Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

K yle had just finished reading an email from Shelby, the police department's IT wizard. She had no luck tracing that IP address, the only link to whomever had paid Mia's credit card bill. Apparently, that person was good at hiding themselves within the deep web. Shelby further cautioned him against changing the password to Mia's Gmail account because that might lead someone back to his IP address, which was identifiable and easily traced. He threw the phone down on the desk and looked up the computer screen and saw the new email notification. It was his official reinstatement letter from the department. Just as the Chief had predicted, his restart date was December first. He felt the tension rise in his chest; he was running out of time to solve this mystery and uncover Mia's identity.

Then he had a random thought. If none of his own government sources could help, maybe a foreign one might offer some information. He took a stab in the dark and typed in a long-shot. What appeared next was truly shocking. While there was no American child who fit the description of the little girl sleeping upstairs in his family's home, there was a British baby named Daisy Byrne on the Interpol website. When I first met Mia she had a British accent, I'm sure of it… he thought to himself, his stomach churning. Kyle continued to read:

BULLETIN

Missing child, Daisy Byrne, approximately five months, blue eyes, blonde hair. Thought to have been abducted by the maternal parent, Maeve Byrne. Whereabouts unknown. All pertinent information can be reported to the Manchester office…

Kyle felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. There it was, in black and white. He'd uncovered her identity. She wasn't Mia Sawyer. She was Maeve. Maeve Byrne.

He stood up and walked around the office in circles, his hand raking through his hair as he tried to wrap himself around this new information. The briefest of paragraphs, yet so life changing. Think, Kyle, think! Sitting back down in the desk chair, he tried to examine the evidence he had in front of him. A baby had been taken by her mother and the authorities were looking for clues to her whereabouts. That wasn't the surprising piece. As he thought about what he knew of Interpol, the fact that they had a simple alert on the web and that there was no other reporting on this had to mean something.

It was odd for Interpol to be involved in a missing person's case, unless, of course, that person was someone of significance. They generally looked out for children involved in human trafficking or forced labor, not one lost to a domestic disturbance case, if that was what this was. He couldn't be sure. Maybe, the father was someone of great influence, the kind of man who lived at a level where he could keep this kind of news out of the public eye and the overly intrusive British tabloids.

But why? Why not let the press run the story and try to gather intel that way? Was the father a high government official? Could he be the Prime Minister? he silently questioned, a chill running up his spine. He shook it off. No. The Prime Minister's last name wasn't Byrne, so all that would have meant was that they weren't married… but -- did she have an affair with someone of influence that resulted in a baby? Maybe she was just hiding the fact that she wasn't married to Daisy's father for some reason. But Interpol wouldn't care about regular, law-abiding citizens. None of this made any sense.

Kyle leaned his head back and tried to stay calm and think. He couldn't be sure. He realized that Mia truly didn't remember more yet, but he had to wonder. Who the hell was she, really? Someone was out there looking for her and he knew that this wouldn't necessarily end well for either of them.

He continued to scroll, hoping to find out more about Daisy Byrne and her mother. The Google search was short; there was still nothing there, other than the Interpol bulletin. After a few minutes, he shut down the computer all together. After his leave from the department and the Internal Affairs investigation into his misfiring of his service weapon, he didn't need more trouble. He realized immediately that as a law enforcement officer he had a responsibility to call in the information he had – a woman and baby matching the description in the bulletin were currently residing in his home.

But he couldn't. His heart wouldn't let him. He had fallen for Mia, fallen hard. He knew that he couldn't turn her in because with her memory gone, she had no idea of what she'd done; it was a radical move to abduct a child, and he knew that she must have had a reason. He needed to figure out what her motive was and determine how best to help her. Alerting the international authorities just didn't feel like the right thing to do. No. When she remembered enough to clue him into why she was on the run, they could make an informed decision together. Until then, he'd keep this revelation under wraps.

But Kyle was faced with an even bigger dilemma – what to tell Mia now. He didn't feel right keeping this information to himself, but what good was sharing it with someone who had no recall of her life before they met one another. Would this news terrify her, or if he revealed her true name, might it jog a memory that would unlock the rest of the details stuck somewhere in her mind? Still wrestling with these questions, Kyle almost didn't hear Mia when she stepped into the office. He sensed her presence, though, and when he turned around, there she stood, and his decision was made. He wouldn't reveal what he knew… for now.

"Find anything?" she asked, her voice a bit shaky.

"Nothing important. Is Daisy asleep?"

"Yes," she whispered, her eyes wide.

"What? What is it?" he asked, reading her face and realizing that she had something on her mind.

"I think I remembered something else. A woman. She offered to help me when I was in the taxi line at JFK. She got close to me. I think that maybe she planted the tracker into the stroller."

"Would you recognize her if you saw her again?" he asked.

"I don't know. She was just a woman, a nice grandmotherly type. She let me go ahead of her on the line. Do you think that she's involved in this?"

He nodded his head. "I do think that's possible. But if it is, then someone knew you were on that plane, landing in New York. Why did they let you get away? Just to follow you later? It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe they wanted to track me to my destination. Maybe there's something important there that they want, and I was going to lead them to it." She drew in a ragged breath and then added, "I'm scared, Kyle, about that and…"

She hesitated and he reached out and pulled her onto his lap and knew that he was right not to share what he found online. It would destroy her. "You're letting your mind run away with you, Mia. Until we can figure out where you were going, it doesn't matter. You're here now. No one knows where you are but me and my family, and they're not telling anyone. You're safe. Daisy is safe." He pulled her in closer and felt that electric connection to her that was undeniable; they were meant to be together.

"I know that, but what I don't know is how you'll end up feeling about me if I've taken Daisy away from her father."

"I would think that you must have felt threatened by him, or worse. You don't need to worry about what I think. Aren't we past that, anyway?

Kyle searched her eyes and held her gaze. He hoped that was enough to reassure her that he wouldn't judge her for running. But what he didn't say was that he now knew that they were on borrowed time. If those two men were Interpol agents, they'd figure out where she was. Mailing that tracker to a different location bought them some measure of safety, but not enough. Besides, she remembered the woman at the airport. That had to mean something. Maybe pieces of her memory were coming back, and she'd soon know who she really was and what she did. And once she remembered that she'd be able to tell him exactly why she ran.

She rested her head on his shoulder, and he drew her in closer, his mind beginning to spin out a bit. If she was a fugitive, what did that make him? An accomplice to this crime? He closed his eyes. Reel yourself in, Kyle, he thought to himself. Besides, it really didn't matter. There was no way he was going to turn her in to the authorities. If need be, they'd disappear together into the night, and he'd make sure that no one would find them.

As the days passed, they fell into a quiet routine. Long afternoon walks on the beach, bundled up against the cold November wind, the baby strapped to Kyle's chest, happy to watch the birds skitter along the shoreline. At nap time, Mia would bake all sorts of delicious breads, cakes, and muffins. With each new day she would remember how to make a different treat and the spare freezer in the basement grew fuller in anticipation of the rest of the family joining them soon for Thanksgiving. After dinner, when Daisy would be safely tucked in for the night they would drink wine in front of the fire, often making love there before heading up to his bed at night where they'd sleep tangled in each other's arms. Kyle could not remember a time that he'd been more content. If it wasn't for the looming threat of Mia's past eventually catching up with her, he'd be blissfully happy. He was ever watchful on the rare occasions that they went to Provincetown to walk around and window shop or to Orleans to pick up supplies at the Stop and Shop. He would scan the faces of the people they'd pass and try to find distinguishing features in case he ever needed to pull someone out of a line-up. But as the days went on and no one showed up at their door, he began to relax a bit without letting his guard down completely. He desperately wanted to pretend that they were just another normal couple enjoying their time in a vacant resort town.

Knowing that his entire family was about to descend on them in the next few days was an unwelcome reality; they'd need to discuss just how much they wanted to reveal about their relationship.

"Don't you think it would be easier to tell the truth? I want you in my bed at night, Mia," he said one morning at breakfast. She'd been writing out a list of ingredients for a coffee cake she wanted to bake for the family's arrival.

"I'm afraid that they'll judge me. Or think that I trapped you with my pitiful story and the amnesia card. It's all so cliched and predictable."

"Nothing about you is predictable, Mia," he said, reaching across the counter and grabbing her hand. She still didn't know what he'd found online. He checked every day, but there were no updates or additional information posted. He would call some of his contacts at the department and ask to speak to their connections, and maybe somehow, he'd get lucky and hit on some new detail he'd missed. Kyle knew it was only a matter of time before her past caught up to her and found its way to their front door. Until then, he'd keep moving forward and pretend that this would all work out just fine. That was the way to protect the woman he'd realized now he had fallen in love with. He'd take a bullet for her, if necessary.

The added stress of the family's impending arrival made it impossible for him to tell her what he knew. The bubble they'd created would certainly burst once the house was filled with others. Plus, how could she face them once she realized that they found out that she'd abducted her daughter from London? That was a real crime, one that could have her both extradited and jailed. His siblings would not take this news lightly; he knew them. They would all feel an obligation to turn her in to the authorities. He couldn't let that happen, either. It would be enough to confess that he and Mia had grown serious feelings for one another and that they'd be sharing a bed. He could see his sister's face now. She had expressed her worry about him and his involvement with Mia from the outset. It was going to be a long and loud discussion; of that he was certain, but it had to be done. The sooner the better.