Gone in the Night

by Anna J. Stewart

  A community teeming with neighbors. In fact, Max would lay odds he’d get tagged as suspicious by someone if he extended his stay too long. Being accused of stalking wasn’t on his list of things to do, which is why he hadn’t tailed her directly. Choosing to go by the GPS information allowed him to take his time and memorize landmarks like the various hospitals, clinics and a couple of hole-in-the-wall restaurants.

  It took him a minute to realize he wasn’t the only suspicious vehicle in the vicinity. One of the dark sedans he’d seen at his brother’s was now parked across Allie’s driveway. The two male occupants gave no indication of getting out. “Now that can’t be a coincidence.”

  He’d been torn, watching Allie leave, as to whether he should follow his instincts or stick close to his brother’s side, but after a short conversation with Joe, he realized he’d bring his brother more peace of mind by being out of the house looking for answers—searching for Hope—than by standing in a corner brooding about how useless he was feeling.

  Max feeling useless was not a good thing. For anyone.

  He sat back, powered down his window and welcomed the early-evening breeze as it wafted through his truck. He could still smell Allie’s perfume, flowery but not overly so. Just a subtle hint of rose that drifted past him as a reminder of how sweet and responsive she’d felt in his arms.

  The woman definitely knew how to kiss. Personally, he’d just needed to get the idea of kissing her out of his system. He’d never expected to want to kiss her again. How was that possible when he knew she was lying to him?

  Part of him wanted to demand to know where Hope was, but he couldn’t come to terms with the idea that she knew something and wasn’t saying. He wasn’t that bad a judge of people.

  Then again.

  If there was one thing Max abhorred in this life, it was dishonesty. He didn’t care what the reason was behind a lie; the truth was always the best solution. It cut through the nonsense of everyday life, put everyone on equal footing. Showed you exactly who you were dealing with.

  He’d put up with more than a decade of his brother being lied to by Gemma. No way was he going to get involved with someone potentially more conniving.

  Max frowned. Unmarked sedan. Two inside. Allie obviously knew them since she spoke to them casually before taking the winding path to her front porch and disappearing inside the one-story Tudor house.

  “Now why would you need a couple of cops sitting outside your home, Doc?” Max pulled out his phone, took a picture of the license plate. Not that he had anyone who he could check it with, but he’d learned enough as a fireman to know that the more intel you had, well, it could be useful.

  From there, he opened up the app and typed out any and all information that had passed between him and Allie since this morning. Names, locations, thoughts, impressions. His stream of consciousness took over. The sun dipped down. He glanced up occasionally, making sure her bodyguards were still in place, that her car was still there.

  Simone and Eden. She hadn’t mentioned last names, so he had no idea who they were, but something told him it wouldn’t take more than a quick online search to find out. His phone gave that gasping bleep that had him digging around in his glove box for the charger. By the time he found it, he saw a flash of color move from her front door to her car. Two engines started up, the sedan pulled out, then backed up to let her out.

  Max flattened himself across the seats, waiting for them to pass, hoping she hadn’t taken too much notice of the make or model of his car, though, honestly, he didn’t think it was that big a deal he’d followed her home. He was concerned about her, concerned about what she knew. Easy enough to explain.

  What wouldn’t be easy, he realized, as she and her escort stopped at the corner, was making a U-turn on these streets. Keeping an eye on his quarry in the rearview mirror, he started the truck, pulled forward to turn into her driveway and waited until they were out of sight before following them.

  He didn’t have any official investigation training, technically—the closest he’d gotten was spending a week with one of his supervisors during an arson investigation, one that had resulted in the arrest of a psychotic career-firebug whom Max had been more than thrilled to apprehend.

  Wherever Allie was headed, she was taking her time. The late-afternoon traffic was anything but easy as they drove down Howe Avenue, turning onto Arden, after passing what was considered one of the premier shopping malls in the area, which led them to the Garden Highway.

  Max dropped back, keeping at least one, sometimes two cars between him and the sedan. This narrow road wasn’t exactly helpful for someone trying to be covert, and it was about to get worse as she took the exit to Crest View Marina. Yeah, that would be a hub of activity.

  Max followed as close as he dared, watching as her red SUV and the sedan disappeared down the darkening lane.

  “Well, this has been a waste of time.” Max sighed. Not to mention it was proof of her dishonesty. She’d told him she was going to meet her friends and here she was at a marina? She probably had a weekend yacht or somewhere she spent her downtime. “Curiouser and curiouser.”

  But they were a good distance from her house. He wanted answers, answers he wasn’t convinced she’d give him if he came out and asked, so that left him one option.

  He pulled a U-turn and headed back the way he’d come, making a quick detour through a local burger drive-through on his way to Allie’s house. If she wasn’t going to be forthcoming with what she knew, he’d just have to find out what she was hiding himself.

  * * *

  “I’d offer you some wine, but I’m afraid it might put you out for the night.” With her thick, newly strawberry-highlighted blond hair twisted into a knot on the top of her head, Eden couldn’t have looked more at home on The Cop Out if she was first mate. Which, Allie admitted, Eden pretty much was since she’d married the captain. In her cutoff denim shorts and oversize T-shirt, the barefoot reporter turned blogger turned police consultant motioned Allie down the steps into the fancy cruiser’s main cabin.

  “That’s probably a good idea.” Allie grabbed hold of the brass rail and ducked into the depths of her best friend’s home and Cole’s pride and joy. She hadn’t enjoyed the armed escort, but there were prices to pay for their plan of action. At least her protective detail could commiserate with Eden’s, who, once Cole and Vince arrived, could leave their posts at the end of the dock and return to their cars. “Have you heard from Cole?”

  Eden nodded and then ducked into the galley kitchen. She pulled open the fridge door, grabbing herself a beer. “He’s on his way down the hill. Picking up dinner on his way. You want a soda?”

  “Caffeine sounds great, thanks.” That should be enough to stave off the headache building in the back of her skull. “As anxious as I am to hear what you found out in Portland, I’m happy to wait until Simone gets here.” And decompress, even a little.

  “Good. It’s not something I want to go through twice.” Eden grabbed Allie’s bag and tossed it on the floor before she curled herself into the corner of the sofa. “Suffice it to say, for now, that we might finally get a handle on this guy.”

  “Guy?” Allie sat at the other end, cold can in her hand. She had to admit, Cole had done wonders refurbishing this 1960s Gentleman’s Cruiser. With the elegant wood cabinetry, marble countertops, planked flooring and practical yet stylish furniture, she found it a little difficult to believe she was on a boat. Cole and Eden had really made a go of this place, especially now that it included Eden’s touches like the butterfly trinket box Simone had given her and the photographs of Eden’s family. Then there was the large whiteboard leaning against the wall and the small table in the corner housing Eden’s laptop and piles of cold-case files. “Then we’re sure it’s a he.”

  Eden shrugged. “Catch-all phrase. I can tell you the names I’ve pulled out of the system f
rom California, Oregon, Nevada and Washington are predominately male. Lots of digging to do.”

  “Fun times ahead... Just joking. Are you up to speed on Hope Kellan?”

  Eden took a long drink, nodded and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “There doesn’t seem to be much so far, which I can tell you means Cole is going to be in a foul mood when he gets here. He’s already not thrilled I ditched my protection detail on the road. He did send me a copy of the picture they found in the potted violet after I picked up the detail again at the station.” She took another long drink of her beer. “Pretty much eliminates any doubts I might have had that Chloe’s and Hope’s cases are connected.”

  As if either of them had doubts. “Yeah.” Allie popped open her soda but didn’t drink. She didn’t dare with the way her stomach was jumping around. “Now we know.”

  “Stop it, Allie.” Eden leaned forward and poked a stern finger into her arm. “I know that look. This isn’t your fault. Even great psychologists like you can’t read the mind of a possible murderer.”

  “I keep telling myself that.” Allie lifted uncertain eyes to her friend. “But I’m not sure it’s true. What if we forced him into this? What if something we did—?”

  “This. Is. Not. Our. Fault.” Eden snapped out each word like she was firing bullets from a gun. “We were nine years old, Allie. Turn on that brain of yours and tell me what you’d say to someone sitting in your office voicing those thoughts. You’d say what I just did. This isn’t on us. It’s all on him.”

  Allie shifted on the sofa, kicked off her shoes and tucked her legs under her. “I’m sorry. I’ve had a really crappy day. You don’t deserve to bear the brunt of my bad mood.”

  Eden responded with an overly bright smile. A smile that blurred behind the tears that exploded in Allie’s eyes.

  Eden leaped forward. “Don’t cry, Allie. I was kidding. Oh, man.” Eden went into full flapping mode, something that usually made Allie laugh. Her friend could stare down—and take down—just about anyone, but when it came to tears, Eden St. Claire folded. “Geez, where’s Simone? She does better with this crying stuff than I do.”

  “You do fine.” Allie tilted her head to stop the tears from falling. Crying wasn’t going to do anyone, least of all herself, any good. “Like I said, it’s been a rotten day. I can’t stop thinking about Hope out there. With him.” Given what these thoughts were doing to her, she could only imagine the internal turmoil Max was going through. She was beginning to understand how frustrated Max must be feeling. She wanted to be doing something other than waiting for information to trickle in. Here, she was stuck in the dark, waiting for someone else to turn on the lights. “We’re running out of time.”

  “Yeah. We are.” Eden scooted closer to her on the sofa, wrapped her arm around Allie’s shoulders and pulled her into a hug. Exactly the way Willa and Mercy had enveloped Portia this morning. The realization made her heart ache. What were those little girls doing tonight? Were they holding on to each other or had they needed to go their separate ways? “I’m thinking about Hope, too, Al. I got two speeding tickets driving home in order to be here with you. Don’t tell Cole,” she whispered against Allie’s hair. “I might have to mortgage the boat to pay them off.”

  Allie chuckled. “My lips are sealed.” What were best friends for? Best friends. Allie squeezed her eyes shut. How could she even think about leaving them?

  “We’re going to get through this, Al. I promise. The three of us haven’t come this far together to let him get away now.”

  “What if we’re too late?” Allie squeezed her eyes shut. “What if—”

  “No what-ifs,” Eden ordered. “What-ifs aren’t allowed on this bucket, do you hear me? We’re going to figure this out and we’re going to bring Hope home.” She squeezed Allie even tighter, exactly how Allie needed to be reassured. “We aren’t letting him win this time. We’re going to get our lives back.”

  “I want him dead.” Allie loathed the hatred burning inside of her for this unknown person; the person who, twenty years ago, had killed their friend. “I know that doesn’t fit with my job. I should want to get him help, make sure he’s punished, but I don’t. I want him dead and buried and forgotten. And I shouldn’t. Maybe I’m not cut out for this anymore.”

  But what she really wanted, more than anything, remained unspoken. The one thing none of them could ever have.

  She wanted Chloe back.

  “Dead and buried works for me.” Eden kept up the forced humor, one of those comforting signs Allie could get through anything with her friends. “And what job is that? Helping people? It’s what you do, Allie. It’s who you are.”

  She’d gone and opened the door, hadn’t she? “You ever feel as if you’ve spent too much time in the dark?”

  “It’s where I thrive, actually. Is this some kind of psychologist’s code? If so, I’m not nearly as fluent as Simone.” Eden gave her a considered look. “You want to make some changes, make them. You’re under no obligation to do anything you don’t want to do.”

  “And what if that meant leaving Sacramento?”

  “I’d ask where we’re moving to.”

  “Not funny.” Allie shook her head. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought it up. Her friends didn’t need to be weighed down with her indecision and growing professional frustration.

  “Who says I’m joking. Wait.” Eden narrowed her eyes. “A few weeks ago, just after Simone put the Subrov case to rest, you said there was something you wanted to talk about. Is that what this is? You’re seriously thinking about moving? Of changing careers?”

  “Maybe,” Allie admitted. “I’ve been offered a teaching position at a medical school in Los Angeles. It sounds different.” More to the point, it sounded safe. No one else to worry about, no patients to stress over. Or lose.

  “Wow.” Eden blinked as if she’d been blinded by an exploding star. “Okay.”

  Allie’s stomach tightened. Boy, she’d really stepped in it now. “Wow, okay, as in ‘great news, Allie.’ Or wow as in—”

  “I’m a selfish person, Al. You know it. Thank heavens Cole knows it, so I’m going to stay true to myself and ask you not to go.” She ran her finger around the lip of the beer bottle. “But that wouldn’t be fair to you. Not if it’s something you decide you want to do. I can’t imagine not seeing you whenever I want, however. Having you at my beck and call.”

  “With all that extra time I can take up a hobby,” Allie tried to joke. “I would appreciate knowing what you think.”

  “Would you?” The challenge that sprang into her friend’s eyes set Allie on edge. Okay, she probably should have spoken to Simone first and eased into the conversation with Eden. “Well, then, I’ll just say this. You shouldn’t be making any life-altering decisions at the moment. We’ve all been living under this plume of smoke that hasn’t settled for a while now. Once it clears, once we can finally put Chloe’s killer in prison and her death behind us, then you can ponder what mega-changes are waiting for you beyond the horizon.”

  “I have to admit,” Allie said, after a long moment of silence, “that’s sound advice. And you’re right.” She’d just needed to hear it from someone else. “Everything feels in flux right now. With you and Simone getting married and settling into new lives, I see how happy you both are despite everything else. Sometimes it hurts.”

  “I’m sorry, Al.”

  “Don’t be, oh, please don’t be.” Allie rushed to ease the guilt washing over her friend’s face. “I didn’t mean that quite the way it sounded, but you have to admit I’ve become a fifth wheel around here, and I certainly don’t want to be anyone’s obligation.”

  “Then maybe it’s you who needs to start seeing a therapist. You’re my family, Allie. Other than Cole, you and Simone are all I have. You’re not remotely an obligation. You’re part of my life and that’ll be the case
wherever you live. So be forewarned, if I need to play that guilt card to help convince you to stay, I’m going to.”

  “Forewarned is forearmed,” Allie said. “So. We can put all this aside for now.”

  “Can we?”

  “We don’t have a choice. And for now, please, don’t say anything to Simone. Not until I’ve given this some more thought.” Eden wasn’t the only selfish one. Now hadn’t been the time to spring this news on her friend. “We need to focus on Hope.” Oddly enough, changing topics to the little girl’s kidnapping made her feel more at ease. “Cole told you about having to come clean to the press about Chloe’s case?”

  “Simone’s already in damage-control mode. She went in to talk to her boss this afternoon about what’s been happening. The good news is, despite her being on indefinite leave, the DA is on board to give us whatever we need.”

  Allie sat up, all melancholy thoughts fading. “Vince will come in handy, too.”

  “Yeah, well.” Eden grinned. “If I can’t come up with a sneaky way around rules and regulations, our personal P.I. certainly can. So is your confidence crisis over now?”

  “Was that what that was?” Allie pouted. “We have something else we have to consider. Max.”

  “Max.” Eden looked at her as if she was speaking another language. “Oh, you mean Hope’s uncle Max? I heard that trip to Napa didn’t turn out very well.”

  “Considering he was expecting to find Hope with her mother, no. He’s, um—” Allie struggled to find the right words “—Max is different.”