Merchants with Evil Intent by Kerrie DuBrock Page B

Claire grab a few pizzas for us?”
           “Sure. C’mon kiddo,” Ryan replied.
           When the door closed John turned to Grace
and Patrick. “It’s time we tell Camryn the truth.”
           Grace wrung her hands on her lap.
           “John, I don’t think this is the right
time,” Patrick said uneasily.
           Camryn lifted her eyebrows, “The truth
about what?”
           John met her gaze, “The truth about your
parents.”
    *       *       *
           Viktor left another message.
           The shit going on with Camryn was getting
to him. She was a hard woman to figure out. One minute she’s into him and then
it feels as if she’s scared of him.
           She meant everything to him.
           He planned on proposing to her on
Christmas.
           He loved her and eventually, she’d be
his.
    *       *       *
           Declan sat in the recliner glancing at
the newspaper on the coffee table. The headline read ‘Forth Missing Woman!’ The
cover of the paper showed four women’s photos. The boys ran in and turned on
the telly as Declan reached for the paper.
           He scanned the pictures and began reading
the article. The latest missing woman was a mere child of eighteen. Declan shook
his head as he continued to read. It seemed as if the women disappeared. No
witnesses, no signs of struggle. No wonder the Chicago police were perplexed.
           Colleen entered the room with a smile on
her face. “Hey Dec, would you fancy hamburgers for dinner?”
           Declan made sure the boys attention was
on the telly before he raised his middle finger to her. She walked over and
peered over his shoulder. “’Tis awful. Those poor women. It’s as if they simply vanished into thin
air,” she sighed.
           “Aye, so I see. The coppers have nothing
to go on. No witnesses, no signs of foul play,” he replied, rubbing his chin.
    *       *       *
           Camryn gauged her parent’s expressions.
Whatever was coming up wasn’t good. Her stomach began to churn.
           Her dad glared at John. “It’s not a good
time for this, John. She’s under enough stress!”
           “Pattie, I understand what you and Grace
must be feeling now, but she has to know.”
           “What the hell is it?” Camryn screeched.
           John sighed, “Cam, I’m your dad. Pattie
and Grace adopted you when I couldn’t raise you myself.”
           Camryn searched her parent’s eyes and
knew in an instant the truth of his words. Did it hurt? No, not really. It
explained a lot, actually.   She took a
deep breath. “Well, thank you for adopting me. I couldn’t have asked for better
parents.”
           Grace took Camryn’s hands and with tears
in her eyes she softly said, “There’s more.”
           John nodded. “Aunt Maggie’s your mom.
When she died I tried to raise you myself. I didn’t know how to raise a baby
and I was trying to get over the loss of your mother. Pattie and Grace offered
to care for you until I got my bearings. Eventually I realized they were doing
a better job than I ever could, so I relinquished my parental rights.”
           Her own father didn’t want her. He was a
coward and took an easy way out.
           “Way to go, John. Now she’s in shock,”
Patrick scolded.
           She looked at Patrick and shook her head.
“I’m not in shock, just shocked.” She
turned her attention to John and felt the acid rising to her tongue. “You may
be my father, but you’ll never be my dad!”
She stood and walked towards the kitchen, grabbing her purse on the way.
           Patrick and Grace started to go after her
when John grabbed them both by the forearms. “Let her be for a while.”
           “A lunatic is threatening her and you
want us to let her go? Have you totally lost it?” Patrick growled.