We move over and he holds the heavy bag as I punch and kick at it. I take out my anger on the bag.
“If you love her, Rocco, don’t give her up. Don’t let her slip away from you like I did with Rylee. I missed so much of her pregnancy with Teddy. Let her live free but be there with her.”
I pause and drop my head. “You’re right. You better get back to that sexy wife of yours before she finds someone else. Besides, with Teddy learning to walk, she’s probably running like crazy.”
“She is.” He laughs, then rethinks everything else I said. He smacks the back of my head. “Don’t call my wife sexy, asshole.” We move to the locker room, laughing. We are closer now than ever before, and I know he’ll always be my friend. He’s there to help me.
“I’ll call you if my team comes up with anything,” he says later as he hails a cab to head home.
When I finally make it back to my small apartment, I look around it for a moment. This would be where I’d expect Ever to come after I rescue her. I take it in with a critical eye. It’s only a one-bedroom. Girls like big closets. Does she like to cook? I’m going to have to get a hold of a realtor tomorrow because I want Ever to be proud of where she lives, not this small place. I want a future with her. I will have a future with her. Linc is right, she deserves freedom, so I’ll make sure she has a place to stay before we move in together. Even if it straps me financially, I’ll make sure she gets her own place first.
* * *
The next morning I have my coffee in hand and move through the precinct to my desk. I notice a man sitting at the entrance to the bullpen; he stands as soon as he sees me and steps in front of me. He’s as tall as me but thinner. His hair is brown with gray on the sides and has the telltale signs of the start of a receding hairline. He looks close to fifty, so it’s not a surprises. But it’s the intense look in his brown eyes that stops me short. I can read pain and anger in them.
“Can I help you?” I say with a gentleness to my voice most cops will add when dealing with unpredictable people. It’s something that took me a while to learn. Something I didn’t know about before Linc was shot. I didn’t care how my voice came across back then. I just cared about getting the job done.
The man swallows and briefly closes his eyes before he says, “Are you Detective Distonoli?”
“I am, sir. What can I help you with?”
“I got a call late last night from Securities International, the security company I hired, that you ran a search on Guinevere Chambers. Do you know where she is? Is she here? Is she okay? Safe?” The questions spill from his lips in a rush, and his eyes start to glass over. He doesn’t look anything like my Ever, but could he be related to her? And more importantly, why did Linc’s company call him before me?
“Sir, I can’t discuss ongoing cases with you. I’m not sure why the company contacted you.”
He grips my arm, and I watch over his shoulder as Damian makes his way toward us.
“Please, Detective, I’ve been looking for her for over fifteen years. They pulled her from school. Wouldn’t let me see her. She’s all I have left of them. I hired Securities International years ago when I couldn’t find her on my own.”
His words give me pause and I shake off his arm. “Come with me.” I direct him to an interview room, where I tell him to have a seat before I offer him coffee. He asks for water, and I leave the room.
“Who is that?” Damian asks.
“That man says he’s been looking for Guinevere for fifteen years. What do you got?” I want to know what they found out yesterday. My cell buzzes from my pocket. I pull it out and see it’s Linc and send him to voicemail. I don’t have time to listen to whatever he wants to rehash from last night. I drop my cell in a drawer of my desk.
“She was adopted at the age of four, but the records are sealed. Chambers is trying to keep her from knowing anything about her past. We can’t even find out her biological parents’ names.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah. That was my exact word when we found out yesterday. I’ll get the lieutenant because technically we can’t talk to this man. We were removed from the case, but he still wants us working on it with him taking the lead. He’ll run it up the chain of command that he’s working it himself until he has someone else to take it over.” I nod as I grab a bottle of water before returning to the room where the man is waiting.
The man is pacing and I can tell he’s worked up more than that. He’s fidgeting, his thumb smacking his thigh. His other hand is pulling at his hair. He swings around as Damian and I step into the room. I set the water bottle down on the table. What if he’s her biological father? He doesn’t look like her, but she could look like her mother.
“Let’s start with an easy question. What’s your name?” I ask.
He stops pacing for a moment and turns toward us. “Sorry. I’m Geoffrey Abernathy.”
“What is your interest in Guinevere Chambers?” I ask him the next question, not wanting to share anything about her before I know what’s going on.
“I need to get to Guinevere. I don’t trust George. I have less than a year to find her. If something happens to her in that time, he’ll get everything.” His words stop the lieutenant as he steps into the room.
“Are you saying that young Ms. Chambers is in danger from her father?” I can hear the bite in his voice, and I’m worried too. This could explain all her “accidents.”
“Father,” Geoffrey scoffs. “He’s not her father, and yes, he’s tried to kill her before.” He grabs the water bottle and twists off the lid before he takes a big swallow. He looks at me before he sets the bottle down after he empties it. “Don’t worry about running DNA, I’m not biologically related to Guinevere. She is my niece though. My wife was her mother’s sister. Her father was my best friend since college. Graham is probably rolling around in his grave because I couldn’t protect his little princess.” His hands go back to fidgeting.
“How is Guinevere related to George and his family?” Damian asks. He’s the only one who doesn’t understand the relationship. Everybody in New York who’s been here for years knows who Graham Chambers was. I’m about to clarify when Geoffrey beats me to it.
“Guinevere is George’s niece. She is the daughter of Graham and Jennifer Chambers. George killed them in a car accident when Guinevere was only four. She was with them, and we almost lost her too. But she survived with severe head trauma that caused a complete memory loss. She didn’t know who she was or who her parents were.”
“She had amnesia? Head trauma?” That makes more sense now. The headache and pain she was suffering from yesterday. Whatever head trauma that was inflicted on her recently must have exacerbated her prior injury.
“Yes, it’s a miracle she survived. The only reason she did was her car seat. Jen and Graham were killed on impact.”
“Why do you say George killed them if it was an accident?” Damian interjects. He takes a seat and is taking notes. I knew that Chambers died but didn’t know how.
“Because the security company I hired and the things I’ve found show that he had to have done it. The driver of the semi that hit them was also killed instantly. His family got a huge payout, more than his insurance provided. He wasn’t supposed to be there. Graham and Jen’s trip was well known. George knew they were going to the Hamptons; they did every weekend.”
“That’s not proof.” Damian leans back in the chair, trying to get Geoffrey to open up more.
“Not enough for you to do anything, but I know. My wife and I were supposed to get custody of Guinevere, but George got a judge to agree with him. He won custody.”
“Why?” I ask. If she had never gone to that home, then she wouldn’t have been mistreated.