Stolen - The Devereaux Case Files Book 4

Chapter 3

It was a few days after the two officers had visited Ayah and Reed at home, before Blake and Carter were confronted with the truth at the station. Blake had managed to scare Carter enough from prison into giving him an alibi for both the drug charges and the alleged assault on a minor. The Feds had only been able to hold him on the kidnapping of Ayah, who without being present couldn't admit that she had been kidnapped. Carter had come forward to say that she had lawfully and happily left school to marry Blake. Now they were being told it was a lie.

"I'm sorry sir, but your daughter insists that she played along with the engagement only long enough to find an opportunity to escape. By which time she left of her own accord and traveled to Italy where she met her current husband. There's nothing we can do." Officer Hansen sighed, leafing through the few notes he had made on his visit to the Devereaux house just a few days before. There wasn't much to tell except that Ayah was happy where she was and had a daughter that both she and her husband loved. There was no animosity and no sign of Ayah being in a situation that she didn't want for herself.

"I'm sorry sir, but you're going to have to accept that the young woman is married and there is nothing anyone can legally do to change that." Officer Kapner made the situation a little clearer to Blake, who he sympathized with after meeting Ayah. He knew from the look Hansen gave him that his words were unappreciated but he knew what he was doing. He was trying to help out an old college friend, whilst keeping their relationship a secret from his boss and partner.

"Mrs Devereaux claims that she was escaping an arranged marriage and a violent one at that. Do you have anything to say to these charges?" Officer Hansen made his point clearly, that they should leave Ayah and her husband Reed alone, to enjoy their life together. Regardless of any bright ideas that Blake, his partner or Ayah's father thought about the situation. He didn't like the way that Kapner was trying to insinuate that Blake could take less than legal means to reclaim his once-fiancée, just because she was now taken by someone else. It wasn't their policy to advise people on their problems.

He wanted to make sure that no-one was going to attempt anything stupid. He wanted to make it perfectly clear to them that Ayah was well aware of how she would be treated if she returned to her family. He wasn't going to let them away with bullying her into submission when she was perfectly happy on her own, with her husband and child. He could just see that Kapner and Blake didn't agree.

"Not a thing. As far as Blake and I knew, Ayah was completely happy and willing to be engaged to him. I just don't understand where these claims have come in," Carter dismissed the claims of violence without a thought. He didn't consider his policy on 'behavior' and proper etiquette within a relationship to be any business of the nosy policeman's.

It was bad enough that he'd been dragged back into the craziness of Blake's world, mostly by his own inaction on the day of Ayah's disappearance. But when he found out that Blake had full control of his bank account, he had been forced to rekindle their business relationship and find out where his daughter was to complete the marriage agreement. Now he had some snot nosed teenage policeman telling him to leave her alone. Well that was all fine and well, but he didn't have time. He needed Blake wed and Ayah pregnant with his son before the rest of his world came clattering down around him. The news that she was already married and had a daughter was devastating, for both him and Blake. Who he could see, thoroughly disapproved of her new relationship. Even if he was trying not to show it.

"I'm sure she was just trying to convince herself that she had done the right thing for herself. That has to be the only reason she told herself such lies." Blake didn't like Hansen's interference as Kapner tried to offer him another way out of his problem. Kapner was an old friend who owed him big time, it was only right that he use his job to repay that favor He could see Carter already losing his nerve, and that worried him. Nothing was going according to plan.