Disclaimer—see Chapter One
A/N: I don't know about anyone else, but for me, all my stories have at least one chapter that I dislike and can't seem to get right no matter how long I stare at it! It was chapter three in House of Dreams, and this chapter in this story. So be forewarned, this is a transition chapter--sorry it's a bit boring!! I promise it will pick up again after this one! Thank you!!
While All Was Still—Chapter Ten
They sat at the table in silence; waiting, futilely hoping David or Laura would show up with a logical excuse. Shalimar had intended to only leave them alone for a moment, but Brennan's reaction had distracted her. She tried hard not to blame his temper as she drummed her nails on the tabletop. Brennan's hands tightened around the glass he was holding.
"Shal, I don't think they're coming back."
She snorted, "No kidding."
"So why are we still sitting here?"
"Because I'm thinking," she snapped back at him.
He sighed. "I screwed up, alright? Can we move beyond that and get out of here. I have to find Laura, if anything happens to her—" his voiced trailed away.
"I know," she answered quietly. She sat for a moment more, then pushed back her chair and stood up. "Let's go."
Brennan jumped to his feet, threw some bills on the table and marched outside. They had done a quick sweep of the street when they first discovered David and Laura missing, but he wanted to look more closely.
"Hey Jesse," Shalimar called into her comlink, "We have a problem here."
Jesse's voice responded back after a moment. "Hey, Shal, what's up?"
"We just lost David and Laura. We're afraid he might have taken her when we left them alone for a few minutes."
"Can you track them?"
Shalimar sniffed the air, catching a whiff of the same perfume she had smelled all over Brennan the other night. "Yeah, I think so."
"I've got some news for you guys too," Jesse added, briefly informing them of what he and Lexa had learned. After ending the connection, Shalimar attempted to follow the faint scent. Brennan trailed after her, lost in thought.
"Hey, Shal," he called after a while, "If her daughter is in the Caribbean, maybe she's here, on this island."
She stopped her tracking and looked at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Let's check the island registry."
Two hours later found them buried in dust and stale books. The registry was closed, so they had snuck in, and were digging through piles of record books.
"This is endless," Shalimar complained, "Maybe I should have kept trying to track her."
Brennan flipped through another book, blowing the dust off the page. "Hold that thought, Shal," he murmured excitedly, "I think I finally found something." He pointed to an entry on the page as she peered over his shoulder.
"We've been assuming Lexa's brother was the father, and that the girl must be under two years old, the last time Lexa saw her brother." He paused to make sure she was following him. "On a hunch I went further back and here's an entry from five years ago, showing that a 'Baby Wellington' was adopted to a couple by the name of Porter, who lived right here on the island."
Shalimar's brows rose. "So David's the father."
"That's what it looks like."
Her forehead furrowed in thought. "So why would David join Avenger Di Notte, and why would he target his ex-wife?"
"I don't know Shal," Brennan shook his head. "But the fact that he does know Laura after all, and still wants to kill her, makes him even more dangerous."
Shalimar nodded. "And it couldn't be coincidence that he chose to take his day off on the day we're docked at the island where his daughter lives." She banged her hand on the table, coughing at the dust that flew up into her face. "So what's the connection between all this? All we seem to do is find more and more angles on this case. Nothing adds up or makes sense."
Brennan smiled slightly as he reached up and brushed dust out of her hair. "You're going gray Shal," he lamely joked.
She nudged him with her elbow; he couldn't resist, he bent down and stole a quick kiss, smiling into her mouth. "You're adorable, you know that?"
"Darn right," she smirked back up at him.
He rested his palm on her cheek, lightly thumbing the faint bruising on her lips, eyes darkening momentarily. "We'll catch him, Shal."
Their rings went off at the same time, startling them. "Yeah," Shalimar answered, eyes still on Brennan.
"Any luck yet?" Jesse asked.
"Some," Brennan answered. "We're following a hunch right now, can we get back to you?"
"You got it," Jesse promptly answered.
"Hey, Jess," Shalimar added, "We did find evidence that Laura's daughter is David's. Can you let Lexa know?"
Jesse blew out his breath. "Oh man," he mumbled. "Yeah, I'll tell her."
Shalimar looked up at Brennan after Jesse ended their connection. "What are you thinking?"
"I want to see if we can find a listed address for the couple that adopted the baby, see if we can meet the little girl, maybe even see if David or Laura dropped by."
As they snuck back out, Shalimar smacked herself on the forehead. "Brennan," she grabbed his arm, "I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. When I was walking with David, he took me through some residential neighborhoods. There was one house in particular that seemed to hold his attention."
They looked at each other, "The Porter's." They ran down the street.
Brennan tried to look casual as he leaned against the fence, waiting for Shalimar to come back from her search of the property. With her feral abilities, she would quickly be able to determine if anyone was around or not. The house was beautiful, surrounded by lush grounds teeming with native flora. A swing set looked a bit out of place in the setting, but gave evidence of a child's presence. He waved at a neighbor peering out a window from across the street, hoping she wouldn't come out and start asking questions. "Come on, Shal," he muttered under his breath.
"You called?" She suddenly appeared from behind him, startling him.
"Geez, Shal," he exclaimed, hand on his chest, "Don't do that."
She laughed and jumped over the fence.
"Careful," he warned, glancing back towards the neighbor, but the face in the window was gone. He shrugged, "So what did you find?"
"Well," she dusted off her hands, "There's no one here, and it looks like it's been empty for a while. Everything inside is covered with sheets and closed up."
Brennan pressed his lips together. "So we still have no clue what happened to Laura."
Shalimar placed her hand on his arm. "Well, she is a mutant, so we know she has some ability to defend herself. And she did refuse protection, knowing full well David was after her. She must not be too afraid of him."
"Yeah," Brennan nodded, "I hope you're right."
Shalimar looked around the area, "We still don't know for sure if this was the Porter house or not. Maybe we should check with some neighbors."
Brennan pointed across the street. "There was a woman home over there, she was watching me through her window." They crossed over and knocked on the door. After a long moment, an elderly woman with a shaky hand slowly opened the door.
"Yes?" she inquired.
When she heard that they were looking for the Porters, she opened her door wide open and invited them in for tea. In a hurry, but not wanting to be rude, they shuffled into the tiny home and waited while she heated water.
Brennan opened and closed his hand,
tiny sparks dancing off his fingers as his knee jittered up and down in nervous
energy. Shalimar felt his impatience and
reached out and rested her hand on his knee, stilling his movements.
He smiled and lifted his hand, letting the electricity dissipate and then put
his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and kissing the top of her
hair. She breathed in deeply, letting
his scent wash over her. She raised her
arm and clasped his hand, turning it over and tracing along the outline of his
fingers. She could still feel the energy
just below the surface of his skin, and she sensed the power lingering
there. She meshed their hands together,
combining her strength with his, loving the feel of it. His knuckle bulged slightly from when it had
recently been broken, and she raised his hand to her lips, placing gentle
kisses along his finger. He had broken
it in his search for her, and she loved that crooked knuckle.
A tea kettle whistled in the background and then the little old lady returned, carrying a tea tray on trembling arms. Brennan jumped up and took it from her, and she smiled at him in gratitude. They waited while she poured the steaming liquid into quaint cups and handed them out.
Shalimar took a sip and gagged, spitting it back into the cup and stopping Brennan from taking a drink with a quick look while the neighbor was stirring sugar into her cup. She discreetly set the cup aside and leaned forward, resting her hands on her knees. "So do you know the Porter's?" She asked politely.
"I knew them," the elderly lady responded.
"Knew them?" Brennan's forehead creased.
"Yes," she replied, "They died in a car accident about six months ago."
Shalimar leaned back against the couch and blew out her breath; another bad lead.
Brennan didn't want to give up so easily. He turned back to the neighbor. "What about their daughter? Do you know if she died too?"
"Liza?" the lady shook her head, "Oh no, Liza's just fine. She wasn't in the car with them, poor dear."
Shalimar leaned excitedly forward. "Do you know what happened to her?"
"She was adopted as a baby, so child services took her back and last I heard were attempting to make contact with the biological parents."
Finally, they were getting somewhere. Brennan held his breath as he asked the next question. "Do you know if they found them?"
"I haven't heard, but if they ever do, they'll be in for a big surprise."
"Why is that?" Shalimar questioned, not quite following.
The lady's eyes sparkled. "The Porter's were quite wealthy and left Liza with a hefty inheritance. Whoever takes her will have access to millions."
Brennan and Shalimar looked at each other, eyes communicating silently for a few moments. They finally had their motive.
