Missing

by Lynette Eason

  Carrying the picture with her, she settled on the bed and picked up the Bible.

  Work could wait. Bethany needed her prayers and that’s what she was going to get.

  *

  “Daddy, help me! Where are you?” Mason heard the words, but he couldn’t find the source. Gun drawn, he raced into the building.

  “Bethany, I’m coming, darling, I’m coming!”

  “Daddy! Why won’t you help me?” The tone turned accusing, the hurt piercing his heart.

  “I’m coming,” he assured her. “Just tell me where you are!”

  Then she was before him, her eyes glaring, finger pointing. “You weren’t there. You were never there. You should have listened to my mom. Why didn’t you listen? I’ll never forgive you.”

  Her eyes welled with tears and grief twisted inside him. “I’ll listen, Bethany, I promise. I’ll listen.”

  A crackle of laughter louder than thunder shattered the air and Mason whirled to see Daniel standing behind Bethany, an arm around her shoulders. “You’re a loser, Stone. Lacey never wanted you. Only me. And now her daughter feels the same.”

  Wait, how did she get behind him?

  He spun back to find Lacey standing there, tears running down her cheeks. “Why didn’t you listen, Mason? You should have listened. Look at what you missed. You missed it all because you wouldn’t listen.” Her voice started to fade. “You should have listened.”

  With a jerk, he woke up, breaths coming in shallow pants. Sweat dripped from his hair. Kicking aside the tangled sheets, he stumbled from his bed wondering what the dream meant. He shuddered and tried to push the remnants from his mind.

  This was the second time he’d had the dream and he started to worry it might become a regular occurrence unless he and Lacey worked things out. He scraped a hand across his jaw. He needed a shave.

  He’d tossed and turned, the short four hours he’d actually dozed passing in a haze of dreams. Not only had he dreamed of Bethany and Lacey, he’d relived his wild chase through the restaurant parking lot. He alternated between saving Bethany from her kidnappers and not being able to reach her in time.

  Still drenched from his tortuous night, he hit the shower for the longest one he’d had in a while.

  While dressing, he decided to drive back by the homeless shelter and prayed he’d spot Bethany. It seemed to be where she turned when in need of a place to sleep.

  The staff of the shelter had been alerted to call the police if she showed up, but so far there’d been no reports.

  And those pictures from the wreck. He couldn’t get them out of his mind. Not only did his heart break for Kayla’s parents, but for the other two girls involved.

  In a spontaneous move, he grabbed the phone and dialed Daniel’s number.

  “Hello?”

  “Daniel, it’s Mason. I need to see those accident pictures one more time.”

  The man scoffed. “Come on, Stone, what do you think you’re going to find that the rest of us haven’t?”

  Mason felt his jaw harden. “I don’t know, Daniel, but I just thought I’d like to go over them again. Do you think you could put aside your skepticism and work with me on this?”

  For a moment Daniel was silent. Then a sigh filtered through. “Yeah, you’re right.” Another pause. “Bethany’s your daughter, isn’t she? That’s why you’re on this case.”

  This time it was Mason’s turn to hesitate, but he wasn’t going to lie. “Yes, she is.”

  “I thought so. Looking at her picture then looking at you…it’s pretty obvious.”

  “So—” Mason changed the subject “—you want to meet me at the office so I can look at the pictures one more time?”

  “They’re not there. I brought the files home with me. Why don’t you come over here and we’ll take a look.”

  Mason grabbed his car keys. “I’ll be right there.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Lacey pulled up to the Ackerman’s house in one of the nicer areas of town. But she couldn’t shake the feeling she was being watched.

  She shivered in the summer heat and looked around before opening the car door. Had someone followed her to the house?

  If so, that meant somebody had been watching. Waiting for her to leave her house.

  A little nauseous at the thought, she hurried up the front walk and rapped on the door.

  Janice answered right away, looking chic and attractive in her matching pants and top and various accessories. Lacey felt like a frump in her jeans and T-shirt. Some things never changed.

  “Good morning, Lacey.” The woman took Lacey’s hand and pulled her inside. “Thank you for coming over. Have you heard anything from Bethany?” Concern lined Janice’s face and Lacey appreciated that.

  Forcing a tight smile, she shook her head. “Nothing yet.”

  Daniel appeared in the doorway. “But we’re working on it. Mason’s on his way over to look at the accident pictures again.” He looked at Janice. “We’ll be downstairs in my office.”

  Janice rolled her eyes then looked at Bethany. “All he does is work.” Then she bit her lip. “But I guess for you and Bethany that’s a good thing.”

  Lacey nodded. “Definitely.” Then her heart picked up a little speed. Mason was on his way over. She rubbed her hands together and ordered the butterflies in her stomach to settle down.

  “Well, come on in the kitchen,” Janice said, “and we’ll have a little chat along with some coffee.”

  Not really in the mood for either, Lacey nevertheless followed her high school friend into the kitchen and sat at the oval table. The kitchen boasted granite countertops, state-of-the-art appliances and hardwood floors. “Your home is beautiful.”

  A wry smile twisted Janice’s lips. “Well, don’t think all this came from Daniel’s salary or what little profit I make at the store.” She sighed. “No, my father asked me what I wanted for Christmas last year and I told him—a new kitchen.” She waved a hand and shook her head. “And so that’s what I got.”

  Lacey blinked. “You know, Janice, growing up, I don’t remember your dad being quite so generous with his money. What changed?”

  Janice shot her a look beneath perfectly mascaraed lashes. “A lot has happened since high school. I had a bad time of it for a while and my father came to the rescue.”

  Janice poured them both a cup of coffee and sat opposite Lacey. Lacey added cream and sugar and stirred the steaming liquid.

  Wrapping her hands around the mug, Janice said, “So, enough about me. I hear they caught the man who tried to kidnap Bethany.”

  After taking another sip, Lacey nodded. “Yes, but he said he was just following orders, that the person who hired him threatened his family if he didn’t kidnap Bethany. He also said he doesn’t have a clue who the person was, so he’s been no help at all.”

  The woman raised a brow. “Well, why not? He got her this last time he went after her, didn’t he?”

  Lacey shook her head. “Apparently not. He said Lacey got away from him.”

  “Then why hasn’t she called you?” Disbelief wrinkled her forehead into a frown.

  “Because I think she’s too afraid.”

  “Of what?”

  Lacey sighed. She didn’t really want to talk about it, but maybe rehashing it would help sort some things out in her mind.

  A knock on the door interrupted her and there went the butterflies again. Mason was here.

  Her eyes focused on the doorway from the kitchen that led to the foyer. Daniel’s heavy tread sounded and soon she heard the men greeting each other.

  Soon the footsteps headed toward the kitchen and Mason and Daniel stood there. For a brief moment an awkward silence descended until Mason shot a smile and said, “Good morning, ladies.”

  Lacey’s pulse pounded. He was so handsome—even though he looked like he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since she’d knocked on his door. He probably hadn’t. “Good morning, Mason.” She frowned. “What do you think you’re going to
find in those pictures that we haven’t already discovered?”

  “Thank you,” Daniel said. “I asked him the same thing.”

  Mason’s eyes glittered for a moment then he shrugged. “I don’t know, but it never hurts to be too careful.”

  “Well, I’ll agree with that one,” Janice murmured.

  “I’ll tell you if I find anything, Lacey.”

  He must have seen her agitation. Her desire to ask to come with them. She shifted and nodded. She wouldn’t be rude to Janice.

  Mason and Daniel left, and Lacey simply stared after them, thinking. Would Mason confront Daniel about the past while he had him downstairs? Would Daniel come clean about it and admit everything?

  Her heart trembled at the thought of Daniel vehemently denying that he was the one that had come on to her back in high school. That he’d set her and Mason up. And at this point, why would Mason all of a sudden decide to believe her and not his friend?

  Please, God, she whispered silently.

  “Lacey?”

  She blinked. “Oh, sorry. Right.” She took a deep breath. “The man threatened to kill me if Bethany tried to contact me. I think she’s staying hidden in order to protect me. And yet it appears that I’ve done something to make someone really mad so they’re coming after me, anyway.”

  “Oh, you poor thing. I’m so sorry.”

  “So,” Lacey said with a forced brightness, “what’s been going on with you since we last stayed up all night talking about boys and eating pizza?”

  Janice gave a small laugh. “Well, let’s see. Daniel and I got married about two years after you left town.” She took a sip of coffee. After she set the cup back on the table she said, “It took me that long to convince him you weren’t coming back. He was crazy about you in high school, but you only had eyes for Mason.”

  Lacey felt her cheeks flush. Daniel had caused her a lot of grief back then and even if she had come back home before now, she would have avoided him like the plague.

  But she didn’t tell Janice that. She wasn’t sure Janice knew the whole story or quite possibly the true story of what went on between her and Daniel.

  And she wasn’t going to be the one to tell her. “You’ve been married a long time. Did you decide not to have children? I remember we used to look at baby stuff in the stores. You had names all picked out. Megan for a girl and Cody for a boy.”

  Grief flashed in Janice’s eyes, and Lacey immediately wished she could take the question back.

  Janice blinked against the tears that had sprung to her eyes. “Oh, I wanted children, make no mistake about that. And we almost made it, but…” She sighed and traced a finger around the edge of her cup. “I was pregnant about six years ago. Around Christmastime, we had a big ice storm. I was leaving the house when I fell down the front porch steps. I was seven months along.”

  “Oh, no! I’m so sorry.”

  The woman nodded. “I lost the baby, a little girl, and had to have an emergency hysterectomy.” She shuddered and closed her eyes. “My little Megan,” she whispered. She opened her eyes and shook her head. “It was horrible. I’m still not over it.” Drawing in a deep breath, Janice cocked her head and looked unseeing out the window. “I think if I hadn’t had to have the hysterectomy, I might have had hope that I could conceive again, but—” she shrugged “—that didn’t happen. I had no hope.” This time a tear trickled down her cheek, and Lacey reached a hand across to grasp Janice’s fingers.

  “What about adoption?” she asked. “Obviously money’s not a problem for you….”

  “It may sound selfish, but I didn’t want someone else’s baby. I wanted mine.” She tapped a finger to her chest and sniffed. Lacey couldn’t stand it anymore and rounded the table to wrap her arms around Janice’s shoulders.

  The woman let her hug her for a minute then patted her hand and pulled away. “Enough of this stuff. It’s in the past. Let’s brainstorm what we can do to find Bethany. I want to meet her.”

  Lacey pulled in a deep breath and took a sip of her coffee. It needed more sugar. She reached for the bowl. “I would love for you to meet her. Hopefully one day soon, you can.”

  The phone on the wall rang. Janice glanced at it and sighed. “I’ll have to get that since Daniel’s downstairs. He has a separate line for his office.”

  “That’s fine.”

  Janice answered the phone and Lacey heard her say, “All right, I’ll be right there.”

  She hung up and turned to Lacey with a distressed sigh. “I’m terribly sorry. You’re going to think I’m so rude, but I have to go to the store. That was the air-conditioning man and he says I have to sign some papers.”

  Lacey stood, relieved. “That’s fine. I understand. We’ll just plan to do this again after Bethany’s home and you can meet her, all right?”

  “Sure.” Lacey stood and Janice waved her back into the chair. “No, no. Finish your coffee and then you can just see yourself out. No hurry, okay? I’ll take the flyers with me and pass them out while I’m there.”

  “Oh, okay. Thanks.”

  Janice turned into a whirlwind and was soon out the door.

  Lacey took another swallow of her coffee, picked up the newspaper that had been discarded onto the table and realized what she was doing.

  Subconsciously, she realized that if she hung around long enough, Mason would come upstairs. She flushed at her teenage actions then frowned.

  Maybe she’d just make her way downstairs and see what the men were working on. No doubt it had something to do with Bethany.

  She left the kitchen and walked into the family room. Just as she reached the steps located on the far end of the room, she heard footsteps coming up.

  Mason appeared with his cell phone stuck to his ear and stopped short when he saw her. “Bethany? Just tell me where you are so I can come find you.”

  “Bethany!” Lacey cried as she darted to his side, hope and joy filling her.

  Mason nodded, his eyes intense. He put her on speaker phone so the others could hear. Lacey waited for the sound of her daughter’s voice.

  “I—I can’t.” A muffled sob. “He’ll kill her.”

  “She’s right here with me, Bethany. I’m not going to let anything happen to her, I promise. Now tell us where you are.”

  “Let me speak to her.” Lacey reached for the phone.

  Mason shook his head and gave her the “wait a minute” signal, one finger raised.

  Daniel also had his cell phone out and nodded to Mason.

  What did that mean?

  Impatience raged through her. She wanted, no, needed to speak to her daughter. “Please!”

  Mason shook his head again. “Bethany, I’m your father, okay?”

  A gasp came through the line and Lacey felt her stomach swirl. That hadn’t been the way she wanted to break the news, but maybe it was the right way. The only way. The way to get Bethany to tell them where she was.

  Then Bethany said, “How? What’s your name? Why do you have Georgia’s phone?”

  “Your mother came to me when you disappeared. My name’s Mason Stone and I’m a U.S. Marshall, okay? One part of my job is to find people. I’ve been looking for you since you disappeared.”

  For a moment, all that was heard was Bethany’s labored breathing.

  Mason tried again. “I’ve been wanting to meet you ever since your mom told me about you. Now, who’s after you, Bethany?”

  “I don’t know,” she cried. “But I can’t let them hurt my mom. Okay?”

  “No one’s going to hurt her. She’s standing right here.”

  He handed her the phone and shot another look at Daniel who waved his hand as if to say keep going.

  Lacey pulled the phone to her and said, “Bethany? Honey, I love you so much. Where are you? Please tell us where you are?”

  “Mom! I’m sorry,” the girl blurted. Lacey heard the tears in her voice. “I’m so sorry. I can’t let him hurt you.”

  “It’s okay, baby. Is it the guy wi
th the limp? He’s been arrested. Now tell me where you are.”

  Bethany gave another little gasp. “Arrested?” Hope shimmered in her voice. “Oh, good. That’s so good.” Lacey’s heart nearly broke as her daughter gave a hiccupping sob. “I’m at a pay phone across the street from the homeless shelter. There’s a place around the corner that serves free meals.”

  Mason grabbed Lacey’s arm and ushered her toward the door. She followed at a quick pace, and soon they were in his car racing toward the shelter. Daniel led the way.

  Bethany gave a gasp. “On, no! There’s that car again. I thought you said he’d been arrested!”

  “What car?” Mason snatched the phone from Lacey.

  “The one that always seems to find me when I’m around here!”

  “Describe it for me, quick.”

  “Um. I don’t know. It’s a white Buick. It’s coming closer!”

  “Can you see what the driver looks like?”

  “No. The windows are dark. I can’t…”

  Mason’s jaw looked like granite as Lacey’s stomach twisted inside itself. Prayers floated from her lips as Mason instructed, “Bethany, I want you to run into a crowded place like the nearest restaurant or the shelter. Wait until you don’t see the car anymore then call me back on Georgia’s phone, all right?”

  “All ri—Hey! Ouch!”

  “Bethany!”

  Faintly they heard, “Why’d you do that?”

  “Bethany, what happened?”

  No answer.

  “Bethany!” he hollered again.

  Nothing but nerve-shattering silence answered him.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Seven minutes later, Mason spun the wheel to the right and followed Daniel’s car around the curve, breathing a sigh of relief as the homeless shelter came into sight.

  Immediately, he saw the pay phone Bethany had called from. The receiver hung off the hook, gently swaying back and forth. His relief faded as his stomach dipped and his heart picked up speed. Lacey’s distressed breaths echoed through the car as she craned to get a look at the pay phone. “Where is she? Where is she?”

  Mason felt sick. They were too late.