Reflecting Love's Charms (Bellingwood Book 14)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  The parking lot was filling up with people arriving for the wedding reception, but she recognized Hayden's car right away. Good. She and Henry hadn't talked about inviting him to go with them tonight, but he would love to meet Marie’s parents. Then Polly remembered that Henry had spoken about the two of them - Marie and Hayden - getting together for lunch on a regular basis. Of course she did. Marie was probably the one who made the invitation.

  She waved to Jeff, who was talking to several people in the hallway, and ran up the steps.

  Henry, Heath and Hayden were in the media room, watching a baseball game. She loved coming home and finding her family just being a family.

  "Hi there," she said over the noise of the game. "Good to see you, Hayden."

  He stood up and walked over to greet her. "I hope you don't mind me spending the night. Mrs. Sturtz, I mean, Marie, invited me to her house for dinner. It sounds like her parents are really interesting people."

  "You know that I want you to feel like this is your home, Hayden. You never have to ask. You're always welcome." She walked with him back to the sofa. "Is Rebecca in her bedroom? She said she was coming home to take a quick nap. I don't think she got much sleep last night."

  Henry looked up at her, a frown on his face and shook his head. "I haven't seen her. We've only been here fifteen or twenty minutes, though. She's probably still asleep."

  It didn't feel like it had been that long since Rebecca left the coffee shop, but Polly knew she easily lost track of time. "I'll just check on her. The silly girl dropped her beret on the way home. I found it on the ground."

  Polly left them to their game and went back across the living room to Rebecca's room. She lightly tapped on the door. "Rebecca? Are you still sleeping? Did you see that Hayden was here, too?"

  She waited a moment and when there was no response, she tapped again, a little louder. "Rebecca? I have your beret. Did you even know that you dropped it?"

  Pushing the door open, Polly stepped in and over the mess that was on Rebecca's floor. How one little girl could collect so much stuff, Polly had no idea. She walked over to the bed and pulled the blankets back to find that it was empty.

  "Henry!" Polly ran out of the room. "She's not here."

  They met in the doorway between the living room and dining room. "What do you mean she's not here?" he asked.

  "She's not in her room. She was tired and said she wanted to come home, so I let her walk by herself. Oh lord, I shouldn't have done that."

  "Stop it," he said. "She walks all over Bellingwood. Maybe she's at the barn with Eliseo or she found Andrew and they're doing something."

  "Andrew is with one of his buddies this afternoon since we had so much going on. Where would she have gone?"

  "Go downstairs and ask Jeff if he's seen her. I'll call Eliseo. Talk to Rachel and Sylvie in the kitchen." He gave her a quick hug. "It's going to be okay. We'll find her. She probably found something better to do."

  Polly headed for the front door. "She wouldn't go anywhere without telling one of us. She knows better than that." She ran down the steps again and rushed over to Jeff. "Excuse me a moment," she said and pulled him away to the office.

  "What's going on, Polly?" he asked.

  "Have you seen Rebecca? She's not upstairs."

  He shook his head, worry etched in his brow. "No, but we should ask Rachel. I was in my office. I could have missed her. Come on."

  Rachel and Sylvie were sitting at the back table with three others, wrapping silver into linens.

  "Hey ladies," Jeff said. "Have any of you seen Rebecca? She's not where she's supposed to be and Polly's worried."

  Sylvie jumped up and crossed the room to them. "Was she at the shower?"

  Polly nodded. "She left when things were done and said she was coming home to take a nap. But she's not there." Polly held up the beret. "And I found this across the street, so I know she came this way."

  "Maybe she's at the barn."

  "Could be," Polly said. "She got a new outfit from Beryl and she could have wanted to show it off, but I don't know why she wouldn't have come to show you first."

  "She's not with me," Eliseo said, bursting in the door. "Henry just called. Jason, Kent and Scar started searching the grounds, just in case she fell or hurt herself. I'm heading for the basement."

  "Why would she be in the basement?" Polly asked.

  Eliseo shrugged. "No stone unturned, okay?"

  "I'll check the rooms in the addition," Jeff said.

  "I guess I'll look in the garage," Polly said. She felt sick. Everyone that Rebecca knew was either at the shower or here at Sycamore House. She took her phone out as she crossed the threshold into the garage. There were no messages and no calls so she made a quick call herself.

  "Hello dear," Marie said.

  "I've lost Rebecca. Have you talked to her since the shower?"

  "No I haven't. I saw her walking toward home, but that's it. She's not there?"

  "We're looking everywhere, but this doesn't make sense. She wouldn't run off."

  "She isn't here, but Bill and I will get in the car and come right over." Polly heard something in the background and then Marie said, "We're on our way, dear."

  Polly wandered through the garage, picking up boxes to make sure that there was nothing out of place, then rang the doorbell to Doug Randall and Billy Endicott's apartment. Maybe Rebecca had gotten lonely. That didn't make sense either. She never spent time with those two, but anything was possible.

  Thundering footsteps on the stairs preceded the door opening and she gave a weak smile to Doug. "Have you seen Rebecca? I can't find her."

  "No," he said. "She isn't at your place?"

  That question was going to make Polly scream. She wouldn't be out looking if Rebecca was where she was supposed to be. "No. She isn't anywhere she's supposed to be. I'm worried."

  "Let me get my shoes on. I'll help you look," he said and turned to go back upstairs. "You go on," he said, turning back to her. "I'll find you."

  Polly nodded and stood still when the door closed. She didn't know what to do next. Yes, she did, and swiped another call.

  "Polly, you just left the coffee house. What's wrong?" Aaron Merritt said.

  "It's Rebecca. She isn't here."

  "And she's supposed to be?"

  "Damn it, Aaron, I wouldn't be worried if she was where she was supposed to be."

  "You're right. I'm sorry."

  "No," she said, tears finally breaking through her fear. "I'm sorry. I just know that everyone is going to ask if she's in the apartment and she's not. I found her beret across the street. She was going to walk home from the coffee shop because she wanted a nap before we went to Marie and Bill's tonight. But she's not anywhere. Eliseo hasn't seen her; Jeff hasn't seen her. They're looking all over the grounds right now. She isn't here. Where did she go?"

  "We’ll find her," Aaron said. "Let me call the office and get things started. Why don't you call Ken up at the police station and alert him so his people can be on the lookout for her."

  Polly looked up when Henry opened the door to the garage. He stepped toward her and pulled her into his arms.

  "Thanks Aaron. I will. Sorry I snapped."

  "It's really okay."

  "You called Aaron?" he asked. "I just got off the phone with Mindy at the police station. She's sending someone over."

  "Your parents are on their way, too," Polly said. "Eliseo and the boys are searching the property and Doug will be down in a minute to help. Where did she go?"

  "I don't know," he said. "But this isn't like her."

  They looked up as a car pulled into the driveway and Marie stepped out. "Have you heard anything?" she asked.

  Henry shook his head.

  Bill opened his car door and stood up. "Come on, Marie. Get back in the car. We're going to drive every street in Bellingwood. When we're done with that, we'll start driving the country roads. We'll find this girl of ours."

  Marie ran over to Henry and Poll
y, then hugged them both together. "We'll find her. You have to have faith."

  Doug and Billy had come into the garage while Bill was speaking and Doug patted Polly's shoulder. "We're going out, too. She has to be somewhere. I called my mom and she said that if you need more help looking, they'll start walking their neighborhood."

  "Thanks, bud," Henry said.

  "Where are Heath and Hayden?" Polly asked after Doug and Billy left.

  "They're already out looking. They were going south past the barn, just in case she went that way for some reason."

  "There's no reason," Polly said. "She was coming here."

  "I know."

  The sheriff's SUV pulled into the driveway, followed closely by Lydia's Jeep. She parked and made it out of her car before Aaron could open his door.

  "Oh honey," she said, rushing toward Polly. "Have you heard anything yet?"

  Polly wearily shook her head. "Nothing. I don't know what to think. I feel like I'm completely useless. Everyone else is out looking for her and I'm standing here without a clue as to what to do next."

  Aaron took Polly's arm. "If she was across the street, maybe your cameras here picked something up. I'm sending Stu to knock on doors and ask people if they saw anything out of the ordinary. Come on inside and let's see if we can catch a glimpse of her."

  Polly looked up at Henry. "Again, I'm glad we installed them."

  "Me too," he said.

  They walked through the kitchen and toward the office where Jeff met them.

  "I've been through all of the rooms in the addition and Eliseo checked the basement. She's not here."

  "The video feed," Polly said.

  He slapped his head. "Why didn't I think of that? Let's see what we can find. Give me a couple of minutes to bring it up. About what time?"

  Polly looked at Lydia. "It had to have been around four o'clock or maybe a little after. She didn't want to stay while I helped Sal pack up her gifts. I could hardly blame her. And since she'd spent the night with Jessie last night..." She turned on Henry. "Call Jessie. Maybe she went back over there to get something she forgot."

  He nodded and stepped out of the office.

  "Anyway," Polly continued, "she wanted to come home and lie down for a while before we went out again tonight. She’d had a big day and was exhausted, so I let her walk home by herself." Polly dropped her head in her hands. "It's only a few blocks."

  Lydia put her hand on Polly's shoulder. "Stop that. She walks around town all the time. Today was no different."

  "But it was. She's gone," Polly said.

  "So about four?" Jeff asked, clicking the keyboard on the main office computer.

  "Maybe a little after, maybe a little before," Polly said. "Start at three forty-five."

  Jeff pointed to a video feed. "This is the one that aims toward the driveway," he said. "It has the best chance of picking anything up across the street. Most of the cameras are angled toward the building and the property. And beyond the driveway is going to be partially obscured by the trees."

  "Thank god they aren't fully leafed out," Polly breathed. "Please let there be something there."

  They all watched the video feed. Cars passed back and forth on the highway, some drove into Sycamore House's lot and she watched through the different feeds as they parked, people got out and headed inside.

  "There," Aaron said. "Stop it and rewind."

  Jeff did just that and Polly felt Henry behind her as they focused on the screen. It was only in black and white, but they distinctly saw Rebecca across the street where Polly had found the beret. A car cut her off and parked. Though they couldn't see details, a person emerged from the passenger side, concealed by the car. When the car drove off, Rebecca was gone.

  "She was taken," Polly gasped.

  "Oh." Henry dropped into the chair beside her and bent over, his head between his knees.

  Polly put her hand on his back and looked up at Aaron. "What do we do?"

  "I need a recent picture," he said.

  She swiped her phone open and found a picture she'd taken of Rebecca at the shower. "This is as recent as it gets."

  "We're going to the police station here in town and we'll get this information out right away. We’ll post an Amber Alert and notify everyone that she's been taken. You didn't recognize the car?"

  Polly shook her head. "I want to be sick."

  Lydia knelt down in front of them and put her hands on Polly's knees. "I know you do, but you have to get through this next part to help them look for Rebecca. It's about her right now. You can fall apart later."

  "Will you call Marie?" Polly asked. "Tell them to stop looking and we can't come to dinner tonight." She put her hand up. "I need a minute to completely fall apart. If you don't mind, I'm going into the conference room." She stood up and reached back to take Henry's hand. "Come with me."

  He looked up at her, tears streaming down his face, then stood and followed her. As soon as she shut the door, Polly collapsed to the floor and sobbed. "I can't do this. I promised her mother I'd take care of her and I failed. How am I supposed to get through this?"

  He sat down beside her and they clung to each other. "I don't know," he choked out.

  When Polly finally took a breath, she backed away and looked at him. "I think I'm ready now. Thank you."

  "For what? I'm useless. I can't be your strength right now, Polly. I truly don't know how to do this."

  She put her hand up to his cheek and brushed away the wet tears. "We have each other and we have friends. They'll do what we can't do. Okay?" Polly stood up and held out her hand. He took it and stood up beside her, his shoulders slumped and his face drawn. He kept his head down as they went back into the office.

  "Let me take you to the station," Aaron said. "Jeff's going to keep an eye on things here and Lydia's called Marie. All you two have to do is focus on Rebecca."

  Polly and Henry followed Aaron back through the kitchen. Sylvie looked at Polly, questions on her face. Polly shook her head, then walked on through. They climbed into the back seat of Aaron's SUV and sat still as Aaron backed around to pull out onto the highway. They rode in silence and waited for Aaron to open the car door once he parked in front of the police station.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Polly’s apartment was filled with friends. Everyone was subdued, even Beryl, who kept walking into the bathroom and then would return, her face more drawn as time passed.

  Aaron had brought them back from the police station and tried to assure them that all of the local law enforcement departments were doing whatever they could. Bert Bradford had shown up at the house, just in case someone called with demands.

  Polly didn't dare vocalize all of the things that were flying through her mind, though she wouldn't be surprised that everyone else had the same thoughts. If those things were said out loud, she was afraid they'd come true.

  While they were at the police station, it hit Polly that the kidnapper could be Stephanie and Kayla's father, which made every single fiber of her being vibrate with fear. If that man hurt Rebecca in any way, his life was forfeit as far as she was concerned. The other thing that she hated to admit was that she didn't want to leave the house and end up on some lonely gravel road, because she was certain that meant she'd be finding Rebecca's body and that was just one thing she couldn't do.

  She looked up at a knock on her front door. Lydia rushed to open it and welcomed Sam and Jean Gardner. She spoke quietly to them and Jean walked across the room, hugged Polly and then stepped back and walked over to Marie Sturtz. Polly was shocked that the woman hadn't started talking. Once she started, she couldn't quit.

  The door opened again and Andrew flew in, looking around the room, his eyes wild as he searched. Polly was struck by the incongruence of the dance music coming up from the auditorium. They would be completely oblivious to what was happening above them.

  "Polly," Andrew cried and people made a path as he ran for her. He leaped the last foot or so and she caught him, the
n held him close.

  "How are you doing, honey?" she asked.

  "I don't know. Mom told me what happened and when she couldn't come get me, I finally just ran over here. I can't believe this."

  "I know."

  "Why aren't we out looking for her?"

  "Oh honey," Polly said. "I wish I could, but I wouldn't know where to start. It was one thing for her to be lost in Bellingwood somewhere, but who knows where she was taken." She deflated. "Or why."

  Jason came across the room and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Come on, Andrew. Let's get you some water."

  "I don't want water," Andrew said. "I want Rebecca to be okay and I want her to come home."

  "I know," Jason said quietly. "She's going to be fine. That girl is one tough cookie and she can handle herself. Before you know it, she'll call and Polly will go pick her up."

  "Can I come with you?" Andrew asked.

  "Let her be," Jason said. "Come on. Over here."

  It was a struggle, but Jason finally peeled his brother away from Polly, who was too numb to respond any further. She took her phone out of her back pocket again, willing it to ring.

  When it did ring, she jumped and swiped the call open without looking at the number.

  "Hello? Rebecca?"

  "It's me. Stephanie."

  "Hello Stephanie. I'm sorry. Rebecca's been kidnapped and I don't have anything in me right now. Are you okay?"

  Polly heard Stephanie's intake of breath. "He has her. I just checked my other voice mail and he took Rebecca."

  "Oh god," Polly cried and sagged.

  Bill Sturtz was the one who grabbed her around the waist and led her to a sofa. He sat down with her and she tried to hold back tears.

  "What did he say?" Polly asked.

  "He said that if I called him and promised to bring Kayla back to him, he wouldn't hurt Rebecca. Polly, we're leaving right now, but I don't know what to do."

  "We aren't making that trade," Polly said, though it nearly killed her to be so gallant. "Have you called him?"

  "I just picked up the voice mail. I have until nine o'clock to tell him what I'm going to do."