Missing in the Desert

by Dana Mentink

  She ignored him, rushing to the passenger side. It was dented, and she tugged with all her might until it gave. As the billowed airbag subsided, she held her breath. “Corinne?” she whispered.

  Inch by inch the fabric melted away, and her sister, eyes both terrified and vacant, stared at her.

  Slowly, ever so slowly, Mara reached out and touched Corinne on the arm. “Hey, sis,” she whispered through the clog in her throat. “It’s Marbles. Everything is going to be okay now. I’m here.”

  Corinne didn’t say a word, but tears began to stream down her face.

  Her sister was alive. And Mara knew her deepest prayer had been answered at long last.

  Her own tears fell as she stood by Corinne and waited for the ambulance to arrive.

  * * *

  Levi sat with Mara while the doctors examined Corinne. He had no idea what to say so he did things: brought coffee which she didn’t drink, talked to the Castillos on the phone and tried to communicate what he understood, which wasn’t much.

  He sat next to her in the waiting room, holding her hand while her parents drove from Las Vegas. His brother and sister had been filled in and were presently seeing to the horses and looking for any sign of Banjo, Tiny and Rabbit. Then he subsided into silence. He had no clue if his presence provided comfort or not, but he simply could not be apart from Mara, not then, not after what she’d just gone through.

  When the Castillos arrived, he got up to leave, but Mara caught his sleeve. “Please stay, Levi. Please.”

  And in that moment she could have asked him for the keys to Buckingham Palace and he would have done his best to get them for her. It was not the time to explore the feelings sheeting through him like sand in a windstorm. He stood by her side, quiet and still, while the Castillos tried to process what had happened.

  The doctor came out to meet them. “She’s underweight and mentally traumatized, but otherwise healthy. There are no signs that she was physically abused.”

  Her father let out a groan and closed his eyes for a moment.

  “She’s sedated right now, but you can sit with her. A therapist will start working with her when she wakes up.” He smiled kindly. “It will be a long road, but it looks like she has a strong family around her. That’s what she’ll need to recover.”

  Jude arrived and spoke to them all before Mr. and Mrs. Castillo went into Corrine’s room to sit by her side. Jude raised an eyebrow at Levi.

  “Dunno how you intercepted Gene so quickly. I almost lost my transmission making it over that pasture.”

  Levi raised a shoulder. “I know the land.”

  “Yes, you do. I had a very quick conversation with Corinne in the ambulance. She says Gene was her captor. Teegan had nothing to do with it as far as she knows.”

  Levi pulled in a quick breath. “She was locked in a box. She might not have realized that Teegan was involved.” Mara clutched his hand so tight his fingers went numb.

  “It’s possible she’s confused, fuzzy about the facts, but she says Gene kept her locked up. There’s a tunnel—we just uncovered it—that leads from the bunker to Gene’s place. Every once in a while, he’d let her into the main house. One time Gene fell asleep, and she used paints to create the landscape and tucked it in Amelia’s box of prints that was left around. But as she’d been about to try to get out of the house, Gene caught her and was more careful from then on. Jerry accidentally dropped his phone when he did the bid on the property. Gene intended to return it but had left it in the kitchen, and Corinne was able to steal the phone and send you a quick text. She hid it in a hole she dug in the dirt floor behind the bed. Gene looked, but he never could find it. The problem was she had no way to charge it.”

  “That’s why I only got the one text,” Mara said.

  Jude nodded. “Gene said she’d confessed to him that she’d sent you a postcard before about four months ago, stuck it in their outgoing mail when he was distracted by Camp Town Days planning. When he saw your car in town that Seth brought for you to fix, he didn’t realize Levi was driving, so he arranged the accident. He panicked when he heard you were coming to Furnace Falls again to see the ranch. Jerry told him you wanted to talk to him about a strange message you’d received. He tried again, hence the shooting which hospitalized Seth. Not to mention the backhoe pileup at the J and K, the jack under the saddle, the drone, et cetera. All signs point to Gene.”

  “Not Teegan?” Mara shook her head. “So Gene imprisoned Corinne and arranged her shoe to be found in the park to make it look like a suicide? Why? Why would he do that?”

  “We’re going to find out, but Gene isn’t cooperating anymore, and he’s lawyered up. That’s why I need your help. My officers stopped Teegan, Amelia and Peter on their way to the airport. We’re holding him. Amelia was allowed to take Peter home, but we’ve got an officer guarding her since we don’t know if she was involved.”

  “What did Teegan tell you?” Mr. Castillo demanded. “Did he admit to any part in my daughter’s imprisonment?”

  Jude winced. “Remember this all has to be checked out, but what he said surprised us. From what we can gather, after you moved to Henderson, she hopped a bus to meet Teegan.”

  “Probably while she said she was with a friend,” Mara said. “She did that all the time.”

  He cleared his throat. “Well, this particular time, Corinne called and called but he didn’t answer. Um, this might be uncomfortable for you... Teegan says she told him during their last call that she was pregnant.”

  “Pregnant?” Mara gasped. Mrs. Castillo pressed trembling fingers to her mouth.

  “They’d, uh, apparently been together before.”

  Mara groaned. “That weekend she went missing for two days. When she came home, my parents grounded her for three weeks, but she still wouldn’t tell where she’d been. He must have been unfaithful to Amelia. They were together at that time.”

  “He never disclosed that detail to the police when we were investigating her disappearance,” Jude said. “Teegan says when she called to tell him that last time, he accused her of lying, told her to get lost, that he wanted nothing to do with the child—and this is where the story unravels. Teegan claims his father told him Corinne showed up one day when he wasn’t home six months after their final phone conversation. He won’t say anymore, and Gene isn’t talking.”

  “Maybe they are both lying,” Levi said. “Teegan’s word can’t be trusted, if he’d cheat on Amelia and lie to the police about being with Corinne.”

  “Was there a baby? What happened to it?” Mrs. Castillo asked.

  “Like I said, Teegan clammed up.” Jude leaned back in his seat.

  Mara took on a contemplative look. “If they are as pure and innocent as the driven snow, why did they run for the airport?” she demanded.

  Levi had been thinking exactly the same thing.

  “Teegan isn’t talking to us,” Jude said. He paused and looked at Mara. “He said he needs to speak to you.”

  “Me?”

  “You don’t have to,” Levi said. “The guy is dirty, no matter what he says.”

  But he could see in Mara’s face that she’d already decided. “We’ve waited long enough for answers. I have a feeling I know what he’s going to say. It’s time for the truth...all of it. Let’s go.” She strode down the hallway.

  “Strong lady,” Jude said.

  Levi didn’t say it aloud, but his heart agreed. Strong, determined, amazing.

  * * *

  Mara took a seat opposite Teegan in the police interrogation room, trying to keep her breathing calm. Jude stood next to her, and Levi stayed outside, listening to the recorded conversation.

  Teegan’s skin was a ghastly gray, his eyes dull and sunken. “I had to see you. Thank you for coming.”

  “Don’t thank me.” Mara struggled to force the words out. “I am going to do whatever I
can to make sure you’re punished for what you did to my sister.”

  “Please,” he said, almost a wail. “It was wrong of me to spend the weekend with her and not tell the cops. I led her on when I should have made a clean break of it, but I am telling you the truth when I say I did not know my father kept Corinne a prisoner. I believed the story he told me. I can’t believe he made that all up. Something happened to him when my mom died. Part of him died, too. From then on, his sole focus was me, and it was smothering sometimes.”

  Mara recalled something Gene had said. That kind of loneliness can blacken someone’s soul. She wasn’t buying it. “If you didn’t know about my sister’s imprisonment, why did you run?”

  He swallowed. “I didn’t want to lose him.”

  “Him?”

  “Peter. He’s my son.” Teegan gulped. “Mine and Corinne’s.”

  Mara could barely get a breath in. Part of her knew it was true, but it floored her nonetheless. The little boy with the dark hair who sucked his fingers. Corinne’s son. Her nephew.

  “Can you explain?” Jude said calmly.

  Teegan sucked in a huge breath. “Corinne contacted me, told me she was pregnant, but I didn’t believe it. I refused to see her, just like I told the cops. Dad said six months after I told her off on the phone, she showed up and left the baby with him while I was out. Dad told me she’d been trying to raise him alone and she was tired of it so she brought him to us. It made sense to me except for one thing. I never understood how that shoe discovered in the national park fit in. Dad said she told him that weekend she came to spend with me...” His face colored. “Her bag was stolen by someone at the bus station. Whoever it was had taken her shoes, too.” He swallowed convulsively. “Now that everything’s come out, I think maybe my dad planted that evidence to make it look like she killed herself so the police would close the case.”

  “You never said anything about this before when you were questioned about Corinne,” Jude said. “You and your father allowed the police and the Castillos to believe she was most likely dead.”

  “I... I’m sorry for that, but I didn’t know what my dad did until just now.” His face twisted, and he rubbed his palms over his cheeks. “I was telling the truth, that I never saw Corinne around the time of her disappearance. I told her on the phone to stop calling me. I thought it was a lie, but she was obviously pregnant when Dad imprisoned her. Put yourself in my shoes. I had assumed along with everyone else that she’d died in the desert and tried to get on with my life. Then one day months later, Dad walked into the kitchen with an infant in his arms and said—” his voice broke “—she’d come back and left the baby...my baby. I know I should have come forward then, so the Castillos would know she hadn’t died, but Dad said we needed to keep it quiet.” He looked at Mara. “Dad said if I told anyone that the baby was Corinne’s, they would come back and start investigating again and we’d lose Peter.” Tears spilled down his face. “I believed him. How could I not believe my own father?”

  “Because your father told you to lie,” Mara snapped. “He pressured you to steal my sister’s baby.”

  He sucked in a breath. “He said your family would hate me if I told the truth, try to get involved in the baby’s life, maybe even sue for custody or something, since Corinne hadn’t turned up.”

  “You had no right to keep it from us.” If her mother had known she had a grandchild? Of course she’d have wanted to be involved. And they’d never even had the chance. Mara and her parents hadn’t had any idea that Corinne was pregnant; it never would have crossed any of their minds. “You passed my sister’s baby off as Amelia’s. She’s in on this too.”

  He choked back a sob. “Once Amelia heard my dad’s version of events, she didn’t want to lie at first, but the doctors told her she has a problem with her uterus and she might not be able to have children. I told her to care for him for a week, and then we’d call the police if we had to and tell them what my dad told us about the last time he saw Corinne. Of course, a week was long enough for her to fall in love with Peter.”

  Mara shook her head. “Amelia is part of these lies. No wonder she looked uncomfortable whenever she was around me.”

  Teegan stuck his chin up. “Amelia has been a great mom to him from the beginning. It would kill her to lose him.”

  “Why did you run to the airport? Why now?” Jude said.

  Shoulders sagging, he looked completely exhausted. “I got a text this evening. Dad said Corinne had come back, just appeared out of nowhere. I couldn’t believe it... I mean I was just in shock.”

  Mara swallowed hard as he continued.

  “Dad said he was sure she wanted to take our son. He told us to run and take Peter, gave us money. We were trying to figure out what to do—” he gulped “—when I saw Corinne running across the property, so thin and wild-looking.” His face paled even more. “I figured I was seeing things. I started after her, but then Dad called and said there was a search warrant served. That was the moment I knew he’d been lying all this time. Lying...” His words trailed off and he shoved a hand through his hair.

  “Corinne managed to escape,” Jude said. “Stole a phone charger and ran. The Camp Town activity was keeping Gene busy. She saw her opportunity.”

  Teegan bowed his head. “Honestly, I did not know what my father did to Corinne. It was wrong, and twisted, but he only did it because he loves me.”

  “You know what?” Mara said, eyes glittering. “My father loves my sister, too, and your dad took her away and stole her baby. He’s going to prison where he belongs.”

  “I know.” His voice broke. “I’m so sorry. I should have told the truth. And I shouldn’t have kept Peter from you.” Teegan looked up at her. “But what about him? We’ve raised him since he was an infant. Amelia is the only mother he’s ever known.”

  “It’s not up to you to decide what to do,” Mara said through gritted teeth. “That is going to be up to Corinne. Your father took her choices away, and now it’s time for her to get them back.”

  NINETEEN

  The night was split between the hospital and the police station. Corinne was heavily sedated, and though her condition was stable, there was little else they could report. Levi and Mara returned to the ranch as the sun was rising. The fire department had cleared the scene, but one engine remained in case of hot spots. The air stank of smoke, and the ground around the main house was scorched black.

  “We kept it from spreading into the back of the house,” one of the fire crew said. “Looks like just the front room, part of the kitchen and the porch are totaled. Some of your plants survived, too.”

  He thanked them and tried to swallow his grief. The front porch and surrounding grass was burned beyond salvage. “Banjo,” he shouted again, praying he would hear an answering bark. Nothing.

  The wood slats of the porch were blistered and probably not safe to walk on. Had the animals crawled into the grass? As much as he wanted to believe it, he didn’t think so. Banjo had been injured by Gene’s shot, possibly a fatal wound.

  Mara came up beside him. “I’ve called and called. I’m sorry. Maybe they ran for safety.”

  But he knew they hadn’t. He nodded, turning away slightly so Mara might not see him blinking back tears. Banjo would have stayed, he would never have deserted his home. Just to be on the safe side, he pried up the burned slats of the porch, fearful of what he would find there. The injured dog might have burrowed under because he felt safe from the flames. Banjo was tough, he told himself. Had to be to survive being lost and starved and coming to land on a sad-sack ranch. But toughness only got you so far. He’d depended on Levi, on the ranch, to keep him safe. And so had Tiny and Rabbit.

  Mara took his hand and squeezed. She probably knew he was on the verge of tears, and she was protecting his dignity by not expecting him to talk. The small hole made by Rabbit was now obstructed, riddled with burn marks, blocke
d where the charred wood had collapsed. The dog and kitten had probably crawled under the porch to escape the flames and died of smoke inhalation. Rabbit might be there, too. Had they been scared? In pain? Wondering why he did not come to save them from the flames? “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

  Mara caressed his shoulders. How could she have the energy for compassion after what she’d been through? They stood there, lost in their perusal of the wreckage.

  The wood shifted, causing more of the porch to sink. More beams giving way? But the movement continued. “What in the world...?” He sank down and yanked some of the ruined boards away that were blocking the hole.

  In a flurry of movement, something began to tunnel out from under the mess. Bits of soot and flecks of wood whirled, and they both shielded their eyes from debris. Banjo squirmed out, tail whirling like a propeller. He leaped at Levi with such wild joy that Levi fell over on his back.

  “’Jo,” he gasped. “You made it.” Banjo swabbed his chin with an eager tongue. Levi hugged him close, laughing and rubbing his friend. When he could finally fend off the dog’s unfettered slobbering, he got to his knees to examine him. Mara sank down to join him.

  “Let me take a look at your wound, sweetie,” she said, wiping at her own tears with the back of her hand.

  There was a bloody gash on Banjo’s shoulder, not deep but long.

  “He’ll be okay,” Mara said. She accepted licks from the limping Banjo who spread his hysterical attention between the two of them.

  Levi hugged his dog. “I’m so glad you survived, buddy.”

  Banjo jerked out of his grasp and dove back under the porch again. To Levi’s astonishment, he emerged with a soot-stained Tiny. He put her down at Mara’s feet.

  Mara scooped up the wee cat. “I can’t believe it. Her ears are singed, but she seems okay.” The little cat balled up in Mara’s arms and began to mew plaintively. “Your Papa Banjo took care of you, didn’t he?”