Careless Whisper

by Stacy Claflin

  “That’s our oldest, Jared.” Louis motioned for his son to have a seat.

  The kid didn’t budge. “You weren’t supposed to call the cops.”

  “It’s our only chance at seeing your sister again.”

  “We can get the money, and you know it.” He glowered at his dad. “That’s why they targeted her. You never stop flaunting how much money we have.”

  Louis took a step toward his son. “Jared, you need to—”

  Alex rose. “Actually, it’s best they did contact us. Statistically, these cases end happily when the police step in.”

  Jared’s only response was to fold his arms.

  “Would you stop?” Trina covered her face and sobbed.

  Alex exchanged a glance with Anderson, who turned his attention back to Louis. “Was this the only note?”

  He nodded.

  Alex sat down again, and they asked rapid-fire questions, trying to understand the situation as best they could. Josie had gone to a party with her friends, which wasn’t unusual. Their outdoor cameras didn’t pick up any motion, other than the fully-masked suspects approaching the house and taping the note to the door. According to the friends, they’d dropped Josie off at the end of the driveway at her insistence.

  Anderson took notes furiously, but Alex tried to stay in the moment as his phone recorded the conversation.

  “You sent the footage of the abductors to the station?” Anderson asked.

  Trina wiped her eyes. “Yes, everything.”

  Jared muttered something and stomped out of the room.

  “Do you know anything?” Alex called to the teen.

  “No!”

  Louis frowned. “Sorry about him. He’s going through a phase.”

  Anderson nodded. “And where was he last night?”

  “Pouting in his room because we grounded him for his attitude.”

  They asked more questions before leaving. Normally, they’d have the family come to the station for questioning, but given the circumstances, they would keep them away for as long as possible—especially since the criminals could be watching.

  Once in the car, Anderson turned to him. “What do you think of this? Does it fit the MO for the criminal empire?”

  Alex started the engine and turned the car around, mentally going over the many abduction cases their small town had seen over the years. “It’s hard to say. The cases varied a lot, and we can’t be sure they were all related to the ring.”

  “Not only that, but why would they show up now? It’s been almost a year since Jones’s death. Would they return to taunt the department?”

  Alex squeezed the steering wheel. “Maybe there’s something about this area they just can’t walk away from.”

  “Do you think it’s personal?”

  Alex stopped the car and turned to his partner. “Are you kidding?” He held up one finger. “My sister was abducted.” He held up another. “Then my daughter. My sister’s mother-in-law. My sister again as an adult. My wife. My best friend’s daughter, then his stepdaughter. Do you want me to go on?”

  “But why you? You were just a kid when your sister went missing—and there was a full decade in between cases after that.”

  “I’m sure the first one wasn’t personal. Chester went after Macy because she was the spitting image of his own daughter. But then I started my blog, which you may remember I was forced to shut down for a while due to their threats. That was personal. I was getting in their way, drawing attention to cases all over the country, assisting in solving many of them.”

  Anderson nodded. “You’ve kept the blog going all year, while everything has been quiet?”

  “Yes. I thought they’d stopped paying attention, but maybe not.”

  “And we still think there’s a mole in the department?”

  “Even the feds think as much! I told you about the conversation I overheard.”

  Anderson was quiet before speaking. “You and Nick suspect Crawford?”

  Alex gritted his teeth. “We aren’t the only ones.”

  “Who else?”

  “I’m not sure I should say—not that I don’t trust you.”

  “It’s fine. The chief was definitely acting odd when he was covering for Nick last year.”

  “Yep.” Alex started driving again but hadn’t gone far when he noticed a piece of fabric stuck to a tree. He stopped. “That’s suspicious. Should we have a look around?”

  “I’ll call it in.”

  Alex flung open the door.

  If Josie was being held in the woods, he would find her.

  Chapter 4

  Josie woke with a jolt. Hit her head on the side of the box. Gasped and looked around in the darkness. Felt for her phone.

  She’d dropped it in the woods. Her heart sank.

  Did her family know she was missing yet? They had to be looking for her. Surely, by now they knew she was missing. The last time she’d looked, it had been a full day. And she was still breathing. Starving and soiled, but alive.

  Her kidnappers said she had a week.

  She kept praying she did. Her parched throat made her wonder otherwise. With all the water she’d been drinking already, she might run out before a week. Then what?

  Her fingers brushed the flashlight. It had moved away as she slept. She scooted and grabbed it.

  The light was blinding, despite having put it on the lowest setting. She closed her eyes before squinting until she adjusted.

  It flickered.

  Was its battery draining?

  What would she do once it died? It was her only source of light.

  She sighed and fought the urge to feel defeated. Once she gave up, the bad guys won. No way would she let that happen. She’d had nothing but time to go over the abduction again and again. She focused on every detail she could—their voices, sizes, smells. Though she hadn’t seen their faces, she could identify them.

  She would still win.

  Josie closed her eyes and thought of her friends and family. Imagined their faces and held onto the images—the only thing that was keeping her from losing her mind.

  The party had been so much fun last night—or the night before? She’d finally gotten the attention of Brock. They’d talked for a full fifteen minutes, and he’d kept flashing her his gorgeous smile.

  Her mind wandered to her best friend and their extended group. She liked some of the kids more than others, but right then, she’d give anything to see any of them. At what point had they realized something was wrong? When she didn’t show up for school the next day? Or had Ashley tried texting her before going to sleep and knew right away when Josie didn’t respond?

  And what about her family? Had her parents been asleep and not noticed until morning? Or had one of them waited up, initially angry for making her worry? Did Jared care? Or was he glad to get the focus off him and the crappy attitude he’d had lately?

  Josie drew in a deep breath and held it. Tears sprang to her eyes. Would she ever find out the answers to any of these questions? Or would she never again see the light of day, or the people she cared about?

  She choked back a sob and banged on the top of the box again. Her bruised hands hurt from hitting it so much. There was probably nobody for miles. Nobody to hear her cries and screams.

  But that wouldn’t stop her from trying.

  She would keep trying to get out until the moment she ran out of oxygen.

  Chapter 5

  Ariana added more eyeliner before leaning back and taking in her reflection. She couldn’t help smiling. Between her new bronze hair color and the darker eye makeup, she basically looked like a new person.

  And even better, her wardrobe had improved dramatically since Mom got that part-time job at the fashion magazine, writing articles remotely. New clothes came in the mail all the time, and she gave half of them to Ari so long as she posed in them.

  High school was the best. The new building was finally finished after the original one was destroyed. Now all the high sc
hoolers in town were in the same place. And if that wasn’t cool enough, all the kids—even the seniors—looked at her like she was something special.

  She glanced at the clock and cringed. She’d lost track of time and wouldn’t be able to sit down for breakfast. Maybe she could grab something quick to eat on the way. Damon didn’t want anyone eating in his car, but maybe she could eat on her way to class.

  Ari stuffed her books into her bag before racing downstairs. The twins were shrieking and chasing each other through the kitchen. Mom was typing on her laptop, oblivious, and Dad was nowhere to be seen. That was a relief. He’d told her about the missing girl from school and had already given her the standard safety lecture.

  “Morning.” Ari gave Mom a quick hug before opening the fridge.

  Mom looked up and smiled. “I love the smoky eyes. Did you follow that tutorial I found for you?”

  “Yep.” Ariana moved the milk out of the way, looking for something to eat. “I’m running late. Anything quick?”

  “Oh, shoot. I didn’t realize. Is the bagel with cream cheese still in there?”

  “I’m not eating carbs, remember?”

  “You need carbs to survive.”

  Ari held back an eye roll. “You know what I mean.”

  “One bagel won’t kill you, sweetheart.”

  She groaned and dug around until finding a green smoothie. “Is this still good?”

  Mom glanced up. “Yeah, I made that yesterday. Take it. I’ll make another at lunch.”

  “Thanks.” Ariana gulped it down and kept an eye on her phone.

  “Dad already went to work. He said to be—”

  “Careful. I know the drill, Mom. I’m not going to get myself kidnapped again.” Her phone’s screen lit up with a text. “Damon’s here. Gotta go. Love you.”

  “You too!”

  Ariana quickly rinsed the glass and raced outside after giving kisses to the twins. Her heart raced when she saw Damon in his car. They’d been together for just under a year—she was counting down the days to their anniversary—but he still had the same effect on her as he did when he was tutoring her and she thought he’d never see her the same way.

  And now that they finally went to the same school, nobody cared about their slight age difference.

  He waved as she leaped across the yard.

  She flung open the door to the expensive sports car and plopped into the passenger seat. “Morning.”

  “Hey, beautiful.” He leaned over and kissed her, then wiped the corner of her mouth. “Did you eat something green?”

  “I had a smoothie. Ran out of time for anything else.”

  He glanced at the clock. “Yeah, I’m behind as well.”

  Ari buckled in as he pulled away from the curb. She told him about the newest dress that had come in. “Mom wants to do a shoot after school.”

  “Can I watch?”

  “I keep telling you, it’s actually super boring. The fun part is seeing one of the pics on the blog.”

  “They’re crazy for not showcasing you on the cover of the magazine.”

  She snorted. “That’ll be the day. I haven’t even gotten into any of Mom’s columns yet—but those are moving up from the back of the magazine to the middle this month.”

  “See? They’re waiting until your photo will get more attention. You’ll be a cover model soon enough.”

  “You just want to say your girlfriend is a cover model.”

  “What? No. I honestly think you deserve it.” He groaned as they neared the school. “I’m going to have to park in the back. Next time, I’ll leave earlier.”

  “No worries. I’d have made you late even if you hadn’t been behind schedule.”

  Damon parked, then they hurried toward the building. As they neared a group of people, there was a somberness in the air.

  Ari’s heart sank. Had the kidnapped girl been found dead? Dad had mentioned she went to the high school, but Ari didn’t know her.

  Damon turned to her. “I wonder what’s going on.”

  She shrugged. Dad had also told her there was a ransom involved, but that was police business, which meant she couldn’t tell anyone—not even her boyfriend.

  The mood followed everyone into the halls. Nobody was joking around as usual. Kids were gathered in small groups, whispering.

  The warning bell sounded.

  Damon kissed her. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Can’t wait.”

  They went their separate ways. Ariana listened to the conversations around her. Nobody seemed to be talking about anyone dying, so that was hopeful. She hated the thought of anyone being kidnapped. She’d lived through it and was still in therapy from the experience.

  Just as the bell rang, Ari slid into her first period seat.

  “I heard there was a ransom,” someone whispered behind her.

  “Her brother’s here today. It can’t be that bad,” said a guy.

  “He hates Josie.”

  “Sasha said it was all staged.”

  “Sasha’s a liar. She said she’s related to—”

  “Attention everyone!” The teacher whistled sharply. “Let’s focus. I know there are rumors floating around about another abduction, but nothing has been confirmed. We need to start our presentations. Would anyone like to go first?”

  Ariana waited a moment and then raised her hand.

  Sighs of relief sounded around her, and one person called her a nerd. Nobody else wanted to go first, but she’d been ready for this for over a week. She could give the speech in her sleep.

  The teacher called her up, and she made her way to the front of the room.

  Ari tucked some hair behind her ear. She looked at her papers, more to get her focus off the thirty faces staring at her than because she needed the notes.

  “You can begin any time,” the teacher urged.

  Ariana turned to her and smiled before speaking. The presentation went off without a hitch, she didn’t stumble over her words or forget any points. After she was done, the teacher smiled at her—a rare feat. She sat back in her chair, relieved to be done while everyone else was a bundle of nerves.

  The rest of the morning went smoothly, and slowly people’s attention focused away from the rumors about Josie Roghan’s abduction. By the time she got to the cafeteria, Damon was already in line. He waved to her then, when she joined him, gave her a hearty hug.

  “Do you know if the rumors are true?” he whispered. His warm breath on her ear sent a shiver down her spine.

  She met his gaze and gave a slight nod.

  His eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Yeah. I can’t talk about it.”

  Damon rubbed his temples. “I need to find out if my dad’s ring—”

  She covered his mouth. “You can’t say things like that. People will know what you’re talking about.”

  His brows drew together. “But if it’s them, we could be in danger.”

  Ari looked around to make sure nobody was paying attention to them. “It’s been a year.”

  “Not yet. Not a full year.”

  She frowned. He would know the exact date. Even though he and his dad hadn’t had a good relationship—Cal Jones used to beat the crap out of his son before being arrested as a prominent leader in a worldwide kidnapping ring—Damon still missed his dad.

  Ariana thought he missed the father Cal had been years earlier when his mom was still alive.

  “What does your dad know?” Damon asked.

  “He didn’t tell me much. Just that I need to be aware of my surroundings.”

  They got their food then sat at a table with some of Ariana’s friends.

  “Look at your makeup!” Lola gushed. “And your hair. Ohmigosh! Makeover alert!”

  Emily scooted closer. “Where did you get that shirt? Please don’t say it was one your mom got from work.”

  “Sorry.” Ari took a bite of her salad.

  “Bummer.” Emily sighed. “I don’t su
ppose you have something they sent you that you don’t want anymore? That I could take off your hands? Please?”

  “Don’t be such a beggar,” Lola said.

  “It beats paying a hundred bucks for a shirt, which is definitely what that one costs—if not more.”

  Ari twisted her bracelets back and forth, keeping her gaze on her plate. “The tag said one-forty.”

  Both Lola and Emily gasped, and Emily shoved Lola. “See?”

  Ari started to say something, but someone in the back corner of the room caught her attention. It was one of Dad’s coworkers. Lieutenant Johnston only came to the school when there was a problem.

  “You okay?” Damon asked.

  “Yeah, great.” She ate her last bite of salad.

  Her boyfriend glanced where she’d been looking. “Oh.” His tone indicated he was thinking the same thing as she was. He cleared his throat and rose. “I need to get something at my locker. Want to help me find it, Ari?”

  Emily looked at him. “We all know what that’s code for.”

  She and Lola made kissing noises.

  “You’re just jealous.” Ariana gave them a teasing glance as she rose and picked up her tray.

  Her friends continued their obnoxious sounds as she and Damon walked away.

  Ari glanced over at Lieutenant Johnston. His arms were crossed, and he was looking in her general direction.

  As they neared Damon’s locker, the hall cleared. He turned to her. “That one officer is here. Tell me things aren’t serious enough for us to worry.”

  “I can’t. It’s obviously bad.”

  Her phone vibrated with a text. She glanced at it, and the message from her dad made her heart sink.

  “What is it?” Damon demanded.

  She showed him the screen.

  Dad: Be extra careful. New case.

  Ari and Damon exchanged a worried glance.

  Chapter 6

  Alex checked his phone again. Ariana had finally texted back—she promised she was following protocol to stay safe, said she was fine, and let him know Lieutenant Johnston was at the school. Alex had asked him personally, so he’d already known, but was glad that Ariana was being cautious and forthcoming.