Allison Janda - Marian Moyer 02 - Seduction, Deceit & a Slice of Apple Pie

by Allison Janda

  I recounted every single detail of the evening for Addison. When I finished, she sighed deeply and almost melted into the couch. “Is that man for real?” she asked. “I mean for real, for real?”

  “Sure seems like it,” I replied, rolling to my side to face her. “But do you think he’s serious? Or was he just saying that so that he doesn’t have to see me naked?” I patted my small, but definitely not firm, belly and took another sip of empty calories from my wine glass. I may have over poured us by a good three ounces each.

  “Oh, stop,” she scolded. “You’re going on as if you’re Monstro The Whale.”

  “Well, anyway,” I continued on, ignoring her. “I haven’t slept with either one of them. Yet.”

  “Then,” she said, tucking a foot under her thigh, “take it all for what it’s worth. You’re an independent woman. You’ve called your own shots for a long time. From what you’ve told me, they both sound like the types to fall at your feet with whatever you request. Just depends on whose approach you like more.” She paused. “You’re always taking care of everyone, Marian. You always have. While I can’t say I haven’t liked some of your past beaus, I can’t say I felt they deserved you.” I laughed, but Addison remained serious. “I’ve always seen you being with someone who could take care of you. Not take away your autonomy, but that was brave enough to tell you to sit down or shut up or that you’re wrong. Or that you’re acting stubborn.”

  “An alpha,” I mused. The movie 300 instantly popped to mind. There was some serious testosterone in that movie.

  I reached for the television control, wondering if it was too late to change our viewing choice for the evening, but Addison, reading my mind, snatched the control away. “Focus. You definitely need an alpha,” she agreed, sipping her wine before standing and walking back towards the kitchen for the bottle, carrying the control with her. She brought both the bottle and the control back to the living room and topped off my glass before refilling her own and sitting back on the couch, setting the control on my coffee table. The table was incredibly old with water stains all over its surface. “And it certainly sounds like they both have it in them to be just that.”

  “So what do I do?”

  She shrugged. “Wait and see. If your gut isn’t already screaming with one decision or another, then take your time. If they’re not rushing you to make a decision — and they shouldn’t — do what’s right for you. Now, let’s watch a movie. 300?”

  As the movie ended with the familiar swell of emotions and a fadeout to the credits, I stretched my arms high above my head. “What time is it?” I asked, looking around for a clock.

  Addison reached for her cell. “About 1:30. We should probably get to bed. I have to work in the morning.”

  “Couch or bed?” I asked, standing.

  “You kidding? Now that I know your sheets aren’t filthy, I can’t wait to snuggle with you.” She grinned and took my wine glass, carrying it into the kitchen, along with our long empty wine bottle.

  “Meet me in there,” I teased, sashaying away.

  “Em?” she called just after I’d stepped into the bedroom.

  “Yeah?” I hollered back, straightening my sheets and fluffing pillows.

  “Your phone is ringing.”

  I cursed under my breath. It was probably work, asking me to come photograph a crime scene. Nothing good came of any activity that happened after midnight. I didn’t understand why people couldn’t get that through their thick, partying skulls. I shuffled back towards the kitchen and heard Addison’s hushed voice as she answered on my behalf. Shooting her a dirty look, I fought the urge to shake my fist at her. Now I’d have to go in for sure. At least if I hadn’t answered, they’d just assume I was asleep. Now I’d have to explain that the real reason I couldn’t come in and photograph dead bodies was because I’d been drinking, an excuse that always failed to amuse the department.

  As soon as I shuffled into the kitchen, Addison walked quickly towards me. “Just a second. She’s right here,” she told the person on the other end of the line.

  “Why did you answer?” I hissed as she covered the speaker with her free hand. “I’m sloshed. I can’t possibly go into work right now.”

  “It’s not work,” she said, thrusting the phone towards me again. “The caller ID said it was your mother.”

  “Ma?” I asked Addison, confused, snatching away the phone. “Why is she calling this late?” I felt a cold fear rise up from my belly and clutch my heart tightly in its grip. Something told me I didn’t want to know the answer, but it was impossible to call back the words.

  “It’s Riley,” Addison answered gravely.

  “My niece?”

  Addison nodded. “She was kidnapped.”

  Needless to say there wasn’t much in terms of information that I was able to pull out of my mother on that phone call. Even my usually level-headed father was having difficulty providing details — not that there were many.

  Earlier that evening, Riley had been grounded. She was a pretty ornery kid and got grounded on a fairly regular basis. However, she also had a tendency to sneak out of her bedroom window and over to my parents’ house just down the street when she got sick of being cooped up in her room. Suffice to say that when my sister-in-law, Rachel, went upstairs to collect Riley for dinner and her daughter was missing, Rachel wasn’t exactly worried. Fast forward 30 minutes: a brisk walk to my parents’ house and a search of their property with no Riley turning up, well, you’ve probably never seen panic quite like it. And in case you didn’t know, panic in a small town travels really, really fast. It’s a virus that can’t be stopped until everyone has been infected.

  My dad, retired from the police force, took charge immediately. Within a short span of time, his buddies, both those retired and those still on the force, had convened at my parents’ house and formulated a plan. Pop had just about everyone in town searching for his granddaughter. When no one could find her in a reasonable amount of time, my parents decided to call me and fill me in, begging me to come home and be with the family during their time of need. They needn’t have even asked, but that’s how we Midwesterners are — afraid to inconvenience someone.

  The drive to my hometown is boring, but fast. I was already packing a duffle bag before I’d ended the call. My mother was insisting that I waited until morning before I started driving. While normally I would have protested, the bottle of wine I’d participated in drinking was telling me otherwise. Waiting a few hours would be safer. I’d be distracted enough on the drive without adding alcohol to things, even if it had been over an hour since my last drink.

  After my mom and I had hung up, I turned to Addison. Suddenly, a terrible thought descended upon me and I felt my stomach lurch. My hands grew clammy as I gripped my phone and turned it over and over in my hands. “Do you think- do you think Barry could have-”

  “No,” Addison soothed, rushing to my side and hugging my shoulders. She quickly moved the duffle bag, which was splayed open on my bed, and sat us both down. “He’s in prison. There’s no way he participated in any of this.” She smoothed back a piece of hair that had fallen into my eyes. “How do they know for sure that she was kidnapped?”

  “There was a ransom note,” I confessed. “They found it on the floor just under her bed. It must have fallen from the dresser or something. It’s why at first Rachel thought Riley had maybe just gone over to be with my parents. She didn’t even see it.”

  Addison hesitated before asking her next question. “Just to play devil’s advocate, are we sure that Riley didn’t write the note herself? The town is pretty small. If no one saw anything, I’d be surprised if Riley was really kidnapped. Was the note made of magazine clippings or typed on a computer or anything like that?” Addison and I had grown up neighbors. If anyone knew what tragedy was like in a small town, she did. Her imagination was running wild with an exposé — I could feel it.

  “So they say,” I sighed. “It sounds like it was typed on a compu
ter. Demanding money.”

  “How much?”

  “I didn’t ask.”

  “That’ll be something we want to find out as soon as possible. The drop date, too,” Addison mused.

  “The what?”

  “The date they demand collection. It’s usually some ridiculous time frame.”

  “Are you still going to stay the night?”

  “Of course,” she answered. “Unless you need to be alone. I’d completely understand.”

  “Please stay.”

  “I will. But only if you promise to take me by my place in the morning for an overnight bag. I’m coming with you.”

  I hugged her tightly. “You’re such a good friend,” I whispered.

  Before Addison and I fell asleep that night, we each made a few calls. She to her boss, pitching Riley’s kidnapping as a human interest piece. Thankfully, the news never sleeps and he was not only wide awake at two in the morning, but also agreed to let her write it, securing her visit with my family for as long as it could take.

  With the media at our disposal, Addison and I were bound to generate some leads. While most of them would probably be false, you only needed one or two that were legitimate before you were on your way to solving the case. After Addie had hung up with her editor, she called Rory and explained the situation. He kindly offered to pack a bag based on the odds and ends she had at his apartment and drop it off, so that we could leave straight from my apartment in the morning. “He even offered to put my delicates through the laundry so that I’d have clean panties,” she told me smugly. If I’d at all doubted Rory’s dedication to Addison before, it was now secured.

  Meanwhile, I called my own contacts that made their lives this line of work: James, Mika and my good friend Janet, who now resided in Tampa, where her husband, Rob, had gotten transferred for work. I also left a message for Carly Ipson, Barry’s old partner. While he’d been crooked as a Halloween broomstick, Janet had once sworn to me that Carly was as good as they got in the Milwaukee PD. Unfortunately, Carly had been on vacation during the whole Barry trying to kill me thing, so we hadn’t actually had an opportunity to work together yet. As her specialty wasn’t homicide, we didn’t exactly have a reason to run into one another on the job. Still, Janet’s word was good enough for me. I figured it couldn’t hurt to include Carly, even if it turned out that she wasn’t interested in helping.

  James and Mika, who had both picked up their phones, each insisted on joining Addison and I in the morning. While I had no doubt that both of them could be utilized in the search, I was hesitant to have them with me in the same place at the same time for goodness knew how long. It had the potential to be disastrous at an already highly emotional time. Yet, I also found that I couldn’t say “no” to either of them.

  Janet had also answered my late night distress call, despite the fact that it was a full hour later in Florida. “Em?” she asked. “What’s wrong?” In one long, shuddery breath, I explained everything. When I’d finished, there was a brief moment of silence. Next, I heard the low quiet mumbling of a man I assumed to be Rob, the shuffling of blankets and the clicking of a keyboard. “Looks like there’s a 6:30am direct to Milwaukee International from Tampa. I’ll rent a car there and meet you at your parents’ place this afternoon. What’s the name of your hometown, again?”

  I gave her directions and thanked her profusely. While I realized that I’d secretly hoped she’d be able to make it back, if only to support me, I didn’t think she would actually do it. The cost a flight taking off in less than 12 hours was likely astronomical and while it was well within her budget, it was far from expected. “This is really above and beyond,” I said gratefully.

  “You’d do the same for me.” I could hear her smile as she said it.

  Once our calls were made, Addison and I waited up until Rory stopped by. In addition to Addie’s bag, he brought us each a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. We wrapped him in a huge group hug. When we finally pulled away, he shrugged sheepishly. “It’s the least I could do.” Promising to hold down the fort at Food Porn while we were out, he ducked into the stairwell with a wave goodbye. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll get it to you,” he promised.

  Neither Addison nor I slept well. Sometime before sunrise, we rolled out of bed, showered and headed to my car, which was parked in the lot out back. James and Mika were both there, too, staring one another down. I realized that I hadn’t told either of them that the other would also be coming, but hopefully they’d forgive me, given the circumstances. When they heard Addison and I approaching, they each pushed themselves off of their respective vehicles, which they’d been leaning on. James’s was a large black truck, while Mika drove a slightly rusted, outdated Jeep. “You guys should have waited in the lobby,” I insisted. “It’s too cold to be standing outside.”

  “Didn’t want to bother you,” Mika assured me, coming over to take my bag. Not to be outdone, James made a grab for Addison’s.

  “Thanks,” she whispered through her scarf, her hot breath creating a soft cloud that quickly dissipated. Additionally, I’d been correct about her boots. They were high heeled and seemed to have a pair of leg warmers sewn to them. I briefly wondered where she found such things.

  Tossing the overnight bags into the back of my Suburban — a gift from Rory after my last car blew up — both men turned to look at me. “Together or-” James began.

  “Separate,” I cut him off. He looked momentarily wounded and so I added, “we need all of the vehicles out there searching that we can get.”

  They both seemed to accept this and hopped back into their Sport Utility Vehicles, revving the engines back to life. Once my own car had, had a few moments to warm up, I backed out of my parking spot and turned towards the interstate. “Coffee?” Addison asked, pleadingly.

  Nodding, I pulled into a coffee drive-thru, which was conveniently serving breakfast, as well. One muffin, two breakfast burritos and two large coffees later, we pulled off to the side while Mika and James retrieved their orders. Once everyone was settled, we were back on the highway, headed northwest. I called the home phone to let my parents know that we were on our way. When they didn’t answer, I left a message, figuring that they were either passed out from exhaustion, or out searching for Riley. Either way, neither answered their cell phone frequently enough to resort to a follow-up call using that method.

  About two hours later, I slowly crept my car up the block that my parents lived on. It was still an early hour, but their brownstone was buzzing with activity. The closest parking I could find was nearly a block over. It seemed like the entire town was involved in the search for my missing niece, not that I was surprised. Actually, given the size of the population and how well-known my dad was, the whole town probably WAS involved in the search. People in bright orange vests gathered in small groups across the lawn. Some were holding maps. Some were holding radios. About half of them gripped a cup of coffee and looked rather disheveled, as though they’d been out all night. I surmised that this was the official “shift change.”

  As I approached the house with my duffle, Addison hot on my heels, I heard a voice boom. “Is that little Marian Moyer?”

  I turned and saw my dad’s best friend and old partner standing amid a group of uniforms. “Frank!” I cried happily, dropping my duffle and launching myself into his big-barreled chest. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  “Where else would I be?” he asked loudly, taking my arms and pulling me away from him. “Let me have a quick look at you!” His gray eyes sparkled as he turned me around in a circle. Suddenly, he caught sight of Addison. “Addie Mae!” he cried enthusiastically, pulling her in for a quick hug. After a few seconds, he took our hands and looked at us solemnly. “I’m so sorry that these are the circumstances I get to see you girls in. I’d best get back to work. Marian, your family is in the kitchen.”

  Giving him a sad smile, I squeezed his hand before turning to pick up my duffle, and walked towards the front door. James an
d Mika stood, sunglasses on, arms crossed on the front porch. They’d pass for my security detail, had they not been dressed down in jeans and ball caps.

  Squeezing through them, I opened the front door and was immediately gripped by the smells of burnt coffee grounds and bacon grease. I was home. “Ma?” I called, setting my bag just off of the entryway. “We’re here.”

  “We?” I heard her ask, as she slid back her kitchen chair and padded across the vinyl. I loved my parents’ house. I’d grown up here and, even though most of the floorings and furniture were outdated, it was a place of peace and comfort. The storm that was whirling just beyond their windows on the front lawn may as well have not even been happening. The atmosphere inside was calm and hopeful, filled with love and terrible tasting food. As my mother rounded the corner into the hall, she took in Addison, as well as James and Mika, the latter of whom she’d never met. She’d met James once, long ago when she’d come to visit me in college and we’d ran into him in the student union. I couldn’t be sure she remembered him. At any rate, he’d definitely changed. My niece may be priority number one, but two attractive men that are my age, accompanying me to my mother’s house, was a very, very close second. She’d be making time for questions.

  As we passed one another in the hallway, she gently squeezed my arm and gave me a look as if to say “hubba hubba.” I had to agree. “Welcome!” she said, enveloping Addie in a quick hug. My mother is a rounder, classily dressed middle-aged woman with wild gray streaks in her dark brown hair. She wears her black cat eye glasses on a silver chain around her neck and speaks with a thick Boston accent, usually as she’s pointing at you with her long, lacquered nails or cooking something completely inedible. My father isn’t shy about admitting that he didn’t marry my mother for her culinary expertise. “Addison, I knew you were coming, but I’m not sure I’ve ever met these gentlemen before.” She pulled away from Addie and held out her hand so that she could properly meet James and Mika. Once the pleasantries were out of the way, me failing to remind her that James had been my college crush, I took my mother’s elbow and began to guide her towards the kitchen. “James and Mika are friends of ours and work as private investigators. They thought that they might be able to help find Riley. That’s why they’ve come along.”