Cookies with a Side of Danger

by Meredith Potts

  “It's never going to stop hurting, though, is it?”

  I shook my head. “It doesn't seem like it. I mean, it's been over twenty years since I lost Jessica and my emotional scars have never truly healed.”

  “I can attest to that.”

  “Maybe they never will. I miss her so much.”

  “I’m right there with you.”

  “Face it. Life hasn’t been the same since she died. Nor will it ever be the same again.”

  “It sure won’t.”

  He became choked up. After staring out the window for a few seconds, he found a way to pull himself together.

  “I have to say, I don’t know how you do it. How you’re able to work on a case as heart wrenching as this one.”

  “It isn’t easy. Especially since clues have been so hard to come by.”

  He put his hand on my shoulder. “Well, here’s hoping that you and David get a big break soon.”

  “I’m keeping my fingers crossed,” I said.

  Chapter Eighteen

  When I finished up at Daley Buzz, I headed over to the police station to check in with my husband. Not only was David happy to see me, but he was also thrilled that I brought him a double espresso. It turned out the coffee at the station was absolutely dreadful.

  As David made quick work of his drink, I couldn’t help but look at the bulletin board of flyers that hung on the wall. Each one of the flyers featured a photograph of someone who had gone missing. There were so many. Granted, the board featured photos of people from all over the country. Even so, there was a staggering amount of people who had disappeared, never to be heard from again. Of course, the hardest flyers to look at were the ones spotlighting children. Then again, the cases that dated back decades were also heart wrenching.

  In the top left corner of the board was a flyer featuring Claire Blakely. That same bulletin was displayed in every single police station across the country. In addition, the flyer was posted in thousands of gas stations, mini-marts, and retail stores. Her photo was also displayed periodically on the local and national news.

  Yet, there we were, a number of days after her disappearance, with no clue where she was. As I stared intently at the bulletin board, David attempted to pull my head out of the clouds.

  “You shouldn’t look at that. It will only make you depressed,” David said.

  “You say that like I’m not depressed already,” I replied.

  “Fine. Looking at that board will only make you feel even worse.”

  “You know, I keep trying to hold out hope that you’re going to find Claire alive, but with each passing day, it becomes harder to do that.”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  “Honestly, sometimes I get worried about you ever finding her at all.”

  “Talk about bleak,” he said. “And you’re usually the optimistic one.”

  “I know.” I took a deep breath. “What can I say? This case has done a number on me.”

  “Is it just this case, or did something happen at Daley Buzz?”

  “Well, I did run into Ryan Davidson while getting coffee earlier.”

  “No wonder you’re more emotional than usual. Did you end up talking about your sister?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll bet that dug up some awful memories.”

  “It did. Which is why we should talk about something else right now.”

  “Are you sure? Because I’m here for you if you need to—”

  I cut him off. “Why don’t we talk about the case?”

  “Unfortunately, there isn’t much to talk about. Nothing has changed since yesterday.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Trust me. If there was a new clue to share, I would have already told you about it.”

  “That isn’t what I meant.”

  He squinted. “I’m confused then.”

  “I was implying that we could start to rule some things out now. For example, if Claire was being held for ransom, you would have gotten a note or a call from her captor with a demand for money by now.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Also, if Claire happened to get injured and woke up with amnesia, she would have probably turned up at a hospital.”

  “That’s a fair assumption.”

  “Or let’s say she ran away from home. Even if she was hundreds of miles away, if she set foot in public, the odds are that someone would have spotted her and called the tip line.”

  “It’s hard to argue with that.”

  “So, by process of elimination, we are only left with a few possibilities.”

  “You mean, abduction and murder?”

  I nodded. “Exactly.”

  “Let’s say she was abducted. Whoever took her has done a good job of hiding her.”

  “Likewise if she was murdered,” I said. “In that case, her killer has done a masterful job of covering their tracks.”

  David gritted his teeth. “I hate smart criminals.”

  “So do I. In fact, the only thing I hate more is having zero leads. And let me tell you, it feels like I’m fumbling around in the dark here. As far as I can tell, Claire had no enemies. Which means that either someone secretly hated her and has kept their motive hidden, or some random psycho is behind all of this.”

  “If this was just a random act, we may never get an answer.”

  “I’m trying not to think that way.”

  “Sorry for bringing you down.”

  “It’s not your fault. This case really cuts close to the bone for you.”

  I bit the corner of my lip.

  “I’ll tell you what? Why don’t you head home? If there’s any development in the case, I’ll call you,” he said.

  “All right,” I replied. “Good luck.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  While I tried not to dwell on the past, a wave of memories rushed into my mind. At that moment, it was impossible not to think about my sister. So, rather than fighting my thoughts, I decided to embrace them. Instead of heading straight home, I elected to make a quick stop at Treasure Cove Cemetery.

  Visiting my sister’s grave always brought tears to my eyes. But in this case, maybe that was exactly what I needed. Perhaps if I let my emotions pour out of me all at once, I could then move on with my day. Even if I was wrong, it was worth giving it a try.

  As expected, I got teary-eyed standing in front of my sister’s headstone.

  “I miss you so much, Jess. It’s just not the same without you here. And it never will be. It doesn’t matter how much time goes by. Some wounds just refuse to heal. I do my best to put on a good face. To carry on with my life. But some days it’s much harder to do that than others. Today is particularly difficult. So much so that I’m not sure what to do.”

  While I was busy pouring my heart out, I suddenly got a sinking feeling in my gut. The queasiness wasn’t a result of the emotionally-wrenching admissions I was making, though. In truth, the nausea I felt was a result of my instincts acting up on me again.

  I began to worry that I was being watched. In response, I looked up from the grave and scanned my surroundings. As far as I could tell, there wasn’t anyone around me. Honestly, it appeared that I had the entire place to myself.

  That should have made me feel relieved. Yet, it didn’t.

  I remained on high alert. Instinctively, I reached for my phone and called the deputy who was keeping tabs on me.

  Deputy Frank Horton was sitting in his squad car about two-hundred feet away from me. Since he was in the parking lot, he had a completely different vantage point than I did.

  When Horton answered his phone, I didn’t waste any time asking him a question.

  “Do you see anything out of the ordinary?” I said.

  “No. Why?” Horton replied.

  “I just got this really bad feeling in my gut, like I was being watched,” I said.

  “I don’t see anyone suspicious around. And certainly not anyone who resembles the sketch that the polic
e artist drew.”

  “All right. I just thought I’d check in with you.”

  When I got off the phone, I had every reason to feel better. Unfortunately, I didn’t. The queasy feeling in my stomach remained.

  Because of that, I decided to leave the cemetery immediately. Thankfully, I was able to make it back to my car without any incidents. Once I was inside my sedan, I drove straight home.

  ***

  With Deputy Horton tailing me back to Avocado Lane, I knew I was safe. Yet, for some reason, I still felt like I was in danger. The entire drive home, I couldn’t make sense of it. Was I just being paranoid?

  It was only when I pulled into my driveway a few minutes later that I realized why my instincts had gone so haywire. It turned out I had every reason to be worried. I had gotten one major detail wrong. There I was, so worried about being followed, that I didn’t realize the biggest danger was having the mysterious man show up at my front door.

  A shiver went down my spine when I spotted the mysterious man on my doorstep. A number of questions popped into my mind. Who was he? What was he doing there? Where had he gotten my address from? And why wouldn’t he leave me alone?

  That last question was the one that bothered me the most. Right then, I just wanted him to go away and never come back. Just seeing him in my front yard gave me the creeps.

  After all, this was my home. It was supposed to be a peaceful place that brought me comfort. A safe haven.

  Right then, safe was the last way I would describe how I felt. Honestly, if Deputy Horton wasn’t right behind me, I would have never pulled into my driveway. Instead, I would have driven right by my home. Then, once I reached the end of my street, I would have set a course for the police station. When I arrived at police headquarters, I would have informed my husband about the mysterious man’s random appearance at our front door. David would have then rushed out to confront the man.

  Since Deputy Horton was tailing me, I pulled into my driveway and parked my car. I then took a closer look at the mysterious man. If there was a single bright spot to point to, it was the fact that the mysterious man wasn’t holding a weapon. Although, just because a gun or a knife wasn’t visible didn’t mean a weapon wasn’t tucked away in his jacket pocket. After all, it was broad daylight. Only a true maniac would brandish a weapon in plain view. That said, with everything that had taken place in Treasure Cove recently, it would be foolish not to take every possible precaution.

  With that in mind, Deputy Horton parked behind me and got out of his squad car first. I then got out of my car and joined Horton on the front lawn.

  Meanwhile, the mysterious middle-aged man took one look at Deputy Horton and began to panic.

  “What’s a police officer doing here?” the mysterious man asked.

  “Deputy Horton is here for my protection,” I said.

  The mysterious man shrugged. “From what?”

  I folded my arms. “Please tell me you’re kidding. I don’t know who you are or what you want, but you certainly have a lot of explaining to do.”

  The man put his hands up. “Let me stop you right there. You have the wrong idea about me.”

  I stared him down. “Is that so?”

  The man nodded. “Yes.”

  “If that’s true then why don’t you explain yourself?” I asked.

  “Sabrina, I came a long way to see you,” the man replied.

  My brow furrowed. “How do you know my name?”

  A look of disappointment came to the man’s face. “You really don’t recognize me?”

  I shook my head. “Should I?”

  “Of course,” the man said. “I’m your father.”

  Chapter Twenty

  My jaw came dangerously close to hitting the ground. But even though my mouth hung open, I didn’t say a word. In fact, I couldn’t seem to put together a sentence. I was just in too much shock to speak.

  There was a good reason for that. I hadn’t seen my birth father, Walter Cobb, in over forty years. As a matter of fact, I was right around my daughter’s age when he left Treasure Cove. It was a crazy time in my life. One that I would never forget. My mother had grown tired of my dad’s drinking so she separated from him. Then, once the divorce papers were finalized, my dad took off, never to be heard from again. At least, not until now.

  If this truly was my father standing in front of me, time had not been good to him. His face was puffy. He looked tired. And there was a world-weary look in his eyes.

  While I remained silent, Deputy Horton took a few steps back. He wanted us to have our space.

  Walter was certainly relieved to see the deputy move away from him. At the same time, Walter also became a little impatient waiting for a response from me.

  He looked deep into my eyes. “Sabrina, say something.”

  “Dad, is it really you?” I asked.

  “I know it’s hard to believe—”

  I interrupted him. “Try impossible.”

  Walter reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and grabbed his driver’s license. As he showed me the license, I saw the name written at the top—Walter Cobb.

  That wasn’t all. Walter also pulled out a small photograph from one of the clear compartments of his wallet. The picture was really old and the edges were frayed.

  Despite the fact that the image was a little faded, the subject matter was the most important part of the image. In the photo, I was sitting on a sofa beside my older sister. I was probably three-years-old when that picture was taken. And I was smiling wide. As was my sister. Talk about a blast from the past.

  Despite the sudden flash of nostalgia, I tried not to get too caught up looking at the photograph. There were big issues to deal with right then. And I planned on tackling them head-on.

  “I wasn’t asking for you to show me identification,” I said. “What I meant was that you’ve been gone so long.”

  Walter took a deep breath. “I know. And I’m sorry about that.”

  “Yeah? Well, I’m really confused. Why were you following me? You really scared me.”

  “I didn’t mean to.”

  “You could have fooled me.”

  “Look. I didn’t mean to follow you around. Or scare you. Or just turn up on your doorstep like this.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “Then why did you?”

  “My original plan was to just walk up to you in the coffee shop a few days ago. But when I saw you, I chickened out. As a matter of fact, it has taken me a couple of days to work up the courage to talk to you.”

  “That’s so strange.”

  “You don’t understand—”

  I cut him off again. “I really don’t. I mean, I’m your daughter. It shouldn’t have been difficult to talk to me. Then again, you haven’t spoken to me in over forty years, so clearly you’re a little rusty.”

  “Has it really been that long?”

  I nodded. “It has.”

  He lowered his head.

  I continued. “Which makes me wonder what you’re doing here now?”

  He pointed at my front door. “Why don’t we go inside and talk about it?”

  I shook my head. “No. I think it would be better if we talked out here.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m not sure that I’m ready to invite you into my house just yet.”

  He became deflated. “Oh. All right. Well, whatever is best for you.”

  That last statement was so ludicrous that I couldn’t help but break into laughter.

  Walter squinted. “What’s so funny?”

  “Since when do you care what’s best for me?” I asked. “I haven’t seen you in decades.”

  “You’re right. I haven’t been there for you. And I’m sorry about that.”

  I stared at him. “Are you really?”

  His eyes filled with regret. “Yes.”

  I switched gears a little. “Where have you been all this time?”

  “I’ve been living in Oakhill Junction for about twenty-
six years. Before that, I moved around a bunch.”

  I put my hand up. “Wait a minute. Oakhill Junction, California?”

  He nodded. “Is there another Oakhill Junction in America that I don’t know about?”

  “My point is, Oakhill Junction is only a three-hour drive from here. If you’ve lived that close, then why did it take you so long to come back to Treasure Cove?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Simplify it for me.”

  He looked down at the ground again. “Look. I’m not proud of my actions.”

  “I sure hope not,” I replied.

  “It’s safe to say that things didn’t go the way I wanted them to.”

  “You?” I asked. “What about me? If I could go back, you don’t think I would change a number of things about my childhood?”

  “I’ll bet,” he said. “You know, you might not believe me, but I really do feel terrible about that.”

  “Right now, I don’t care about your feelings. I want answers. For the majority of my life, I’ve been wrestling with this absolutely devastating unsolved mystery. You have the solution, though. So, tell me, why did you walk out on Jessica and me?”

  He couldn’t look me in the eyes. After breaking eye contact, he lowered his head again. I let him stare at the ground for a few seconds. When his silence continued for ten seconds, I became antsy.

  I opened my mouth to prod him until I got a reply.

  Before I was able to get a word out, Walter spoke up.

  “In all honesty, I wasn't ready to be a father,” he said.

  “That’s a pretty odd response for someone who fathered two children.”

  “I know it might not make sense to you.”

  I threw out my arms. “How could it? I mean, if you really weren’t ready to be a father then why didn’t you walk out on us even earlier? Why did you wait until I was four-years-old to disappear?”

  “That’s how long it took for me to realize that I was in over my head. Those first few years, I was in denial about a lot of things. When your mother divorced me, a lot of things became clear to me.”

  “Wait a minute. You’re not trying to blame mom for this, are you?”