Lucy gave her a double-take. “Your husband?”
“He wasn’t kidnapped, though. Nobody there knew I was. We were all given new identities.”
“Wow.” Lucy let out a long, slow breath. “I never would have guessed all that. Your anxiety makes even more sense than it did before.”
“Should I pack my things?”
“What?” Lucy exclaimed. “No, not at all. But it might do you good to take some time off. You can talk to me anytime you want, okay? Just say the word, and I’ll work you into my schedule.”
Macy shook her head. “The kids need you more than I do.” She glanced at the clock. “In fact, I should get out of your hair. It’s time for lunch.”
“Not if you need to continue talking.”
“I’m spent.” Macy slumped down further into the chair. “But I think I will take the rest of the day off. I’m going to have Jennifer reschedule the rest of my appointments for today.”
Lucy squeezed her arm. “I’m glad you opened up to me. Remember, I’m here.”
Macy forced a smile. “I appreciate that.” What she really needed was to go somewhere, but she didn’t have her car since Luke had insisted on driving her to work. She forced herself out of the chair, said goodbye to Lucy, and headed back to her office. On the way, she told the receptionist to reschedule the rest of her day’s appointments.
Once behind her closed door, she called her lifelong friend. “Hey, Zoey. How do you feel about playing hooky this afternoon?”
Hooky
Zoey pulled into the parking spot overlooking the lake and turned to Macy. “Do you want to sit here or go out there?”
“I need some air.”
“The beach it is.” She climbed out of the car and stretched, glad for an excuse to take the rest of the day off. Work had been too hectic all morning, and now she had a headache. She closed her door and remote-locked the car.
The two friends headed for the slightly choppy shore in silence. They’d known each other since they were infants and could read each other like books. Zoey could sense a lot coming from Macy from the moment she climbed into the car—anxiety, annoyance, and sadness all wrapped together.
“Any news on Lottie?” Zoey asked.
Macy shook her head. “It’s so unlike her.”
“I hope she comes home soon. I’ve been worried about her ever since I heard the news.”
They stopped at a bench and sat, watching the waves. After a couple minutes, Macy turned to her. “What was it like when I went missing?”
The question surprised Zoey. She thought back, trying to remember her initial reaction. She would never forget the morning Alyssa had called and said her daughter was missing. Initially, Zoey thought it was some kind of joke—or maybe she had hoped it was a sick joke, not that Chad or Alyssa had ever been ones to pull pranks.
“Do you remember?” Macy asked, her voice softer.
“I’ll never be able to forget. It was horrible—I was scared and guilty, and I—”
“Guilty?”
“Well, yeah. We were starting to grow apart, and I was secretly seeing Alex. I’d never hidden anything from you before that, and then you got kidnapped. I felt like I had pushed you into that situation.”
Macy nodded, looking out over the water. “I get it. Luke and I both feel like we should’ve done something differently to prevent whatever happened to Lottie.”
Zoey put her arm around Macy and sat in silence with her, staring at the waves. After a few minutes, a few light raindrops landed on them, but neither she nor Macy moved.
“Have you been thinking about your kidnapping?” Zoey asked.
Macy ran her fingers through her hair, pulling tightly. “It’s hard not to. I started having flashbacks and anxiety when Ariana disappeared, and now I’m having panic attacks and dreams that feel so real—like I’m right back there again.”
“That makes sense. Hearing about Lottie has made me flash back to Ariana’s abduction.”
“How did you get through that? We didn’t really talk much.”
Zoey shook her head. “I didn’t handle it well. I pushed Kellen away.” Not that Ariana’s kidnapping could be fully to blame. Zoey had realized her latent feelings for Alex—the very person who had helped her get through Macy’s disappearance.
Macy turned to her. “What are you thinking about?”
Zoey’s heart raced. She didn’t want to admit she was thinking about Alex.
“You can tell me anything. We haven’t been close lately, but maybe that needs to change. I’m still the same person, Zo. We’re practically sisters.”
What did that make her and Alex?
“Don’t you trust me?”
Zoey turned and met Macy’s gaze. “It’s Alex.”
“What about him?”
Where to begin? Zoey picked at a piece of lint on her pants. “When you were in the hospital, after Kellen and I broke off the engagement, Alex and I started talking. We worked through some things. It really seemed like we were starting to make progress. But then shortly after Ariana returned, he started pulling away.”
Some surprise registered on Macy’s face, but she just nodded. “How do you feel about that?”
Zoey frowned. “Don’t go all psychologist on me.”
“Sorry. What happened?”
“You’ve got me. It’s like he’s pushing me away on purpose. Maybe with Ariana back, he just changed his mind. Sometimes it’s impossible to tell what’s going through his head.” She sighed and looked back over the water, ignoring the occasional raindrop landing on her face or hands.
“Maybe he’s giving you space to recover from Kellen.”
Zoey turned back to her. “Did he say that?”
Macy shook her head. “He doesn’t open up to me about his feelings often.”
“Has he said anything?”
“Not to me.”
Zoey frowned. That wasn’t surprising. “Sorry for talking about Alex when you have so much on your mind.”
“Don’t be. It’s actually kind of nice to think about something else. I always thought you two would live happily ever after, and especially now with him back in town.”
“Yeah, same here.” Zoey’s chest tightened. If only she could figure out what was going on in his mind. But that would have to be another day. They needed to focus on Lottie’s disappearance. “What are you guys doing to help find Lottie?”
Macy sighed. “Nick said the best thing we can do is stay in our routine. They’re doing everything they can.”
“What?” Zoey exclaimed. “You can’t just sit around and wait on them! Do you have fliers to hand out?”
“No.”
“That’s where we need to start. Come on, let’s get to your house. Think about what to put on them, and I’ll throw something together. Then we’ll hand them out. Where do you want to start? The mall? Her neighborhood?”
“You’re making my head spin.”
“Well, let me go psychologist on you for a minute. You’re drowning in anxiety because you aren’t doing anything to help find Lottie. Once you start handing out fliers and telling people to look for her, you’ll feel so much better.”
“Are you sure?”
Zoey got up and pulled Macy off the bench. “Yes. I’ve lived through the kidnappings of two people I love more than life itself. I know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Macy threw her arms around Zoey and clung to her.
Distractions
Nick hung up the phone and filled out the paperwork for another missing person. He’d never seen so many come in all at once in his entire time on the force. Cases like Lottie Mills were more typical for their small town—retired people wandering away without telling anyone. Although even her case was unusual because she’d never shown any signs of forgetfulness. Macy and her husband had sworn up and down that she had zero memory issues.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.” He continued filling out the paperwork for the latest missing homeless
person.
Detective Anderson came in. “Got another missing person report. This time, a young mother whose children are in foster care. She’s desperately trying to get back on her feet, and her friend says she’d never skip town. Apparently, she’d just gotten a job.”
Nick stared at him. “Yeah, I’ve got another missing person case here. How many are we up to?”
“With this one?” Anderson asked. “I’d say close to ten.”
“Something’s up.” Nick set his pen down. “But what?”
Anderson sat across from him. “Drugs?”
“Only one that we know of was involved with them.”
“They’re all adults, many are homeless or close to it…” Anderson’s voice trailed off. “But really, those are the only similarities. We’ve got a young mom, a drug dealer, a college dropout, that business owner who lost everything in a fire, the guy avoiding his back child support payments, a—”
“I know.” Nick sighed. “They have nothing in common other than being down on their luck, other than Lottie Mills. ”
His office phone rang. Nick sighed. “Probably another missing person. Round everyone up. We need to have a meeting and see if we can figure out what’s going on.”
Anderson rose. “Let’s hope. This is spreading the force pretty thin.”
“Don’t I know it.” Nick picked up the receiver. “Captain Fleshman.”
The woman on the other end of the line spoke too fast to understand. Anderson left, closing the door behind him.
Nick cleared his throat. “Slow down, ma’am. I need you to repeat what you just told me.”
She took a deep breath, breathing out into Nick’s ear. “My roommate—she’s gone!”
He grabbed some more paperwork. “What’s her name? Where do you live?”
“Kinsley Paine. We live in the Meriwether apartments.”
The woman answered all of his questions, and he scribbled down the information. This time, they were dealing with a missing eighteen-year-old from a low-income apartment building. Not homeless, but one step away. Also, being eighteen, she was barely an adult. They would have to start handling these cases differently if they began involving minors, and they turned out to be related.
He finished questioning her, and then asked her to email him a couple pictures of the missing woman before ending the call.
Knock, knock.
“Come in!”
The door opened and Anderson poked his head inside. “Everyone’s in the conference room.”
Nick finished scribbling the notes about the latest missing person. “Start debriefing everyone, and I’ll be right there.”
“Got another one?”
“Eighteen years old.”
Anderson swore. “We’re going to be dealing with minors soon.”
“It’s beginning to look that way. I’ll be right in.”
“Okay.” Anderson closed the door.
Nick flipped through his paperwork, looking for any similarities he may have missed before. If there were any, he couldn’t find them. He rose from his chair and picked up the stack of papers. His cell phone rang. It was Corrine.
He accepted the call. “You’d better be helping the kids pack.”
“The kids really want to go to Disney World.”
“Of course they do! What do you expect?”
“Daddy, can we go to see Mickey?” came Hanna’s sweet voice from the other end of the line.
“Why don’t you talk to her?” Corrine asked.
Nick wanted to punch something. “Oh, no you don’t! You never should have brought it up with them. You can be the one to crush the hope you planted.”
“You’re so inflexible!”
“And you’ve lost your mind.” Nick struggled to keep his voice low enough that no one in the hall would hear him. “You knew spring break is my time with them, and you told them you’d take them to Disney World.”
“They want to go, Nick. Can you blame them? They never see you anymore. It’s—”
“And why do you think that is?” Nick asked, sarcasm dripping from every word. “Because you moved them across the country?”
“Would you quit bringing that up? It’s old news. Get over it. You wouldn’t see them much more if we still lived in Washington.”
Nick had been furious plenty of times, but never before had he felt rage as strong as he did that moment. “Put them on the plane tomorrow, or you’ll regret it.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a promise. Don’t bother calling me again. If you feel like discussing taking time away from me and my kids, call my lawyer.” Nick ended the call.
The door opened. Anderson came in. “Hey, are you…?”
Nick glared at him.
“I’ll just head up the meeting. Join us if you can.” The door slammed shut behind him.
“How dare she?” Nick glared at the stack of paperwork on his desk, tempted to chuck it all across the room. He took a deep breath. Time to pull yourself together. He knew how to stay cool when criminals and punks got in his face, trying to get under his skin. He could deal with mouthy cops. But his ex-wife could send him into a rage with just a sour glance or a word—even from across the country.
He closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and counted to fifty. It was time to focus on the rash of missing people. If Corrine gave him any more trouble, he would simply call his attorney. He didn’t have the energy to focus on her immature games.
Clue
Luke wandered around the dilapidated cafeteria, handing out fliers.
A woman about his mom’s age with short, graying brown hair took one from him and read it over. “Oh, no. I didn’t know Lottie disappeared.”
He nodded sadly. “Two or three days ago, we think.”
She frowned. “I hope they find her.” She studied him. “Are you her son?”
Luke took a deep breath. “I am.”
“I can tell. You have the same eyes and mouth.”
“Everyone says I look like her. So, do you have any ideas where she may have gone? Anywhere that might have gotten her into trouble?”
She folded the flier and scrunched her face. “I wish I could think of something. When we talked, it was never about her, regrettably. Lottie always wanted to find ways to get me out of here. Not sure I ever will—not with my bum leg and no income. My husband left me and took our retirement fund with him.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Well, if you think of anything that might help us find my mom, please call the number on the flier.”
The woman unfolded the paper and studied it. “Sure. I hope I can help.”
“Thanks. I better get more handed out.” Luke hurried to the other side of the room, where a new group of people had come in for their dinner. Maybe one of them knew something that could help. So far, all he’d learned was the same thing he’d just heard—that everyone liked his mom and that she never seemed to talk about herself.
He handed out more fliers but didn’t learn anything new. It was tempting to give up, but he couldn’t do that. What if the person with a clue they needed was only five minutes from walking into the cafeteria?
Luke’s phone rang. It was Macy. He stepped into the hall and answered. “Hi, babe. Any luck?”
“No. Zoey and I have walked five blocks in every direction from her house. Some people say they remember seeing her two or three days ago, but no one has seen her yesterday or today. What about you?”
Pain squeezed around his temples. Even though they had only discovered her missing the day before, they were probably outside of the critical forty-eight-hour period. Their chances of finding her safe were dwindling by the moment.
“Luke?”
“Nobody knows anything around here, either.”
“Alex and my parents are handing out fliers around the mall. It won’t be long before everyone in town knows to keep an eye out for her.”
“That’s good.” Luke sighed.
“What do you want us to
do now?” Macy asked—as though he had any answers. “Should we come over there? Hand out fliers somewhere else altogether?”
Luke’s stomach growled. He wasn’t sure he’d eaten anything all day. “Maybe we should take a break. You’re probably hungry. We can figure out what to do after that. I’m having a hard time thinking clearly, myself.”
“That’s probably a good idea. My parents have food at their house already prepared.”
“I’ll meet you there, then.”
“Okay, I’ll—oh, another car just pulled in. I’m going to talk to them and then head over.”
“See you.” He leaned against the wall, ended the call, and rubbed his temples. He needed to stay positive, but that was growing increasingly difficult. Maybe some food really would help. It certainly couldn’t hurt.
He stuffed the phone into a pocket and went back into the cafeteria. A few new people sat at various tables around the room. Luke clutched the remaining fliers and headed over to them.
The first lady who took one, smiled sadly. “I heard about her on the news. I sure do hope they find her.”
Luke’s eyes widened. “They mentioned her on the news?”
She nodded. “They showed a picture of her here, actually.”
A small amount of relief washed through him. He hadn’t known they were going to do that—and that potentially meant statewide coverage, depending on which channel it had been. “That’s good news. What else did they say?”
“Just that nobody knew where she was. They urged people to contact the authorities if they saw her.”
Luke’s heart raced. Had any calls come in? “Thank you so much.”
She looked confused. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You did more than you know.” He sprang from his chair and handed two more fliers to a couple women a little older than him. “If you see Lottie, please call this number.”
The blonde studied the paper. “You know, I might have seen her a couple days ago.”
Turn Back Time Page 5
