by Lee Rose
Tony and Matt stood up and headed out to Jack’s house. Jack lived near their own house on the outskirts of the town, where it was quiet. Tony had drunk a few beers with Jack and considered him a friend. Jack had several ATVs that they could use to search the wooded area outside of town. There were several abandoned properties out there. A few months ago, Matt’s wife Holly had been kidnapped by a drug dealer. Jack had helped them rescue her.
Tony felt lost. His head was thumping with tension. He often got headaches when stressed out, but he was not going to let that stop him from finding Alicia. He let Matt drive, even though he usually insisted on driving. He liked being the one in control of the wheel. Right now, he didn’t care. His heart was aching and he was scared they would not find her. People disappeared all the time, and some were never found. It was sad, but he refused to let himself think of her becoming a statistic.
“I should never have let my doubts drive her away. She would have been here right now and not missing. Why didn’t you knock me upside the head?” Tony muttered, looking out the window. He didn’t even see the scenery of the town passing before his eyes as Matt drove. He pictured Alicia’s smile and big brown eyes. He was anxious to find her. He thought he knew what was best for Alicia, but he was realizing he had been wrong to not talk with her about how he was feeling. He should have tried harder to convince her Dee had been a mistake. Dee still did her best to follow him around. He had threatened to charge her with stalking if she didn’t stop. He hadn’t seen her in days and he was glad.
He needed to find Alicia alive and hold on to her tightly. He would confess his feelings and beg her to forgive him. She had to be alive to do that.
“I did try, but you were your usual stubborn self, bro. We’ll find both girls, Tony,” Matt said, his voice filled with determination. That made Tony feel a little better. He felt weak, but he could count on Matt. “Holly took the day off of work. She and Jasmine are at the Garcias’ house trying to do all they can to help. They are worried about Mr. Garcia’s heart. The whole town is pitching in.”
Tony knew Mr. Garcia had heart problems and only worked part-time now. Alicia had often talked with him about her fears of losing him. None of them ever thought it could be the opposite. Alicia had to be alive somewhere. He could not bear to entertain any other thought. Foul play had to be involved. He didn’t know Janice, but he did know Alicia. She was not the type of person to just disappear without telling someone. Alicia loved her family and was very close to them. He had always envied that about her. She would never be out of contact for this long unless something was wrong.
Jack was waiting for them when they arrived and had the ATVs out of his garage. He shook their hands with a grim look. He had a rifle on his shoulder and was wearing his hunting gear.
“It’s a sad day when we have to go back in there looking for young girls like this.” He sighed with a shake of his head. “Don’t know what this world is coming to, boys.”
“I know.” Matt patted him on the back. “Let’s get started and pray for the best. Thanks for helping us again, Jack. Unfortunately, this is becoming a habit.”
“I have a daughter. Thinking about locking her up until she is at least thirty,” he told them. Matt smiled and agreed with him.
Tony felt his heart clench with pain. He was not an optimistic person, but he clung to hope. Hope that they would find both girls alive and soon.
Chapter Five
“A whole day of searching and not one clue of what could have happened to Alicia and Janice,” Noah stated with frustration. They were using the station as a headquarters for people who volunteered to help. Many people had come in to help with the search. Hanson’s grocery store had donated bottles of water to the volunteers. It was dark and the hour had grown late. It was now twenty-four hours since either girl had been seen. “How is that possible? If they crashed or had car trouble, we would have heard something by now. We would have found the car at the very least.”
“I don’t know, Noah,” Drake answered, looking tired. People were coming in and out of the building, and Helen was handling it all like a general. The people who only wanted to ask questions were sent away and the ones who wanted to help were put to work. “None of this makes any sense to me. We know for sure it has to be foul play. Alicia is not the type to take off and not inform to her family or friends. She knows her dad would worry. She would have called Alana, Jasmine, or Holly.”
“Unfortunately, we can’t say the same about Janice,” Sam spoke up. “Janice’s mom says they haven’t spoken to Janice in over two months. She has a drug habit that she refused to give up. She never kept a job for long, and wouldn’t come home for days, so they thought tough love would help. They stopped talking to her until she agreed to rehab.”
“And Janice has been working for the Garcias over a month,” Drake said out loud. “I doubt Alicia knew of her drug habit. She would not have hired Janice, especially after all the trouble Pete and Gerald Ferguson caused this summer.”
Sam nodded. “Mr. Sands was very surprised to hear she was working. Last he heard, she met a man who was also into drugs and willing to support her habit. She hasn’t checked in with them for weeks. She cut off contact with her best friend, Lydia, because Lydia didn’t do drugs.”
“Was she dating a dealer?” Noah sat forward, looking more alert. They were all still nervous because Mario Novak was still on the loose. He had planned to set up shop in Red Hook over the summer. Noah and the others stopped his plan and arrested his cohorts. Novak had disappeared, but not before threatening them all.
Tony couldn’t stay quiet any longer. He had searched the woods with Matt and Jack for hours and found nothing. It was as if the two girls had disappeared off the face of the earth. It had been reassuring to not find any sign of them injured or dead, yet it raised many questions they had no answers to. “You think Novak is involved? I wouldn’t put it past him to make a friend of Janice with ulterior motives.”
“We have to look into the possibility. Nothing else makes sense,” Noah answered, looking more upset.
Tony’s gut tightened with anger. The thought of Novak having his hands on Alicia was horrifying.
“Damn it.” He stood up so fast his chair turned over, but he didn’t care. He needed some cold air before he started punching walls. The need to go and search for Novak himself was overwhelming. They knew he had a house in Morehead, and in Houston, too. The police had searched both houses but he was nowhere to be found.
He went outside and paced up and down the sidewalk. The cool breeze in the air did nothing to cool him down. An image of Alicia’s smiling face came to mind, and it took all his willpower not to lose control of his emotions. He had to find her. He had to know what happened to her. The last twenty-four hours seemed like days to him.
He couldn’t bare the idea that she was hurt and he wasn’t there. When she had confided in him one night how John Daniels, the owner of a bar called The Red Barn, had played her, it had taken all his willpower to not punch the guy out. He had given him a few mean glares as they passed by each other and had gotten some satisfaction when the man paled, but not enough. He had vowed silently to protect her and yet he had failed.
He felt his brother’s presence behind him.
“I am fine, Matt,” he grumbled. He hated the thought that he would be viewed as weak, but with Alicia, he was. Otherwise, he would not have been scared to confess to her he wanted more than friendship. He had made a decision out of fear, and that did not sit well with him. He thought he had strict control of his emotions.
When his mother had gotten sick and he knew she was going to die, he had been scared out of his mind. He knew he would be responsible for his younger brother, Matt. Their dad was a useless drunk and would be no help. He’d made a decision to put his fears away and rely on what made sense, and that was how he lived his life ever since.
Alicia made him feel wild and out of control. That was what scared him. He pushed her away, and for what? She was
missing and he still felt like he was going to lose his mind. He knew how dark the world could be, but he didn’t want Alicia to have that knowledge. He wanted to protect her from the ugliness of the world, yet he just failed miserably. All kinds of crazy thoughts raced through his head, making his chest feel heavy with pain.
“I know how hard this is, Tony. When Holly went missing, I thought I was going to go crazy. Every dark image of what could happen went through my mind. I know we will find her alive.” Matt patted him on the back.
“I know, Matt. I am sorry if I wasn’t sympathetic with what you went through with Holly. I didn’t really understand, but I do now.” He remembered the turmoil his brother had gone through knowing Holly was in the hands of Novak and his men. Tony had been worried for his brother’s sake. He had not realized how deep the terror would go, or how awful it felt. He hated the uncertainty of not knowing where Alicia was or if she was hurt. He had a hard time controlling his rage.
“You have always been there for me, Tony. From the time Ma died, and when Holly was taken, you never left my side. I will not leave yours now. I will do whatever it takes to find your girl.” It was a promise and Tony believed him. Even when they had been stationed countries apart, they had never lost touch and always maintained their brotherly bond.
“She is not mine.” Tony sighed, wishing she was. He wanted to claim her, protect her and most of all, love her. He needed to tell her what a fool he had been. Would she even listen? Maybe he didn’t deserve another chance.
“She can be yours if you stop following in my stubborn footsteps. I hurt Holly for a long time and that still kills me. Open your eyes and take the risk. It’s worth it, brother,” Matt said earnestly.
Tony needed to find Alicia first. Then he would figure out how to fix things. “If Novak is behind this, if he hurt her—”
“We’ll finish him once and for all,” Matt finished, looking him straight in the eyes and not flinching. Tony trusted his brother and nodded, letting Matt know he trusted him to stand by him.
“I think it is safe to say she is not in Red Hook. We have covered every square inch of this place,” Tony said, taking a deep breath to calm down. He couldn’t lose it right now. Alicia needed him to think and help find her. He had to push the emotions to the back of his mind and think logically. “If she was close by, she would have found a way to let us know. She is clever.”
“Noah thinks they have to be in Morehead or the next county. The cameras at the club show Alicia practically carrying Janice out to the car. They left and it shows them turning right toward our town, but anything could have happened out on the dark country roads,” Matt informed him.
“Okay, let’s go back inside and hear what the next step is.” Tony sighed, heading back toward the building with Matt. He had his emotions under control for the time being. He took in a big gulp of fresh air and exhaled slowly. Sam and Greg had gone home to rest, along with the volunteers. The hour was late and everyone was exhausted. Tomorrow they would start at first light. Drake was on the phone with Jasmine in the corner.
“Go home and get some rest, Helen,” Noah was insisting. Helen was a receptionist, but she ran the station and no one dared to argue with her. They all had nothing but respect for the older lady. “Tomorrow we start fresh. I need you refreshed. I can’t do this without you, Helen.”
Helen gave in and nodded. She gave Noah a hug before grabbing her car keys off her desk. “Call me if you need me.”
Noah sat in a chair and leaned his head against the wall. He rubbed his face with his hands and stifled a yawn. Drake was off the phone. He came and sat down looking discouraged. “I hate not having anything positive to tell Jasmine. She is staying with Alana at her parent’s house. Jasmine hasn’t stopped crying since we got the news.”
“I know. Alana thinks having her parents help out with the baby keeps them calmer. The last thing we need is Carlos having a heart attack from all this stress. Ray is there, too. He knows his way around weapons. They will be safe,” Noah assured Drake. “I am going over there right now. We start fresh in the morning.”
“Holly is staying with Faith tonight. I know Adam and all his friends from the fire station were out searching the roads from here to Morehead, even the backroads,” Matt told them. “Faith is only weeks from giving birth. Holly wanted to make sure she didn’t get stressed out. Faith adores Alicia, too. Everyone does.”
“You think Novak is involved in this?” Tony wanted answers. He felt it in his gut, but he wanted to hear Noah’s opinion. The man lived and breathed law enforcement. Alicia was part of his family and he would keep looking for her no matter what. Drake had been friends with the Garcia family for years. Alicia was like a little sister to him. Noah was married to Alicia’s sister and always kept an eye on her. Alicia had always complained about having too many brothers. She had warned Tony to not get any bright ideas about ordering her around. He should have assured her he did not feel brotherly toward her.
“Nothing else makes any sense,” Noah admitted. “Janice’s parents were surprised she was working, since she had a drug dealer boyfriend. Gerald is gone. His little drug-selling buddies high-tailed it out of here. Novak is the only one still on the loose. The likeliness of a new player being involved just doesn’t make any sense to me. Novak has motive to hate us and want his revenge. Alana and Alicia were both there the day one of his men was messing with the staff. I saw Novak looking her and Alana over.”
A few months back, Novak and two of his henchmen had made an appearance in town. Gerald Ferguson, a small-time dealer from Red Hook, had brought him in. It had all gone to hell when Novak had Gerald killed and kidnapped Holly for himself.
“Alana admitted they didn’t know much about Janice. She isn’t a hard worker, but she shows up on time and every time she is scheduled. Alana didn’t like her much, but they were busy, so they kept her,” Noah continued.
“How did Alicia become friends with her?” Drake asked the question Tony had been thinking.
“Alana said one night when they were closing up, Janice approached Alicia and asked if she wanted to hang out with her and Kelly. Alicia had been depressed and Alana encouraged her to go have fun. Now she feels guilty for that,” Noah stated.
Tony clenched his fists. He hated the idea that he had hurt her, and because of him, she started partying with Janice and Kelly. “This is my fault, not your wife’s. I let my strong feelings for Alicia scare me away. I let our age difference cause doubts in my head. Instead of being honest with her, I fucked it all up with Dee. I didn’t try hard to apologize for that mess. I thought she would move on quickly. If I had been brave, she would not have started hanging out with Janice. She sounds like bad news.”
“Age is just a number, my friend,” Noah stated wisely. He had been mad at Tony, too, but now they were all focused on finding the girls alive. “I am eight years older than my wife, and have many years of experience on her. I broke it off with her for that same reason. I hurt us both and put us both through hell. I regret it every time I see the scar on her stomach. It took a stabbing to get me to open my eyes.”
Tony heard the story before. That was a few years back, when he and Matt had just gotten home from serving and were hired by Noah. Alana had been mugged and stabbed, and it had brought Noah running back into her life. Now the couple had a son and a happy marriage. Was it possible he could have had that if he had not been so scared? Did he want that deep commitment?
“When we find her, don’t let insignificant things like that hold you back from confessing your feelings for her.” Noah stressed the word “when.” Tony knew they would not give up. Alicia would be found. He prayed she was alive. He hadn’t prayed since his mom had gotten sick. After she died, he refused to pray, but for Alicia, he would. She had a gentle and loyal heart. Surely God would save her.
”I think Janice is the key here.” Drake stood up. He lifted his arms up in the air to stretch. They were all exhausted. “Tomorrow we should focus on finding out about
this boyfriend of hers. Alicia could have just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was exhausted physically and emotionally. He nodded in agreement. His greatest fear was that they would never find her. He wasn’t giving up. No matter how long it took, he would keep looking for her. He would catch a few hours of sleep, and then he would do some searching online. He would soon know Janice Sands better than her parents did. If this was her fault then heaven help her.
Chapter Six
“I don’t know anything about a boyfriend,” Kelly insisted the next morning. Noah had brought her in for questioning. She sat in a chair, crying. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her eyes were red and swollen. Helen had handed her some tissues. Tony sat with Noah as he interviewed the young girl. He wanted to hear what she had to say. Drake and Matt were in Morehead dealing with the sheriff and his ongoing search. “I just met Janice when she started working at the Hacienda. I’ve seen her around town, but we never spoke before. She always hung with the wild crowd and I didn’t. I was married and I have a son.”
“Was it her idea to go to Club Rock?” Noah asked, leaning back in his chair. He looked relaxed, but Tony saw how rigid his body was.
Kelly nodded. “Janice said the bar in Red Hook was lame, and Alicia said she would not go there anyway. I just went through a bitter divorce and going out distracted me from my problems. Alicia was depressed because she said some guy broke her heart.”
Tony winced inwardly. He already felt bad enough, but Kelly’s words pierced his heart like an arrow. Guilt sat heavily on his shoulders and the weight felt too heavy to bear.
“So Janice was not dating one certain man.” Noah sounded disappointed and so was Tony. They had been hoping for a definite ID on Novak. Noah’s pencil tapped on the notebook he was jotting notes on.
Kelly shrugged. “I am not sure if this one guy was a boyfriend or just a hook-up. Janice was a big flirt and danced with different men all the time. She never introduced us to this man, but she talked to him a lot. She said he had lots of money. He owned part of the club. He was a fancy guy, always dressed in a suit. Kind of snobby but she seemed liked him.”
