Dark Hope: Book One of the Archangel Prophecies

Dark Hope: Chapter 15

Mona drummed her fingers on the conference table. She knew she had no right to be annoyed with her boss, Clayton. He was dropping everything to come in on a weekend; she shouldn't be quibbling over him being a few minutes late. But the presence of her lawyer, trying to discreetly check his watch every few minutes, kept reminding her that time was slipping away.

"Sorry, sorry," Clayton intoned with his vaguely patrician accent as the glass door to the conference room swung open. "I know I'm late, but I come bearing gifts, so hopefully you'll forgive me."

He pulled a drink carrier loaded with coffees from behind his back.

"Oh, God bless you," Mona sighed, suddenly aware of just how exhausted she was. "I so need that caffeine."

"And that's not all. I brought my friend, Special Agent Hale from the FBI. Come on in here, John."

A tall, lean man in a windbreaker strode into the room, hand outstretched. "John Hale, ma'am."

"I'm Mona Carmichael, and this is my lawyer, Arne Haverty. Thank you for coming, Agent Hale."

"Please, call me John. May I?" He gestured to a chair. Mona nodded and he sat down. Clayton took his customary seat at the head of the table and folded his hands.

"John's an expert in parental abductions. I filled him in on what I know, Mona, but I think it might be best for you to start from the beginning so that John knows what we're working with here."

Mona nodded. She hated to talk about her past with Don. Hated the whole story. But she knew Clayton was right.

Her lawyer piped up. "Everything will be considered privileged, of course."

"Of course," the agent assented. "And simply background."

With that reassurance, Mona began.

"Over ten years ago, my daughter was abducted. After a few days we recovered her, unharmed, but the whole incident marked the start of the unraveling of my marriage to Don. He became obsessed with Hope's safety-"

"Hope, that's your daughter?" John interrupted. Mona noticed he was jotting rapid notes in the little pad of paper he'd taken out of his jacket pocket.

"Yes, my daughter. She's fifteen, now. Actually, sixteen. Her birthday was yesterday." She reached into a cavernous purse and pulled a photo out of her wallet, sliding it across the table to the agent. "It's a little old."

The agent murmured his thanks and glanced at the photo. "I see the resemblance." He handed the photo back to Mona. "So, your husband-Don Carmichael, is it? He became obsessed with Hope's safety?"

"Yes. It got to the point where he couldn't hold down a job, he was so unwilling to let her out of his sight."

"Did he ever say why he was so fearful? It is a natural reaction to be more cautious after a kidnapping, but typically people don't go to that extreme."

"I don't really understand it myself. I think that because we never knew for sure who had taken her and could never confirm that the person we found burned to death at the motel where we recovered Hope really was her abductor, Don was afraid someone was still out there and that she was still at risk. He became quite religious and took that to extremes, as well."

"How long did this go on?"

"It probably went on for two years before I couldn't take it anymore. We never officially divorced, but we've been separated ever since."

"You never divorced?" John paused on that and looked with undisguised curiosity at Mona. She flushed, knowing how odd that might seem. She struggled to explain it even to herself sometimes. She looked at Clayton. A note of sadness crept into his eyes before he looked away.