Missing at Christmas

by K. D. Richards

  Shawn glanced over at Becky. “Why do you say that?”

  “Teddy and Ben. They’ve been friends since high school. Bad seeds, both of them.” Her face twisted in a grimace.

  Based on her last encounter with Teddy, Addy could understand why Becky didn’t care for Teddy. But Ben? Addy knew why she didn’t like him. He didn’t seem to care at all that Cassie was missing, which was suspicious as far as Addy was concerned. But Becky was referring to something else.

  “Ben’s a bad seed? He’s an executive at a thriving computer company.”

  Becky tipped her head down to glare at Addy. “Executives can be bad seeds, too.”

  “Yes, of course,” Addy answered, feeling chastised.

  Becky shot her one more glare before continuing, “They went to high school together. An odd pair on the surface, but underneath they’re more alike than not. Both selfish and entitled. Ben’s money always got him out of the consequences, and I think that’s why Teddy hitched his wagon to Ben’s horse. You know where one goes, so goes the other.”

  The three of them watched as Teddy stabbed the air between him and Ben with a finger before roaring off on his bike. Ben walked out of view of the window, and Becky moved to refill the coffee cups of the couple at the next table.

  “I’d love to know what that was all about,” Shawn said, shifting to get his wallet from his back pocket.

  Ben walked in and strode to the counter as Shawn spoke.

  “I’m more interested in the tension Suri mentioned between him and Cassie,” Addy answered, scooting off the bench. “Either way, let’s not waste the opportunity to ask him.”

  Shawn followed as she wove between the booths and tables to Ben’s side.

  A young red-haired waitress handed Ben a paper cup, smiling coquettishly. Ben winked and turned away, stepping back in surprise when he saw Addy standing in his path to the door.

  “Oh, Addy. How nice to see you again,” Ben said in a politely distant voice.

  “We finally tracked down Suri Bedingfield. She was under the impression you and Cassie argued right before Cassie went missing.”

  Ben smoothed the blue tie around his neck. “I can’t begin to fathom why she’d think that. Cassie and I were no longer together, but we parted on good terms, as I told you.”

  Ben’s expression remained placid, but he swallowed hard.

  She cocked her head to the side and put on a faux-pleasant tone. “Yet Suri seems to think otherwise. Why is that?”

  “You’d have to ask her,” Ben said with a plastic smile.

  Addy could feel the tether she had on her temper fraying fast. She moved closer to Ben’s table, crowding into his personal space. “We also found Cassie’s things thrown into garbage bags and stuffed into the attic at her apartment. You know anything about that?”

  “I can’t say I do,” Ben said, his voice hard.

  Addy bent forward, putting her face within inches of Ben’s. “I know you’re lying. I know you had something to do with my sister’s disappearance.” She slammed her hand down on the table. “Where is my sister?”

  It took everything in her not to hit Ben. To pound on him until he told her where to find Cassie.

  Shawn grabbed her arm and inched her away from the table.

  Ben took the opportunity to slide out of the booth. “Look. I’ve told you what I know.” He glared at Addy. “I don’t like being harassed.”

  “I’m sure you can understand how upset Addy is,” Shawn said in a conciliatory voice.

  Ben’s gaze slid to Shawn. “I need to get to work.”

  “Pretty early to be going into the office.” Shawn cut Ben off as he attempted to move around Addy to the door.

  “Yes, well, I need to head out to the factory before going into the office.”

  “Hey, why don’t we go with you?” Shawn said, cuffing Ben’s shoulder. “You did promise a tour.”

  Ben frowned. “I don’t know.”

  “Then we won’t be in anyone’s way,” Shawn said with an unnaturally bright smile.

  Ben’s frown deepened, but then he nodded. “Let me just make sure it won’t be a problem.”

  Ben moved several steps away and pulled out his phone.

  Addy’s eyes narrowed on Shawn’s face. “Why are you so interested in the Spectrum factory? It has something to do with the case you came to Bentham to investigate, doesn’t it?”

  Addy watched as Shawn’s gaze moved from Ben to her. “You know I can’t tell you about that. I can drop you off at the hotel.”

  “I’m going with you.”

  Shawn’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  Addy’s stomach twisted. Shawn was still keeping something from her, and she’d never fully trust him until she knew what it was.

  “I don’t care.” He started to argue, but she cut him off. “Look, we can kill two birds with one stone here. I know you have confidentiality issues with this other case, but I hope by now you know you can trust me.”

  “I do trust you.”

  That simple declaration made her happier than she had time to examine at the moment. “Good. So there’s no reason I can’t go. Cassie was there at least two days a week. Someone may know something that could help us find her.” Addy cut her eyes toward Ben. “And I want to talk to him some more. I think he knows more than he’s saying about where Cassie could be.”

  She caught Shawn’s glower out of the side of her eye but ignored it.

  “You want to follow me?” Ben said, returning.

  “Sure,” Shawn said without enthusiasm.

  A zing of electricity shot through Addy when Shawn put his hand on the small of her back as they followed Ben out of the diner.

  Ben got in his BMW, and Shawn followed him from the parking lot.

  “You really think Ben isn’t connected to Addy’s disappearance?”

  Shawn followed the BMW onto a two-lane county road leading south. “I don’t know. I just don’t think we should jump to conclusions. Especially not based on evidence from Suri Bedingfield.”

  “Her sudden move to Garwin is suspicious, as is that fancy apartment.”

  Shawn’s gaze moved to the rearview mirror.

  “Exactly. And she had just as much opportunity, if not more, to hide Cassie’s things in that attic.”

  She released a heavy sigh. “I just want to find Cassie.”

  He reached for her hand without taking his eyes off the road and squeezed. “I know, and we will.”

  He moved his hand back to the steering wheel, his eyes flicking to the mirror again and his jaw tightening.

  “Why do you keep looking in the mirror with that worried expression?” She turned in her seat to see what he was looking at. There was very little traffic on this road, only Ben’s BMW in front of them, a motorcycle coming up fast behind them. “Is that Teddy? What’s going on?”

  “Make sure your seat belt is on,” Shawn answered.

  She watched as the motorcycle advanced on the Yukon.

  The motorcycle followed dangerously close. What was this idiot doing? He would rear-end them if he didn’t slow down. “Shawn?”

  Addy’s adrenaline spiked. She faced forward in time to see Ben’s BMW speed up on the street in front of them.

  Shawn pressed the accelerator, switching lanes to avoid a slow-moving white-paneled van.

  The motorcycle switched lanes behind them, speeding up to keep pace. The road ahead of them was clear, but a drag race down the highway was still dangerous.

  Addy reached into her purse for her phone.

  The motorcycle put on a burst of speed and pulled up next to them on Shawn’s side of the car.

  Addy tried to look past Shawn at the person driving the motorcycle, but she could only catch a glimpse of the face of a white male with a dark beard before S
hawn hit the gas, throwing her back against the seat.

  A succession of pops sounded at the same time Shawn yelled, “Get down!”

  She froze, struggling to make sense of the sounds she’d heard and where they were coming from to heed Shawn’s warning.

  The popping sounds came again, and this time her brain processed exactly what they were. Bullets.

  Addy shrank down in her seat so her head dipped below the passenger side window. She still held her phone in her hand. She quickly dialed 911, relating where she and Shawn were and that they were being shot at.

  Shawn veered wildly to the right and onto the shoulder of the road. On either side of this section of the highway, there was nothing other than miles and miles of land.

  Shawn got them back onto the pavement and put on another burst of speed in an attempt to outrun the bike. The motorcyclist kept pace behind them, but close enough that a sporadic volley of shots pinged off the back bumper. A bullet smashed through the back windshield, and a scream tore from Addy’s throat.

  Shawn ducked down, sending the Yukon swerving wildly. “Are you okay?”

  She slid farther in her seat, nearly sitting on the floorboard. “Yes. But he’s trying to kill us!”

  “It certainly seems so.”

  Shawn swore, his gaze locked on something ahead of them.

  She pushed upward enough to see through the front window.

  A sharp curve with a steep drop-off loomed up ahead. The roadside sign cautioning drivers to slow down whizzed by, followed closely by another deeming the speed limit thirty-five miles per hour.

  They were moving at well over twice that suggestion, and the continued shots coming from behind them cautioned against slowing.

  Shawn gripped the steering wheel tight enough to turn his knuckles white. He tapped the brakes as they rode into the turn at a still much too fast speed.

  The gunshots had stopped, but there was little time to give thanks.

  The cyclist drew even with them again and swerved to the right. Metal screamed as the passenger side of the Yukon scraped along the barrier.

  “Hang on!” Shawn stomped on the gas, sending them shooting forward again.

  They were still in the curve, but a straight stretch of highway loomed in front of them.

  The motorcycle slammed into the back of their car, sending them spinning.

  Shawn struggled to regain control of the Yukon as it sailed across the center line. Luckily, there was no oncoming traffic.

  They slid from the road, the driver’s side of the car scraping along the barrier until they made it to the end.

  But the Yukon didn’t stop. It careened backward through the tall grass along the side of the highway, miraculously halting just before they would have plowed into a line of trees.

  “Are you all right?” Shawn’s voice sounded like it was coming from underwater.

  Addy looked at him. A large gash slashed his temple, sending blood dripping down the side of his face. The sight sent a wave of fear through her, almost as strong as the one she’d felt when she realized Cassie was missing. But he was conscious and talking, so that was good.

  “I’m okay, I think.” She wiggled her fingers and toes and mentally scanned herself for injuries. A sharp pain radiated from her side, but it didn’t feel too bad. She was dazed, but like Shawn, she hadn’t lost consciousness and counted that as a win.

  “I can’t get out. My seat belt is stuck, and the door is jammed.” Shawn pulled on the seat belt, but it didn’t give.

  She tried her seat belt, unsnapping it easily. Somehow the airbags hadn’t inflated, which was a godsend, because if they had, they wouldn’t have been able to see that they weren’t out of the woods yet.

  They’d stopped some twenty yards from the road near the end of the curve in the highway. From their vantage point, she could see a green pickup idling at the side of the road up ahead.

  Fear and adrenaline rushed through her. She bent forward, scanning the floorboard beneath her feet, running her hand under the passenger chair, looking for her purse. It wasn’t there, which meant her Ruger inside it wasn’t there, either. The force of the crash could have easily sent it sliding to the rear of the car or even out of the now-missing passenger window.

  “Where’s your gun?” Addy asked without taking her eyes off the truck.

  Shawn followed her gaze to the truck.

  “In the glove compartment.”

  Addy prayed the glove box would open and breathed a sigh of relief when it did.

  A black-and-silver pistol lay in the glove compartment next to a full magazine.

  She grabbed the gun, inserting the magazine and checking that the safety was off.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, attempting to reach for the gun but wincing.

  “Preparing to defend us if it becomes necessary.”

  The bike lurched forward, swinging into a U-turn as she spoke. The truck began slowly moving in their direction on the wrong side of the road.

  Where the hell were the police? It seemed like it had been hours since she’d called 911, although her rational mind told her it had been only a minute. That had been all it had taken to be shot at and driven off the road. She knew in her gut the police wouldn’t make it in time to save them.

  “Lean your chair back,” Addy said, crawling over the console separating them. There was no need to let down the window. There was no window anymore.

  “It’s too dangerous. Let me do it.” Shawn attempted to reach for the gun in her hand. The fact that she could easily swat his hand away told her everything she needed to know about which of them should hold the gun.

  Addy scrambled over his legs. “We don’t have time to argue about this.”

  Addy positioned herself so she had a clear shot at the cyclist.

  The motorcycle crawled closer. The rider’s arm rose, a gun in his hand.

  The driver was male, but Addy still couldn’t get a good look at his face.

  She stopped trying and focused on the gun.

  Her grandfather’s voice rang in her ears.

  It’s all muscle memory, baby doll.

  Sweat beaded on her forehead.

  The driver raised his gun. She drew in a deep breath, then let it out as she pulled the trigger.

  The driver’s scream echoed over the empty highway. His gun fell onto the asphalt.

  Addy kept the gun trained on the truck as its tires squealed. The rider turned toward her, the absolute hatred on his face sending a chill down Addy’s spine. She recognized Teddy.

  The motorcycle sped away.

  “He’s gone,” Addy said, crawling back into the passenger seat. “It was Teddy Arbury.”

  Shawn swore.

  She could hear the sounds of sirens in the distance.

  “Sounds like help is on the way,” Shawn said, peering through the windshield.

  “Good.” Addy handed the gun to Shawn. She didn’t think Teddy would come back, but the calculation as to who was better off defending them if he did was rapidly changing. She reached under her shirt, touching her abdomen. She came away with her fingers covered in blood. “I think I need it.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Shawn paced the hospital waiting room.

  The EMTs had whisked Addy away while the fire department cut him out of his seat belt. He’d waived treatment and had a deputy drive him to the hospital. He’d been so desperate to assure himself that Addy was okay that he’d forgotten to lie and say he was her fiancé or husband when the nurse had asked. Now no one would tell him anything about Addy’s condition because he wasn’t immediate family. He was nearly out of his mind with worry.

  Shawn turned to head back the length of the room and spotted Donovan.

  “This is quite a mess you and your lady friend got yourselves into,” Donovan said.

&nb
sp; “Not one of our making,” Shawn growled.

  “So you told my deputy. I retrieved Ms. Williams’s purse from the vehicle. Thought you might want to hang on to it for her.” Donovan handed Addy’s purse over. “I’m afraid your vehicle is going to be a loss.”

  Shawn glanced inside the purse, checking to make sure her gun was properly secured in the purse holster.

  One of Donovan’s eyebrows cocked higher than the other.

  “She has a New York permit to carry,” Shawn said.

  Donovan lifted his chin. “I know. If she didn’t, she’d be headed straight for my jail from her hospital bed. How is she?”

  He ran a hand over his head. “I don’t know. No one will tell me anything because I’m not related. But there was a lot of blood. I think she might have been shot.”

  Donovan took pity on him. “Hang on. I’ll see what I can find out,” he said, exiting the waiting area and striding toward the nurses’ desk.

  Shawn was monumentally pissed off at himself. He’d messed up big-time, putting the only woman he’d ever cared about in danger. Nearly getting her killed.

  Bile rose in his throat at the memory of seeing her covered in blood. That Teddy had been the one to fire the shots absolved him of nothing. It was his fault for putting her in the situation in the first place. He should have known better.

  Shawn had given Ben an opening, and he’d taken it, setting them up to be shot. Had someone at Spectrum found out why Shawn was really in town? Or were the bullets meant to stop Addy from looking for Cassie? Maybe both?

  If Addy hadn’t been such a crack shot, they both would have been killed.

  Another memory of Addy slumped next to him in the passenger seat of the Yukon, her hands covered in her blood, flashed through his mind.

  It had been close. Too close.

  Footsteps fell in the hall, the sound growing louder as they did. Someone was headed his way. He looked up, expecting to see Donovan, and was surprised to see Ryan and Gideon instead.

  He’d called Ryan soon after arriving at the hospital, but unless they’d learned how to appear by magic, there was no way Ryan and Gideon should be standing in front of him right now.

  “What are you doing here? How are you here?” Shawn asked, rising and meeting the other two men in the middle of the room.