Redemption Read Free Page A

lived through it, too. Each time I listen a new detail will be embedded in my subconscious. And you never know which detail will be the key.”
    “Where should I start?”
    “Wherever you want. I’ll ask questions as we go along unless that will bother you.”
    “Works for me.”
    “You ready?”
    Zink nodded.
    Jamie pressed the record button.
    Zink looked up at the ceiling for a moment, and then started to speak. Her voice was filled with pain. “I fell head over heels in love with Michael. It wasn’t love at first sight, but it was pretty close. We were married three months after we met and I got pregnant almost right away. We joked that it happened on our wedding night, but we were actually married about three months.”
    “So it wasn’t planned?”
    “Nothing about Michael and I was planned.”
    Jamie’s heart skipped a beat as a horrible thought came to her. Perhaps this wasn’t a parental abduction. Maybe Michael Zinkleman was tired of being a father. “How did Michael feel about it?”
    Zink met her gaze. As a police officer, she must have understood Jamie’s question. Tears welled up in her eyes. “No, it wasn’t like that. Michael would never hurt Andrew.”
    “Are you sure?”
    Zink didn’t answer.
    The silence fell around them for several long moments.
    Finally, Zink took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m sure. Michael was thrilled about having a baby. That wasn’t the problem, but he was worried about money. I kept trying to tell him it would all work out. He just wouldn’t listen to me. As time went on he became more and more obsessed with it.”
    “With money?”
    “Yes. His family was poor, and he was determined his child would have everything he could ever want or need. He spoiled Andrew shamelessly no matter how much I protested.”
    “What? He doesn’t think a boy needs his mother more than he needs things?”
    “Apparently not. Anyway, unbeknownst to me he stole money from the bank he worked for and hid it in an offshore account. He got caught—of course. They always do.”
    “Were you still married when he was arrested?”
    “Actually, he was never arrested. He disappeared before they could arrest him. The warrant’s still active, but...” Zink sighed. “And yes we were still married. I filed for divorce two weeks after he disappeared. The judge gave me sole custody of my son. Legally I had to in order to get custody and to move forward with the kidnapping case.”
    “Didn’t you want to divorce him?”
    Zink stared off into space as if gathering her thoughts. “I don’t know. I was in such a fog back then. So overwhelmed. I did what my lawyer told me to get Andrew’s case moved up to a priority.” She wiped a tear away. “I…I loved him. I trusted him. But I was so wrong about him…about the man I thought he was.”
    Jamie knew the feeling. “You can’t blame yourself, Zink. Bad guys are liars and most of the time they are really good at it.”
    Zink stared.
    Jamie wished she hadn’t shared so much. Her past was nothing to be proud of. Sure, she’d taken some bad guys off the street so they couldn’t hurt anyone else, but at what cost to her?
    “I was so stupid.” Zink shook her head. “Who else can I blame? I’m a trained police officer. I should have seen something was wrong. Instead, I thought I was living the fairytale.”
    “You aren’t the first woman to be fooled by the man she loved.” Jamie pushed thoughts of her own failures away attempting to stay focused on Zink and her son.
    “I was at the station when the district attorney from Columbus walked in. When she introduced herself I had no idea my life was about to crumble right before my eyes.” Zink’s eyes clouded over with the memories. “She showed me the proof. How he took money from several accounts. Sent it to the off-shore accounts.”
    “No doubts about his guilt?”
    “It was all there in black and white. My heart couldn’t believe it, but my mind couldn’t deny the truth. I would