“How are you handling everything since your mother’s passing?” Captain Marlow asked, skipping small talk.
“Well, I thought I was doing okay when I was in Colorado, but coming home had stirred the pain up again. I’m sure it’s going to get easier with time.”
“So, you like it out there in Colorado? I never did understand what took you all the way out there, and in the middle of winter no less.”
“That’s a long story and part of the reason I wanted to see you today.” Nate said, preparing himself to tell the story start to finish. When he’d finished, Captain Marlow looked at him, then spun in his chair to gaze out the window, a sure sign he was thinking.
“Since there’s no missing person’s report and you have only her first name, I’d start from the airport where we know she was cognizant enough to board a plane. Have you looked into how she managed to lose all her identification after she boarded the plane?”
“No, I hadn’t thought of that. She would’ve had to have some identification to get on the plane. I wonder how she got to the airport, if she took a taxi there might be a record. If she drove, what happened to her car?” Nate continued to look at the case from all the angles, happy to finally be able to do more than make phone calls from another state.
“Looks like you’ve got some work to do, you’re going to need some help. I can’t spare anyone, but I do have a private investigator who could do some of the leg work.” Captain Marlow said, handing Nate a business card.
“A private investigator? Have you lost your mind?” Nate said, shocked.
“No, meet this guy. You’ll see. He can help, he’s good. Sometimes, he can get information that we can’t. It can’t hurt to give him a call.” Captain Marlow said, giving Nate one of those looks that said you better take my advice.
Nate left the meeting with the private investigator feeling positive, Captain Marlow’s description of the man had been spot on. He’d asked the right questions and suggested following the same investigative paths Nate had been considering. He’d hired him on the spot, giving a sizable retainer and generous traveling expenses. He’d explore how Allison had gotten to the airport, while Nate would make the rounds of the small police departments around the state to see if anyone had been looking for her but not filed a missing person’s report.
His hope was that someone had tried to report Allison missing but was refused, it happen more then he liked to admit. Officers with too much on their plates not taking the time to give these cases the attention they needed. He’d probably been guilty of the same in the past. It took far longer than Nate would have hoped, to get the investigation going properly, after nearly a week in Kentucky, he had very little to show for the time he’d spent away from Allison.
They had been video chatting every night since he’d been gone, but it just wasn’t the same as being there with her. Sometimes it was even more difficult to see her and not be able to touch her, but now that the investigation was in full swing, he had time to turn his attention to more personal matters and his parent’s house. He’d been packing his own house up over the past week, a chore that wasn’t all that difficult, since he had little besides his clothes and some electronics.
His parent’s house was a different story, he’d been making short visits over the last week and discovered that not only would he have to deal with all the furniture, but every closet and drawer was full of stuff. In one closet, he’d found an antique vase packed inside stacks and stacks of old newspapers. He’d opened one drawer and found his mother’s pearls mixed in with old nails and bolts, clearly this was a job he’d have to do himself.
It was a daunting to have to face all that alone, it would take weeks to sort and pack everything in the house. After a first frustrating day of moving from one task to another, he realized that he had no idea how to even go about the job. He needed an expert, but the last thing he wanted to do was bring in some stranger to help him sort his parent’s belongings. Not for the first time, he wished that Allison could have come with him.
That night as soon as his face appeared on the screen, Allison knew that it had been a hard day for Nate. She knew he’d been out to the house to begin packing and sorting. “So, how did it go today?” She asked, wishing she could be there with him.
“Not so great. I don’t know where to start. It’s such a big job, but I don’t exactly want to bring a stranger in. Maybe I should just wait until you can come and help me.” Nate said, feeling sorry for himself.
“You know I would be happy to do that, I wish I could be there with you now, but you know I can’t and it might be awhile before I’ll be able to.” Allison said, gently.
“I know I should just get this over with, it’s not safe to leave all this stuff just sitting here. It would be easier if I could just pull the valuables out and lock the doors, but everything is everywhere. No, I’ll just have to stick it out and get it done.” Nate said, feeling better talking to Allison.
No matter how hard the day had been, talking to Allison always made him feel better. If he really got organized it wouldn’t be so bad. He’d just keep thinking about Allison. That alone would make the job easier, he’d just have to push though and get it finished. Knowing that when he was finished he could go home to Allison helped too.
As soon as Allison got off the phone with Nate, she went in search of Garrett, it was getting late but she knew he’d still be up. What had been a record winter for snow fall, had turned into one of the wettest springs in recent history. The region had been experiencing a mild drought, but what had at first seemed like a godsend had quickly turned into a serious threat as the snow had continued to fall.
Garrett and the other boys had been worrying about spring runoff for weeks, even though to Allison it looked like the mountain was still frozen solid. But if they were concerned, there was good reason. She found him, as she knew she would, at his big desk in the library, pouring over forest service and topographical maps.
When he saw her and the concerned look on her face, he immediately put aside the maps and gave her his full attention. Over the last few weeks, Allison had finally been able to get past her fear of the Terrell brothers, especially Garrett who appeared gruff on the outside but was as soft as a kitten on the inside. He’d been her rock with Nate gone, helping her make sense of the flashes of memory that still plagued her.
“Allison, what are you still doing up? Is everything okay?” Garrett asked, concern creasing his handsome features.
“No I’m worried about Nate, he’s out there in Kentucky all alone, trying to sort through his parent’s lives. He needs someone with him. I think I should go, it can’t be that much of a risk. We can’t just leave him out there alone.” She said, close to tears.
Garrett gave her a few seconds to get control of her emotions, “I agree with Nate, it’s too dangerous for you to go out there. How about I go instead?” He suggesting, suddenly liking the idea.
“You would do that?” She asked, knowing that he had responsibilities on the ranch and was worried about the flood that everyone feared was a foregone conclusion.
“He’s my brother, if he needs help then I’m going to be there for him.” Garrett simply said.
“What will Sabrina say?”
“Probably when do we leave?” He said, laughing.
Allison couldn’t help herself, she jumped up from where she was sitting, ran around the desk and gave Garrett a big hug. He was shocked at first, but then hugged her back. Sabrina choose that moment to walk into the room and Allison quickly backed away from Garrett. Instead of being mad at what she’d seen, she simply smiled and asked, “What are we celebrating?”
“Nate’s having a hard time out in Kentucky sorting his parent’s things, I’ve just offered our services since Allison can’t go.” Garrett said, flashing Sabrina one of those smiles he knew she couldn’t resist.
“And were you going to ask me about this at some point?” she asked, hands on her hips.
<
br /> “Well, honestly I only offered my services, but somehow I can’t imagine you’re going to let me out of your sight for any length of time, so...”
“Darn right. When do we leave?”
Garrett and Allison burst into laughter. “Told you.” He said.
Garrett decided this was one of those times that using their private jet was called for, so by the next night when Allison saw Nate’s face on her computer screen, Garrett and Sabrina were in the background. Sabrina had taken over and they’d already come up with a plan to clean out the house and get Nate back to Colorado.
“I can’t believe you sent them out here.” Nate said, tears in his eyes.
“Well, they’re your family. I couldn’t be there so I sent the next best thing.”
Chapter 9
Garrett and Sabrina stayed with Nate for two weeks, helping him with the monumental task. Garrett had taken one look at the antiques and made a phone call to Donovan and by the next morning they had an expert on hand to deal with the furniture and art, some of which was extremely old and valuable. It was clear to Nate that for now he’d have to store the contents of the house in a secure facility until he decided what to do with it all.
Nate hesitated with getting rid of anything, so many of the pieces came with stories about how they’d become part of his family’s history, some dating back to before the Civil War. In the end, he decided to keep everything, there was just too much history to turn his back on.
When he talked to Allison about it, she agreed with his decision. “That’s still your history, whether it’s from you father’s side of the family or your mother’s, those are the people that made you the man you are today. Just because the man who you thought of as your father wasn’t biologically your father, doesn’t mean that a piece of him doesn’t exist in you.”
“Perfectly said, as always, my love.” He said, thanking fate again for sending him Allison.
Allison’s heart skipped a beat when she heard him call her his love, but she knew that it was only a figure of speech. They hadn’t talked about love and for many reasons she was happy about that. No matter how much she wanted to pretend otherwise, she had another life out there somewhere just waiting to possibly destroy the one she was working to build now.
By the time Garrett and Sabrina left, taking his mother’s jewelry and some of the more precious art work with them, both houses were empty and closed up. Nate didn’t know how long they’d remain that way, but he couldn't bear to part with either property, both had been in the family for generations. Over the course of his lifetime, he’d put plenty of blood, sweat, and tears into keeping them in the best shape he could.
His efforts had been worth it, both properties were very valuable, but apparently he didn’t need the money as Garrett had pointed out when they’d discussed the possibility of him selling. His words had echoed Allison’s with the added information about what his disbursement from the trust would be.
“I’m sorry. How much?” He’d been shocked when Garrett had mentioned a number.
“You heard me. Four times a year you get a check.” Garrett had laughed, “guess that’s even more proof that you’re not out for the money.”
“Well, then I’m keeping the Kentucky properties, it makes no sense to sell them. Who knows, I might want to come back here someday. Maybe I’ll spend my winters here where its warm.” He laughed, feeling relieved to have finally made a decision that included keeping his family home.
Nate desperately wanted to go home with them, but he felt he’d be able to investigate better in person, so he turned his attention back to Allison. The private detective had followed a few leads, but it was really a matter of canvasing the airport, talking to bus drives, taxi drivers, and tow truck drivers. The airport didn’t keep records of cars that had been towed, considering them the possession of the impound lot once they’d been hooked up.
None of the police departments he’d talked to had been of any help, but he thought he might branch out further, Kentucky wasn’t a big state. Allison could have come from any of the surrounding states, although considering her injuries, he felt sure she hadn’t driven very far. Still a few more weeks pursuing leads might put something in motion, he’d long ago learned that stirring things up was often the only way to solve an old crime.
Allison’s attack was soon becoming an old crime and they were always harder to solve, he owed it to both of them to hang out for a few more weeks and see if he could come up with anything new. He packed what belongings he had left in a rented car and headed out, making a wide sweep in a circle around the airport.
He stopped at police stations, bus stations, and gas stations showing Allison’s picture to anyone who would look. After two weeks, he arrived back where he’d started and decided it was time to go back to Colorado. Spring was just beginning to arrive and he didn’t want to miss the mountains coming to life. Besides that, he missed Allison with what was becoming an almost painful longing, they’d been apart for almost six weeks and he missed her more every day.
As Nate was boarding a plane, thinking about Allison, Matt was in the parking lot of the airport thinking about her as well. However, his thoughts were not as pleasant as Nate’s. With every other breath he was cursing her, wishing he’d taken care of her much sooner. It gave him some comfort to imagine what he’d do to her when he found her, with each passing day it became more of an obsession.
But she deserved everything he was going to do to her when he caught up with her. For three solid weeks he’d been searching parking lots and impound lots for her silver car. How an entire car could disappear, he had no idea, but eventually he’d find it and her. Besides cussing Allison and imagining her demise, he had some vivid fantasies of what he was going to do to Curley and Gus once they found Allison.
Sometimes he was so frustrated he just wanted to have them eliminated, but then he’d have to bring in someone new and he just didn’t want the hassle. Of course he did have to admit that they’d been doing the job he sent them to do. His contacts had reported seeing them all over town showing the bitch’s picture and offering a reward for any information about her.
But, all those efforts as well as those of his contacts had turned up nothing. He’d even hired a guy to try and trace her electronically but nothing had popped up. Now he was beginning to become desperate. He couldn’t figure out how she’d been able to disappear so completely, she couldn’t have changed her appearance that much, not without surgery. He knew that was out of the question because he made sure she had as little money as possible.
It had been one of the ways he kept her under his thumb, he’d promised to pay her a wage for working on the farm, but only paid her when she threw a fit. How she’d managed to pay for her plane ticket he had no idea, but at the time, he’d just been happy that she was leaving for a few days. Now he was questioning how she’d managed it, then it occurred to him that she might have had some help.
Finally giving up for the day, he shoved the papers that had been on the seat next to him onto the floor in frustration, it was exhausting spending everyday trolling parking lots, sometimes avoiding security guards who became suspicious. The papers had landed on the floor with the fax about Allison’s flight on top, it was then that he noticed that the flight had stopped in Denver.
Suddenly, he knew what she’d done. She’d gotten off that plane in Denver, never even made it to Las Vegas, he’d been searching for her in the wrong place. Feeling stupid for not seeing it before now, he cursed some more, adding another punishment to the long list he had planned for Allison. It was exactly what he would have done, had in fact done in the past.
Driving back to the cheap motel he’d rented close to the airport, he called Curley and Gus and told them to come home. All the time they’d spent in Las Vegas had been worthless, what was worse he’d been away from the horses much too long. If they didn’t get another injection in the next few days, all his hopes for that Triple Crown win would go up in smoke,
the race was a little over a month away and he needed that money.
It was time to come up with a new plan to find Allison, but more importantly he needed to win those races to save the farm. Allison or no Allison it was his for now and he had every intention of holding on to it.
*****
Nate’s flight landed on time and he was on the road within an hour, Allison had wanted to come get him but he’d refused, remembering the last time she’d gotten into a car. They’d decided to run into town for some groceries, the roads had been clear so Allison had talked him into letting her drive. She was sure that she remembered how and wanted to test her theory.
She did fine for the first few minutes, but then she’d begun to get a head ache, followed by vivid images of her driving a car and wiping blood off her head with a towel. She’d slammed on the brakes, the memory of digging through a suitcase for something to wipe the blood off her face as she drove playing clearly in her mind.
Nate had wrapped his arms around her as she sat, head in hands watching the scene unfold in her mind. Instead of the usual flashes, this was a complete picture, a complete memory. It had scared her so bad, they’d sat in the car for almost an hour before she could even move from her seat. Nate had held her the entire time, rocking her until she stopped shaking.
Looking back at it later, they had both agreed that it was a positive thing that she’d had a complete memory, but also that she shouldn’t try to drive again. He didn’t completely trust her not to get in the car anyway, so he’d booked an earlier flight and would surprise her by getting there early.
It was mid-afternoon when he finally pulled into the ranch, it looked nothing like the last time he was here. The snow drifts were six feet high in places, but showed signs of melting, rivers of water running down the side of the road evidence of warmer weather. He was surprised how warm it was when he stepped out of the car, it’d been warm in Denver, but he’d expected it to be cold this high in the mountains.
You're My Rock (Brothers From Money #4) Page 9