Billionaire’s Missing Baby Page 13

  “If you leave, he won’t be able to find you,” Geraldo's pointed out, his face splitting into a grin. “And would you be really worse off?” He rubbed the baby under her chin, making her break into a dimpled grin. Maggie felt overwhelmed at the idea.

  “I can’t be a mother to this baby! I was only supposed to be taking care of her temporarily. James said he’d find a nice family.”

  “Then you know what to do,” Geraldo said. “Dry your tears, shake yourself hard, and give the baby to social.”

  “Social?” Maggie felt a bit faint at the prospect of just leaving her.

  “As in social services, Maggie. Wash your hands of it all. Not your responsibility. S’what I would do, you know,” he shrugged.

  Maggie shook her head. She couldn’t imagine Geraldo as a father, let alone engaged in some madcap scheme like this. Still, she patted Annie’s soft curls.

  “Just drop her off like that? After everything we’ve gone through? And if James comes back? What would he think? What would he say? Other people are looking for her too,” Maggie’s stream of conscious came pouring out.

  “If he comes back—and it’s a big if, Maggie—I’ll give him a piece of my mind and then we’ll see what he has to say… if he can manage to say it with a few less teeth.”

  In spite of herself, Maggie found herself breaking into a smile. “You would do that?”

  “Course I would. Foolish girl, what you take me for?”

  Maggie felt another rush of affection, and Geraldo shoved her off of him as she reached to embrace him, baby and all. He shook his head.

  “Now, real police show up, I rat you out so fast make your little head spin.” He winked at her and added, “Don’t nobody take me for a ride.”

  Maggie laughed, hugging herself in place of him. “Of course not,” she agreed.

  “Go on girl, get gone.”

  “Okay.” Mentally, she calculated where she might go that she could afford with what she had left. “I think I know what to do. But listen can I… I mean, just in case you need to let me know about anything… can I give you the number to my cell?”

  “I don’t want to be involved in whatever this is, Maggie. Did I just say, or did I imagine?”

  Maggie shook her head, her hopeful expression fading slowly from her face. Geraldo sighed deeply, as though he'd never been so put-upon in his life.

  “Go on then,” he said. “For emergency only, you understand.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Adam and Theresa were oddly silent in the car during the last hour of the trip to Reno. Theresa found herself obsessively staring at the GPS, and she could tell from the way Adam was constantly glancing at the odometer that he was in about the same place she was. First they were hours away from their daughter, and then next thing they knew it was minutes.

  “Okay, let’s figure out where this place is,” Adam said as they pulled into town. “334 Wallace Crescent.”

  He turned toward Theresa and tried to smile encouragingly, but she could still see a muscle twitching under one of his eyes. “I can’t believe she used my mother’s maiden name for this. Whoever he thought would look for the baby, James must not have been expecting it to be us. That’s a good sign.”

  “The bad sign is that Maggie doesn’t have any idea what’s really going on,” Theresa replied. "Or, at least she didn’t seem to. So when we do show up, there’s no knowing what she might do.”

  Adam raised an eyebrow at her. Theresa felt the knots welling up in her stomach.

  “Chris feels the same way as you do about Maggie,” Adam said encouragingly. “If she’s not involved in all of this, she’ll probably come along quietly enough. Then, with her testimony, we should be easily able to deal with all the legal issues and Anne would be released to us, free and clear.”

  “Which is likely to open up a whole new can of worms,” Theresa sighed, rolling her eyes.

  “Nothing that we can't handle together,” Adam assured her as he took her hand and brought it to his lips for a quick kiss.

  Adam stopped outside of the apartment building and killed the engine, pocketing the key. He pulled out his cell and dialed Chris, putting the conversation on speaker. “We're just arriving at 334 now,” he informed him. “I sure hope you're on the way.”

  “My men and I should be there shortly,” Chris confirmed.

  “Great, then,” Adam replied, sounding relieved. “Theresa and I are going to head inside and talk to the manager while we wait, since you don’t want us to go to the apartment alone. It’s going to be tough, though, knowing our little Anne could be just a few doors away.”

  “Did you just say Anne?” Chris asked curiously.

  “Yeah. It’s a long story. We picked a name.”

  Theresa saw Adam’s face flush and she beamed back at him.

  “Well, if that don’t beat everything,” Chris muttered.

  “What’s that?” Adam wanted to know, confused.

  “Nothing, nothing. Just that I found a birth certificate for the baby under the name of Anne Connors just today. That’s a hell of a coincidence, ain’t it?” Theresa, visibly startled by this news, squeezed reflexively on Adam’s knee as she gaped at the phone. “So which is it? Great minds, or a family name?”

  “Family name,” Adam said firmly, then amended, “Probably a coincidence.”

  “Right. Right. Let’s say we bring little orphan Annie home?”

  “Sounds good.” Adam flipped the phone off quickly. He looked over at Theresa. “Not long now.”

  “Yeah,” she agreed excitedly as the two of them headed for the entrance door.

  The apartment lobby was small and narrow, with an elevator to one side and office space off the main doors. A fat man with dark hair eyed them shrewdly as they stepped through the door. “Help you?”

  “My name is Adam Costanza. I’m looking for Maggie Steward. She’s about early twenties and has a baby girl who’s only about a month old?”

  “You James?” he asked menacingly as he leaned forward and peered intently at him. Theresa gasped, and his eyes swiveled to her.

  “Has James been here?” Adam asked smoothly.

  “Not here. According to Maggie, she hasn’t seen him in a while. I told her this morning to get gone. People coming in all hours of the day, breaking down doors—”

  “Breaking down doors?” Theresa asked, feeling vaguely faint. Adam’s hand on her shoulder steadied her.

  “Is she okay?” he asked the man. “The baby? Is the baby okay?”

  “Who’s asking?” the shrewd man questioned with an eyebrow raised skeptically.

  “I’m her mother!” Theresa belted, her voice getting shriller and more frantic.

  “That so? And where you been all this time, huh?”

  Adam's hand dug into Theresa’s arm to prevent her from reaching right over the desk and clobbering the man. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his other hand.

  “The fact is, Maggie’s the unwitting accomplice to some illegal activity initiated by James,” he explained, frustrated yet trying to maintain his composure. “The baby is ours and we’re trying to get her back. However, I happen to know that James is in a great deal more trouble than just a bit of kidnapping. If there’s been men here who are breaking down doors, those two may be in a whole lot of trouble as well. We need to find them right away.”

  “That so?” the guy behind the desk asked, still looking skeptical. He looked between them again. He could see Adam’s tight lips and squared shoulders, and Theresa’s naked desperation.

  "Please," Theresa pleaded through clenched teeth. “We don’t want to hurt Maggie, I just want my child.”

  Chris, who had heard the conversation as he stepped inside, flashed a badge in the man's face. Grimly, he asked, “Did you get a look at the guys who broke down the door? We’ve been tracking a couple of thugs that James owes a whole lot of money to. It could have easily been them who came here.”

  “I understand all that,” the man replied. “B
ut you gotta understand something. I run a clean living place here. Don’t want no trouble, especially not the kind those two thugs wanna bring. Them boys said they’d be back, understand me? Said they’d be bringin’ down the whole crew.”

  “I’ll be sure to take care of that,” Chris said coolly. “I’m gonna need you to tell me what they looked like, sir.”

  “Wait, there’s somethin’ I gotta tell you two,” the man began, seeming to have gained more trust in them. “It’s about Maggie. I think you should know that, when she left, she was thinking about maybe takin’ the baby to child services. She been gone over an hour now, but I don’t think she was that keen on the idea. You might not be too late.”

  “We have no idea where she went,” Theresa pointed out, agitation in her voice. “How are we supposed to find her now?”

  “Say, listen, I got something the two of you could sure use,” the portly manager said with a speculative smile. “But you got this P.I. and all, so that means you must have some funds, I'd say. So…” he trailed off. When the didn’t pick up on his insinuation he stated bluntly, “I could really use the money to fix that door if you want to get it from me.”

  “Get what from you?” Adam asked. He was clearly irritated, yet one brow was raised with interest.

  “I got the number to Maggie’s cell. You want it, let’s talk repairs.”

  “How about a thousand dollars cash?” Adam offered, reaching for his wallet.

  Theresa stared at him. “You have a thousand dollars on you?” she asked quietly. “Right now?”

  “Bribe money,” Adam explained with a shrug.

  “Looks like it’s about to serve its purpose then,” Theresa replied. The two of them stared meaningfully at each other for a moment.

  “You gonna give me the cash, or what?” the man behind the desk questioned.

  “Yeah, it’s yours,” Adam agreed. “As soon as the number’s in my hand.”

  The manager pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it over to Adam. “You tell her you talked to Geraldo. That you know the little one is okay. If she’s ready for all of this to end, I’m sure she’ll see things your way.”

  “Thank you,” Adam said with sincerity as he placed ten crisp one hundred dollar bills in Geraldo’s hand.

  “Don’t waste time waiting on me,” Chris piped up, waving the pair of them away. Adam gave him a thumbs up as he and Theresa quickly headed out the door again.

  “Where are we going now?” she asked him.

  “If she’s going to social services, we might be able to head her off,” he explained. “And if she already dropped Anne off, we could prove you’re her mother and get her back that way.”

  “That’s just crazy enough to work.”

  “Yeah, but you should try calling the number anyway, just in case,” he added as they got into the car again.

  “Me?” Theresa gasped. “Why do I have to call her?”

  “Because one of us has to drive,” he reminded her. “And if I recall correctly, you told me that wasn’t going to be you. Unless you’ve changed your mind?”

  “No, I haven’t,” she said as she grabbed the slip of paper from his hand and began to dial. “I’m just not sure what to say.”

  “Well, she knows who you are, obviously,” he pointed out. “Just tell her you want to meet somewhere so we can talk. Let her know there’s been some foul play.”

  “She’s not answering,” Theresa sighed. “The caller ID is probably listing my name.”

  “Hello?” Maggie finally answered cautiously.

  “Maggie? Thank goodness I’ve found you,” Theresa said with relief. “I think we need to talk right away, don’t you?”

  “This is Theresa, right?” Maggie replied. “Why do you want to talk? You didn’t want the baby.”

  “No, that’s not true,” Theresa insisted. “I didn’t have any way to afford her before, but that’s all taken care of now. James lied to me, and no doubt he’s lied to you, too. And I can’t say for sure who it was that kicked down your door, but he’s in deep with some pretty bad people. If you want to be safe from them, your best bet is to meet with me.”

  “You’re here? In Reno?” she gasped. “How’d you know where I am?”

  “It’s a long story,” Theresa answered. “But if you talk with us, we’ll get you a place to stay. I promise you, everything will be okay.”

  “Okay, we can talk,” Maggie agreed. “Meet me at the Renown Children’s Hospital on Mill Street. I’ll be waiting in the front lobby.”

  “Is the baby okay?” Theresa asked worriedly when she heard the location.

  “She’s just fine,” Maggie reassured her. “I just wanted a place you’d be able to find that’s close by me. I’ve been on foot since James stopped paying for my rental car.”

  “We’ll be there as soon as we can,” Theresa said.

  “Who is with you?” Maggie asked suspiciously.

  “I think it will be easier to explain that there,” Theresa replied uncomfortably. “I’m not sure what James has been telling you, and I need to tell you the whole story from the beginning.”

  “Fair enough,” Maggie said. “I’ll be waiting.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  When the two of them stepped into the lobby together, Maggie’s eyebrows went up in surprise. She held the baby closer than ever as she gave Adam a distrustful look. “I think you won’t mind if I hold Annie until you’ve said your piece, right?”

  “No, I won’t mind,” Theresa told her in a reassuring tone. “I don’t want you to think we blame you for any part of this, Maggie, okay?”

  “What’s he doing here?” she asked. “Did the two of you make up?”

  Theresa scoffed. “Maggie, Adam and I never had an argument in the first place.”

  “But the papers said—”

  “I’m well aware what those tabloid crazies have said about us,” she said patiently. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but those papers really like to lie. And I mean, they lie a lot. The truth is, when I was really needing some cash a friend of mine convinced me that becoming a surrogate mother was a good way to fix my problems. Well, I sure know better now,” Theresa explained. “Instead of bringing a child into this world to help a couple who was worthy, I ended up smack dab in the middle of all this. Not to mention, by the time I had her, I didn’t really even want to part with Annie at all. If I had thought at the time there was any way for me to keep her, I never would have sent her away.”

  “I don’t understand,” Maggie said with a confused look, shaking her head. “How is Adam Costanza involved in any of this?”

  “My brother lied to me, too,” Adam interjected. “He told me he thought it was a good idea to preserve my… well, you know… so that if I ever got sick with cancer I’d still be able to have a child. Had no idea he wanted to create one quite so soon.”

  “But why would you be worried about making a child?” she scoffed. “It can’t be that hard for a wealthy guy who looks like a model to find a woman who’s willing to have his child.”

  Adam blushed. “You wouldn’t think so,” he commented dryly. “I’m sure there are plenty of takers, but… I guess none of them that I was particularly interested in. Well, there was this one girl, but she told me to go away.”

  “That’s because I was pregnant already,” Theresa fired back, chuckling.

  “Yeah, with my own baby,” he added dryly. “Talk about irony.”

  “Let me get all this straight,” Maggie said with a shake of her head. “James stole your sperm and got Theresa pregnant with it, then you met her and asked her out on a date?”

  “And then a couple of days ago we decided that no matter what you’d been calling her, we were going to name her Anne once we had her back,” he added.

  Her eyes went wide. “Why did you pick that name?”

  “It’s Theresa’s middle name,” Adam laughed. “But she doesn’t think she’s worthy of having someone named after her. Too bad, Momma,
she’s already got your name.”

  Theresa chuckled. “It suits her anyway. Can I hold her now?”

  Maggie smiled and set the baby into Theresa’s arms. Tears welled up and fell freely from her eyes as she held her child. “Hi, Annie. Hello, my baby girl!”

  Adam and Maggie watched, smiling at each other.

  “So what happens now?” Maggie asked quietly as she shed a few tears of her own.

  “Now I’m going to need you to tell your story,” Adam replied. “Tell the world, tell the court, and most of all, tell my father, the truth. He needs to know what James has done.”

  “But won’t he disinherit you for polluting the bloodline?” Maggie questioned worriedly.

  “If my father disinherits me over this, then I didn’t really need his money anyway,” Adam answered with a frown. “My job pays pretty well, and I already have more than enough money of my own. But we can’t let James get away with this in any case. Something this terrible just cannot be condoned.”

  “What if John doesn’t see it that way?” Maggie scoffed. “He surely didn’t want anything to do with me. If his heart is really filled with all that hate, what chance does Annie have of becoming one of your own?”

  “I don’t know,” Adam sighed.

  “I have to ask you something,” Maggie began. “When James said you made that baby with her, he told me you’re just as racist as your father. I couldn’t believe that was true.”

  “You’re right, Maggie,” he told her. “I’ve never cared for his attitude. I actually went to Africa for a time just to spite him, and I’ve been quite vocal about my differing views.”

  “And yet your father has always favored you.”

  “I think it was because I didn’t agree,” Adam said with a shrug. “He’s always been proud of the fact that I’m my own man, while James has always licked his boots. That’s why I’m not worried. That’s why I don’t care if he disinherits me. And that’s why, even though he’s a mean, racist prick, I’m still going to miss him when he’s gone.”