The Love I Lost (Ariadne Silver Romance Mystery #2)

by Morris Fenris

  “Damn it!” Larry kicked out a stone in frustration. “There must be something!” he shouted out at nothing.

  “Sir, can I suggest something?” a young team member called out. “Why not enlist the help of a Navajo tracker? They are the experts in this terrain. They can smell out clues like canines!”

  “Hmmm… Guess, it is time to bring in the specialists,” Larry agreed.

  ***

  “Danny? Is that you?” Larry called into his phone. “This is Larry Hartfield here.”

  “Hey Larry! How are you, man?”

  “I’m great. Need your specialist help actually; that’s why I called.”

  “Sure, what is it about?”

  “A few days ago, a girl was kidnapped and the ransom money was asked to be dropped at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Park. The abductor managed to escape with the money without drawing any notice. I am sure you can sniff out any clues from the area. You are one of the best Navajo trackers I know, man.”

  “Haha… thanks for the compliment. I’ll drive down in an hour and see what we can find.”

  Relieved, Larry kept the phone. He was determined to get some clues out, if not about the kidnapper, then at least about the girl. His gut told him there would be something worthwhile. He wasn’t about to let go so easily. She could not have vanished into thin air. Neither could the kidnapper.

  Larry was willing to put all his money on Danny. Even if she was never in the park with her abductor, maybe Danny can get him something on the guy – that is if he finds traces of him anywhere.

  III

  5 foot, 11 inches tall, Danny was well-built with eagle-like brown eyes. He was everything Larry was not when it came to looks—a man who stood out in a crowd. He drove an old 90s Chevy to the shack in exactly one hour.

  “Oye,” he called out to Larry, who immediately broke into a relieved smile.

  “I’ll get onto work immediately. Just one thing—all of you need to leave. I need to work alone to examine the grounds. Your people will only come in my way, and contaminate the scene.”

  “Always the arrogant bastard, aren’t you!” Larry laughed, and called to his team. “We will wait outside the Park. That shouldn’t distract you,” he added sarcastically.

  It took about ten minutes for the whole team to pack up and leave. Danny had already started sniffing around. He had lived in the reservation all his life. The ground was his home. He could feel its life like blood running through his veins.

  “Listen, keep this walkie-talkie. Just in case you need us,” Larry handed over the black piece before leaving.

  ***

  The sun was high up in the sky, scorching everything around that had life. Only the cacti could withstand the heat. Larry’s team turned up the cooler in their cars and still managed to sweat it. Stomachs grumbling, throats dry, the whole team waited for Danny.

  “Danny, are you there?” Larry called into the talkie. No response. “Blast him! I gave him the talkie for a reason.” It always irked him when communication failed. He needed to know the real-time status. Over the years, he had trained his team to communicate regularly, even if there had been no new developments. It was the only way to satisfy the control freak of a detective.

  One hour turned into two; “Let’s take a break. We can split the team in two. One half of you can go get some food and drinks. Blasted heat!” Larry called out to his team. Within seconds, a few cars rushed off, almost like angry bulls rearing to burst out of sheds.

  Finally, the walkie-talkie came to life. “I found some oil stains. Looks like a car was parked here. By the looks of it, it seemed to have happened in the last few days.”

  The rest of the team immediately rushed to the area—a few miles further down the road, and then towards left off the dirt path.

  Larry stood near the oil stain, and looked around. All he could see before him was small rocky hill.

  IV

  “You’ve got one smart guy on the loose, Larry,” Dann said as soon as he walked over.

  “I don’t understand. This is far away from the drop site. Why would the car be parked here?”

  “The guy knows this area really well. He parked the car here. You see the hill ahead? That directly oversees the shack’s back.”

  “Hmmm… So you think he came over here first before getting the money?”

  “Yes. It’s what I would do too. First come over here; climb up the hill; look out for any suspicious activity; and then go collect the money when it is safe,” Danny suggested. “Where did you say the private investigator was?”

  “He parked the car about two miles to the left, and hid himself in the bushes somewhere nearby.”

  “Guess, he did not expect the kidnapper to come up here. It’s not his fault. There are very few who are so well versed with this terrain. These hills look difficult, but they aren’t hard to climb.”

  “So how did he grab the money without being noticed?”

  “I am guessing he waited for a car to approach, then walked down to pick up the bag and climbed back up the rock the same way he came down. He swept his footprints easily and left no trace of his passage.”

  Larry thought about it. The way Danny explained makes it all plausible. But something was nagging at the back of his mind.

  He asked one more question: “Daryl kept an eye on all the cars that came and went. Wouldn’t he have noticed the car leave the park?”

  Danny contemplated the scene in thoughtful silence. What would he have done?

  “It’s quite likely that Daryl was only focusing on cars that came from that direction,” he pointed out right towards the Park entrance. “The guy could have easily taken a different route to come here, observed Daryl’s behavior, and left from the other direction—right under his nose.”

  “But that’s too risky!”

  “Yes, which is why I have another theory.”

  “What?”

  “The car may not have left the park until he noticed that Daryl’s vehicle leave.”

  “Jesus! That would be the smarter option,” Larry exhaled. “Even I would have given up after a while if I saw the money went missing right in front of me.”

  “Also, Larry. You told me about your suspicions about the car with the red-haired woman. I don’t think that was Eugenia,” Danny sounded confident.

  “You sound utterly sure. What makes you think so?”

  “Because Eugenia was waiting for the kidnapper in the car.”

  V

  “What!? Why do you think so?” Larry implored Danny.

  “This,” Danny said, holding a discarded tissue.

  “I found this near one of the cacti. It was quite close to the oil spill,” Danny handed it over to Larry. He careful deposited it in a plastic bag. It was their only piece of evidence.

  “If you look closely, it has a tiny blood stain.”

  “You think this is Eugenia’s?”

  “Yes. The cacti near which this was found looked like it just had a flower plucked. I am guessing Eugenia pricked her finder while picking the flower.”

  “So if she was free to move about shredding cacti, she must’ve been there on her own free will!” Larry exclaimed. “This proves my theory.”

  “Yes, I hardly think a ruthless, planned kidnapper would bend over to pick a flower and then leave behind Kleenex. It seems like something a bored girl waiting for time to pass would do.”

  “True. I will get the lab to check the blood and see if it matches Eugenia’s DNA.

  “I bet it does.”

  “Well this would also prove she’s alive,” Larry exclaims as he looks down at the blood-spotted tissue. “I am really not sure how Alice and her husband will take this news.”

  VI

  “Ariadne, Larry here.”

  She immediately clutched the phone harder to her ear, as if trying to get a better hold on reality. “Tell me, Larry. Is there any news? Have you found something?”

  “Yes, we have. But I need to speak to you directly
. This can’t happen on phone,” Larry could feel Ariadne’s fear through the phone. Softening his tone into something more soothing, friendlier, he added: “Are you home?”

  Ariadne sat suddenly, dreading the news. “Yes. Please come fast.”

  ***

  Within twenty minutes, her doorbell rang—two men stood on her porch, one tall and the other average-sized. Larry introduced her to Danny.

  “Please come in,” Ariadne said weakly.

  “Thanks, love,” Larry observed her for signs of emotional instability. He found a wreckage instead.

  Deciding to break the new softly, he started explaining their whole search operation.

  “So after a day’s search, we couldn’t find anything there and decided to call our esteemed tracker. Danny has helped us out on many occasions earlier, and I trusted him completely,” Larry smiled at Danny, who was busy observing Ariadne.

  Ariadne gave a watery smile in reply.

  “Danny disappears for two hours and manages to find the whole bunch of clues.” He finally got the attention from Ariadne he’d been hoping for.

  “And…?”

  “First, we found that the kidnapper was observing the whole thing—Lucien, Daryl, everything—from high up a hill that faced the shack. He had easy access to the money and also a better vantage point. No wonder he could observe Daryl’s ministrations and go around it.”

  “Still can’t forgive him, though, Larry. I am still angry.”

  “Right. I am just telling you what we found.”

  “What else?” Ariadne said impatiently, wondering if this was the only purpose of their visit. If that was all, it was worthless and changed nothing! Her girl was still missing.

  Finally Danny spoke with the deep confidence of years of experience. To Ariadne, the new voice sounded more soothing than jarring. “Ma’am, we also found a tissue with a spot of blood, very close to where the car was parked.”

  “Blood!?”

  “Just a tiny spot—like when you prick your finger with a thorn.”

  “And…?”

  “We believe Eugenia was waiting for the kidnapper in the car. She was not bound, but seemed to have walked around freely.”

  “Dear God! How is Lucien going to take this?!”

  Chapter 6

  I

  Ariadne had been right. Lucien did not take it well. Months had passed, yet he was still unable to digest the new information. She still remembered how livid he had been.

  “How dare they suggest such a thing! THAT BLOOD COULD HAVE BEEN THE KIDNAPPER’S FOR ALL WE KNOW. MY BABY GIRL CANNOT DO SUCH A THING,” Lucien shouted on the phone from across the Atlantic.

  “Lucien… They tested it. It matches Eugenia’s DNA from the hair samples we gave them.”

  “You believe them too! Ariadne, you know Eugenia. You know our angel. She couldn’t have done such a thing. She wouldn’t do this to her papa. Which boy can love her more than me? Tell me! Who can give her the life that we strove for her?”

  Ariadne kept quiet. She let Lucien rant; let him channel all the pent up frustration and anger. Within moments, anger turned to sorrow and desperation.

  “Ariadne, how can she do this to us? I’ve loved her so much! You’ve given her so much love…” he sobbed on the phone. She dearly wished she could gather her husband in her loving arms and soothe his sorrow. Her heart felt like it could burst with pain.

  “I know, my love. Please don’t cry. I am sure she will come back to us.”

  “You think so? I don’t care what she has done. I just want her back—safe and happy.”

  “She will come back, darling. She will realize the error of her ways and come back,” Ariadne tried to console him.

  She kept all her worries quiet—her safety, her health issues—she worried about all the things that could go wrong with a 15 year girl. But she did not wish those horrors that kept her awake at night on Lucien. Ariadne battled her demons alone.

  It had been nine months since that eventful time, but still Ariadne could not get more than a few hours of sleep. Alone in her bed, thoughts of their once happy family continued to disturb her peace. No matter how much she twisted and turned, sleep wouldn’t beckon.

  Lucien too stayed put in France. He couldn’t bear to come back to the place where he lost his girl. Every week, he would call Ariadne to see if there were any developments or communication from the kidnapper or Eugenia. Some weeks he would slam the phone down in desperation. Some weeks, he would continue a semblance of a conversation with Ariadne about their work.

  He had re-opened a small practice in Rouen – just to keep himself busy. Otherwise, he would have been driven insane by wrong thoughts. After all, the mind has a way of wreaking havoc on itself when left idle.

  Every week he called, Ariadne could feel him slipping away further and further. Even his voice became softer, too low to hear. He was losing hope to ever see his daughter ever again.

  II

  Suddenly, time changed its tracks and started speeding. Months flew by with no news about Eugenia’s whereabouts.

  The first few months, Ariadne loitered around aimlessly. She had lost not just her child, but also her husband. Lucien had settled in France.

  After a few months, Ariadne walked on in the city’s shopping center. It was her new activity these days, hoping from shop to shop. Unconsciously, she hoped Eugenia would be working in one to make some money. She never accepted it though.

  Tired from all the walking, Ariadne decided to walk into a spa nearby. Mentally, she noted that the shop was clean, but was starting fray at the edges, like it had been abandoned by its care takers. The service was fresh and good, but the spa needed a pick-me-up. It was when she signed the bill that she realized it was one of her own!

  She felt like someone had struck her. After Eugenia went missing, Ariadne lost all interest in her business. She partially blamed her busy schedule for not having paid much attention to the child. Maybe if she had been less busy, she could’ve been a better mother. Such twisted thinking only led to the business being abandoned. It had already been a well-oiled machine that worked without her constant intervention. Yet, every business—like anything else in the world—needs constant love and affection. Or weeds could start growing.

  “Eugenia is not coming back. There’s no point in punishing my business further,” she thought, while looking at her spa.

  Gathering all the courage she possessed, Ariadne immersed herself into her business—expanding it at a fast pace, traveling around the country. The empty house was pregnant with memories. It drove her to the wall. What had once made her feel fulfilled and satisfied, suddenly made her feel lonely and haunted. She did not want to live with the ghosts of memories.

  Within three years, she doubled the company’s profits, tripled the number of spas across the country and soon became one of the top women entrepreneurs in the country. She did visit Lucien once in between, with the excuse of visiting her French spas. But, it was a visit laden with silence and subtle bitterness. She never went back again.

  ***

  “Ariadne, Lucien here.”

  “Hey, hon. How are you?”

  “The same.”

  Ariadne could make out he sounded more morose than usual. “Is something wrong?”

  “Eugenia would have turned 18 yesterday—our baby would have become an adult now.”

  “I know, Lucien. I couldn’t sleep last night. I imagined how we could have planned a special party for her or a holiday abroad. How she loved beach parties!”

  “Don’t… I just… I can’t bear to imagine. How can happy memories make you feel sad?”

  “I miss you, Lucien,” Ariadne could not hold back. “I wish things had not gone wrong. I still love you so much.”

  “I love you too, Ariadne. I am sorry. I just… could not deal with what happened to Eugenia. Still can’t.”

  “I know…”

  “I don’t know how you handle it, Ariadne. That house drove me mad. Sometimes I have ni
ghtmares about the house swallowing our daughter.”

  “Where do you think she is, hon? I hope she is safe and living in comfort.”

  “I don’t know. I am not sure I want to think about it. It puts in mind images of her cleaning floors and what not. I can’t imagine my baby like that. I’d always ensured she had everything she wanted.”

  “I know, Lucien.”

  They both ended sobbing on the phone.

  She needed a break—the conversation broke through all her guards she’d carefully built over time to keep painful memories at bay. Ariadne immediately booked a ticket to the Caribbean Islands.

  ***

  She coped the next three days within the confines of a resort, spying on happy couples and children playing around. It seemed like happiness was chasing her with a vengeful stick, often hitting at her heels. Wherever she went, something triggered a memory. She felt like a walking landmine, ready to burst at any moment.

  Unhappy and thoroughly dissatisfied, she flew back before the end of the holiday. Work could be the only balm.

  Approaching her entrance, she noticed an envelope lying under the bell. Two days’ worth of dust had formed over it. She immediately picked it up while unlocking the door and carried it with her luggage inside.

  Comfortably perched on her sofa, Ariadne looked at the envelope. It was addressed to both Ariadne and Lucien. It prickled her—there weren’t many who wrote to both Ariadne and Lucien. All of their friends knew about his stay in France.

  The white envelope was blank otherwise. She turned it over, when fear churned in her gut. She opened carefully and out slid a piece of thick paper—a post card with a picture in the front.

  She read the message first: “We’re happily married. Hope you are too.” It did not sound right. She turned it over. A beautiful young woman with red hair in a wedding gown posed with a tall, bearded, young man. They both had a splendid tan and wide, happy smiles.

  Ariadne was confused. For a second she wondered if it was wrongly delivered. She rummaged for her glasses in her bag. The extra help for her eyesight made her see. The woman looked very familiar!