GUNNED Read Free Page A

the DNA was wrong. They told us she wasn’t ours. I didn’t care. Who cares? She’s our daughter. Has been for twenty-nine years.”
    Twenty-nine years? Uh-oh. This wasn’t looking good.
    “But Sheldon was obsessed. He started doing all this research. It hurt my daughter. I told him, who cares what the doctors say, and isn’t it a good thing that she won’t get breast cancer? But the man wanted to know what was going on. My Sheldon, he’s a smart one, you know what I mean, but dumb. No common sense is what my mother said.”
    “And he came here? Why?” But I was pretty sure I knew why Sheldon Spiegel had come to this office on Monday, and why he had kept looking around like he was waiting for someone. Because that’s exactly what he was doing.
    “Because he found our real daughter.” Mrs. Spiegel tapped the nail of her index finger on my desk several times. “I told him our real daughter was in New York, with her husband and our granddaughter, but he wouldn’t listen. So he schlepped up here to meet his real child while I was away.”
    Sam pushed away from the wall. “And who is your real daughter, Mrs. Spiegel?”
    Jackie Spiegel turned to look at Sam and then turned her head and stared at Millie. “It’s her. The one with my hair. She’s our daughter. The one with the same DNA.”
    Millie’s pale skin went pure white. “Wait…What? I’m your daughter? My name’s Millie Spiegel? Oy Vey .”
    And then she fainted.

 
     
     
CHAPTER SIX
     
     
    No one heard John and Gerard and Annie arrive. We were all huddled over Millie. Marla ran to the kitchen and came back with a paper towel drenched in cold water. I kept patting Millie’s hand and calling her name. I wasn’t overly concerned at this point. Millie had fainted before, something to do with low blood pressure, but still.
    “What’s going on? Oh, God, is Millie okay?” John pushed by me and took Millie’s wrist, checking her pulse. Then he touched her cheek and kept saying her name over and over.
    I looked up and saw Gerard and Annie. “Oh, my gosh! You’re here.” I jumped up and gave Annie a big hug and then turned toward Gerard and gave him one as well, while Sam greeted Annie and introduced her to Marla.
    “Excuse me. Hello?! My daughter should lie here while you’re having a party?” Mrs. Spiegel said, and we all turned.
    “No, of course not. I’m so sorry. Millie. Millie, are you okay?” I said, once again kneeling by Millie’s side.
    “Her daughter? What the hell is going on here, Alex?” John asked.
    I gritted my teeth and shook my head.
    “Alex, what happened? Why am I on the floor?”
    “Oh, Millie, you’re going to be okay. You fainted. Remember?”
    Millie shut her eyes for a moment and then opened them again. “I did?” She sat up and looked around the room. Her eyes came to rest on Mrs. Spiegel. “Oh, no. I’m not going with her. Alex, she is not my mother. She’s crazy. You’re crazy,” Millie said directly to Jackie Spiegel.
    I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Spiegel. Millie, you’re not going anywhere. This is all a horrible mistake. Besides, you’re a grown woman. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
    John stood up and then helped Millie up. Sam pushed a chair over and Millie sat down and then scooted the chair a few inches away from Mrs. Spiegel.
    “Okay, would someone please tell me what’s going on?”
    “John, this is Jackie Spiegel. Mrs. Sheldon Spiegel. Mrs. Spiegel, this is my husband, Detective John Van der Burg of the Indian Cove Police.”
    “Mrs. Spiegel, we’ve been trying to get in touch with you.”
    “Well, good, because I’m looking for my husband. He was headed here and I haven’t heard from him since. Maybe you can help me find him.”
    John glanced at me. “Alex, is there somewhere I can speak with Mrs. Spiegel in private?”
    “What do you mean, in private? What’s going on? Where’s Sheldon? What the hell has he done now? And anything you