Inner Harbor
Page 46

Sybill lifted her hands. "I realized yesterday when I spoke with her that there was no lawyer. Gloria has always been a clever actress. I'd forgotten that, or I chose to forget that."
"Were you aware that she had a drug problem?"
"No--again, not until yesterday. When I saw her, and spoke with her, it became clear that she's not capable at this time of handling the responsibility of a child."
"She doesn't want the responsibility of a child," Phillip commented.
"So you said," Sybill responded coolly. "You indicated that she wanted money. I'm aware that money is important to Gloria. I'm also aware that she's not stable. But it's difficult for me to believe, without proof, that she's done all that you claim."
"You want proof?" Cam stepped forward, fury all but visible in waves around him. "You got it, sugar. Show her the letters, Anna."
"Cam, sit down." Anna's order was firm before she turned back to Sybill.
"Would you recognize your sister's handwriting?"
"I don't know. I suppose I might."
"I have a copy of the letter found in Raymond Quinn's car when he was killed, and one of the letters sent to us more recently."
She took them out of the file and passed them over the desk into Sybill's hands.
Words and phrases leaped out at her, burned into her mind.
Quinn, I'm tired of playing nickel and dime. You want the kid so bad, then it's time to pay for him… A hundred and fifty grand's a pretty good bargain for a good-looking boy like Seth.
Oh, God, was all Sybill could think. Dear God.
The letter to the Quinns after Ray's death was no better.
Ray and me had an agreement.
If you're set on keeping him… I'm going to need some money…
Sybill willed her hands to remain steady.
"She took this money?"
"Professor Quinn drew out cashier's checks to Gloria DeLauter, twice for ten thousand dollars, once for five." Anna spoke clearly and without emotion. "He brought Seth DeLauter to St. Christopher's late last year. The letter you have is postmarked March tenth. The following day Professor Quinn arranged to cash out his bonds, some stock, and he drew large sums of cash out of his bank account. On March twelfth, he told Ethan he had business in Baltimore. On his return, he was killed in a single-car accident. There were just over forty dollars in his wallet. No other money was found."
"He promised I wouldn't have to go back," Seth said dully. "He was decent. He promised, and she knew he'd pay her."
"She asked for more. From you. From all of you."
"And miscalculated." Phillip leaned back, studying Sybill. Nothing showed, he noted, but her pallor. "She won't bleed us, Dr. Griffin. She can threaten all she wants, but she won't bleed us, and she won't get Seth."
"You also have a copy of the letter I wrote to Gloria DeLauter," Anna stated. "I informed her that Seth was under the protection of Social Services, that an investigation by this office was under way on charges of child abuse. If she comes into the county, she'll be served with a restraining order and a warrant."
"She was furious," Grace spoke up. "She called the house right after she got Anna's letter. She threatened and demanded. She said she wanted money or she'd take Seth. I told her she was wrong." Grace looked over, held Seth's gaze. "He's ours now."
She'd sold her son, was all Sybill could think. It was just as Phillip had said. All of it was just as he'd said. "You have temporary guardianship."
"It'll be permanent shortly," Phillip informed her. "We intend to see to that."
Sybill laid the papers back on Anna's desk. Inside she was cold, brutally cold, but she linked her fingers lightly on top of her purse and spoke evenly to Seth. "Did she hit you?"
"What the hell do you care?"
"Answer the question, Seth," Phillip ordered. "Tell your aunt what life was like with her sister."
"Okay, fine." He bit the words off, but his sneer was wobbly around the edges. "Sure, she knocked me around when she felt like it. If I was lucky, she was too drunk or stoned for it to hurt much. I could usually get away, anyhow." He shrugged as if it didn't matter in the least.
"Sometimes she got me by surprise. Maybe she hadn't been able to turn enough tricks to score. So she'd wake me up and pound on me a while. Or she'd cry all over me."
She wanted to turn away from that image, as she'd turned away from the desperate strangers in the waiting area. Instead she kept her gaze steady on Seth's face. "Why didn't you tell anyone, find someone to help you?"
"Like who?" Was she stupid, Seth thought? "The cops? She told me what the cops would do. I'd end up in juvie and some guy would use me like some of her Johns wanted to. They could do whatever they wanted once I was inside. As long as I was out, I could get away."
"She lied to you," Anna said softly while Sybill tried to find words, any words. "The police would have helped."
"She knew?" Sybill managed. "About the men who tried to… touch you?"
"Sure, she thought it was funny. Hell, when she's stoned, she thinks most everything is funny. It's when she's drunk that she gets mean."
Could this monster the boy spoke of so casually be her sister? "How…
Do you know why she decided to contact Professor Quinn?"
"No, I don't know anything about it. She got wired up one day, started talking about hitting a gold mine. She took off for a few days."
"She left you alone?" Why that should horrify her, after everything else she'd heard, Sybill couldn't say.
"Hey, I can take care of myself. When she came back, she was flying. Said I was finally going to be of some use. She had some money--real money, because she went out and scored a lot of dope without hooking. She stayed stoned and happy for days. Then Ray came. He said I could come with him. At first I thought he was like the guys she brought home. But he wasn't. I could tell. He looked sad and tired."
His voice had changed, she noted, softened. So, she thought, he grieves, too. Then she saw the ripe disgust come into his eyes.