Newborn Conspiracy (11 page)

Logan fired off some questions of his own. "What were you doing in the hospital last night? Did you think you’d try to finish off Collena Drake?"

Donnie crunched his breath mints. "I have no interest in Ms, Drake. She’s no longer a cop and, from what I understand, she’s just a couple of steps from being in the loony bin."

“Someone stole her newborn baby and tried to kill her—twice—once right after she gave birth and again in front of Mia’s house. With her security-tech skills, she could be earning a six-figure income, but instead she volunteered to work on the task force to find illegally adopted babies. So, have some sympathy."

“Please." Donnie made a show of rolling his eyes."I don’t have sympathy for cops, former cops or for anyone who works for the authorities on a regular basis. That would include you, McGrath "

“The feeling is mutual." Logan took a step forward."So, what were you doing at the hospital asking about Collena Drake?"’

Donnie only smirked.

Mia thought back to that night and it didn’t take her long to come up with a theory, “I think I know why he was there." She stared at Donnie. "Did you put some kind of tracking equipment in my son’s diaper bag?"

No more smirks, but he did seem to be amused that she’d figured it out. "Is that where it ended up? I’d been looking for the darn thing. It must have fallen in the bag accidentally."

“Accidentally?" Logan repeated, his voice practically a growl.

“Of course. I’d never put it there on purpose, I got it for a friend who wanted to keep tabs on his teenage daughter. I had it with me when I was visiting someone at the hospital, and I obviously dropped it."

“You expect me to believe that?’ Logan countered.

“Believe what you will. You have no proof otherwise."

No. But there was enough circumstantial evidence to at least suggest it. But right now, they had more important issues.

“I want to know about Genevieve. Did she really put together a surrogacy plot that involved me?" Mia asked.

“You bet" He fluttered his perfectly manicured nails toward the interrogation room."And because I wanted to do my civic duty, I just told the police all about it."

Mia was relieved that the police now knew about Genevieve, but it made her sick to her stomach to hear the confirmation that the woman had indeed planned this.

But was it true?

“Genevieve was going to steal the baby?"" Logan asked.

“You’re right again. And don’t believe that part when she says she changed her mind, that she didn’t want to go through with the surrogacy. She had every intention of going through with it, but then Ms. Crandall went into labor early, and Genevieve couldn’t find her."

Mia pulled Tanner even closer."You could be saying all of this to save yourself"

“Could be." He smiled."The boys in blue probably think that, as well. And that’s why I cut a deal with them. Not blanket immunity exactly, but they wanted information about the Brighton clinic. I’m sure you remember I was an investor, and I thought I could trade information about Genevieve so they’d be more lenient if there are any charges related to Brighton. I don’t want to see the inside of a cell."

He’d cut a deal. Even though she barely knew this man, she wasn’t surprised. She only hoped his information did indeed lead to the truth.

“Speaking of jail," Logan continued “What about Genevieve’s father? Is he involved in this?"

For the first time since they’d started this bizarre conversation, Donnie seemed to get serious."George Devereux wouldn’t do this." He tipped his head toward Mia and Tanner “He’d just find a ready-made kid and buy it. Surrogacy is too messy."

“Maybe." Logan stepped even closer to the man."But whet if George and Genevieve wanted to make certain the child was mine so that Genevieve would have an emotional hold over me?"

“Look." Donnie’s voice lowered as if he was telling a secret."I’m not saying that George is a choirboy, but a word to the wise—leave him out of this. McGrath, because you’ve got enough problems without irritating Devereux. Besides, this stinks of Genevieve. Or else her lap boy, Royce Foreman." Donnie smiled again."Now, there’s a piece of work. Maybe Royce is the one who put all of this together, and just maybe Genevieve is telling the truth about trying to put an end to the baby surrogacy plan."

Logan stared at him."And you’re telling the truth now? Why?"

“Because of the deal with the cops. And if you know the truth, you’ll get off my back and jump onto Genevieve’s. I have enough people digging into my business without you doing it, too." He flashed another of those oily grins and aimed his eyes at Mia."By the way, you got lucky.

Because Genevieve’s original plan was to smother you in your sleep after you delivered, and take the kiddo."

Mia tried not to react. She kept a stern face. Kept her chin high and her shoulders squared.

But it created an emotional firestorm inside her to hear the confirmation that someone had wanted her dead. Still, she had to consider the source, who just might not be very reliable.

Donnie tried to walk closer to her, but Logan blocked his path. The man still spoke to her over Logan’s shoulder."Watch your step, though. Genevieve might still want to send you to the hereafter."

Mia shook her head."Genevieve has no reason to kill me now."

Donnie’s smirk returned."You don’t know her."

Obviously riled, Logan caught the man’s arm and maneuvered him against the wall. It was definitely a threatening posture."What does that mean?’

“It means Genevieve just might kill you both so she can win. Without the two of you and Collena Drake to testify against her, Genevieve might believe—in her twisted little mind, of course—that there won’t be any evidence against her and that’s not too far from reality. The police don’t have a solid case because they don’t have any proof."

Donnie leaned in and put his mouth close to Logan’s ear."But I do," Mia heard him say, though his voice had very little sound.

Logan caught a handful of Donnie’s purple shirt."What kind of proof?"

“The good kind. I carry a tape recorder everywhere I go, and if people start saying things that might be in conflict with the law, I record it. It’s the best way I know to cover my own butt."

Logan waited a moment before he rammed his hand into Donnie’s jacket pocket and extracted a tiny recorder."I want those recordings" Logan insisted."The ones that prove Genevieve’s involvement."

“I’m sure you do want them—badly. What are they worth to you?"

Logan tightened his grip on Connie’s shirt and shoved the man harder against the wall. It drew the attention of one of the nearby officers, but Logan gave the man a reassuring nod that all was well.

“What are the tapes worth to you?" Donnie paraphrased."I don’t mean money, either. Let’s just say I need your connections."

Logan seemed disgusted with that."I’ll have the cops get a search warrant—"

“They’ll never find them. But you, on the other hand, liave a wonderful opportunity to hear your ex-girl friend in action. All you have to do is talk to your buddies in the D.A.‘s office. I know you have connections there, including a former employee who used to do special-ops stuff for you. I want to make sure the cops don’t renege on their assurance to keep me out of jail"

“I have no pull with them, and even I did, I wouldn’t use any favors on you."

Donnie made a hmmm sound. "Too bad. Having these tapes could ultimately end the threat to the lovely Ms. Crandall and her wee babe. Or should I say your wee babe?"

Logan slammed Donnie so hard against the wall that it knocked the breath from him. This time, several officers came running.

“What’s going on here?" a sergeant demanded.

“This piece of slime needs to be re interrogated," Logan explained."Ask him about recordings he made that are pertinent to the investigation. And while you’re at it, have your boss rethink the deal you made with him"

The sergeant hesitated a moment before he latched on to Donnie"s arm."All right. Come with me"

“I won’t give up those tapes," Donnie whispered so that only Mia and Logan could hear."The offer is only for you, Logan McGrath. You scratch my back, and I’ll give you what you need to keep Mia Crandall and your little boy alive "

While he waited on hold for Jason to return to the phone, Logan showed Mia around the suite of the Plaza Rio Hotel. The two rooms and bath would be their temporary home until he could figure out what the hell was going on.

That could take a while.

So far, he hadn’t had much luck confirming the person responsible for putting them in a position where they had to hide out. Donnie was the obvious culprit because of the bug, but that didn’t mean he’d been the one to try to kill them.

Logan wondered if Mia had realized that she’d be in close quarters with him indefinitely. He’d certainly given it some thought and hoped like the devil that he could first and foremost keep her safe.

Secondly, he hoped that he could keep his hands off her. Because the close quarters would be sweet torture.

“You and Tanner can sleep in here." he said, directing her into the bedroom. The bassinet and baby supplies were already in place. They had everything they needed to lay low for at least a week. "The view’s great, but you’ll need to keep the drapes closed."

She nodded and went to the window to peek out. Logan already knew what she would see because he’d checked out photos that Jason had e-mailed him earlier while they were still at police headquarters.

Their gilded cage was a twenty-seven-room, five-star hotel centered in downtown San Antonio, a city of more than a million people, and it was right on the River Walk, a major tourist area. All that bustle and activity seemed contradictory to security, but Logan had booked the entire hotel. And he’d had guards posted at each end of the hall and in front of the elevator.

No one was getting into the suite.

For extra security, Logan had told the hotel manager that they would be staying in room 201, but just in case the manager couldn’t be trusted, they were actually staying at the other end of the hall in 208. Logan hoped the precaution wouldn’t be necessary.

“This must be costing you a fortune" Mia mumbled.

“It’s worth every penny."

Logan went to her and eased her away from the window. Man, she looked exhausted. He was about to insist that she take a nap when Jason came back on the line.

“I got the information you need," Jason informed him. And since some of that information might be disturbing or unsettling to Mia, Logan decided to listen to it first and then give her the sanitized version.

“I’ll take this call in the sitting room," Logan told her, and for some reason, he kissed her cheek. Not a lustful kiss, either. It was more like a husbandly peck.

He hadn’t even known he was going to do it before his mouth brushed against her warm face, and he didn’t know which one of them looked more surprised.

Logan made a hasty exit into the adjacent room, and he went to the desk by the window, as far away from Mia as he could get. This way she wouldn’t be able to hear his conversation or he would be able to get that husbandly peck off his mind. He asked Jason to continue.

“First, George Devereux," Jason started."Over the past year, he’s had multiple meetings with his daughter, but the prison guards can’t say if the two were planning anything illegal. There certainly isn’t any kind of paper trail to prove they were. Or to prove anything"

“What about a meeting? Did Devereux agree to see me?" Logan checked out the window and saw the trail of people strolling along both of the cobblestone sides of the River Walk. Even though it was winter, there was a crowd.

“He did. Ten, tomorrow morning at the prison. But there’s a problem. He wants Mia to come, too."

Logan dropped the curtain and groaned."Why?"

“Devereux says he wants a chance to talk to both of you about all this surrogacy stuff."

“Because he wants to try to convince us that his daughter is innocent."

“Probably, But he says the meeting won’t happen unless Mia is with you"

Logan’s first instinct was to refuse to bring her, but he needed answers and Devereux might be able to provide them. Still, there was no way he wanted to put Mia through something like that.

“I’ll think about it" Logan told Jason."What about Donnie Bishop? Any luck finding those disks he claims he has?"

“Not yet, but the police are getting a search warrant."

Which would probably be useless. Donnie wouldn’t have mentioned them if they weren’t out of reach of the authorities. He had no doubt hidden them away.

If they existed at all, “We did find the tracking and eavesdropping device that Donnie Bishop put in Tanner’s diaper bag," Jason continued."It was identical to the one we found on Mia’s car."

“Keep a tail on Bishop," Logan told Jason, “I want to know where he goes and who he sees."

“Are you going to do as Bishop asked and talk to the police about the investigation against him?" Jason wanted to know.

“As much as it riles me to think of doing it, it’s possible." Heck, anything was possible, because he was going to do whatever was necessary to solve this case."It might be a small price to pay to get actual physical evidence that the police can use. Of course, he could be lying."

“Well, he’s almost certainly the one who planted a bug in the diaper bag and on the car. It’s not much of stretch to think he’d plant other bugs that could have recorded incriminating conversations."

That was true, but Logan had to wonder just how much it would ultimately cost to get those recordings. He didn’t mind paying Donnie money, but he didn’t like the idea of helping a slime ball like that with a get-of-jail-free-card deal. Someone should have to pay for all the havoc that went on at Brighton. Even if Bishop wasn’t guilty of helping Genevieve, he’d certainly been privy to some of the illegal activity going on at Brighton,

“I’ve arranged for a nanny-bodyguard," Jason continued."Her name is Dorien Novak. I know her personally, and her references are impeccable. If you need her, all you have to do is phone me. I have her in one of the rooms on the bottom floor of the hotel, but I can move her anywhere you want."