“They still haven’t caught him yet.”
“Will they?”
Carissa sighed. “Yes. I just hope they do before he hurts anyone else.”
“Are you coming home today?”
“No. In a couple of days. I want to stick around. At least until Chloe and her family leave Castle Danger.”
“I understand. I’m just glad that neither of you were hurt. I guess the Martial Arts classes paid off?”
“Barely. I think I’m going to get a Carry-and-conceal license,” she said. She’d dodged a bullet more than once with Ben. She knew that she couldn’t always be that lucky.
“I’m so glad that you’ve changed your mind,” replied her mother. “You might need it one day.”
In her gut, she knew that her mother was right.
Chapter 36
Two Days Later.
BEN WAS NEVER found, but the police learned that he’d somehow gotten to the bank and had cleared his savings account of fifteen-thousand dollars.
“I know this is probably a long shot but, do you have any idea of where he might have went?” Jim asked Carissa on the phone, later that day.
“No. Chloe mentioned that he’d been planning on taking her to Alaska. But, I don’t see him going there right now,” she replied. “Not without her.”
“Do you think he’s going to try and take Chloe again?” he asked.
She remembered the feverish look in Ben’s eyes when he’d spoken about Chloe. “Probably. Unless he finds ‘Faith’ in another girl.”
He let out a ragged sigh. “Hopefully, we’ll find him first.”
“Hopefully.”
“Speaking of Chloe, I don’t know if you knew this but her father adopted Maisie,” he said.
“I figured he would,” she said, smiling.
“I was a little surprised, considering the circumstances. I don’t think I could have done it, if I were her parents.”
“Chloe actually thinks of Maisie as her dog, and not Ben’s. Leaving the Beagle up here, she’d have felt like she’d abandoned the puppy.”
“Huh. I guess that makes a little sense. She is an adorable dog.”
Carissa smiled. “Yes. Heck, I’d have probably adopted her myself if I didn’t travel so much.”
“By the way, I heard you went to visit Alex, earlier today.”
“Yes,” she replied, thinking back to it. Alex had sworn that he’d known nothing about Ben being a murderer and she’d believed him. Apparently, they hadn’t spoken since he’d found him in bed with his ex. “He’s still in rough shape.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. He’s just lucky that the bullet didn’t hit any major organs.”
“Right.”
Jim thanked her for helping in the investigation and wanted to call her for advice in the future.
“Of course.”
“If you get anymore premonitions about Ben, make sure you let me know,” he said, before hanging up.
“Believe me, you’ll be one of the first people I call.”
***
Chloe and her family left Two Harbors that evening. Before they parted ways, however, Rachel and Carissa exchanged phone numbers, promising to keep in touch.
“Do you think Ben will come looking for her again?” Rachel asked her.
“It’s possible. I wish that I could tell you he won’t but he’s still obsessed,” she replied.
She groaned. “I had a feeling you were going to say that. I told Paul that I was getting a gun. Ben tries coming after her again and I’ll send him to the other side so that he can reunite with his real daughter,” she said angrily.
Carissa smiled. “Speaking of Paul, what’s going on with you two?”
“We’re still getting a divorce. He wanted to try and work it out but I just can’t. All I see is him with Maddy in my head.”
“What did he say about her?” she asked, curious.
“The same old excuse people give for having an affair – he didn’t mean for it to happen and regrets it.” She sighed. “At least he’s not in love with her. I think it will be easier for all of us to not have her in our lives. It’s bad enough that we’re getting a divorce, I just can’t imagine if Chloe had to see Maddy on her weekend visits with Paul. ”
Carissa sensed that Maddy was heartbroken, though. For her, it had been love.
“Anyway, enough about him. It’s going to be a long ride home.”
Carissa looked over at Chloe. “Does she know about the divorce yet?”
“No. We’re going to wait. She’s been through so much and this will be hard on her.”
Carissa’s heart went out to Chloe. She would definitely be devastated.
“Anyway, I’m changing my last name back to my maiden. Hopefully, that will make it harder for Ben to find us, if decides to come looking. Hell, maybe I’ll even hire a bodyguard,” she said. “A cute one that will help me get over Paul.”
Carissa’s eyes widened.
She chuckled. “I’m just kidding. The last thing I need is to do that to Chloe.”
Carissa knew that Rachel wasn’t exactly kidding. Paul’s betrayal had left her feeling unwanted and unattractive. She decided to share what she’d picked up on earlier. “Don’t worry, Rachel. You’re going to meet someone eventually who will treat you right and make you deliriously happy. Just don’t go looking for him. He’s going to find you.”
Rachel looked both relieved and sad. “Do you know when?”
“No. Just, keep your chin up and know that things will get better.”
“What about Chloe?”
“Chloe will be fine as long as her parents stay strong for her. You can get divorced but try and stay amicable.”
Rachel sighed. “I’ll do my best.”
A squad car drove through the parking lot slowly.
“They’re still looking for Ben,” she said, watching it leave.
Carissa nodded.
“Will they find him?”
Carissa nodded. “Yes, but I’m afraid that he’s going to cause more trouble again before they locate him. Not necessarily with your daughter, either,” she replied. Earlier in the day, she’d had a vision of Ben with a woman and a young girl, driving somewhere. They all looked happy and Carissa felt that he’d transferred over his fixation onto the woman’s daughter.
“Great,” she said dryly.
“To be honest, I think Chloe is going to be safe, but just continue to keep a close eye on her.”
“Believe me, we both will,” she said.
Rachel thanked her again, and afterward, Chloe gave Carissa a hug.
“Thanks for talking my parents into getting Maisie for me,” she said to Carissa.
Carissa gave her an innocent look. “Me? Oh, I didn’t talk them into anything. I just explained why I thought it would be good for the both of you,” she said to the little girl as Paul put Maisie into the new carrier they’d purchased.
“I just can’t wait to bring her home. They said that she can sleep in my room with me.”
“I bet Maisie will love that,” Carissa replied.
Chloe gave her a serious expression. “She’s my guard dog. She’ll keep me safe.”
“I think she wants to do that more than anything in the world. She obviously, loves you.”
Chloe smiled. “I love her, too.”
“Stay safe, little one,” she said, hugging Chloe again.
“You too,” said the little girl.
After they left, Carissa went to go check out of her own cabin. After she was finished putting her luggage into the Tahoe, she noticed that someone had left her a voicemail.
It was Dustin.
Her stomach filled with butterflies. Hoping that he was calling for personal reasons, she soon learned that he needed her, but not in the way she wanted.
“Sorry to bother you, Carissa,” he said. “I’m working on a case right now and I could really use your help. I know that I don’t have any right, calling you out of the blue, especially since we haven’t spoken
in three months. But, this involves a missing child and I know you’d want to help if you could. Call me as soon as you can.”
As Carissa hung up, she was suddenly hit with the realization that the case he was talking about was a nasty one and involved child trafficking. With a bitter taste in her mouth, she called Dustin back.
“Yes. Of course, I’ll help you,” she told him.
The End
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