When Donna Hogan told us that Isaac’s file had been recently accessed, she immediately had our attention.
She was clearly upset, she said, “detectives, we take closed adoptions very seriously, we take every step to ensure that the birth parents’ identity is protected as well as the adoptive parents. The main reason is this very situation, more than once the birth parents have tried to get their baby back.”
I asked, “do you know who accessed the file?”
She nodded, “yes, I do. It was Laura Reid, a temp we hired to do some data entry. She was only here a week, but we had her booked for a month. She left on Friday and didn’t return on Monday, we called the temp agency, and they hadn’t heard from her. We both tried calling her, but the number we had for her had been disconnected. This isn’t unusual when dealing with temps, so I didn’t think too much about it.”
Blake asked, “and you are sure that she was the last one to access that file.”
She said, “yes, we all have a unique log in, and because I am the director of the office, I have a list of all the log ins. When I view the list of cases, there is a last accessed time and date next to each file. It is definitely Laura’s log in at 3:18, last Friday.”
I asked, “what is her connection to the Groves or to Isaac?”
Donna shrugged, “nothing that I know of.”
I then asked, “what about a connection to the birth parents?”
She shook her head, “again, nothing that I know of, I know she is not the birth mother, Laura is in her late fifties or early sixties, the age doesn’t match the age listed for the birth mother.”
Blake asked, “does the birth mother or father have the same last name?”
She sighed, “I’m not supposed to tell you, I think I have probably already said too much. But no, there is no common last name. I am worried for Isaac, so I want to help as much as I can.”
Blake nodded, “so is there anything in that file that you can tell us?”
Donna shook her head, “I am sorry, but no. I can only release information about the adoption by court order.”
I said, “we understand that Mrs. Hogan, but rest assured, we will be back with that court order just as soon as we can.”
She smiled, “I hope so detective Ridgeway, and to help you, I have already composed a letter with what I have told you and pledging my complete cooperation on this case. It might help the judge decide to grant the court order and save us time. Like I said, I am very concerned with Isaac’s safety.”
I took the letter and thanked her for help. I called Ollie and told him to find anything he could on Laura Reid, there must be some connection. Blake and I headed straight to the courthouse to get our court order and deliver the letter from Donna. After I hung up from talking to Ollie, I noticed I had a text from Lucas, “thanks for lunch, I love you.”
I smiled as I thought about how lucky I was to have Lucas in my life.”
***
Lucas Flashback.
Just like my high school graduation, my college graduation was an empty accomplishment. I worked hard to reach my goal and when I got there, it felt so hollow, once again my heart had been broken. The first time when Jace died, I knew that wasn’t his fault, but now Brody had betrayed me. Looking back, it all started to make sense, Brody renting that apartment without talking to me, and his always wanting to meet at my place instead of his. I found out that he had been seeing Jake for over a year while he was still seeing me. This time instead of the grief that I felt over the loss of Jace, I was pissed at Brody and even though I had only seen Jake once and I don’t think he knew about me either, I was pissed at him too.
I went to my parents to tell them what happened. I could see my dad getting madder with every word.
I asked, “how did you know Brody was a jerk when you first met him?”
Dad put his hand on my shoulder, “I don’t know son, I just didn’t get a good feeling about him, I can’t really explain it. Something in my gut just didn’t feel right.”
Mom said, “we are so sorry Lucas, but it is better to find these things out now, rather than after you have moved in together or made any sort of commitment to each other.”
I chuckled, “I spent over three years with that ass, I guess I thought that was some sort of commitment.”
Dad said, “you are about to graduate from college, you’re getting ready to find a job and start your life. It’s a clean slate, a fresh beginning, you have your whole life in front of you.”
I laughed, “what do they do, give you a book full of dad cliches when you find out you are going to have a child?”
Dad chuckled, “sorry Lucas, I don’t know what to say to make you feel better, I’m just winging it right now.”
I smiled, “thanks you two, just being here to listen to me helps a lot. Thank you for always being there for me, you guys are the best.”
Even though we didn’t solve my problems, I did feel better after our talk. My sister called me later that day and gave me that same pep talk and tried to fix me up with a guy she worked with. I convinced her that I was not ready to date anyone yet, but when I was, she would be the first to know.
The week before graduation, I was meeting with my college advisor to discuss my best course of action for finding a job.
He said, “you can send resumes to all the area hospitals, if that is where you want to work.”
I shrugged, “I guess I could do that, I always thought I wanted to get into research. I suppose I could do that at a hospital.”
He nodded, “possibly, but you would have to go to a research hospital for that. Any of the area hospitals would just have you doing tests and giving results for diagnosis.”
I sighed, “I know, I guess I made a decision on my career when I was grieving, I didn’t really think it through.”
He said, “maybe, but you did very well in the program here, you would be an asset to any lab, no matter where you end up.” He paused as he typed on his computer and printed a page, he handed it to me and said, “a friend of mine sent me this email, I know you would do well here, and I think it might be a very interesting job. Hell, if I was twenty years younger, I might think about applying myself.”
I looked at the page he handed me, “Miami Police Department, crime lab technician.”
After a little research and another long talk with mom and dad, I was soon the newest employee of the Miami Police Department.
I found a nice apartment and soon settled into my new job, my advisor was right, it was very interesting and the first time the DNA match I found put a bad guy in jail, it was very satisfying. I went on a few dates, but they never turned into anything serious. I guess I was a little afraid to move too quickly, especially after what I went through with Brody. If I didn’t fall for someone, I wasn’t going to get hurt.
After I had been on the job for about nine months, a new detective walked into the lab with some blood for me to analyze. I had never seen him before, but he reminded me of Jace. He didn’t necessarily look exactly like Jace, but he had the same dark eyes that first attracted me to Jace back in high school. He had some of the same mannerisms, walked the same way and had the same sexy ass. He was so cute when he first came into the lab, he was all tongue tied and stuttering like an idiot. I chuckled to myself, this big rough and tough looking guy acted like a teenager asking out his first date whenever he was around me. When he couldn’t even say his name right, he seemed so vulnerable, and it only made me fall for him even more. I knew he was falling for me too when he let me call him Drake instead of Ridge, he later told me that I was the only one he let do that. I had the same feeling when I saw him as I had the first time that I saw Jace. I could hardly contain my excitement when he finally asked me out for drinks, luckily, he was a nervous wreck, so he didn’t notice.
That first date went so well, and there was never an awkward moment, even when I told him about Jace and Brody. He just listened and was so sympathetic, and I was the same when he told me about his childhood. As we approached our one-month anniversary, I wanted to do something special for him. I knew he was letting me set the pace of our relationship and never once put any pressure on me to be physical. I invited Drake over for a nice dinner and decided I was going to ask him to spend the night. I basically had to tell him I wanted to have sex after he didn’t pick up on my hint. It only proved to me that he was seriously interested in me, and I just wasn’t a hook up. Drake brought me to tears when he told me that he loved me after we made love.
He wiped the tear away and asked, “are you ok? I’m sorry if that was too soon, it just kind of slipped out.”
I asked, “so you didn’t mean to say it?”
Drake said, “oh no, I meant to say it. You should probably know that when I say something without thinking about it, I mean it. You are the first person that I have ever said that to.”
I looked into his eyes, “you have never told anyone that you love them?”
He shrugged, “no, I told you about my family, there was no love there. The guys that I was with before you, were just dating and sex. Things are different with you, it’s hard to explain.”
I smiled, “I know exactly what you mean, the only person I have felt like this with was Jace.”
The next week Drake grilled us steaks and we stayed at his place. We would see each other at work but had agreed to not go public with our relationship, although we were spending every weekend together.
After another month, I brought Drake to dinner at my parents’ house. Once again, it was so cute how nervous he was. To be honest, I was a little nervous too, the last time I brought someone to dinner was Brody, and I was afraid of the same result. I knew mom would be cooking one her fabulous meals and Drake insisted on bringing a bottle of wine, so I was a little more optimistic.
Dad answered the door, and I gave him a hug as we walked in, I said, “dad, this is Drake Ridgeway, Drake this is my dad, Larry.
Drake and dad shook hands and Drake said, “it’s nice to meet you Mr. Mills.”
Dad smiled, “nice to meet you too, and please call me Larry.”
Drake said, “thank you and you can call me Ridge.”
Dad nodded at me, “well Ridge, can I get you a drink before we eat, I am having a scotch.”
Drake said, “a rum and Coke, if you have it.”
I added, “the same for me dad.”
He said, “I think I have a bottle of rum in here somewhere.”
Mom came in the room, wiping her hands on her apron and gave me a hug, “hi Lucas,” She turned to smile at Drake, and I made the introductions as she immediately wrapped him in a hug. Drake looked at me wide eyed as he returned the hug.
She said, “it’s so nice to finally meet you Drake, Lucas has told us all about you.”
Dad handed us each our drink and said, “Jane, he likes to be called Ridge.”
Mom waved her hand at dad and said, “nonsense, his name is Drake, I will call him by his given name.”
Drake chuckled, “that’s fine Mrs. Mills, you can…”
She interrupted, “and you will call me Jane.”
Mom was a stickler for names, she is the reason I go by Lucas instead of Luke. She would constantly correct anyone that called me that when I was growing up. She also insisted on calling my sister’s boyfriend Joseph, while the rest of us referred to him as Joe.
Drake smiled, “here Jane, I brought this wine for dinner.”
Mom took the bottle and said, “it will go perfect with the pot roast I made, thank you Drake.”
Dad said, “Heather and Joe are coming too, come on in and we can sit down while we wait for them.”
I was relieved, tonight was already so much better than when I brought Brody home. Dad gave me a nod and I could tell Drake had relaxed too. Heather and Joe arrived, and I introduced everyone and as we walked to the dining room to eat, Heather elbowed me and smiled, “he’s a keeper.”
Just as we sat down to eat, Joe stood and said, “Heather and I have an announcement, last night I asked Heather to marry me, and she said yes.”
Heather beamed as she held her hand up to show her engagement ring. We were all thrilled at the news, Joe was a great guy, and he treated Heather well. The conversation flowed as we ate, from mom and Heather starting to plan the wedding to dad asking Drake about his work. Normally quiet and reserved, Drake was very at ease as he answered all of dad's questions. I smiled when I saw Drake smiling and just watching my family interact, he seemed to be enjoying every minute. When we finished eating, Drake and Joe helped my mom take the dishes to the kitchen. While dad was making us all another drink, Heather was with us, I asked, “what do think, dad?”
Dad smiled, “you have a different look in your eyes Lucas, a look of happiness. That is all I have ever wanted for you and your sister. I am so happy to see that look in both of your eyes tonight, Ridge and Joe are both great guys.”
Heather nodded, “I agree with dad, you look so much happier than when you were with Brody.”
The rest of the evening was just as pleasant, and mom made us each a plate of leftovers to take home. She gave us all another hug as we left.
As we drove home, Drake said, “you have a wonderful family.”
I smiled, “thanks, and they all like you too.”
He chuckled, “really? Did they tell you that?”
I nodded, “yes, they did, when you and Joe were helping mom in the kitchen, Heather and dad gave me their approval, I can bring you back for dinner any time. As soon as mom gave you that hug when we walked in, I knew she adored you. Thank you for not being upset when she calls you Drake, by the way.”
Drake laughed, “yeah, you and she are the only ones I will let do that, just so you know.”
I reached over and squeezed his hand and said, “thank you for being a good sport.”
He said, “I have never been around a real family before, I love how you all really care for each other. And if we eat meals like that every time we go to your parents’ house, I will never refuse an invitation.”
I laughed, “yeah, mom certainly shows her love through food, just wait until Thanksgiving.”
As we pulled up to Drake’s apartment, he asked, “would you like to come in, so you can see how I show my love?”
I turned my car off and said, “that is an invitation that I will never refuse.”
We went straight to Drake’s bedroom and undressed each other, I just loved to run my hands over Drake’s hairy chest. He pulled me in for a kiss and I moved my hands down to grab his equally hairy ass, God he was so manly. We fell onto the bed continuing to kiss until we moved to suck each other. Drake spit on his finger and began to work over my hole, I spread my legs so he could use his tongue. He rolled me onto my side, and he moved behind me, rubbing his leaking cock along my crack. Drake nibbled on my ear and my neck as he began to push his fully hard manhood into my waiting love tunnel. I began to push back to every one of his thrusts and we were soon in a perfect rhythm. Drake reached around and stroked my aching cock, he has the most gentle touch with just the right amount of roughness. Drake’s warm breath in my ear was coming quicker and quicker, I also felt the cum churning in my nuts.
Drake whispered, “I am getting close, your ass feels so good.”
He gave on last thrust, and I felt him fill me with his warm love juices. The feeling sent me over the edge, and I let my seed fly. Drake held me tight until our spasms subsided and our breathing returned to normal.
***
Blake and I went back to the station to wait for our court order, Ollie met us at the door.
He said, “here is everything I was able to find out about Laura Reid.” He started to read from the paper he was holding, “she is 58 and was divorced from her third husband, Don Reid, about a year ago, they were only married about six months. She has worked as a bank teller at the Wells Fargo branch on Sequoia Avenue for five years. She has 3 children, Rod, 27, and Ron Swanson, 25, with her first husband, Russ Swanson, I daughter with Steve Harris, husband #2, her name is Kayla, she is 23.”
Blake asked, “any trouble with the police.”
Ollie shook his head, “nothing more than a speeding ticket a few months ago. Her two sons do have a little history though. Both have a minor record, some fighting, and some small-time drugs charges, just some possession of pot, that kind of thing.”
Blake then asked, “what about the daughter, what was her name again?”
Ollie said, “Kayla Harris, no police record.”
Blake rubbed his chin, “where have I heard that name before, Kayla Harris?”
I said, “from my unsolved wall, her and her boyfriend, Chad Williams went missing about two years ago.”
To be continued…
