A Twisted Fate (An East Pender Cozy Mystery Book 3)

by Leona Fox

  “Andy, please, you can talk to me, you know, if anything is bothering you.”

  His eyes were glassy and it was like he had erected a wall between them. He smiled but there was no joy behind it, and Ellen had the strange feeling she was losing her friend.

  “I'm fine,” he said, although she knew he was lying.

  “Wait here,” she said, and ran back behind the counter. She poured a flask of iced tea, and handed it to him.

  “I know you, and you'll keep pushing yourself so hard you'll forget to drink. Take care of yourself first, Ella and Scampy need you at your best,” she said, and then kissed him on the cheek.

  “He'll be alright, you know,” Kelly said when Ellen returned to the table.

  “Yeah, I know,” Ellen said.

  “I'm going to drive around and look for Scampy. I'll let you know if I find anything.” Ellen smiled at her and watched the door close behind her.

  She sighed and had a glum look on her face as she looked at the photos of the two who were missing. Then her mind ran back through the case so far as she tried piecing together what exactly had happened. There was a lack of suspects and clues and the heat was so heavy it proved difficult to think. Ellen was afraid this was the first case in which she would be unable to figure out a solution. There was just so little information available, unless there was some obvious clue she was missing. She wracked her brains and nothing came to light.

  She went behind the counter and pulled out a book, glad that Andy hadn't seen it when he had come in. She opened the page to where she had left off and continued reading about the heroic detective written by Andy's brother. It was only when the story focused on Clive that she really paid attention, though.

  Chapter 5

  Neither Scampy nor Ella had turned up by the following afternoon, and it was all Ellen could do to not let the worry consume her. She and Kelly were outside handing out fliers and calling out Scampy's name, trying anything to find the dog even if it was just a matter of relying on blind luck. Kelly was moving at a slow pace, fanning herself as she moved in between the shadows. That infuriated Ellen, who wanted to cover as much ground as possible.

  “Did you speak to Andy?”

  “No. He sent me a text last night. I thought about calling him but he's made it pretty clear he doesn't want to talk about this. It's strange. I've never known him to be like this before.”

  “Guess he likes being the main man in East Pender and he doesn't have to worry about what his brother writes about him.”

  “He shouldn't have to, though.”

  “No, but sibling relationships are always difficult. Give him time, I'm sure he'll come around and if not then, well, you've never been one to beat around the bush. I'm sure you can hammer down his defenses if you really need to. How are you holding up?”

  “I don't know; this case has got me annoyed. I feel like I'm missing something obvious but I just can't put my finger on it. With everything going on with Andy and Scampy, I just don't know where I am at the moment.”

  Kelly stopped and squeezed her friend's arm, which Ellen appreciated.

  “Just take a breath. You don't always have to save the day. You're not a super detective, sometimes it's enough just to help out.”

  “That's the thing, I don't know what to do to help. I feel like I'm just waiting for a miracle to happen.”

  “You never know, sometimes they do...” Kelly said, and the two women continued walking through town.

  They tried speaking of idle matters but it seemed churlish to speak of anything other than the missing girl and dog. It depressed them to talk about that though, so they ended up walking in silence. But they had such a deep friendship that these moments of silence did not bother them. They were able to take comfort in the idea of just being with each other. Ellen was a few paces ahead of Kelly, who still was moving as little as possible to try preventing her body from being coated in a layer of sweat. Yet, it proved impossible in the heat. She started complaining that her skin was sticking to her clothes. Ellen ignored her bleating for she too was feeling flustered in the heat and wanted to make sure she wasn't going to miss anything, no matter how little.

  Suddenly, she stopped and raised a hand behind her, gesturing for Kelly to hush. The artist took exception to this and started protesting against Ellen's harsh nature but Ellen didn't have any time to concern herself with Kelly's petty complaining. She had heard something that set her soul aflame and, in spite of the heat, she found herself breaking into a run. Kelly looked in shock as Ellen sprinted down the street, powerful legs crashing against the sidewalk, before she disappeared around the corner.

  Chest on fire, eyes stinging with sweat, head feeling hazy...Ellen barely could believe what she was seeing. Scampy bounded up to her and danced around her ankles, yapping loudly, but next to him, collapsed against the wall, was Ella, although she looked much different from the picture that rested on the counter of Ellen's cafe. The young woman looked exhausted and dehydrated. Her lips were chapped and dry and her hair was knotty. Her clothes were dirty as was her skin and the stench of unwashed clothes was all-pervading, even in the open air. Her eyes flickered a little bit and a hoarse whisper escaped her lips but it was incoherent. Ellen tried to get her to talk, tried to shake her awake but she was in such a bad way that there was no hope. Kelly rounded the corner and gasped.

  “Is that...?” she asked

  “Yep. Can you call an ambulance?” Ellen said.

  Without taking her gaze from the young woman, Kelly pulled out her phone and dialed the emergency services. While they waited, Ellen knelt down and examined the young woman further. She saw there were deep gashes left by ropes on the girl’s wrists, and there were small cuts all over her body, but otherwise she seemed to be unharmed. Scampy was in good spirits, surprisingly, but all the women could do was look at Ella hopelessly and pray that she would recover. After Kelly had called the ambulance she immediately called Andy, who arrived on the scene first. He rushed to the girl's side and pulled out a bottle of water, lifting it to her lips and gently pouring it down her throat. The crystal liquid ran down the sides of her mouth and dropped down to her clothes. She sputtered and coughed a little, and for a moment they thought she was going to stir but her eyes remained closed.

  Shortly, the ambulance arrived and they made some initial checks.

  “How long has she been here?” they asked.

  “We don't know, we called as soon as we found her. She must have used what little strength she had to make it this far,” Ellen said.

  The paramedics looked worried but they carefully lifted her up and started to fix her with a drip to try replenishing the fluids she had lost.

  Andy turned to Ellen. “I'm going to go to the hospital with her. Hopefully when she wakes up she'll be able to answer a few questions. Come by the station later, I'll need a statement from you about how you found her.”

  It seemed to be business as usual and all Ellen wanted to do was break down the strange energy between them. He took one step into the back of the ambulance and turned back to face her.

  “I'm glad your dog came back,” he said, and flashed her a smile, and Ellen felt relieved.

  As the ambulance drove off she picked up Scampy and took him back to the cafe where she fed him and gave him a bowl of water, which he lapped up enthusiastically.

  “That poor thing, she must have been through so much,” Kelly said.

  “I know. Can you imagine?”

  “Do you think she'll be okay?”

  “I hope so. She's so young.”

  “I wonder what actually happened? At least we might find out who took her.”

  “Yes...we might. But things like this are never that simple. It might take her a while to recover as well.”

  “You can take that picture down at least,” Kelly said, pointing to the pictures that had been left on the counter.

  “I think I'll leave them up for a while. You know how word spreads around here. Andy might not want to le
t people know she's escaped. It might alert the kidnapper, if they don't know already.”

  Ellen's thoughts were with the young girl as she still saw her as a mirror for her own life. All that time spent wondering where she belonged in the world seemed for naught when compared to the ordeal that Ella evidently had been through. For Ellen, East Pender had been a safe haven after her parents had passed away, a soothing backdrop that allowed her to mourn and grieve and eventually find herself again. It had been a long process but East Pender was home to her, and she felt safe and secure within its boundaries, which was exactly what she needed after her parents had died.

  Yet for Ella, she now had been kidnapped and the peace of the town had been taken away. How would Ella ever be able to walk the streets again when they were such a painful reminder of being locked up? Ellen wondered what would happen if something like that happened to her. Would the streets of East Pender suddenly take on a dark appearance? Would the stain of tragedy mean she no longer would be able to live in the secluded small town? Ellen couldn't imagine ever leaving again. She hoped she never would have to, but seeing Ella in that state reminded her that East Pender wasn't as cozy as everyone thought it was.

  Later on, Ellen and Kelly made their way to the police station as Andy had requested. The police were all sitting in what felt like a furnace. Even opening windows didn't help, and large fans were whirring. Everyone seemed irritable, although when they saw Andy he looked a little less stressed than he had been. He took them through to a back room that was a little cooler and asked them about what had led them to finding Ella. Once they had finished recounting the events Ellen asked Andy if Ella was awake.

  “No, they took her in and are keeping her under observation. I've posted a guard as well, just in case. It seems like she escaped of her own accord, so whoever kidnapped her wasn't keeping watch over her all the time. Although it does mean that whoever it was is in for a big surprise.”

  “Do you think they'll try taking her again?” Kelly asked.

  “I won't let it happen again,” Andy said with a steely look on his face, still evidently haunted by the case in his past. Ellen wished she could reach out to him and remind him that he was a good cop and a good man, but he still was closed off to her.

  “Something still doesn't seem right? How could someone kick in a door and drag her out without anybody hearing? And it makes no sense that somebody would grab her near the woods then come back and kick the door down just to make it look like it was a break-in. There's something we're missing here and I feel like it's right at the edge of my mind but I just can't think.” Ellen banged her fists against her forehead. Andy sat on the edge of the table.

  “Don't go thinking about that, it'll drive you crazy. Trust me. Anyway, that's my job. You just enjoy having Scampy back around and try to relax. You're not going to do anyone any good if you're so stressed, and God knows this heat isn't helping. Just take some time and I'm sure you'll come up with something. All we can do right now is wait for Ella to wake up and hope she remembers something useful.”

  With nothing else to do, Ellen and Kelly left the station and returned to the cafe. On the way they were talking about the case.

  “The poor girl must be scared. Do you think whoever kidnapped her will try it again?”

  “She should be safe in the hospital with all those people around, but when she's released it could be a different matter. However, this could provide a break in the case because whoever is responsible for her kidnapping now will be getting desperate and desperate people make mistakes.”

  Chapter 6

  “Is it true?” Beatrice asked with wide eyes.

  Ellen glanced around the cafe at all the people muttering to themselves and rolled her eyes. Word really did travel quickly around East Pender. While she and Andy had hoped that news wouldn't get out, it had. The cafe was alive with people talking about various theories, and now Ella's friend was standing in front of Ellen, hoping for some good news. Ellen chewed the inside of her lip as she mulled over her options. There was really no point in denying it, but technically Beatrice was a suspect, even though Ellen thought it unlikely that Beatrice had anything to do with it. After all, the person who subdued Ella must have been strong, especially to kick down the door, and Ellen didn't see Beatrice doing that. However, Ellen was aware that her faculties were slightly impaired so she didn't want to rule out any possibility just yet. She needed more knowledge, and sometimes that required giving up some of her own.

  “Yes, it's true,” Ellen said, and escorted Beatrice over to a quiet corner of the cafe.

  Beatrice looked so relieved and smiled. Her eyes danced with delight and in that moment Ellen knew she could not have been responsible, unless she was an extremely good actor.

  “Is she okay? Is she safe?” Beatrice asked, a thousand questions running through her mind.

  “She's fine now, she's just in the hospital resting and recovering. So far she hasn't woken up or said anything, but I'm going to go and see her myself.”

  “Can I come? It might be good for her to see a friend,” Beatrice said with hope in her eyes. Ellen wasn't too sure, however.

  “It might be overwhelming. She's been through a lot and I wouldn't want her to get too intense just after escaping. Besides, we need to get her to focus and answer some questions. But don't worry, it'll just be a matter of time. I'll be sure to tell her you want to see her. As soon as the doctors think she's up for it, I'll tell you,” Ellen said, and Beatrice seemed to be placated.

  “I've just been so worried, you know? I mean, when things like this happen you don't want to think of the worst but you can't help it and when there was no sign of her...I'm just so glad she's alright.”

  “I think we all are. It's always a tragedy. All we need now is to find out what happened.”

  “Do you have any theories?”

  “Not as yet,” Ellen said, and couldn't hide the disappointment from her voice.

  “I'm sure something will turn up. Now that she's awake she should be able to tell us something about what happened to her,” Beatrice said.

  Ellen appreciated the girl’s optimism but she knew these things were rarely as clear cut as all that. For one, the kidnapper may never have shown Ella his or her face, or Ella may have been blindfolded the whole time. If she didn't know the area that well it may prove difficult to pinpoint the exact location of where she was being held. The worst possibility, of course, was that Ella was suffering from Stockholm syndrome, but Ellen hoped that since it only had been a few days that wouldn't have had a chance to develop. She exchanged a few more words with Beatrice before she left, nodding to Jack to take care of the cafe in her absence.

  On her way to the hospital she was filled with worry. Anywhere she looked out on the streets she felt an increasing sense of paranoia because somewhere out there was a kidnapper, lurking in the town. She had met her fair share of criminals in her time but there was something more disturbing about this one, about the fact that Ella was dragged out of her own home and taken away to where nobody could find her. If it wasn't for Scampy she wouldn't have been found. As Ellen thought about being left in a place where nobody could hear your screams and the bleak hopelessness set in, tears filled her eyes.

  Having never particularly liked hospitals, Ellen tried to make her stay there as brief as possible. She spoke to Ella's doctor briefly, who told her that, aside from being dehydrated and exhausted, Ella was actually in good shape. Whoever had kidnapped her hadn't assaulted her, all she needed was rest. Ellen greeted the guard at the door, and checked with him that nobody had been around. All had been quiet, according to the guard. She was a little surprised that she hadn't seen anything of Gregory. She had assumed he would have wanted to see his sister, but perhaps he hadn't heard the news yet. Just as she was talking with the guard Andy left the room.

  “How is she?”

  “She's okay, not very responsive. She's not talking much. Guess it's just because she's shaken. Poor thing is terrified tho
ugh,” he said.

  “I can imagine. You don't think it's bad that I brought Scampy do you?”

  “No, actually I think it will do some good. He is the reason she's here, after all,” he said, and Ellen sensed that something was wrong.

  “You know you would have found her, right?”

  “No, I don't know that,” he said, and turned away to get some coffee.

  Ellen had an urge to go after him but Scampy was tugging at the leash and Ella was in the room waiting for her. She knocked on the door softly and nudged it open. The room was dark and, just like everywhere else in the town, fans were aiding the air conditioners by blowing cool air around. Ella was sitting up in bed, now wearing a hospital gown rather than the clothes she had been found in. She had been washed and her hair had been brushed but she still had a haunted look about her. The lines on her face were drawn and there were dark circles under her eyes. She had her arms folded tightly against her, and when she noticed that Ellen had entered the room she covered her wrists, conscious of the marks on them. The sun hit against the window but the curtains were drawn, giving the room an eerie, shaded look.

  “Hello Ella, I'm Ellen, it's nice to meet you,” she said.

  “Are you with the police?” Ella replied.

  “Sort of...I help them out sometimes with cases. But I'm not employed by them. I own The Chrome Cafe, and it was my dog that found you,” she said, and stepped away so that Ella could see Scampy.

  Ella's ears pricked up at the mention of the cafe but she remained looking nonplussed about it all. However, Scampy had other ideas. He broke free of Ellen's grip and ran up to the bed, leaping on it and nuzzling into Ella. The young woman tried to resist at first, wary of Ellen's presence, but couldn't stop a smile from appearing on her face as the dog cuddled up to her.

  “I owe this little guy a lot, what's his name?”

  “Scampy, do you mind if I sit down?” Ellen asked, and Ella gave her an assenting nod. Ellen took a seat by the bed and enjoyed watching the two of them play a little.