by Willow Rose
“You read way too many mystery novels, Melissa. I’m telling you, you’ve got it completely wrong. Scott is a very nice guy. I am helping him out of sympathy. And because my conscience can’t stand the thought that out there somewhere, his girlfriend is in trouble. That’s all. Nothing else.”
She grabbed my hand in hers and squeezed it. “Just promise me you’ll be careful, please? I don’t trust this guy.”
“I think we’ve established that,” I said and got up from my chair. I wanted to go home now. I was getting tired of this conversation with her. As I grabbed my phone, I checked to see if I had received any messages, then realized it was the fifth time I had done this since I sat down. And it wasn’t Matt I was hoping would call or text, I found out to my surprise. It was Scott.
I hadn’t been in contact with Scott for several days now, and much to my astonishment, I realized that I missed him. I couldn’t stop worrying about him and where he was. He had promised to stay under the radar so the police wouldn’t find him, while I tried to find another angle we could use to find his girlfriend. As I carried Angel to the car and Melissa came up behind me with Owen, I realized to my regret that part of me wasn’t sure I wanted to find Sarah. Because then it would be all over. Scott would have no reason to call or come to my house anymore, and we would lose contact again. I didn’t want that. I liked having him around. As I said goodbye to Melissa, hugging her tightly, then waving at her, I felt my heart beating fast in my chest.
Was Melissa right? Had I lost myself in him? If so, then what did it mean? Didn’t I want to marry Matt anymore?
I closed my eyes briefly, clasping my mouth. The thought was unbearable and brought tears to my eyes. What was happening to me?
I shook my head.
No, you can’t think like that. You simply can’t. Everything is perfect now. Don’t ruin it. Why do you always have to do this to yourself? Why do you have to ruin everything good in your life?
I grabbed Angel’s seat by the handle and left Owen next to the tire, right next to me, while strapping down Angel inside the car. As I pulled my head back out and reached down to grab the handle of Owen’s car seat, my hand came back empty. I looked down and realized it was gone.
Owen wasn’t there.
Chapter 39
Lily stared at the man approaching her, heart throbbing in her chest. It was him. She could barely understand it. It was the same guy who had been following her everywhere—the stalker.
“Are you having car trouble?” he asked, smiling, almost smirking.
“W-what are you doing here?” she asked, taking a step back as he came closer.
A thousand scenarios rushed through her mind, none of them ended well for her. Cars sped by on the bridge, and she wondered if anyone would stop and help if he attacked her. Would they even see?
“I was just passing by on the bridge when I saw you had stopped,” he said, still smiling.
Lily wished he’d stop doing that. It made him even creepier. She fiddled with her phone, wondering if she could somehow call Peter without this guy noticing it. She didn’t want to anger him. But Peter hadn’t answered when she called earlier, right when the car died. Why would she think he’d do it now?
“Can I help?” he asked.
“Stop right there,” she said and held out her hand. “Don’t come any closer.”
He stopped. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to help. You looked like you needed it. Did you run out of gas?”
She breathed heavily. This guy scared her so much.
“It’s the battery,” she said. “It has happened before.”
“The battery, huh?”
“It’s okay. I’ve already called for help. They’ll be here soon,” she lied. The fact was she hadn’t been able to get ahold of anyone, and she didn’t have any roadside assistance. She couldn’t afford it. She was stuck there, and this creepy stalker was her only help.
“Oh, okay,” he said. “I could give you a jump start if you need it.”
“I don’t.” She turned her head away to avoid looking directly at him. “I don’t need your help.”
“It’s no trouble at all. I got the cables in my trunk.”
Lily stared at him. Her pulse was quickening as she contemplated taking his help. It wasn’t like anyone else was coming, and she really had to get to work. If he tried anything, she had the phone in her hand and could dial nine-one-one.
“Let me just go get them,” he said. “I really just want to help.”
Lily thought it over for a few seconds more, then exhaled, her shoulders coming down. “All right. If it’s no trouble, then…”
The man’s face lit up. “It really isn’t. Let me just go and get them. Give me a sec. I’ll be right back.”
Lily watched him go back to his car and open the trunk. She looked at her phone to see if Peter had called her back or texted her, but there was nothing. With her pulse throbbing in her throat, she watched the man pull out jumper cables from his car, then approach her. She imagined him using them to tie her up before throwing her in the trunk. As he came closer and closer, she could hear her own heartbeat.
He held up the cables.
“All right, let’s do this, shall we?”
Chapter 40
“Owen?”
I said his name like I believed he’d be able to answer. Panic had started to set in as I scanned the area around me, searching for the car seat carrier with Owen inside it.
It couldn’t just have vanished, could it? It had been right there, right there next to me. And now, it wasn’t. I didn’t understand. Melissa had put him there while I took care of Angel. I had only taken my eyes off of him for a few seconds.
Could Melissa have put him somewhere else? Or taken him? But how? She had left. I waved at her as she walked to her car. It was gone now; the car was gone from the spot where it had been.
Think, Eva Rae. Think!
“Owen?” I shrieked, then walked around the car. Inside, Angel had woken up and was fussing now. I was trying to keep the panic inside me at bay, but it was getting harder. My heart was beating so hard, it almost hurt, and I felt like screaming.
Could Melissa have taken him? I thought again. It made no sense; why would she? Yet I grabbed my phone and called her.
“Did you take Owen?”
“What do you mean?”
“The baby. The boy. Owen.”
“No. I put him right next to you. You saw me do it, and then I left.”
“But…but…”
“Do you mean to tell me he’s not with you?” Melissa said, her voice getting loud and pitchy.
“I…I don’t know,” I said and placed my other hand on my head while tears of desperation sprang to my eyes. I scanned the area repeatedly, but there was no sign of the baby or the carrier.
“What do you mean you don’t know, Eva Rae? Have you lost your mind?”
That was a good question. It felt like I had.
“Maybe. I don’t know where he is, and I can’t find him, Melissa. I can’t see him anywhere.”
“What are you talking about? A baby doesn’t just vanish?”
I felt like screaming. “I don’t know what to do, Melissa. Please, help.”
“I’m turning the car around. I’ll be right there. Just stay calm.”
“That’s easy for you to say. It’s a little hard when you’re missing a baby,” I yelled back at her, then hung up.
I turned around, scanning the area again. There wasn’t a soul in the parking lot, but a few cars were parked at the other end of it. I grabbed Angel in my arms, then walked toward them. As I did, I suddenly heard the sound of a child crying. I turned to look at the church next to the parking lot all the way to the far end.
“Owen?” I shrieked, then ran toward the building. The crying got louder, and now I recognized it as Owen’s. I came up to the stairs, and that’s when I saw him in his car seat, placed on the top step by the entrance to the church. His face was torn as he wailed his lit
tle heart out, but he seemed okay otherwise. I grabbed the car seat carrier just as Melissa drove up and stopped her car. She got out, and her face strained with distress.
“I found him,” I said while tears rolled down my cheeks—tears of relief.
“Oh, thank God,” Melissa said and clasped her chest.
She hurried up the stairs and grabbed Angel from my hands while I reached inside the carrier and got Owen out. I held him tight to my chest, rocking him back and forth to calm him.
“How did he end up all the way over here by the church?” Melissa asked and looked toward the parking lot where my car was still parked. “It’s not like he can walk on his own?”
I held his little body close to mine, then sniffed him. “I know that scent,” I mumbled. “I know it. It’s Amy’s. She was here. She was with him.”
Melissa looked up at me, eyes big and round. “Amy? The mother? You mean she was here? I thought she was missing?”
I exhaled while turning on my heel to look around me.
“I had a feeling she wasn’t far away. I guess missing him got too much for her, and she had to steal a moment with him. That’s the only explanation I can come up with.”
Chapter 41
THEN:
She hadn’t slept much the night before. Since the detectives had been to her office, Lynn had been constantly worried about Jeff. She couldn’t stop thinking about Joanna and her disappearance. How could the police think Jeff had anything to do with that?
She couldn’t wrap her mind around it. The Jeff she knew wouldn’t harm a fly. He was both charming and charismatic. And that smile…oh, my, it was…well…to die for.
Now, she was waiting for him to enter her office, fiddling nervously with her pen. She had left the door ajar and told the secretary to tell him that he could walk straight in. She had his file ready and was staring at what she had written down the last time he was in her office.
“Hi, Doc.”
She looked up, and her gaze met his. Then, her heart dropped. He was even more handsome than she remembered him. And he was wearing what looked like a brand new suit—an expensive one, it seemed.
Don’t let his good looks dazzle you and blur your judgment.
“Hello, Jeffrey,” she said, trying to keep the tone professional.
He sat down on the couch in front of her. He tilted his head, smiling. “You okay there, Doc?”
She tried to ease up. He wasn’t supposed to sense that she had her guard up. “I’m fine, thank you. And you? How are you today? Take your time to answer.”
“I’m actually doing pretty well, Doc,” he said, grinning. “It’s been a great week at work. A big deal went through, and I got a huge bonus. I bought myself a new Dolce & Gabbana, as you can see.”
“I see that. You look very nice.”
“I have to get back to work after this, and I figured you wouldn’t mind me looking sharp,” he said.
Oh, that smile. She couldn’t liberate herself from staring at it intensely, and now he noticed. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and she felt such a deep warmth spread inside of her. She closed her eyes to try and shake it.
“I’m glad you’re doing well. And you have accepted the break-up?”
“Yes, yes, I have. I found out Alice wasn’t for me anyway.”
Lynn noted this on her pad. “That’s good. Does this mean you’re not sad about it anymore?”
“Of course, I’m still sad,” he said. “I mean, I really liked her, but I found out she was just a substitute for the real deal. I was just with her because she reminded me of someone else.”
Lynn looked up and blushed. His latest girlfriend had been her spitting image. Was he talking about her?
“Really?”
He nodded, rubbing his hands together. “Yes, really.”
She pondered for a few seconds if she should ask more but then stopped herself. She wasn’t sure she could deal with the answer.
“And Joanna?”
He grew serious. “What do you mean?”
She didn’t look at him but down at her pad. “Have you managed to let her go? I remember we talked about you following her still. Have you seen her since then?”
Jeff grew silent. Lynn lifted her eyes to look at him, hoping she’d be able to read the truth on his face. He stared at her, biting his lip like he was contemplating what to say next, unsure if he could be honest.
He cleared his throat and shook his head. “It’s over long ago.”
“But you haven’t seen her since then?”
A shadow went over his face, and his eyes grew dark. “Who have you been talking to?”
She shook her head. “I was just wondering; that’s all. I know how hard it was for you to let her go.”
“You’ve been talking to the police, haven’t you? They’ve been here?”
“Is that important?”
“Yes, it’s important,” he almost yelled.
Lynn’s eyes grew wide, and her pulse quickened. Jeff rose to his feet and paced in the room.
“God, I can’t believe they came here to see you too.”
“Sit down, Jeff, please.”
He didn’t. Instead, he kept pacing back and forth, making Lynn nervous.
“Jeff, please,” she said. “If you and I are to talk together today, then I need you to sit back…”
“I can’t believe the nerve they have,” he said, stomping his foot angrily. “This is harassment. They have no right to…”
Lynn swallowed and thought about the button next to her chair, then one that alerted the front office of an emergency so they could call the cops in case a patient got aggressive. She really hoped she didn’t have to use it. Jeff was the last person she wanted to have to use it on.
“Jeff…” she said, sounding firm. “Sit down, please.”
He stopped pacing and stared down at her. She was suddenly acutely aware of how big he was compared to her. He looked at her, then walked closer. Lynn had her finger on the button as he hovered above her.
“Look me in the eyes, Doc. Are these the eyes of someone who could harm another human being?”
Lynn looked into his eyes, long and deep. She felt herself ease up, and her finger slowly slipped off the button. What was it about this guy that just made her melt completely?
“Do you really think I would harm her?” he asked, his voice growing soft and tender. “Me?”
Lynn smiled, then shook her head with an exhale.
“No, Jeff. I don’t.”
That made him smile, then he leaned forward, grabbing her face between his hands. He planted his lips on hers, and everything exploded inside of her as they shared a kiss.
Chapter 42
Matt was smacking his lips as he ate the last meatball on his plate. I had made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner but didn’t have much of an appetite myself. I kept staring at my future husband, wondering what was going on with me.
Was I about to make the biggest mistake of my life?
Was I in love with someone else?
I closed my eyes briefly and pinched the bridge of my nose. No, I just needed sleep; that was all. Matt was right about one thing, taking care of two infants was threatening to tear me apart.
“I’m done; can I be excused?”
Alex looked up at me with his big eyes. He had gotten close to Matt these past several months, and I knew he adored him, especially after Matt took him to work with him one day, and they walked next door to the fire station, where he got to sit in the big truck, the one with the ladder. He kept telling the fire chief that it was “on his bucket list” to sit in the big firetruck, and now he could cross that off.
We had laughed a lot at that.
Why didn’t we laugh anymore?
“Sure, sweetie.”
Alex smiled, left the table, took his plate out to the dishwasher, and then ran for the stairs and his room. My mom had bought him a new firetruck for his collection, and all he wanted was to play with it. It was all he talked abou
t.
“Anyone want seconds?” I asked and smiled at my family.
Christine looked up, and our eyes met. I had scolded her for stopping bass lessons and told her that I wanted her to continue, at least finish the year. I didn’t like her quitting like this for no apparent reason other than “it was a lot of work” and because she wanted to hang out with her friends downtown, which apparently was what she had been doing since she quit. The conversation hadn’t ended well, and she had yelled at me that she hated me.
Nothing new there.
“No thanks, Mom. It was really good, though.” Olivia rose to her feet and walked to the kitchen as well, followed by Elijah, who didn’t say a word. Nor did he take his plate out, as was the custom here in our house. I had told Matt that he needed to teach his son to do as the rest of the kids did, but even Matt forgot to take his things out and just left the table to watch TV—without a word to me.
We hadn’t talked at all. I simply didn’t know what to say to him. Every time I opened my mouth, it felt like we ended in a fight. And with the babies always demanding me, there really wasn’t time or energy for a long talk. It mostly became words yelled at one another in passing.
It wasn’t good.
As they all left the table, I looked at my phone. I had been staring at it all day, wondering what Scott was up to, where he was. Why did I spend so much energy thinking about him when I had everything I needed right here?
I stared at the empty table. Everyone had left, and the dirty dishes were piling up in the kitchen.
“Guess I’ll clean up then too,” I mumbled and got up. I was carrying the big pot out with me when my phone suddenly vibrated on the dining table. I almost dropped the pot when I put it on the counter and ran for the phone and picked it up, panting.
“Scott?”
Chapter 43
She almost tripped when she realized that the truck was coming toward her. Sarah gasped, then leaped forward, just in time for it to miss her. It roared past her. Panting and agitated, she then turned to look and watched it come to a stop. It stayed there like it was watching her for a few seconds before it finally took off again. She watched it turn a corner, then drive down a side street, tires screeching. Heart pounding, she stared in the direction it had come from when she realized it hadn’t left. It was just taking a trip around the block, and soon it peeked back out further up the one-way street.