Page 30 of Dead Rattled
Lucy bowed her head. “You can have whatever you need to prove my sister’s identity.”
Fitzgibbon pulled out a sterile swab and showed Lucy how to collect the sample. When she was finished, he secured the swab and jotted information on the envelope.
“What’s going to happen to Doctor Andrew Savini?” Lucy asked.
“My detectives and I are going to pay him a visit tomorrow.” Fitzgibbon reached for Lucy’s hand. “According to cemetery records, there were fifty-seven babies that died over the twenty years St. Agnes House was in operation. According to Tennyson, all of their graves are empty. Do you know if Dr. Savini kept records of the people the babies were sold to? I want to see himpay for what he did to your sister, but I also want families to be able to reunite with their lost loved ones.”
“I want to see him pay as well, but if there’s a deal to be made where he turns over records that prove where the babies went, then do it. I know what it’s like to mourn for fifty years. I’m sure those poor mothers do too. Kitty’s story didn’t have a happy ending, but maybe theirs will.” Lucy dabbed at her eyes again.
“Thank you, Lucy.” Fitzgibbon shook her hand. “I’ll be in touch when we get the DNA results.” He pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to her. “Please let me know when you’re having the celebration of life for Kitty. My husband and I would like to pay our respects. It was Jace who found your sister. Ten says she tripped him, so he’d crash into the wall and discover her remains.”
Lucy burst out laughing in spite of her tears. “That’s my Kitty to a T. Thank you both for coming here today. It means the world to me that you took the time to make sure I heard the facts from you.”
“You’re welcome,” Fitz said. “We’re very sorry for your loss.”
“If you ever want to speak with Candy and Kitty’s spirits, it’s on the house,” Ten gave Lucy a brief hug. “Call the shop and we’ll make an appointment.”
“Thank you, Tennyson.”
Fitz headed for the front door, with Tennyson a few steps behind. Both men were silent until they were back in the SUV. “That went better than I expected.”
“I thought so too,” Ten said. “I think this is the angriest I’ve ever been working a case. Men selling babies for profit andthreatening to kill people for spilling what they knew. I want nothing more than to arrest Andrew Savini myself.”
“I’m with you, Ten, I want that bastard to rot in jail for killing Lucy, but I’ll speak to the district attorney about making a deal with him if he’s got verifiable proof of the transactions and the names of the adoptive parents. Now, let’s go home. I’ve had enough of this day.”
“Same,” Ten said. All he wanted to do was go home and hug his kids.
Parents were supposed to protect their kids from all the ills of the world. Ten remembered Everly falling and hurting herself when she was learning to walk. She’d pick herself back up and try again, even if that meant getting more bruises in the process. Everly’s hurts healed, but Ten’s heart never did. He imagined the same was true for the women at St. Agnes House whose babies were ripped from their arms while they were drugged into submission.
Ten would do everything in his power to make sure families found each other, even if that meant donating his time and his gift to find people. Ten wouldn’t back down until every stolen child had found its birth family.
13
Ronan
“Food’s here!” Ronan shouted from the front door. He was carrying three pizza boxes. Jude was behind him with salads and apps.
“Daddy!” Everly shouted, running to Ronan’s side. “I want to hear all about what happened today.”
Ronan smiled down at Everly. “Let’s all eat a bit first, then we can talk.”
“Okay,” Everly agreed, looking disappointed.
After the day Ronan had dealing with the St. Agnes House, the last thing he wanted to do was rehash it all over again.
“Well, there’s our hard hitting news man.” Ten got up from the table and took the pizza boxes from Ronan.
“I never want to do that again.” Ronan slumped into his seat. “I knew exactly what they were going to ask me, but it was hard to keep my emotions under control and give people the information they need.”
“I checked in on social media and we have so many tips about this case,” Fitzgibbon said, grabbing plates and adding pizza and salad to each one. He headed for the living room.
“We’re gonna have our hands full tomorrow. That’s for sure,” Jude said, serving Ronan and Cope.
“Starting with Andrew Savini,” Fitz said, walking back into the kitchen. “It was a good tactic not to mention his name during your press conference or network interviews.”
“Men like Savini think they’ve got the world on a string. They can do anything they want, when they want, how they want, and there are never any consequences to their actions.” Ronan shook his head.
“I put in search warrant requests and am just waiting for confirmation that they’ve been signed,” Fitz said. “We need to do everything by the book. We’re only going to get one chance to nail this fucker.”
