by Kaylea Cross
“That’s a good idea.” Ryan took her hand. “These detectives don’t need us underfoot.”
“All right,” Kate said, “but you’ll call us the minute you know something, won’t you?”
“Yes, yes, absolutely. Now go, have dinner and try to relax. I promise we’ll call you when we know something,” Raj said.
* * *
“Hey, everyone gets a phone call. Where’s mine?” Suki asked the female officer as she walked by the holding area.
“I thought you called a lawyer,” the officer replied.
“No, I didn’t. I mean, I asked for one, but I didn’t call. I was told they’d be appointing one for me,” Suki said. “So? Can I use the phone or what?”
“Fine. Come with me. Payphone’s down the hall.” The officer unlocked the cell and opened the door. “But you only get fifteen minutes, so make it count.”
Suki was elated. They may have her cell phone, but at least now she could try to reach Ethan. The female officer gave her change for the phone and reminded her of the time limit before stepping a few feet away to wait.
She nervously dialed his cell number, hoping he would pick up.
“Hullo.”
“Oh, my gosh, Ethan. I’m so glad you answered.” She spoke rapidly, not wanting to waste any time.
“Hey, Sis,” Ethan replied, “about time you called. I haven’t heard from you in awhile and you weren’t answering your cell. Listen, I came by the loft to see if you were here. I snuck in behind one of your neighbors.”
“You found the key?”
“Yeah, I let myself into the apartment, wandered around looking for you. I thought you said you weren’t working today.”
“I’m not, but listen, Ethan—”
“You said you didn’t want to be here, so I figured you’d be scared and hiding somewhere.”
“That’s not it, Ethan,” Suki was starting to think he was on something, again. She could hear him slamming things around, it sounded like the kitchen cupboards.
“Hey, you got anything to eat? I’m hungry. What’s in the fridge?”
“Ethan.”
“Hey, Kate’s phone number. I’m taking this.”
“Yeah, fine, take it. I don’t need it. But, Ethan—”
“Cool, apples. I’m taking one of these too, Sis. I got my switchblade. Gonna practice carving up this apple here before I use it on Kate.”
She could hear a rustling sound and little grunts coming from Ethan. What is he doing? She pictured him in her kitchen, brandishing the knife in a swashbuckling fashion.
Suki glanced over at the officer waiting nearby. Ethan was clearly in his own little world and she was getting frustrated. She didn’t have much time to warn him.
“Should I slit her throat? No, stab her in the chest! Yeah. That’s what I want to do, Sis. Hey, I’m gonna go lie on your bed and wait for Kate in there—surprise her.”
Then, Suki could hear him crunching an apple in his mouth, followed by the sound of the television. Probably TV Land, it sounded like an old sitcom playing in the background. She recognized the theme song…it was one they used to watch as a family, when they were kids. Ethan laughed and then there was a muffled sound.
Did he drop the phone? I’ve lost him. She assumed he was off somewhere in his drug-induced world, again, watching old reruns.
“Ethan!” she shouted with her hand cupped over the receiver to muffle the volume of her voice, but there was no response.
“Time’s up,” the officer said, coming over and clicking off the phone. “If you ask me that was a wasted phone call. You barely got a word in. Let’s go. Back to holding.”
Suki went reluctantly. Now she really was screwed. She’d wasted her one phone call and her brother still had no idea where she was.
Chapter Fifteen
The keys jangled as Ryan unlocked the door and let Kate into his condo.
“Make yourself at home. I’m just going to change.” He ducked into his bedroom.
She stood in the middle of the large space, admiring the architecture and design. Kate appreciated the open loft concept. It had a very contemporary feel with clean, straight lines and tall windows overlooking the heart of the city. It was well decorated in a manly bachelor sort of way. Sleek brown leather furniture sat against creamy white walls, softened with reds and rust, which toned down the stainless steel accents.
The place reminded her of a photo shoot she did in Malibu for an architectural magazine—the same clean lines and voluminous space, earthy colors and natural elements. The style filled her with a sense of peace and calm.
A few dishes sat in his sink, a pair of brown loafers rested by the sofa, and one of Ryan’s jackets lay on the back of a dining chair, which gave his place a lived-in feeling. Not messy, just comfortable.
“Is there any place in particular you’d like to go to tonight?” Ryan called out from the bedroom.
From where Kate stood, she could peer into part of the bedroom and see Ryan, bare from the waist up, looking into his closet, searching for something else to put on. The sight of this partially-naked man, his chiseled upper body exposed, made her heart skip a beat. Heat rose in her cheeks and flowed down through her body.
“Um, yes, well…that place we went to the other night, Yellowfin’s, would be good. I thought the food was excellent.” Kate stepped toward the wall of windows so Ryan wouldn’t catch her watching him dress.
“Yes, I think that would be good, too,” he said as he stepped up behind her, now fully clothed, and wrapped his arms around her waist. She let out a nervous giggle at his surprising nearness. The comfort of his arms filled her with warmth and she did not resist.
“What a stunning view,” she said, looking out at the city lights, leaning her head back on his chest.
“Yes, stunning,” he agreed. They stood together enjoying the view for a moment, feeling the same physical and emotional attraction they had experienced the evening before at his folks’ place. Brushing her golden hair back with his hand, he gently kissed the side of her neck.
A tingle rushed through her from her neck to her toes. She turned around and looked up into his eyes. He caught her gaze for just a moment then lowered his face. His lips covered hers and she felt the passion from that kiss send her blood pulsing throughout her body.
“Oh, Ryan,” she heard herself sigh. The intensity of the kiss overwhelmed her, leaving her intoxicated. Her head was spinning, and she wondered where this was going to lead.
“Kate—” he started to say, interrupted by the ring of his phone. Thoughts instantly flew to her sister, hoping the detectives were calling with some news.
Her body stiffened and she stepped back from Ryan as he whipped his phone out of his pocket, not taking the time to check the Caller ID first.
“Hello, this is Ryan.” He paused, listening. “Oh. Vanessa.” He frowned, pausing again.
“Actually, yes. I’m in the middle of something important. Can I call you back tomorrow?” Ryan said, looking at Kate, shaking his head as if to say no, I won’t.
After a longer pause, Ryan rolled his eyes. “Oh, brother,” he mumbled as he hung up the phone and shoved it back in his pocket.
His response to Vanessa made Kate grin.
“Sorry about that,” he said, running a hand down her arm, taking her hand in his, kissing her fingers. “Where were we?”
“I thought that call was going to be the police with some news about Whitney.” She looked down and shook her head, taking her hand back. “What kind of sister am I, thinking about myself at a time like this?” She walked over to the window, crossed her arms, and looked out at the sprawling view of the city. “Where are you, Whitney?”
Ryan stepped up behind her and put his arms around her once more, enveloping her in his strength and comfort. The moment was broken, but he seemed to understand. “They’ll find her, Kate.”
“It’s so hard to just wait. I need to be doing something.”
“Let’s head over to the ap
artment so you can change, and then we’ll get some dinner. Maybe by the time we’re finished eating, the cops will have gotten something out of Suki.”
“We can only hope.”
* * *
Kate turned the key in the lock and the door to the apartment made a creaking sound as it opened. They had been conversing back and forth, but they stopped when they heard a noise coming from Suki’s bedroom.
Kate looked at Ryan, frightened at the possibility she was there. “Do you hear that?”
He nodded.
“Suki?” Kate called out. There was no reply.
“We know the police are holding her, so why is the television on in her bedroom?” she said, keeping her voice down.
Ryan shrugged in response. He led Kate down the hallway to check.
“Suki?” he said, as they entered the bedroom. The bed was mussed, like someone had been laying on it, but there was no one there.
Kate reached down and flipped the TV off. “I guess she must have forgotten to turn it off before she left this morning. I didn’t think the police had released her yet.”
“I’m sure they would’ve called us if they decided to let her go,” Ryan said.
Kate noticed a photo sitting on Suki’s dresser. She picked it up and examined it. It was a photo of Suki and Ethan with their mom and dad, a long time ago.
“What’s that?” Ryan asked.
“Looks like a photo of Suki and her family quite awhile ago, before the accident. They looked happy.”
“So, her mom died in the car accident. That must’ve been hard.” Ryan said.
“Yes, I’m sure it was,” she said sadly, remembering the death of her own mother.
“What about the dad?”
“I don’t know,” she replied, “but if Suki ended up in foster care, it can’t be good.” She set the photo gently back down on the dresser and walked out of the room.
“While you change, I’m going to call Yellowfin’s and get a reservation.”
“Okay. I’ll just be a minute,” Kate replied as she walked into Whitney’s room and shut the door.
* * *
Kate and Ryan left the apartment building and strolled down to Yellowfin’s Seafood Grille. The light rain had stopped and the air was almost dry again. Ryan held the door open for Kate and followed her inside.
“We have reservations,” he told the young Asian hostess. “Wilson, for two.”
“Yes, right this way, Mr. Wilson.” She plucked a couple of menus from the cabinet and led them to their table.
Kate slid into the booth.
Ryan took off his jacket and slipped in across from her. “Well, what shall we have tonight?” He picked up the menu and scanned over it. “The Mahi Mahi looks good.”
Her phone began to ring and she was quick to answer it. “Hello, this is Kate.”
“Kate,” said an unfamiliar male voice, “be quiet and listen carefully. If you want to see Whitney alive, you’ll do what I say.”
“What?” she asked.
Ryan raised his eyes from the menu and looked over at her.
“This is Ethan Henderson and I have your sister. Act like I’m an old friend. If you don’t play along with me, I will kill her.”
“Oh, hello, Cynthia,” Kate said. “Sorry, I couldn’t hear you at first.”
Ryan returned to reading the menu.
“I want you to tell your date you need to go and use the ladies room. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I’d be happy to help you when I get back in town.”
“Come out the rear door of the restaurant, through the kitchen. I left a package in the alley with instructions on how to get your sister back.”
“Yes, Cynthia. That would be fun.”
“Come out to the alley alone, or I promise you I will kill your sister.”
“Okay, no problem. I’ll see you then.” The line went dead, so Kate pretended to hang up.
“Who was that?” Ryan asked.
“A friend from Los Angeles. She wants to get together when I get back.” Kate put her phone in her pocket and scooted out of the booth.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to use the ladies room. Why don’t you order the Mahi Mahi for me?”
“All right,” he replied, going back to studying the menu. “I can’t make up my mind.”
As Kate walked toward the ladies room, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, switched it to vibrate and stuck it in her bra. Then, she veered off from her path to the restroom and headed in the direction of the kitchen.
She was terrified going out into the back alley alone, certain she was walking into a trap, but she was willing to do whatever she had to do to save her sister’s life. If she didn’t comply with Ethan’s instructions, she knew he would kill Whitney—if he hadn’t already.
By hiding her phone in her bra, she hoped Ethan wouldn’t find it, and someone else might be smart enough to think to track her by the cell phone’s signal. All she had was that hope. Without it, she feared they would never find her or her sister. She had to take that chance.
Kate paused before the heavy, metal door, summoning the courage to face what she feared was on the other side. She pushed the weighty door open and walked out into the dark alley. It automatically swung shut as soon as she was clear of it.
Someone stepped out from behind the door. She noticed a shadow move as she heard a couple of quick footsteps. Before she could turn, she felt the pain of something hard crack against the back of her head. Kate fell forward on the gritty wet pavement and everything went black.
Chapter Sixteen
Ryan burst into the police station, frantic and out of breath. He caught sight of Raj heading into the conference room. “Raj!”
Patel turned to the sound of his name being called. “Ryan?”
“I need your help.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Kate’s missing!” he said between gasps of air.
“What?”
“We were at Yellowfin’s Seafood Grille having dinner. Then, Kate got a phone call. She said it was a friend in Los Angeles. After that, she excused herself to go to the restroom, but she never came back.”
“How long has she been gone?”
“About thirty-five minutes,” he said, looking at his watch. “I tried calling but they said you were unavailable, so I rushed over.”
“What happened?”
“She’d been gone more than fifteen minutes, so I got worried and went looking for her. I had the hostess check in the ladies room, then we checked the kitchen. Some of the kitchen staff said they saw her walk through and go out the back door.” Ryan was growing frantic, his mind thinking the worst.
“Did you check outside the back door?”
“Yes, we looked around but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Raj, I’m so worried. Why would she leave without saying anything?”
“I don’t know. Maybe that wasn’t really a friend on the phone.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“We’re about to question the foster mother. I think we may have caught a break.”
“What about Kate?”
“I’ll have a forensic team go over to the alley and investigate.”
Just then, an officer ushered a middle-aged woman toward the interrogation room. Porter came out to greet her. He waved Raj over. “Patel.”
“Listen, Ryan, I gotta go. Can you sit tight while we conduct this interview?”
“Is that her? The foster mother? Can I sit in?”
“Ryan—”
“I know what you’re going to say. But technically, I’m not just any civilian.”
Raj didn’t look like he was going to budge.
“You got five bucks?” Ryan asked.
“Huh?” Raj appeared even more confused now, but Ryan stuck his hand out and nodded at him to come up with the five dollars. The detective reached into his pocket, pulled out the cash, and handed it to over.
Ryan shoved it in his pocke
t. “Okay, you just hired me as a consultant. Former cops do that all the time, right?”
“Well…”
“Patel!” Porter urged from the interrogation room door.
“Fine,” Raj gave in, “but keep your mouth shut. Got it?”
Ryan nodded his head and followed his friend into the room.
Porter raised his eyebrows when Ryan entered, but Raj shrugged. “All right then.” He seemed to understand Ryan’s desperation. “Let’s go sit down, shall we?”
“Ma’am,” Detective Porter gestured to the short, round Italian woman to a chair at one end of the table.
She politely complied and took a seat. Patel followed suit, then Ryan. Once they were all seated around the table, Raj leaned in and whispered something to his partner. Ryan figured he was telling him about Kate. Porter whispered something back and then made the introductions.
When he got to Ryan, he seemed unsure what to say, so Patel jumped in, “Mr. Wilson is…a special consultant on the case, Ma’am.”
That answer seemed to work. Porter nodded his agreement, then set down the case file, folding his hands on top of it.
“Thank you for coming in, Mrs. DiMarco,” Porter started. Then he turned to Raj. “Detective Patel will be right back. He has to go arrange for a CSI team.”
Raj got up and excused himself.
Porter turned back to Mrs. DiMarco. “Now, where were we?”
“I hope I’m not too late. Oh, that poor missing girl.” She glanced down briefly at her hands clasped in her lap and shook her head. The pudgy, middle-aged woman looked like she’d had a hard life, with her wrinkled face, unruly curly black hair, and her ill-fitting clothes. Her concern for both Suki and Whitney sounded genuine.
“What did you want to tell us?” Porter asked.
“I don’t know if you know the whole story,” she began, looking at Ryan and Detective Porter.
“Why don’t you start from the beginning and tell us everything you know about Suzanne.”
“All right, from the beginning,” the woman said. “When Suki was fourteen, which is what we called her, her mother was tragically killed in an auto accident—poor thing. After that, her father had started drinking heavily. I guess he had a really hard time with his wife’s death. Because he drank so much, he ended up losing his job. Then there was her brother, Ethan, who was in college at the time. With his mom gone and his dad being fired, he had to drop out of school and come home. Eventually, according to what Suki had told me, they lost their big house and moved into a crummy little apartment. It was such a sad thing.”
