Page 5 of More than a Memory
“I’m saying I don’t know what you are referring to when you say missing. I don’t have to answer your questions anyway.”
“I want you to understand that if you are assisting your son in hiding the children and violating the court-ordered custody arrangements, you could be an accessory to kidnapping. I’m sure you wouldn’t want that, now would you?” Darcy said in her most reasonable voice.
Sounding nervous now and looking at the ground rather than meeting Darcy’s eyes, Mrs. Ward said, “Of course not. I would never do anything to harm my grandchildren. They are the light of my life. Jessica should be ashamed of herself keeping my son away from his own children,” she added spitefully.
“Mrs. Ward, we both know the courts made the decision on custody arrangements, and Jared is obligated by law to honor that agreement. Now, if you happen to hear from you son, please tell him that if returns the children immediately, Jessica is willing to let the matter drop. However, if not, she will press charges against him. Do we understand each other?” Darcy asked firmly.
“Yes, we do,” Mrs. Ward replied. “Now is there anything else?”
“Here is my card and an extra one for Jared. I’m asking you to call me if you hear from your son or you think of something you may have forgotten to tell me,” Darcy said.
Mrs. Ward took her business card and studied it for a moment before asking, “Do you have children, Ms. Morgan?”
“No, I do not.”
“When your child is accused of horrible things and he is assumed guilty before proven innocent it breaks a mother’s heart. My poor Jared has been through hell because of Jessica. She is vindictive and uses those kids as pawns to get what she wants. There are two sides to every story. It is outrageous that my son can’t spend any quality time with his own children because of that woman,” Mrs. Ward said angrily.
“If your son disagrees with the court’s decision, he can go through the proper channels and try to get a different outcome.”
“The courts always side with the mother!”
“Regardless of whether or not you think your son is being treated unfairly, he has no right to violate his custody arrangement. Please pass that along to him, and, may I say, that your motherly concern and sympathy might be perceived by him as encouragement to take matters into his own hands. I would be careful about feeding his self-righteousness for his sake as well as the children’s. Thank you and good day.”
Darcy would bet money that Jared’s mother had information about the whereabouts of her son and grandchildren. She would be keeping an eye on Kathleen Ward.
Darcy left and circled the block, parking around the corner from the Wards’ house, with the residence in full view. She thought it was worth an hour of her time to watch for any vehicles either coming or going. She was interested to see if Kathleen would stay put after their conversation. She didn’t have to wait long before she saw a Cadillac sedan pull out of the garage and onto the street heading away from Darcy. She caught a glimpse of Kathleen in the driver’s seat, and she appeared to be alone.
Darcy pulled away from the curb and caught up to Mrs. Ward, hanging back just enough to remain off her radar. It appeared as if Kathleen was having a conversation and, since she was alone in the car, Darcy assumed it was either a phone call or the lady was bonkers. Kathleen weaved in and out of traffic and Darcy, a few car’s back, was taken by surprise when the Cadillac suddenly veered off and exited to the right onto a two-lane route. Darcy realized that she must have been spotted and Kathleen had intentionally tricked her.
Well, ten points for Mrs. Ward, zero for me, thought Darcy. She kicked herself for assuming Kathleen wouldn’t consider that she could be followed. Dammit! A big miscalculation on my part, she thought. She knew it was pointless to make a U-turn and follow since her cover was blown anyway. If Kathleen had been headed to meet her son, she certainly wouldn’t be leading Darcy there now.
“Touché, Mrs. Ward!” she said out loud to herself.
4
Sam pulled up the lane to his next vet call and hopped out of the truck. The owner of the farm, who had been waiting for him, rushed over to lead Sam back to the stall where a mare was lying down and in distress.
“I let the horses out a little while ago and found Mamie lying on her side like this. I tried to get her up but was obviously unsuccessful. She seemed fine when I brought her in last evening for the night. She ate both her grain and hay,” the man said worriedly. “Mamie is my daughter’s horse. She just left for her freshman year of college. She loves this horse so much; it would devastate her to lose Mamie. She almost skipped college just because she didn’t want to leave her horse,” he added.
Sam bent down and began murmuring reassuringly to the anxious mare. The beautiful white-dappled mare raised her head and looked at him with her large brown eyes. “Hey there girl, it’s going to be alright.” Taking his stethoscope from around his neck, he put the ear buds in his ears and placed the instrument on her belly, listening for any peristaltic activity. Her belly was slightly distended and upon palpation she showed discomfort.
“Let’s get some fluids into her and I will give her an anti-spasmodic drug as well as an anti-inflammatory for the pain. Let’s see if we can get her up,” Sam suggested. Between the two of them, they were able to bring her to her feet with sheer determination and muscle.
“After I administer the drugs and we give her some fluids intravenously we’ll walk her around a little,” Sam said calmly. “My guess is mild colic. She doesn’t appear to be in excruciating pain.”
Sam had a very soothing effect on all his patients and their human counterparts as well. It took a lot to rile Sam up. By nature, more of an introvert than an extrovert, he was steady and calm in emergencies. His compassionate nature and affinity for all animals had been a perfect match for his choice of career in veterinary medicine. Sam had a natural warmth and, though somewhat on the serious side, he had a great sense of humor.
More than one female client had made attempts to seduce him. He was very gentle in his rejections, begging off with the excuse of not dating clients and keeping his professional life separate from his veterinary practice. He was tall, muscular, and lanky, with a mop of sandy brown hair and beautiful hazel eyes. His work with large animals kept his lean and sinewy muscles strong and toned.
Though he did, in fact, want to keep his professional and personal lives separate, the biggest reason he didn’t encourage the attention was that he had not met anyone that he felt he could get serious with for quite some time, and he wasn’t into casual dating. He was a one-woman kind of guy and when he fell, he was all in. The last relationship he was in had ended almost four years earlier.
The only person who had piqued his interests since that break-up had been Darcy, a woman he had met at his friend Allie’s house at Thanksgiving dinner last year. He had been captivated by her that evening and felt like they hit it off. However, the evening was derailed when an ominous threat was delivered in the middle of their celebration.
Later, Sam had regretted not getting Darcy’s phone number, but things had been too chaotic at the time and as the days went on, he simply got caught up in his own life and buried any thoughts of her. Every once in awhile, an image of her engaging smile and vibrant personality would flit through his mind. He also remembered her beautiful, sparkling green eyes. She had been witty and fun, and Sam had felt a bit smitten. He thought about Allie and Zane’s upcoming wedding and hoped that he would see Darcy there. This time, he promised himself, if she was there, he would take a leap and ask her out.
After treating Mamie, Sam walked her around the arena until he felt sure she was comfortable and out of danger. It was a good sign that she was trying to eat the grass they passed on their way back to her stall.
“Keep her water bucket full. Hydration is key. She might be getting chased off the water trough by the herd members higher up on the pecking order. I’ll leave this medication with the instructions. Call me if you notice any signs of distress but I think she is going to be fine,” Sam said.