Tainted Love Read online

  Both girls pouted.

  “I’m serious. What happens if I can’t get my work done?”

  The responded in unison. “We won’t have food and nice toys.”

  “Exactly. Now go out there and be kind to each other, both of you. Quietly.”

  Daisy stepped forward. “Can we watch that new superhero movie?”

  “You said we could,” Willow added.

  “Shh!” Daisy put her arm out, not letting her older sister step forward.

  Jess counted to ten silently. Letting them watch the movie would at least keep them quiet. It would be easy, but parenting wasn’t about what’s easy. “You really think I should let you watch it after you interrupted me while working?”

  The girls glared at each other but didn’t respond.

  “Here’s what we’ll do.” Jess glanced back and forth between her laptop and them, trying to think of something fast. “If you two finish your chores—quietly—then you can watch it. But everything has to be done without disturbing me. Got it?”

  They both squealed and exchanged excited glances.

  “Is your brother still sleeping?”

  The girls nodded.

  “When he wakes, make him a bottle. Don’t let him see the movie. Have him watch a baby show on the iPad, facing away from the TV. Okay?”

  “Yeah! Thanks!” Daisy hugged Jess, then Willow joined in.

  Jess hugged them back, her irritation melting. “Thank you. Remember your chores first.”

  They scrambled out of the room, talking about the movie. Jess wasn’t originally going to let them watch it because the genre was so violent, but if it would keep them busy for a while, it would be worth it. Besides, they’d been driving her crazy begging to see it.

  She rubbed her neck and yawned. Sammy had been up a lot the night before. Of all the kids, he was the one who slept the worst. The others had all slept through the night long before turning a year old. Not this one.

  But she’d survive. She always did. And besides, she may as well be used to a crappy sleep schedule. It would soon be time for another baby. She rubbed her well-used fake belly, which would need an upgrade to the next size up before long.

  Crash!

  Jess held her breath and counted. No crying, no yelling. Whatever the girls had knocked over probably wasn’t a big deal. She waited a moment before turning to her computer screen.

  After typing in her password, her blog’s dashboard greeted her. She clicked over to the comments section and grinned when she saw how many new comments had come in overnight. But then her smile faded when she saw that more were asking about Connor than not.

  She should have known it wouldn’t be as simple as not mentioning him. She needed a story. Something believable, something that would garner sympathy. But not something that would bring too much attention. The last thing she needed was for her fans to feel sorry for her and start an online funding campaign or something of the sort. She needed a story that would fit with everything she’d ever revealed on the blog. And not only that, but a believable reason for not bringing it up before this.

  It was a good thing she’d given the girls permission to watch the movie. Jess was going to need every minute to think about the perfect cover story—something she really should’ve put more thought into before—and then write about it in such a way that wouldn’t make people suspicious.

  But what could she tell them? It wasn’t like she could say she’d shipped her five-year-old off to boarding school. She definitely couldn’t say anything that would make it sound like he was hurt or sick. That would bring too much attention. What she needed was something that would make people feel bad but move on and stop asking questions.

  That was all she needed, for the questions to stop. People would move on once they heard a story that would satisfy their curiosity.

  Jess let her mind wander as she approved and responded to comments that had nothing to do with Connor. She thanked people for their compliments of the pictures. Answered questions. Then visited other blogs and left comments. The comment-swapping was a major part of getting more eyes on her blog. Part of the job.

  By the time she was done, she leaned back in the chair and listened to the explosions from the movie. The girls shrieked, obviously enjoying themselves. And Jess would be the real hero, having finally let them watch one of those movies.

  She smiled, enjoying the moment. Then the answer she’d been looking for struck her—the perfect story. Believable, sympathetic, and completely move-on worthy.

  Now it was just a matter of crafting the perfect post and getting readers to believe why she’d waited so long to say anything.

  Jess glanced at the time. About an hour before the movie ended.

  Perfect. Absolutely perfect timing.

  Assuming there were no interruptions.

  Doubts

  “You’re still awake?”

  Alex looked up from his laptop and gave Zoey a tired smile. “Yeah. Probably should get some sleep.”

  She rubbed his shoulders and gave him a quick kiss. “I’d think so. What’s keeping you up?”

  He turned the screen toward her. “This mommy blogger.”

  Zoey gave him a quizzical glance. “A mommy blogger is keeping you awake?”

  Alex quickly explained everything he knew, then found the post with the pictures at the park from just outside of town. “We’ve been there. Remember?”

  She leaned closer and scrolled up and down the post, examining the photos. “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?” Alex exclaimed. “It’s that one park. I wish I could remember the name, but we met your cousins there when they were in town. I know we did.”

  Zoey pulled up a chair. “That was at least a year ago.”

  “Almost two. Not long after Ariana’s whole ordeal.”

  “Her kidnapping.”

  Alex’s stomach squeezed. The guilt of having been the one there when she was taken would never ease. “Yes.”

  “So, you think the woman lives in the area?”

  “What other explanation is there?”

  Zoey didn’t look convinced. “Maybe she was visiting. Are there other places you recognize?”

  He shook his head. “But she also doesn’t post any kind of identifying information. That’s not the point, though. Her kid is missing, and she isn’t even talking about it! Who does that? She has a huge platform.”

  “Maybe he’s not missing.”

  “Where is he, then?” Alex went back to the older posts. “Look. He’s in so many pictures—for five years! Then suddenly, nothing. Not even a reference as to why he isn’t in any of the photos. And why doesn’t she ever post pictures of her face? Why doesn’t she post pictures of the babies’ faces until they’re nearly a year old? And why—?”

  “Slow down, Alex. There are probably good reasons for it all. She’s protecting their privacy. Who knows? It could be common practice for mommy bloggers.”

  “It’s not!” He clicked on another tab. “Look at this one. The mom posts all kinds of pictures of herself with the kids. At least a couple in each post. And look at this one.” He switched to a different tab. “Same thing. And this one.”

  Alex showed her half a dozen other mommy blogs, and not one hid the mom’s face or the baby’s faces. All the other ones showed doctor visits, pictures of the blogger—everything the suspicious one didn’t.

  “You’re making my head spin.” Zoey rubbed her temples. “I need to get a shower before the babies wake. Can you get them if they wake before I get out?”

  “Yeah, of course.” He clicked back over to the blog in question.

  Zoey kissed his cheek and rose. “Get some sleep, Alex. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this.”

  He gritted his teeth. “Yeah. There’s a missing kid, and the mom isn’t concerned at all.”

  “I love that you care so mu
ch about the boy, but let her local police handle it.”

  “There’s no way to know which precinct that is. She has her IP hidden and she doesn’t post any identifying information. The only clue is that she’s been to a park near here.”

  “She may have been to that park. Honestly, it could be any park, anywhere. Sleep on it, and see how you feel then. If you can’t let it go, then post about it on your blog. You have the perfect platform for it. Your followers want to find missing kids as much as you do. But you’re tired now, so don’t make any decisions yet. Wait until you have a clear and refreshed mind.”

  Disappointment washed through him. “You really don’t see anything wrong with all of this? If you blogged about our kids, would you suddenly stop posting about one of them?”

  Zoey frowned. “No, but we also don’t know what’s going on. Looking at the pictures, I’d say she’s a mom who cares about her kids. Why else would she take the time to upload so many photos and write about their daily events? There has to be a good explanation.”

  “Then why doesn’t she just say what it is?”

  “Sleep on it, Alex.” Zoey yawned. “I smell like spit-up, and I need to get in the shower.”

  Alex yawned because of her yawn. “Fine, but you’ll see. Something’s wrong with this situation. Really wrong.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Will it make you feel better if I look at the blog while you sleep?”

  “You’d do that?”

  “Yes. Now get some sleep.”

  Alex climbed into bed and checked on the twins. Both Laney and Zander slept soundly. Their soft breathing made him realize just how exhausted he actually was. He fell asleep as soon as his face made contact with the pillow.

  When he woke, he was alone in the bed. Laughter sounded from the main part of the house. It sounded like Ariana. Afternoon already?

  He stretched and grabbed his phone, then checked the mommy blog. No new posts, and he was still convinced that one post was taken at the local park. It had to be. The playground was the exact setup, and he would swear even the trees in the background were the same. Maybe he’d take Ariana there to confirm his suspicions—if he could convince his thirteen-year-old to go to a park. They might have to take her little cousin. Macy and Luke’s little guy loved swings and slides.

  Alex sat up and called Nick.

  “Hey, Alex. What’s up?”

  “If I could provide proof that blogger is from around here, can I look at the case with police resources?”

  Nick sighed. “Have you gotten any sleep?”

  “Yes, and this is a missing boy. Doesn’t anyone care?”

  “We don’t know he’s actually gone.”

  “Too many things don’t add up. There’s no other conclusion.”

  “Use your blog, Alex. If you come up with definitive proof that the boy is missing and that they live in the area, talk to me. As it is, I have five days’ worth of paperwork to get through.”

  Alex drew in a deep breath. “Okay. Hey, if you want me to take your kids so you can have some alone time with Genevieve, just say the word.”

  “You going to take them to the park on the blog?”

  Alex opened his mouth then closed it. His best friend knew him too well. “Just let me know if you want me to watch them. Ari would love the company.”

  “Will do.” Nick’s tone held a laugh to it. “Talk to you later.”

  “Bye.” Alex ended the call and took a deep breath. Why was it so hard to convince Nick and Zoey the kid was missing? Something was wrong, and every minute that passed was a minute the child wasn’t being helped—if it wasn’t too late already.

  Could they be right? Was he jumping to conclusions and bringing his own history into a totally different situation?

  Alex read over the message he’d initially received about the mommy blogger. The sender clearly believed something was wrong, and according to her, the blogger had deleted comments asking about the boy. If that wasn’t suspicious, what was?

  He skimmed over the blog posts from the last few months. The blogger had posted tons of pictures of Connor then suddenly stopped. It was like he never existed, except the old blog posts proved otherwise.

  No, Alex wasn’t wrong about this. Zoey and Nick had their doubts, but Alex was certain about what he knew. The boy was missing, and the circumstances were too suspicious to let go.

  He needed to do whatever he could to remedy the situation. That meant he needed to post about it on his blog. Alex would need screenshots—lots of them in case the blogger decided to change the old posts—and he needed his post to be bulletproof. So convincing that even his wife and best friend couldn’t deny something was wrong after reading it.

  And to do that, he first needed to contact the blogger.

  Interrupted

  Jess took a swig of wine and closed her eyes, trying to block out the crying for just a moment. She shoved the bottle to the back of the fridge and closed the door.

  The crying wouldn’t stop. Her headache wouldn’t stop.

  Willow shrieked, followed by the sounds of retching.

  Halfway through writing her explanatory blog post, Daisy had burst into her room in a panic. The baby had thrown up.

  Jess’s stomach turned just thinking about it. Sammy had puked so much that the orange chunky liquid sloshed around on the highchair tray and spilled onto the floor. It had taken every bit of self-control not to blow chunks herself as she cleaned it up.

  It was obviously a virus, because now all three kids were vomiting. She’d already done two loads of laundry—sheets and clothes. The stuff was everywhere. Kids were crying. Spewing. Miserable. Sammy now had a fever, and the girls were sure to follow suit.

  So much for getting her post up today. Maybe if the kids managed to get any sleep, she could finish it up. Otherwise, she’d have to make a quick post about being sick. At least those tended to get sympathy and clicks—and clicks meant ad revenue. Sympathy was good, too. She needed that, especially before posting about Connor. Maybe this stomach flu wasn’t such a bad thing, after all. It could be exactly what Jess needed, gross as all the partially-digested food was.

  Willow called for her.

  She took a deep breath, closed the fridge door, and trudged into the living room where all the kids were resting. The girls had buckets and Sammy was in his pack and play wearing only a diaper. He was covered in puke again, but this time he was playing with it.

  Jess gagged and turned to Willow. “Do you need something, sweetie?”

  “I threw up again!” Tears welled in her eyes.

  “Do you want more crackers?”

  Willow shook her head. “I’m hot.”

  “I want crackers.” Daisy sniffled.

  Jess sat between them and wrapped her arms around both of them. “I’ll get you whatever you need, but first let me empty these buckets.”

  By the time she’d gotten all the vomit cleaned up, Sammy puked all over his pack and play again.

  “Crackers?” Daisy pleaded.

  “Cold wash cloth.” Willow wiped sweat from her forehead.

  Jess raced into the kitchen and brought out crackers for Daisy before running a washcloth under icy water and giving it to Willow.

  Then Sammy threw up again. At least she hadn’t cleaned him up yet.

  One thing was certain. She wasn’t going to get any blog posts up today. Not unless it was a short one-liner about how evil the stomach flu was.

  Three hours later, all the kids were asleep and none of them had puked in the last hour. With any luck, they would sleep through the night. Or at least long enough for her to get her post out and get a little shut-eye herself.

  Probably just wishful thinking.

  Jess turned off the cartoon and found a station playing soft music. Maybe that would help them rest better.

  All she wanted to do was climb into bed and sleep, but she had to pos
t something. A one-liner sounded perfect. It would hopefully be enough to keep everyone off her back until she could write her post about Connor.

  Yawning, she sat at her desk and started a new post. She kept it short and sweet, explaining how sick everyone was and letting her readers know that she’d have a regular post up as soon as possible. And of course that post would include the explanation about Connor, but she wasn’t going to mention that yet.

  Next, she approved good comments and deleted the ones asking about Connor. There seemed to be more of those each day, so she really needed to publish the post about him as soon as possible. But that would have to wait until she got some sleep. Her eyelids kept trying to close.

  Just as Jess was about to delete the last comment, she hesitated. Something about it stood out. And it wasn’t just that the comment was as long as a blog post. It was written by a guy. Men almost never commented. They were never interested in mommy blogs. It was almost entirely a mom’s space.

  Her heart raced faster with each word she read. The sleepiness melted away.

  Alexander pointed out every discrepancy. He’d gone through her blog with a fine-toothed comb and put everything together. The man even recognized one of the parks she’d taken the kids to, despite her efforts to hide any identifying details.

  Her pulse drummed in her ears. The room seemed to shrink around her. There was no way she was going to approve the comment. He had to know that. And if he thought she was going to respond, he was crazy.

  How did he know about her blog in the first place? It didn’t matter. She needed to shut him up more than anyone else. Everyone else just had questions, some were more demanding than others, but there was something different about Alexander. It sounded like he wanted to do something.

  Like he might suspect what was really going on. She rubbed her fake belly, the closest she would ever come to experiencing the real thing. It was impossible that he knew. Or was it? He’d even pointed out her lack of proof of doctor’s appointments. She’d always posted belly shots and ultrasound images—she downloaded them from pregnancy boards and hid the identifying information—but somehow it hadn’t been enough to throw Alexander off.