Timothy Chambers?” When I took another step closer, she realized what I was doing, lifting the weapon.
“Don’t! I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if necessary.” She was still shaking, even glancing toward the door. She was fearful he’d come in.
I held up both hands. “I won’t come any closer.” A few seconds later, she lowered the weapon by a couple of inches, struggling with what was happening.
“I had no idea who Timothy Chambers was at first. Just a name on an investment. It was years before I made the connection. Even seeing him in passing didn’t set off any red flags. Look at him today. By then, it was too late. My life was here in Miami. I was happy for the first time in my life. Besides, I’d realized the boys had disappeared from New York and I thought it was for the best. They were living their lives as I was doing with mine. I didn’t even know Jameson was here when my partner and I opened the firm. Of course, I found out later but at that point, I was determined not to allow it to bother me. I excelled here, enjoying my life. When the Python Killer hit, I did what everyone else did. I prayed and hoped the police and the FBI would find him.”
“Then you saw the pictures of the killer on television.” I calculated how to get the gun from her hand. I needed to get to Alexia before Timothy realized his mother was missing. Fuck. She’d been terrified Timothy would do something to her. His surprise had been real.
Oh, fucking God. This would set him off.
“Yes. A mother knows her child. Even several years older, I was positive it was him. I went to the prosecuting attorney with my concerns.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Let me guess. He took the information but didn’t do a damn thing.”
“What he did was tell the mayor. That’s when I was threatened by Jameson to leave the past in the past.”
“He didn’t want anyone to know it was his son.”
“Of course not. What was I supposed to do? I tried to find Steven at that point, only to realize he was the killer. A mother knows that too.”
“How the hell did Alexia come to work here?”
“Timothy Chambers. He sent me information on her. She was in college at the time. When I learned her backstory, well, I thought karma had given me an opportunity to make things right. So I hired her. At that point, I still had no knowledge Timothy was Steven. He looked entirely different. Just like he does now.”
