Jack of Diamonds Page 7

  “Who?” Alex asked with a deep chuckle. He looked at Yana. “I think she’s a little shook up.”

  “Jack. My fiancé.”

  “Don’t tell me that my little Kukla is getting married? When?”

  Alice stopped and looked back at them on the steps, her head spinning. “If Jack didn’t bring you here, then how did you find me? Is my grandfather with you? When did you get here? Do you know about my mother?” The questions tumbled out of her mouth.

  “Inside. I’ll tell you everything once we’re inside,” Uncle Alex promised, still wiping tears from his round face.

  Yana rubbed Alice’s back. “I can’t believe we’ve found you.” She kissed Alice’s cheek. “You look so much like your mother.”

  “You look just like her,” Alice said softly as she fumbled for the apartment key, hands still shaking. She opened the door and had taken only half a step into the apartment when Lady trotted out of the bedroom. The dog took one look at the strangers with their hands on Alice and her ears flattened back on her head. Lady roared.

  Alex swore and pulled both Alice and Yana back into the hallway, slamming the door shut.

  “It’s okay,” Alice said, trying to reassure them, but the door shook as Lady jumped against it and began scratching. “She’s my dog.”

  “That’s no dog!” Alex shook his head. “It’s a wolf the size of a horse.”

  “She’s really nice when you get to know her. She’s just overprotective.” Alice reached for the doorknob, and both Yana and Alex stepped away.

  “Give me a minute to get her settled.” Alice cracked open the door, and Lady almost bowled her over. Alice had to hang on to Lady’s collar, but with lots of petting and pulling, she managed to get Lady back inside the apartment. With an overabundance of caution, she put Lady in her bedroom. “Sorry, Lady.”

  The big dog whined, her pleas vibrating the wooden door.

  Alice brought Alex and Yana inside. “Please sit down. Can I get you something to drink?” She headed into the kitchen.

  “I think I need something strong,” Alex said, plopping down onto the leather sofa. “This is a great day. I still cannot believe it! I’ll take the strongest you have.”

  “Sorry, I think the strongest we have is milk.” Right now, she’d prefer something stronger herself. This was all so surreal.

  “Water will be fine for me,” Yana said.

  Alice filled three glasses with water and carried them into the living room.

  “Is this your Jack?” Yana asked, pointing to a picture on the wall.

  “Yes. He’s at his bachelor party right now. I don’t think he’ll be too long.”

  Alex chuckled. “My bachelor party lasted three days. Good. We have time to talk.” He reached into his jacket pocket, and held out a photograph to her.

  She set her glass down and took the photo with trembling fingers. It was an old family picture. She was young, probably only three, and her brothers were just babies. She was standing right between her mother and father, nestled against their legs. Her mother and father, Alice and Chris, both looking proud, were holding the smiling baby boys. Alice choked back a sob at the sight of her dad’s sparkling emerald eyes, just like hers. Beside them were her grandfather and his brother, Uncle Alex. The two big bears had their arms wrapped around each other, and both were grinning proudly.

  “That is me and Andrew,” Alex said.

  “Yes. Alex and Andrew. My brothers were named for you and my grandfather. I forgot.” Alice hung her head as she fought back tears. The lump in her throat acting like a dam against the tears was threatening to burst. She sat down in the chair beside the couch. “How did you find me?”

  “A woman came asking questions. She was from the United States government. That was a little over a month ago.”

  “Jack has a friend in the State Department,” Alice said. “He asked her to look into finding my grandfather.”

  “Well, she didn’t find Andrew, but she did find us.” Alex reached out and squeezed Alice’s hand. “Have you heard from your grandfather?”

  “No.” Alice shook her head. “I didn’t even know he was alive until a few months ago, when I found out . . .”

  Alex and Yana exchanged puzzled glances and waited for Alice to continue.

  “Do you know . . .” Alice cleared her throat, unsure what to say. “Are you aware of what happened to my parents?”

  They both nodded. “Your grandfather and I were not only brothers; we were best friends. After Andrew’s wife was murdered, he fled Ukraine with his daughter, your mother, to America. He thought you all would be safe here. I did, too. We were both wrong.” Alex’s creased brow became even more lined. “That night I received a call that your entire family had died. Your parents, your brothers. They said you died too, my emerald-eyed Kukla. My heart was broken. And my loss grew when Andrew disappeared.”

  “Disappeared?” Alice repeated, unsure of how to respond.

  “Vanished. No trace. No calls. Nothing.” Alex rubbed his eyes. “All these years, I wondered if they had gotten to him.”

  “They? Who was behind this?”

  Yana held her father’s hand. “The Soviet Union. It was a very bad time . . . they wanted your grandfather to put his support behind the army, but . . . he wanted a free Ukraine.”

  “And he never reached out to you?”

  Alex shook his head. “Maybe he wanted to protect us. It’s the only thing I can think of. But if Andrew found out you were alive”—Alex’s face lit up—“then he would come to you! I’m sure of it!”

  “But how can we tell him if we don’t know where he is?” Alice asked.

  Yana squeezed Alex’s hand. They both stared at each other for a moment, and then Yana spoke. “We were hoping to persuade you to come back to Poltava with us.”

  “Poltava?” Alice repeated. “When?”

  “As soon as you are able,” Alex said. “I’m not a young man, and I don’t even know if my brother is still alive. But I’m sure that if he is, and he hears that you live, he will contact you.”

  “I’m getting married in a week and I’m going on my honeymoon afterward.”

  “Poltava is very romantic. It is on the beautiful Vorskla River,” Alex said with a broad smile.

  “Bah!” Yana waved her hand dismissively. “Who wants to go to Poltava for their honeymoon? It’s all monuments to battles and museums.”

  “I went to Poltava for my honeymoon!” Alex said.

  “You had no choice.” Yana turned to Alice and shook her head. “Ignore him. How long is your honeymoon? Would it be possible for you to visit us afterward?”

  “We’re going for two weeks . . .” Alice’s voice trailed off when Alex winced at the length of time. “But I think if I talk to Jack, we might be able to figure something out.”

  Alex grabbed both her hands, engulfing them in his own. “Please. Please think about it. I’m so happy to have found you, but it’s like a piece of me is still missing until I tell my brother that you are still alive. Do you understand?”

  Alice nodded. She’d always felt like a part of her was gone since her family’s death. “I’ll talk to Jack. I promise.”

  Yana stood. “It’s very late. We’re staying at the Garden Hotel on the other side of town. I know it’s a lot to take in, but—”

  “What’s there to take in?” Alex stood as well and leaned down to give Alice a hug. “My Kaya Kukla is alive. You have family, my little princess. A family who loves you.”

  Alice had waited years to hear those words. She had a family. It didn’t seem real.

  “Can we see you tomorrow?” her uncle asked.

  “No.” Yana grabbed his arm and started tugging him toward the door. “Give her time. She will reach out when she is ready to talk. The Garden Hotel. Room 407.” She slid Alice a card with their numbers on it.

  Alice nodded. Part of her didn’t want them to leave, but she was still in shock and her legs wouldn’t obey her command to stand.

  �
��Goodnight, Alice.” Alex blew her a kiss and Yana yanked him out of the apartment, closing the door behind them.

  Lady scratched at the bedroom door, and Alice stood, her legs finally obeying. When she let Lady out, the huge dog almost bowled her over as she rushed out and raced around the apartment, making sure it was empty.

  Alice wondered for a moment if what had just happened was real. Did she dream it?

  Yana’s and Alex’s water glasses sat on the table right where they had left them.

  It wasn’t a dream.

  Alice pressed her hands against her eyes and slowly slipped down to her knees on the floor. “I have a family,” she whispered as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. Lady rushed over and licked them off her face. Alice prayed for Jack to come home so she could share the good news with him.

  11

  Jack woke up to a silent apartment and a note on the kitchen counter.

  I thought I should let you sleep in. Meeting with the cake decorator, arranging hotels for your mom and dad, your grandmother, Patty, and Kristine, then meeting with the caterer.

  I have something really, really big to tell you!!! I didn’t think right after your bachelor party was the best time, but it’s good news!

  Love always,

  Alice

  Jack stumbled toward the coffeepot, wondering what “really, really big” news could mean. He hated waiting to hear news because he always expected the worst. He preferred to get information right away. Rip the Band-Aid off!

  His phone buzzed with a text from Tina, a friend who was a nurse at the hospital. Donald was awake and could receive visitors.

  Pounding down a shot of hot coffee, Jack hurried into the bedroom, got dressed, and less than five minutes later was on his way to the hospital.

  The duty nurse poked her head into Donald’s room and spoke briefly to someone.

  “Officer Pugh has a visitor,” she told Jack, “but they should be finished shortly. You can wait right there.” She pointed to a waiting area near the bank of elevators.

  “Thank you.”

  The truth was, Jack would wait all day to speak with Donald if he had to. But after ten minutes of pacing, he was climbing the walls.

  I bet Donald’s talking to Castillo. Morrison said Castillo was going to speak with him this morning. Would it really be a big deal if I was in there, too?

  Impatience got the best of him, and Jack strode across the waiting area and down the short hallway to Donald’s door. He knocked softly and peeked inside. Ed Castillo wasn’t interviewing Donald. In fact, the person sitting in the chair beside Donald’s bed, chatting away, was the last person Jack expected to see.

  Marisa looked up at him and smiled. A gem in this dank place.

  “Hey, Jack,” Donald said with a loopy, lopsided grin. “Marisa here says I’ve got you to thank for watching out for me.”

  “It was nothing, buddy.” Jack quietly shut the door and crossed over to Donald’s bed. “How are you feeling?” He cast a quick, puzzled glance at Marisa.

  “Better. Okay. Still a little out of it, I guess. My noggin is full of staples in the back.” Donald let his head rest back on the pillow. “For a while I’m going to look like Frankenstein’s monster.”

  “He had quite a bad bump on the head,” Marisa said in a motherly voice that somehow still managed to sound provocative.

  Donald grinned. Clearly, he was eating up her attention.

  “I wasn’t aware you two knew each other,” Jack said.

  “Donald was the neighborhood police liaison,” Marisa explained. “He used to stop into my tattoo parlor during his afternoon patrol. He always checked up on me, so when I heard he was hurt, I figured it was my turn.”

  “It was strictly official business.” Donald gave Jack a quick wink.

  “Well, I’m glad to see you’re doing better, that’s for sure.” Jack grabbed a chair and sat down. “I need to ask you a few questions about what happened.”

  Donald’s face scrunched up. “Was Ed Castillo here yesterday? I’ve been having the weirdest dreams. I thought Ed was here and he couldn’t stop laughing.”

  “I think it might have been you who was doing the laughing, Donald,” Jack said. “I heard you were a little out of it. What do you remember about the call?”

  Donald sank back into the pillow, still pale, and stared up at the ceiling. “Not too much. I was on patrol and I saw a front door open when I drove by. I thought it odd that it was still open on my return pass. You know there’s been a lot of break-ins up there.”

  Jack nodded. “So, you stopped to do a welfare check?”

  “Yeah. I knocked, and nobody answered. The living room was empty but . . .” Donald closed his eyes. “A door in the back corner was open.”

  “What happened then?”

  “It’s all fuzzy.” Donald shook his head and opened his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  Jack frowned. “Try to remember something. Anything.”

  Donald stared at the ceiling. He looked like a kid trying to figure out if he had Superman’s X-ray vision. “It’s no use,” he groaned, rubbing his eyes. “I don’t remember. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry.” Marisa sat forward and took Donald’s hand. “Do me a favor?”

  Donald bobbed his bandaged head.

  “Close your eyes,” she said softly. “Take a few deep breaths and try to relax. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Good. Now try to picture the room.” She stroked his hand to the rhythm of his breathing and looked up at Jack for a prompt.

  Jack mouthed, What does he see?

  “Tell me what you see,” Marisa said.

  “The door. It’s open,” Donald said.

  Jack held up his hand and moved his index and ring fingers back and forth in a walking motion.

  “You’re walking toward the door,” Marisa said.

  “I can’t see inside the room,” Donald said. “It’s dark.”

  Jack pantomimed a flashlight.

  Marisa said softly, “You turn on your flashlight . . .”

  “Pictures on the wall. Lots of them.”

  Jack nodded.

  “It’s a bathroom,” Donald said.

  Jack shook his head. Marisa held her finger to her lips. “Describe it for me.”

  “There’s a woman in the tub. She’s lying down and taking a shower.”

  Jack rubbed his hands down his face. Donald had to be remembering some crazy dream at this point.

  “What does the woman look like?” Marisa asked.

  “I can’t see her clearly because of the shower curtain.” Donald squeezed her hand and opened his eyes. “I’m sorry, I just . . . I can’t really remember.”

  “You did great, Donald. Really, really great.” Marisa smiled at him, then looked at Jack and waited. “Didn’t he do a good job, Jack?” Marisa’s eyes narrowed.

  “Yeah. Thanks, Donald.” As Jack patted his arm the door opened.

  Detective Castillo stopped in the doorway, and Sheriff Morrison bumped into him. Both men glared at Jack.

  Jack gave them a small wave and looked down at Donald. “I hope you feel better. I’ll be praying for you.”

  “Thanks for coming.”

  Marisa got up, too. “I’ll stop by again, Donald,” she assured him. Castillo and Morrison stepped into the room to let her out.

  Jack slipped behind Marisa and out the door. “Bob, Ed.”

  “Hold on a second, Stratton,” Morrison said as both men followed him out into the hallway.

  “I was just checking on a friend, Bob. I told you I would.”

  Castillo frowned. “Was he making any sense today?”

  “Not really. What did he tell you?” Jack asked.

  “I’m not playing games, Stratton. You tell me,” Castillo demanded.

  “I’m not playing games either, Ed. You know that when corroborating witness testimony, the person with the most recent revelation of events should go last to keep factual preservation.”

  Castillo’s scowl eased. �
��Fine. Yesterday Donald wasn’t making any sense. He kept talking about seeing a lady in the shower. The shower is on the second floor and he insisted he didn’t go upstairs.”

  Jack nodded. “He gave me the same story. And he said she was lying down to take a shower.”

  Castillo looked to Morrison, whose stoic expression softened. “The doctors said all his scans came back okay,” Morrison said. “He has a slight concussion, but that’s it.”

  “I think ‘that’s it’ sums this whole case up,” Castillo said, looking pointedly at Jack, waiting for a reaction.

  “Did you find the real guy who rented the house?”

  “No, but I will,” Castillo boasted.

  Jack was about to express his thoughts on the chances of that when Marisa stepped between the two men. “My apologies, but Jack and I really need to get going.”

  “Of course.” Morrison looked like he wanted to ask her a few questions, like What in the world are you doing back in Darrington, but he simply smiled and nodded.

  Jack followed Marisa to the elevators. He was seething inside. There was more to this. He was certain. But now even Donald’s testimony was a dead end.

  “Jack?” Marisa gently placed a hand on the small of his back. “You look like you’re going to kill someone.”

  “Sorry,” Jack muttered as the elevator doors dinged open.

  They walked inside, leaving the musty smell of the floor behind them; the scent of Marisa’s perfume filled the small box. Marisa chuckled as she pressed the button for the lobby.

  “What?”

  “That line you gave Ed about the person with the most recent revelation of events should go last.” She laughed again.

  Jack tried not to, but he grinned. “Of course I lied. If I talked first, Castillo wouldn’t tell me what Donald said yesterday.”

  “So, you made that all up?”

  Jack nodded.

  “You are so bad.” She crossed her arms and looked up at him through her long lashes. The elevator suddenly got much warmer, and Jack was relieved when the doors dinged and they made their way to the exit and the fresh air.