“It’s okay sweetie, the bad man’s gone now. Hey, do you want a cookie?” I lead her over to the counter and sit her next to the till, rooting around underneath for my secret cookie jar.
The little girl, Ana as she so firmly tells me, doesn’t take long to recover from her ordeal. She manages to grab four biscuits at once and between big bites starts telling me all about herself. I learn about her nanny, who doesn’t seem to have re-emerged from behind the bookshelves since her charge was almost kidnapped, her school, her friends and how much she desperately wants a parrot for her birthday.
She’s moved on to her favorite Disney songs and what she’s going to name the 12 rabbits she is pestering her poor mother for when the door opens behind me. I stiffen and reach for the broom again but relax as I realize it’s just the police.
“Mommy!” Ana exclaims, and I turn around again. My heart drops.
Of all the things Ana has told me about herself, she’s neglected to mention the most important thing. That, of all people, Tiffany Wake is her mother.
Fuck.
Six
Tiffany
I stop speaking to draw breath and sneak a look around the conference room. My contractors sit around the table, nodding and occasionally taking notes. I’ve always prided myself on my ability to engage a room.
I’ve just moved on to profit margins when Eva, one of my assistants, pushes her head into the room.
“Ms. Wake? Um, you have a phone call.”
I pause and shoot her a look. “Tell them I am in a meeting and will call back.”
She shifts uncomfortably. “But Ms. Wake, it’s the police. It’s about your little girl.” Her voice lowers towards the end of the sentence, but the moment I hear police I am already out of the door.
I listen as the police tell me about the incident at the bookstore, and I find I can barely breathe. Not Ana. Not my baby.
I rummage in my purse and unearth my car keys and run from the office. I slam into one of the glass doors with my shoulder in my hurry, but don’t even feel the impact. I dimly hear someone calling after me but don’t stop.
Once in my car I realize I’m shaking. I grip my steering wheel hard and try to calm down, but all I can hear is the officer’s voice swirling around in my head.
“Ms. Wake, it’s about your daughter, Anastasia. We have been made aware that while she was at a public event earlier today a stranger attempted to abduct her. We need you to come with us.”
I choke out a sob and press the heels of my hands to my eyes. My baby almost got kidnapped. My baby was getting kidnapped while I sat here and joked around with contractors about whether our project is on track and how soon we can crack open the champagne.
I shake myself back into the present. I can despair later, but right now I need to get across town. I need to get to my daughter.
I’ve never driven this fast in my life. I’m usually such a careful driver, but now I have to swerve to avoid a cab as I shoot out of a side street in front of it. The driver laying on the horn doesn’t even register with me.
I skid to a halt in front of the bookstore and park haphazardly outside. I’m sure I’ll get a ticket, and when the couple of police officers standing outside the shop see my shoddy parking job, they raise their eyebrows.
“My daughter! Where’s my daughter, please, I have to see my daughter right now!” I plead, desperate, before they have the chance to admonish me.
One of the officer’s gestures to me, and I follow him inside.
“Mommy!” My heart clamps within my chest. I’ve never felt such relief in all my life.
I push past the officers and scoop Ana up from her spot on the counter. As I hold her in my arms, I start to cry tears of pure relief.
“Why are you crying, mommy?” Ana looks up at me, all big brown eyes full of concern.
“I’m not,” I reply, sniffing and trying to wipe away my tears while keeping hold of her. She struggles to get down but I’m not ready to let her go just yet.
“Mommy, you haven’t sai
d hello to my new best friend.”
I look up at the woman Ana is pointing to and have to hide my astonishment. I’m not expecting to see the beautiful dark-haired woman who invaded my office earlier today.