Inner Harbor
Page 44
With their gazes still heated and locked, both men dragged out chairs and sat. Anna had time for one relieved breath before Seth came in, trailed by two dogs with cheerfully swatting tails.
"Hey, what's up?" His cheerful grin vanished immediately. A lifetime of living with Gloria's wildly swinging moods had taught him to gauge atmosphere. The air in the kitchen was simmering with tension and temper.
He took a step back, then froze as Ethan came in behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Coffee smells good." he said mildly, and the hand on Seth's shoulder remained, part restraint, part support.
"I'll get some cups." Grace hurried past them to the cupboard. She knew she'd be better off with her hands busy. "Seth, do you want a Coke?"
"What happened?" His lips felt stiff and his hands cold.
"It's going to take a little while to explain it all." Anna walked to him, put her hands on his cheeks. The first order of business, she determined, was to erase the fear that had come into his eyes. "But you don't have to worry."
"Did she ask for more money again? Is she coming here? Did they let her out of jail?"
"No. Come sit down. We'll explain everything." She shook her head at Cam before he could speak and locked her eyes with Phillip's as she guided Seth toward the table. He had more firsthand information, she decided. It was best that it come from him.
Where the hell was he supposed to start? Phillip dragged a hand through his hair. "Seth, do you know anything about your mother's family?"
"No. She used to tell me stuff. One day she'd say how her parents were rich, really rolling in it, but they died and some slick lawyer stole all the money. Another day she'd say how she was an orphan and she'd run away from this foster home because the father tried to rape her. Or how her mother was this movie star who gave her up for adoption so she wouldn't lose her career. She was always changing it."
His gaze shifted around the room as he spoke, trying to read faces. "Who cares?" he demanded, ignoring the soft drink Grace set in front of him.
"Who the hell cares, anyway? There wasn't anybody or she'd've tapped them for money."
"There is somebody, and it seems she did tap them for money off and on." Phillip kept his voice quiet and calm, as a person would when soothing a frantic puppy. "We found out today that she has parents, and a sister."
"I don't have to go with them." Alarm rang in his head as he surged out of his chair. "I don't know them. I don't have to go with them."
"No, you don't." Phillip took Seth's arm. "But you need to know about them."
"I don't want to." His gaze flew to Cam's, pleaded. "I don't want to know. You said I could stay. You said nothing was going to change that."
It made Cam sick to see that desperation, but he pointed to the chair.
"You are staying. Nothing is going to change that. Sit down. You never solve anything by running."
"Look around, Seth." Ethan's tone was soft, the voice of reason. "You've got five people here, standing with you."
He wanted to believe it. He didn't know how to explain that it was so much easier to believe in lies and threats than in promises. "What are they going to do? How did they find me?"
"Gloria called her sister a few weeks ago," Phillip began when Seth sat again. "You don't remember her sister?"
"I don't remember anybody," Seth muttered and hunched his shoulders.
"Well, it seems she spun a tale for the sister, told her that we'd stolen you from her."
"She's full of shit."
"Seth." Anna drilled him with a look that made him squirm.
"She conned the sister out of some money for a lawyer," Phillip continued. "Said she was broke and desperate, that we'd threatened her. She needed the money to get you back."
Seth wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "She bought it? She must be an idiot."
"Maybe. Or maybe she's a soft touch. Either way, the sister didn't buy the whole package. She wanted to check things out for herself. So she came to St. Chris."
"She's here?" Seth's head whipped up. "I don't want to see her. I don't want to talk to her."
"You already have. Sybill is Gloria's sister."
Seth's dark-blue eyes widened, and the angry flush faded from his cheeks. "She can't be. She's a doctor. She writes books."
"Nonetheless, she is. When Cam and Ethan and I drove down to Hampton, we saw her."
"You saw her? You saw Gloria?"
"Yeah, we saw her. Hold on." Phillip laid a hand over Seth's rigid one.
"Sybill was there, too. She was posting bail. So it all came out."
"She's a liar." Seth's voice began to hitch. "Just like Gloria. She's a damn liar."
"Let me finish. We agreed to meet them both in the morning, in Anna's office. We have to get the facts, Seth," he added when the boy snatched his hands free. "It's the only way we're going to fix this for good."
"I'm not going."
"You can decide that for yourself. We don't think Gloria's going to show. I saw Sybill just a little while ago. Gloria had given her the slip."
"She's gone." Relief and hope struggled to beat back fear. "She's gone again?"
"It looks that way. She took money out of Sybill's wallet and split." Phillip glanced over at Ethan, judged his brother's reaction to the news as angry resignation. "Sybill will be in Anna's office in the morning. I think it would be better if you went in with us, talked to her there."
"I don't have anything to say to her. I don't know her. I don't care about her. She should just go away and leave me alone."
"She can't hurt you, Seth."
"I hate her. She's probably just like Gloria, only she pretends to be different."
Phillip thought of the fatigue, the guilt, the misery he'd seen on Sybill's face. But he said, "That's for you to decide, too. But you need to see her and hear what she has to say to do that. She said she'd only seen you once. Gloria came to New York and you stayed at Sybill's place for a little while. You were about four."
"Hey, what's up?" His cheerful grin vanished immediately. A lifetime of living with Gloria's wildly swinging moods had taught him to gauge atmosphere. The air in the kitchen was simmering with tension and temper.
He took a step back, then froze as Ethan came in behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Coffee smells good." he said mildly, and the hand on Seth's shoulder remained, part restraint, part support.
"I'll get some cups." Grace hurried past them to the cupboard. She knew she'd be better off with her hands busy. "Seth, do you want a Coke?"
"What happened?" His lips felt stiff and his hands cold.
"It's going to take a little while to explain it all." Anna walked to him, put her hands on his cheeks. The first order of business, she determined, was to erase the fear that had come into his eyes. "But you don't have to worry."
"Did she ask for more money again? Is she coming here? Did they let her out of jail?"
"No. Come sit down. We'll explain everything." She shook her head at Cam before he could speak and locked her eyes with Phillip's as she guided Seth toward the table. He had more firsthand information, she decided. It was best that it come from him.
Where the hell was he supposed to start? Phillip dragged a hand through his hair. "Seth, do you know anything about your mother's family?"
"No. She used to tell me stuff. One day she'd say how her parents were rich, really rolling in it, but they died and some slick lawyer stole all the money. Another day she'd say how she was an orphan and she'd run away from this foster home because the father tried to rape her. Or how her mother was this movie star who gave her up for adoption so she wouldn't lose her career. She was always changing it."
His gaze shifted around the room as he spoke, trying to read faces. "Who cares?" he demanded, ignoring the soft drink Grace set in front of him.
"Who the hell cares, anyway? There wasn't anybody or she'd've tapped them for money."
"There is somebody, and it seems she did tap them for money off and on." Phillip kept his voice quiet and calm, as a person would when soothing a frantic puppy. "We found out today that she has parents, and a sister."
"I don't have to go with them." Alarm rang in his head as he surged out of his chair. "I don't know them. I don't have to go with them."
"No, you don't." Phillip took Seth's arm. "But you need to know about them."
"I don't want to." His gaze flew to Cam's, pleaded. "I don't want to know. You said I could stay. You said nothing was going to change that."
It made Cam sick to see that desperation, but he pointed to the chair.
"You are staying. Nothing is going to change that. Sit down. You never solve anything by running."
"Look around, Seth." Ethan's tone was soft, the voice of reason. "You've got five people here, standing with you."
He wanted to believe it. He didn't know how to explain that it was so much easier to believe in lies and threats than in promises. "What are they going to do? How did they find me?"
"Gloria called her sister a few weeks ago," Phillip began when Seth sat again. "You don't remember her sister?"
"I don't remember anybody," Seth muttered and hunched his shoulders.
"Well, it seems she spun a tale for the sister, told her that we'd stolen you from her."
"She's full of shit."
"Seth." Anna drilled him with a look that made him squirm.
"She conned the sister out of some money for a lawyer," Phillip continued. "Said she was broke and desperate, that we'd threatened her. She needed the money to get you back."
Seth wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "She bought it? She must be an idiot."
"Maybe. Or maybe she's a soft touch. Either way, the sister didn't buy the whole package. She wanted to check things out for herself. So she came to St. Chris."
"She's here?" Seth's head whipped up. "I don't want to see her. I don't want to talk to her."
"You already have. Sybill is Gloria's sister."
Seth's dark-blue eyes widened, and the angry flush faded from his cheeks. "She can't be. She's a doctor. She writes books."
"Nonetheless, she is. When Cam and Ethan and I drove down to Hampton, we saw her."
"You saw her? You saw Gloria?"
"Yeah, we saw her. Hold on." Phillip laid a hand over Seth's rigid one.
"Sybill was there, too. She was posting bail. So it all came out."
"She's a liar." Seth's voice began to hitch. "Just like Gloria. She's a damn liar."
"Let me finish. We agreed to meet them both in the morning, in Anna's office. We have to get the facts, Seth," he added when the boy snatched his hands free. "It's the only way we're going to fix this for good."
"I'm not going."
"You can decide that for yourself. We don't think Gloria's going to show. I saw Sybill just a little while ago. Gloria had given her the slip."
"She's gone." Relief and hope struggled to beat back fear. "She's gone again?"
"It looks that way. She took money out of Sybill's wallet and split." Phillip glanced over at Ethan, judged his brother's reaction to the news as angry resignation. "Sybill will be in Anna's office in the morning. I think it would be better if you went in with us, talked to her there."
"I don't have anything to say to her. I don't know her. I don't care about her. She should just go away and leave me alone."
"She can't hurt you, Seth."
"I hate her. She's probably just like Gloria, only she pretends to be different."
Phillip thought of the fatigue, the guilt, the misery he'd seen on Sybill's face. But he said, "That's for you to decide, too. But you need to see her and hear what she has to say to do that. She said she'd only seen you once. Gloria came to New York and you stayed at Sybill's place for a little while. You were about four."
