Lost and Found

by Colleen Coble

  Emily couldn’t think of a thing to say that would comfort Olivia, so she just squeezed her hand tightly. “Are you going to tell your parents, or let the sheriff?”

  “I’ve thought about that all night and today, and I decided I’m going to tell them. They’ll be less hurt if they hear from me why I went looking.”

  “I’m sorry, Liv. I shouldn’t have pushed you to search.”

  “It’s okay. I needed to know.” But Olivia’s face was still pale.

  “How are you feeling? About—you know. The selling thing.”

  Olivia swallowed. “I guess I can understand it with the trouble she was in. I felt sorry for her when she was telling us. And I don’t think my parents knew that was what was happening. I’m sure they were just grateful and wanted to help Mackenzie any way they could. I can’t imagine them knowing that they were buying me.”

  Emily exhaled. At least Olivia wasn’t freaked out about that part. “I agree. That doesn’t sound like your parents at all.” They reached Cottage Avenue, Emily’s street. “Call me after you tell them.”

  “If I can.”

  Emily grabbed another hug, then raced toward home. Other than Charley and Sherlock greeting her with wagging tails, the house was silent as she entered, then she remembered Grandma had to take Timmy in for his checkup this afternoon. It felt really strange for ordinary things like doctor appointments to go on without Naomi. Timmy had been so little when Marika had left them that he’d forgotten her until she’d shown back up. What if Matthew forgot about Naomi? God, please, please, pretty please . . . please bring Naomi home to us.

  She felt like her entire life was caught in some wicked tailspin.

  Emily let Sherlock and Charley into the backyard, then headed to her room and grabbed her cell. She saw the voice mail indicator, but she had a call to make first. As she’d promised this morning, she quickly dialed Dad’s number at the hardware store. He answered on the first ring. “Hi, Dad. Home safe and sound.”

  “Hi, sweetheart. I’ll be leaving here in a few hours. Your grandma’s picking up pizza on her way home.”

  Things had almost gotten to a new normal. Even Dad was back at work and letting Grandma oversee things at home. Emily wanted to scream for Naomi, but that wouldn’t bring her back. “Okay. I’m going to do my homework. See you soon.” She only had one algebra sheet to complete, which wouldn’t take her long.

  She checked her voice mail. It was Inetta, and she said it was urgent that Emily call her back immediately. Heart pounding, Emily called Inetta’s cell phone.

  “Emily, where are you?”

  “In my room. What’s going on?”

  “Listen, my friend was able to trace the track-back program.” Inetta spoke so fast her words almost tripped on each other.

  “And?”

  “The program originated from Charlotte Tarver’s office. You must’ve triggered it when you did that initial search.”

  Emily could hear her pulse pounding.

  “I had to take it to the sheriff. He’s pretty upset you didn’t tell him, by the way, and will probably tell your dad.”

  Great. Just when it felt like Dad had forgotten he’d grounded her, she’d be back in trouble.

  “Are you there, Emily?”

  “Yeah. I’m here.”

  “Listen, when the police went to pick up Charlotte Tarver for questioning last night, she wasn’t there. They’ve cased out her home and her office, and there’s no sign of her.”

  Emily lay back on her bed. “What does that mean?”

  “Means that she’s unaccounted for and we can assume she’s dangerous. And we already know she’s aware you and I both are involved in researching her.” Inetta’s voice was edged with concern. “Is your dad home yet?”

  Emily sat up, grabbing her Phantom of the Opera pillow to her chest. “No, he’s still at the store. Grandma’s picking up pizza on her way home. Why?”

  “Are you at home alone?” No mistaking the worry in Inetta’s voice.

  “Yes.” Now she was getting creeped out. “Am I not safe?” All her mind could focus on was what Mackenzie had said about Charlotte’s scary goons who had come after her when she snuck out of the hospital. Her mouth went dry.

  “Just make sure the doors are locked until your dad gets home, okay? They’re locked, right?”

  She couldn’t remember if she locked the front door behind her! She’d been thinking about Liv maybe having to leave, and Naomi missing, and the dogs . . .

  “Emily! Go check. Right now. While I’m on the phone with you.”

  Now she was really scared. “Okay.”

  What if someone who worked for Charlotte was in the foyer, waiting to attack her? Her heart pounded so hard she was sure it’d break her ribs. She managed to make it to the front door.

  She let out a relieved breath. “The front door is locked.”

  “And the back?”

  “The dogs are in the backyard.” And she knew she hadn’t locked that door. Emily raced to the kitchen door.

  “Right. Good. Let the dogs in.”

  “Okay.” She opened the door, and Charley and Sherlock rushed inside. She locked the door and dead bolted it, then grabbed a soda from the fridge. “Done.”

  “There’s probably no issue at all, and I don’t mean to scare you, but I just want you to take precautions. Sheriff Kaleva is in communication with the Marquette police, and they’ll let him know as soon as they locate Charlotte.”

  She opened the soda and sat at the kitchen table. “Hey, Inetta, are you at the sheriff’s now?” She picked at the pop-top before she took a sip.

  “Yes, why?”

  “Any update on Marika?”

  Silence never sounded so loud. “Inetta?”

  “Your dad hasn’t told you?”

  The tightening in her stomach returned. “Told me what?”

  “I’m sorry, Emily. I just don’t feel comfortable telling you. It’s not my place to say anything.”

  Emily curled her hand into a fist. “I deserve to know.”

  “And your dad will probably tell you.”

  “I just got off the phone with him, and he didn’t say anything about Marika.”

  “He’s probably waiting to tell you in person.”

  “Come on, Inetta.” Emily groaned. “Please. I won’t let anyone know you told me first, I promise.”

  Silence.

  “Inetta?”

  A loud sigh. “I shouldn’t, but you’re right, you do deserve to know.”

  Emily sat up straighter as Charley and Sherlock plopped down on their favorite rug in the kitchen. “Thank you.”

  “Marika was charged with arson and is in jail.”

  The news didn’t even faze Emily. Not anymore. Not after everything Marika had done. “Did she ever explain why she poisoned Charley?”

  The dog looked up at his name. Emily smiled and took a sip of her soda.

  “I didn’t actually hear, but one of the deputies told me she’d claimed to have only wanted Charley disabled enough that she could get a chance to talk to you alone.”

  “Why?” Marika had spoken to her in the woods at the homecoming celebration, but nothing so important as to poison Charley. “What did she want to talk to me about?”

  “Apparently she thought you could tell your dad you wanted to spend some time with her and he’d agree.” Inetta snorted. “Of course Sheriff Kaleva did a little digging and found out about the inheritance, which is what she wanted most. I’m sorry, but I think that’s the whole reason she came back to Rock Harbor. Just to try and wheedle it from you.”

  “What inheritance?”

  “Your dad didn’t tell you about that either?”

  “Inetta!”

  She sighed. “Emily, you’re so going to get me in trouble.”

  Emily’s stomach churned. “What inheritance?”

  “Marika’s aunt died. She never had any children and had originally left her estate to Marika. Once Marika had you, the aunt changed the wil
l to leave her estate to you. Soon after finding that out, Marika stopped seeing her aunt, never even telling her when she had Timmy.”

  Emily shook her head. She didn’t understand any of this.

  “The aunt died a few weeks ago, and the executor is concluding the estate. He had to contact Marika to locate you. She refused to tell him where you were, but he found out anyway and contacted your father.” Inetta’s voice softened. “I’m sorry, Em. She’s just here for the money.”

  “That’s no surprise.”

  But her lips felt numb. Her mother really didn’t care about her at all. She hadn’t changed, and she wasn’t sorry. But Emily found it still didn’t change the fact that she had forgiven her. It didn’t feel good, but she wasn’t angry or bitter anymore. Bree was right. Forgiving Marika made her feel better, even if it never changed Marika a bit.

  Woof! Charley and Sherlock raced to the door, tails wagging.

  “Hey, I’ve got to go. I think Grandma and the boys are home. I’ll need to help her.”

  “Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Thanks, Inetta. For telling me.”

  “Yeah, just try not to get me in trouble.”

  Emily disconnected the call and headed into the living room, where Timmy nearly ran her over as he ran inside with two large pizza boxes. “Hey, Dad’s home too, so we can eat.”

  Matthew followed, then Grandma. “Hello, dear. How was your day?” She planted a kiss on Emily’s cheek before putting her purse on the table in the entryway.

  “Good.”

  Dad brought up the rear, closing the door behind him. He wore a scowl. “I’d like to talk to you, young lady.”

  “I’ll get the boys their dinner.” Grandma headed into the kitchen.

  Dad sat on the couch and pointed at the chair across from him. Emily slunk into the seat. “Yes, sir?”

  “I had a call from Mason. Regarding your computer.”

  “Dad, I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, I did, but I couldn’t without telling you . . . about something else.”

  “About Olivia being adopted?”

  Her heart sank to her toes. “You knew?”

  He shook his head. “I only found out when Mason called. Apparently Inetta Harris told Mason quite the story, along with a Mackenzie Barnes.”

  She ran her teeth over her bottom lip. “Dad, I’m really sorry. I’d promised Olivia I wouldn’t say anything to anyone. You understand how that is, right? You’ve told me we have to honor our promises.” Please, God, let him remember his lecture to me about not breaking our word.

  Dad looked like he’d eaten a sour apple.

  “I’m really, really sorry.”

  “Okay. I can understand you not wanting to break a promise.”

  Yes!

  “However, you need to be careful about making promises like that in the future. Sometimes big secrets can put people in danger.”

  “Like how the secret of my inheritance put Charley in danger?”

  Dad’s face went white, then very, very red.

  Uh-oh. She really should’ve stopped that from slipping out.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  “So, basically, I have a college fund totally set up.” Emily lodged her cell between her cheek and shoulder and tossed the throw toy to Sherlock, who raced across the bedroom to grab the squeaky duck.

  “That’s awesome,” Olivia replied.

  “Yeah, but I’m still upset Dad didn’t tell me right away. He said he and Naomi talked it over and decided they didn’t want to tell me because they were afraid I wouldn’t study as hard if I knew I had college paid for.” Did they think she wouldn’t do her best anyway?

  “At least you know the money’s there for college no matter what though.”

  Emily nodded as she stared at her ceiling. “Yeah, there’s that. At least he didn’t ground me again for not telling him everything we’ve been up to, even though he was really mad.”

  “I’d take a grounding over the crying here. My mom hasn’t stopped bawling since we talked.”

  Man, oh man. She really shouldn’t be complaining at all right now about such a secret. It was nothing compared to Olivia’s family secrets. “I can’t believe they sent you to your room while they called the sheriff and talked to him.”

  “I know, right? Like I can’t be part of whatever conversation they’re having? Sheesh, it’s about me. I’m the one who should be in the middle of the conversation. I’m the innocent party here.”

  Emily detected the hurt in her best friend’s voice, the pain she desperately tried to hide. “I’m so sorry, Liv.”

  “It’s done, right? Not like we can turn back time and have me not sold.” Olivia sniffed.

  Emily felt smaller than small. Here she was, complaining about having a college fund set up that she didn’t know about, and her best friend was in agony. God, please comfort Liv. She’s so upset right now. Please love on her a lot.

  Olivia continued, “Anyway, once they find Charlotte Tarver and figure out how many babies she basically sold, the sheriff feels likes Mackenzie’s testimony will really help bring Charlotte to justice.”

  Timmy burst into her room. Without knocking.

  “Emily, Dad wants you. Right now. He looks mad. You’re probably in trouble again.” He stuck his tongue out at her, then ran into the hall where Charley waited.

  She gritted her teeth. “I’ve got to go. Dad wants me for something.” She shoved off the bed. “It’s gonna be okay, Liv. I know it. For both of us.” She prayed she was right.

  “You wanted me?” she asked Dad as she plopped onto the couch beside Grandma. Timmy, the little snake, wasn’t anywhere in the room.

  “I just got a call from Mason.”

  Every muscle went tense at Dad’s tone. “And?” Her heart rate went into overdrive.

  “The Marquette police have reason to believe Charlotte Tarver is in Rock Harbor.”

  “Has Sheriff Kaleva found her?”

  Dad shook his head. “He’s looking. He’s got all the deputies looking, and the state police too.”

  Emily wanted so badly to find this woman who’d caused Olivia such pain.

  “Don’t worry. Mason’s doing everything he can. He’ll find her.”

  “You know all about the investigator she had, right? The one looking into Inetta?”

  “Yes, Mason filled me in on all the details.” Dad’s brow scrunched. “That’s why I get upset with you, Emily. Because you put yourself in danger without even thinking about it.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I love you so much . . . when you do dangerous things, it scares me.”

  “Oh, Daddy.” She moved into his lap and curled into his hug, just like she’d done when she was little bitty. “I love you too.”

  “You’re going to wear a hole in my rug if you don’t stop,” Grandma said. “It’s a real Persian, you know.”

  Emily stopped pacing but tapped her foot against the beautiful rug in Grandma’s Blue Bonnet Bed and Breakfast. “I can’t help it. Dad’s taking forever. I want to know everything they found out about Charlotte Tarver.”

  Sheriff Kaleva had called about an hour ago, telling them the state troopers had picked up the attorney on the highway. She’d been brought to Rock Harbor’s sheriff office and was being questioned. Dad had gone to the station with Mr. Webster for moral support.

  He’d called ten minutes ago and said he was on his way home. He’d sounded . . . odd. It didn’t take ten minutes to drive a little over two blocks. Well, the weather had gotten a bit rough. Strong wind and snow flurries already swirling high in the sky. Forecast for an early winter storm was predicted.

  “Patience has never been your strong suit, has it, dear?” Grandma chuckled. “Why don’t you help me put stamps on these invitations?”

  Emily stared at the envelopes with addresses written in beautiful calligraphy. “Maybe we should cancel the party, considering everything.”

  “Even though there’s controversy regarding Olivia’s adoption
, Mr. and Mrs. Webster are no less married. This party is for their anniversary. Of course it shouldn’t be canceled.”

  Maybe she was right. Emily took a seat and grabbed a book of stamps.

  “I think a party is just what Olivia’s family needs. They’re all hurting so much, each in their own way.” Grandma made tsking noises.

  Emily hung her head. This was all her fault. She was the one who’d pushed Olivia to get to the truth.

  Grandma shook her head, but not before Emily noticed the tears in her eyes. “Naomi’s been missing for a week today, and I feel like my heart’s been ripped right from my chest. We have to find her.”

  The sound of gravel crunching in the drive pushed Emily to her feet. The book of stamps shot to the floor.

  Grandma waved her away. “I’ll get them. You go see your dad before you have a breakdown.”

  Emily rushed to the front entrance, where Dad was stepping over the threshold.

  His face had more color and liveliness than she’d seen on him in a long time. “News?”

  “Let’s go into the parlor with your grandma.” His steps were sure and quick.

  This had to be good news.

  Grandma looked up as they entered. Emily trailed and sat on the love seat.

  “I talked with Mason. He’s completed his interview with Charlotte Tarver and is filing charges against her.”

  “What did she say?” Emily couldn’t wait for Dad to draw the story out. This was her best friend’s life.

  Dad held up his hand. “Once Mason told her he knew about Mackenzie and Olivia, she realized she was facing charges and not just disbarment. Knowing the charges would stick, she confessed to having Naomi kidnapped.”

  Grandma gasped. Emily felt every muscle in her body go limp. Charlotte had kidnapped Naomi?

  Dad rocked back on his heels. “She said when the track-back program was activated by your system, she got Naomi’s information.”