“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had company,” I said. The fuzzy overhead light played with her hair, turning strands of it gold, and I found myself distracted by its shine.
“Lena came over with breakfast,” Ainslee explained. “She wanted to check in with me.”
“I can go, if you want,” Lena said hesitantly, eyes locked on mine.
“No, please, stay.” Ainslee waved her towards the open end of the couch. She looked at me. “If that’s okay?”
“I don’t see why not.”
Lena sat beside Ainslee, setting her mug down on the end table on top of a coaster, and held out her hand for Ainslee to grasp. Lena’s face twitched when Ainslee crushed her fingers in a death grip, but she didn’t say anything.
“We got an anonymous tip that the people who took your son have some kind of vested interest in the Castle of Old Wick,” I began, leaving MacGowan’s name out of it. “We believe they’ve been watching the investigation. We gave chase when we spotted them lurking outside Mrs Cohen’s house, but they got away, and they were the same people we found at the castle when we went to confront them. Finn wasn’t there. I’m sorry.” My voice dropped out of its professional, report-giving tone when I saw the blooming tears in Ainslee’s face. “We did manage to bring in one of them. Does the name Seamus O’Connell mean anything to you?”
Ainslee shook her head, and Lena passed her a tissue to blow her nose on. “I don’t think so.”
“Might he have any connection to your ex-husband?” I asked. MacGowan said he didn’t recognize any of the three people who’d cornered him, but maybe O’Connell hadn’t been there.
“Richard didn’t have many friends. He was kind of a loner. He said Finn and I were all he needed. I guess…” She sniffled. “I guess that wasn’t true in the end.”
Despite claiming to love her, MacGowan had hidden an awful lot from Ainslee. I might not have had a solid foundation of relationships behind me, but I knew you shouldn’t build them on secrets, especially big, life-shattering ones like ‘oh hey, I’m actually a well-renowned thief with a bunch of shady contacts.’ I couldn’t tell her that MacGowan hadn’t abducted her son without also revealing that we’d spoken to him.
“You found my son’s scarf, didn’t you?” Ainslee asked once she’d gathered herself some. “You called me to ask about it.”
“Yes, in the alley behind the school.” I hesitated, not sure if I should tell her the next part, but I figured if I were in her place, I’d want to know. “The lab found blood on it.”
Lena visibly flinched as Ainslee clutched her fingers in a grip fit to split stone. Ainslee choked off a sob, covering her mouth with her free hand as her shoulders began to shake. Lena slid closer and began to rub her back in gentle circles.
“We suspect it was just a bloody nose from the struggle in the alley,” I said quickly to comfort her, keep her from spinning out. “Nothing more serious.”
My statement wasn’t as reassuring as I’d thought it was, and I realized that as soon as the words were out of my mouth as another sob escaped Ainslee’s mouth. I kicked myself. Of course, it was horrible to know that your child had been injured in a terrifying and violent altercation and was now alone and frightened in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by strangers with sinister intentions. I’d meant to imply that at least Finn was still alive, but I’d accidentally also implied that he might not be at some point.
I looked to Lena for help as Ainslee buried her face in her hands. She shook her head at me and shrugged slightly but leaned in closer to give Ainslee a hug. “Think of it this way,” she said. “These people haven’t gotten what they want yet. Finn’s their leverage. That means he’s safe.”
That wasn’t the right thing to say, either, because all Ainslee heard was ‘for now.’
I gave her a ‘what have you done?’ look, and she replied with a ‘you started it’ eyebrow. The unfortunate thing was, I didn’t think there was any right thing to say in this situation. The only way to make this better was to find her son.
I levered myself out of the rocking chair and crouched before the couch, pulling one of Ainslee’s hands away from her face and giving it a squeeze. She looked up at me with tear-streaked cheeks, her eyes rimmed red and a little bloodshot.
“I’ll bring him home, and I’ll get the people who kidnapped him. I promise, okay?”
Ainslee stared at me hard, her glassy eyes boring right into my soul, and though I couldn’t bear the pressure of her gaze, I didn’t look away. I allowed her her search, and eventually, she seemed to find what she was looking for because she nodded, twitched her lips, and released my hand.
I took a deep breath, and I found that I, too, was shaking as I stood. “I should go. Work to do and all that.”
“I should go, too,” Lena said. “I have rehearsal in a few hours. Will you be okay?”
“Alana is coming over in a little bit to stay with me.” Ainslee managed a smile. “Thank you both for coming over. I really appreciate it.”
She walked the two of us to the door, and we said goodbye a final time as we stepped outside. Lena and I stood on the front stoop and looked at each other. I cleared my throat, unsure of what to say.
“What happened to your face?” Lena asked, gesturing to her own cheek.
“Car accident,” I answered, not wanting to get into the details of the fight.
A complicated expression flashed across Lena’s face, one that I couldn’t fully read.
“I’m fine,” I
