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According to the police officer assigned to him, John Howe would be delivered to an interrogation room in approximately two hours.
He looked at her. “Let’s go find a spot to wait.”
“All right.”
Mason led her down the hallway to the break room. “There’s coffee and crackers. Help yourself.”
She bit her lip. “Are you sure they won’t mind?”
He shot her a smile. “I’m sure.”
Lacey grabbed a bottle of water. Mason did the same. They settled on the futon in the corner. Mason studied her, his mind whirling with possibilities. She could have found herself in serious danger today, and, while she’d been upset, she hadn’t lost control. He had to hand it to her. When she was determined, she found a way to do what had to be done.
She said, “I know your dad got remarried a few years ago. That’s great. So…what are they going to say about all this?”
He shrugged, “I’ve already told them and they were shocked, of course. Once the idea sunk in, they were thrilled, then terrified for her safety. And sad they missed out on the first fifteen years of her life.
“Maggie, my dad’s wife, is a sweet lady. A total opposite of my mother.” He swallowed hard. “She doesn’t have any children of her own, so she kind of adopted Carol and me even though we were already grown when she and dad married. You’ll like her. And if she gets the chance, she’ll love Bethany like the grandchild she’s been begging for.”
Tears filled her eyes and she blinked as she looked away from him. “I’m sorry. I know I was selfish, but I was just so full of hurt and bitterness that I…” She sniffed and Mason felt his heart constrict. “And by the time I finally realized that God didn’t hate me, that not everyone in my life would betray me—” she held her hand palm up and gave a tiny shrug “—that was a little over three years ago and I was in my comfort zone. I didn’t want to make any changes.”
“So what changed your mind?”
“God,” she said as she swiped a tear. “Meaning?”
Another sigh slipped from her. “When I moved into that home for unwed mothers, I was a mess. Emotionally, spiritually, just a wreck.”
Guilt nearly smothered him. No eighteen-year-old girl should have gone through what she did. He should have been there for her. Regret pierced him. If only he’d listened…
Even if she and Daniel had done something, Mason should have been able to put aside his own hurt and at least hear her out.
But he hadn’t. His pride and hurt had flared to the point that he had been incapable of listening. And he couldn’t change that. He could only work with the present.
She brushed away a stray tear. “I had a wonderful Christian counselor, Marie Beckham, who came to the home three times a week to talk to the girls. She used to be a resident there herself, so she knew what we were feeling—knew how to talk to us. Knew how to listen. She helped me get my self-esteem back. And while God and I didn’t come to terms right away, Marie set me on the right path.”
He reached out and stroked her cheek. “I’m so glad.”
If only he could get the image of her and Daniel out of his mind. He needed to confront the man. Once and for all.
As soon as they found Bethany, he would.
Lacey took a deep breath. “Anyway, I started going to church—reluctantly, but I went, got a job, went to school at night, then had Bethany.”
“When did you decide to move home?”
“When Bethany insisted on meeting her father.” She ran a hand over her hair and looked away. “I wish I’d gotten up the nerve to talk to you before….”
“Yeah.”
He took a deep breath and dropped his gaze to his hands. His phone rang and he grabbed it from the clip on his belt. It was Joseph. “Hello.”
“Hey, they’re bringing our guy in now. He should be here in thirty minutes or so.”
Mason looked at Lacey.
“All right, we’ll be there shortly.”
He hung up and Lacey looked at him with a question in her eyes.
