Girl in Trouble

by Stacy Claflin

  "That we should check the woods, too."

  "Tonight?"

  "No, after Halloween. Yes, tonight."

  "We should call in the K-9 unit for that."

  Nick shook his head. "I just want to look around. We can bring in the dog later, if we find anything."

  "If you say so."

  "Let's go." Nick double-checked his gun as he got out of the car. He remotely locked it and they walked up the driveway in silence. Lights along the house lit up as they walked underneath.

  Nick held his fist up to knock, but the door opened.

  Flynn nodded. "Welcome back, officers."

  "Thank you for your patience."

  "Of course." Flynn moved aside, allowing them entrance.

  The house seemed exactly the same as it had been before.

  "Would you like to have a seat?" Flynn asked.

  "No," Anderson said. "We'd just like to look around, if you don't mind."

  "Anything to help the investigation." He extended his arms. "Would you like me to sit on the couch and wait?"

  Nick nodded. Flynn took a seat and picked up a magazine about computer coding. Nick walked around, looking for anything out of place or unusual. He tapped a throw rug in front of the couch, hoping to find a loose board or handle. Nothing seemed out of place. He pulled a few books from various bookshelves, hoping to find a trap door.

  What was this? Scooby-Doo? He was Fred and Anderson, Shaggy? Nick silently chastised himself walked around until he came to a hallway.

  "Mind if I go down here?" he asked.

  "Have at it," Flynn replied and flipped a page in his magazine.

  Nick caught Anderson's gaze and motioned for him to come along. They walked down the hallway, coming to a bunch of closed doors. Nick opened one and found a laundry room. A door led outside. He went over and opened the door. It led into the woods.

  He closed the door and glanced around the sparkling clean room. Anderson looked inside the washing machine and drier.

  Nick peeked behind them and then underneath.

  A tiny splotch of red. He pulled out his phone and shone the light on it. It appeared to be dried blood.

  He caught Anderson's attention and gestured to it.

  Anderson's eyes lit up. He stepped out of the room and called Flynn over.

  Suspicious

  Flynn stepped inside the laundry room. "Yes?"

  "Can you explain this?" Nick shone his light on the red splotch.

  "Oh, that." Flynn squatted, swiped his finger over it, and showed it to them. "I spilled some ketchup." He licked it off his finger. "Definitely ketchup."

  "Thanks for explaining. We're going to keep looking around."

  Flynn nodded. "Whatever you need." He left the room.

  "That was weird," Anderson said.

  "Try disgusting." Nick pulled out latex gloves from his inside pocket, opened a plastic bag, and removed a cotton swab. He kneeled down, wiped what remained of the red residue, put the swab into the bag, and sealed it. He marked it and put it back into his coat. This alone could make everything worth the effort—unless it really was just a condiment.

  He and Anderson went over every inch of the laundry room twice, not finding anything else.

  "Ready to check the rest of the house?" Nick asked.

  "More than ever." Anderson glanced around the tiny room one last time.

  They went through the other rooms—an office, a home theater, a couple guest bedrooms, and a storage room—without finding anything useful. Nick continued looking for trap doors, but saw nothing of that nature, either.

  Finally, they came back out to the living room. Flynn set down his magazine. "All done?"

  Nick glanced at the staircase behind him. Actually, we'd like to see what's upstairs."

  Flynn's eyes widened just slightly. "Oh, there's nothing up there."

  "Then you won't mind showing us around, will you?" Anderson asked. "It should only take a few minutes, and then we'll be out of your hair shortly."

  "Sure. No problem." He rose and led them up the staircase. At the top, he turned around. "This is where my mother-in-law stayed before she went onto a better place. Everything up here is hers."

  That was convenient. Nick nodded, now more eager than ever to have a look.

  Flynn's mouth curved down and then he moved aside.

  The first thing Nick noticed was shag carpeting. Then, looking around, he felt like he'd stepped into another era. It almost could have been straight from his own grandparents' home. He walked across the hall into a retro kitchen. He could almost smell Grams' oatmeal raisin cookies.

  "When did you say your mother-in-law lived here?" Anderson asked.

  "I didn't," Flynn said. "It was maybe ten years ago."

  Nick turned to him. "And what about your wife? This is the first mention of her you've made."

  Flynn held his gaze for a moment. "It didn't work out. You know how it goes."

  "Why don't you tell us?"

  "Okay." Flynn smirked and turned toward the kitchen. "Irreconcilable differences. We wanted different things out of life. Both of us had changed too much after marrying. It happens, right?" He turned back to Nick.

  "If you say so. Mind if we look around up here?"

  "Not much to see." Flynn went over to the fridge and opened it, showing that it was empty inside. He walked over to the table and swiped his fingers across it, showing a thick layer of dust. "I've had the cleaning staff leave this part of the house alone. To be honest, it kind of creeps me out."

  Anderson walked around the kitchen, studying everything but touching nothing. "Then why not get rid of everything? If it belonged to your ex-wife's mother, why preserve it?"

  Flynn's nostrils flared. "It's easier to ignore than deal with. I have enough going on in my life with work that I don't care to bother with it. Would you like to see the other rooms?"

  "Yes." Nick squared his shoulders. "Show us."

  "Okay." Flynn led them out into another hallway. It led to a bathroom and a few bedrooms. He opened the bathroom and wiped his finger along the counter. "See? Just as much dust. This place hasn't been touched in years."

  Nick went into the bedroom next to the bathroom. It was a girl's bedroom, full of pink as far as the eye could see. An elaborate dollhouse sat on the floor near the closet. He walked over the window and looked out over the woods.

  "See?" Flynn said. "More dust. You're going to find that on everything up here."

  "Was this your mother-in-law's room?" Nick asked, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his tone.

  "No. She lost a daughter when she was young. Her way of hanging on was to keep all of her things just as it had been when she died."

  "Do you remember when the girl died?" Nick asked.

  "My wife was a teenager."

  "Your ex-wife?" Nick arched a brow.

  "Yeah. She was a kid."

  "Did her sister die on Halloween?"

  "I wouldn't know."

  "You wouldn't know?" Anderson exclaimed.

  "She wasn't my sister."

  Nick exchanged a glance with Anderson.

  "You want to see my mother-in-law's room?" Flynn asked.

  "Go ahead." Nick nodded to Anderson. "I'm going to look around in here some more."

  Flynn started to say something, but then closed his mouth.

  Nick gave him a look that dared Flynn to cross him.

  "Follow me." Flynn led Anderson out of the room.

  Taking a deep breath, Nick glanced around the room. "This place is creepy as—"

  His phone rang.

  "What?" he snapped, answering the call.

  "This is Weiss." The best attorney money could buy. Hopefully, he needed a pro bono case.

  "Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Are you up for the challenge?"

  "It's a huge case."

  "The kidnapping—not the breaking and entering. Can you get him off?"

  "I'll see what I can do. He's at the station now?"

  "Be
hind bars, yeah. Thank you, Weiss."

  "Don't thank me yet. I'll be in touch."

  "Great. I'll keep my phone on." Nick sighed in relief as he ended the call. With Weiss on it, Alex stood the best chance of getting out sooner rather than later, and hopefully without the media catching wind of the arrest.

  Nick looked around the room again, not sure what he was expecting to see. He sneezed from the dust. There was no way Ariana had been in this room. No one had in a long time.

  He opened the closet and pushed aside clothes, disturbing more dust. He sneezed again and looked around. After finding nothing, he went into the hall. Anderson and Flynn were in an old rec room, also covered with dust.

  Anderson glanced at him. "There's nothing here."

  "Like I said." Flynn crossed his arms. "I've been nothing other than accommodating, and yet you refuse to believe me." He sneezed. "Are we done here?"

  Nick exchanged some expressions with Anderson.

  Flynn cleared his throat. "Unless you have a warrant, I think we're done here. I have some work I need to do."

  "No," Nick said. "No warrant. Thank you for your cooperation."

  "My pleasure. Let me see you out."

  News

  Zoey leaned back in the chair and watched Macy sleep. Her friend slept so peacefully despite all the noise of the hospital and the casts. Hopefully, the nurses would leave her alone for a while so she could get some decent rest.

  If only Zoey could get some rest. She was exhausted and had spent more time at the hospital than anywhere else. The thought of going home made her stomach twist in knots. Being at her parents' house was torturous—that was where Ariana was supposed to be. The house just felt wrong with her gone—knowing why she wasn't there.

  She leaned back in the chair and out of habit went to play with her ring. The one that wasn't there. A fresh wave of regret ran through her. Kellen was no longer in her life. She was no longer the future Mrs. McKay.

  She grabbed the TV remote and flipped it on, hoping to find a mindless movie to distract her from her thoughts for a while.

  A blonde news reporter said something about Alex. What were they blaming on him now?

  "Alex Mercer has been arrested for the…"

  Zoey's mouth dropped open and she couldn't focus on anything else said. Alex had been arrested? Did they think he was involved? As angry as she had been at him for so long, she knew he would never be capable of such a thing. He would never do anything to hurt Ariana. Aside from almost never seeing her, but in his mind, he probably thought he was doing Ari a favor.

  She sat up and turned up the volume. Her mind continued spinning, making it hard to follow what the newscaster said. It sounded like he'd had some kind of altercation with a person of interest in the case.

  Macy mumbled something. Zoey turned off the TV, not only so her friend wouldn't wake, but so she wouldn't hear the news. Macy needed to focus on healing. It would only stress her out to hear about Alex being arrested. She adored her younger brother.

  Zoey sat up and watched Macy. Her eyes were closed, but she was muttering. The poor thing had been talking in her sleep for years—since after her own kidnapping.

  Footsteps sounded in the doorway. Zoey whipped around, ready to tell the nurse to leave Macy alone.

  It was Luke. He gave Zoey a sad smile. "How is she?"

  "Finally sleeping."

  "Did you guys hear about Alex?"

  "I just did, but she doesn't know."

  He sat next to Zoey. "Let's keep it that way."

  "Definitely."

  "Why don't you get some rest?"

  Where? At home, where she wasn't safe? Or at her parents' house, where she felt like she'd entered a black hole? "I don't mind staying. I'm sure you have things to do."

  Luke patted her shoulder. "Go on, Zo. I'll take good care of her."

  "I wasn't doubting—"

  "Yeah, I know. I want to be here, and you need to take care of yourself. Maybe you could check on Chad and Alyssa."

  Zoey closed her eyes. Alex's parents had to be freaking out—their granddaughter was abducted, their daughter nearly killed, and now their son in jail. She nodded. "I'll do that."

  "Thanks. Let me know if they need anything."

  "You just worry about Macy."

  They said goodbye, and then Zoey headed for her car. The only thing going her way was that she had been able to park close since they had reserved parking for hybrid vehicles. She remote-unlocked the turquoise sports car and climbed in, noticing the start of another headache.

  She started the car, popped a couple ibuprofen, and thought about how she would tell the Mercers about Alex's arrest. They'd always been like second parents to her, so she needed to be the one to tell them if they didn't already know.

  Zoey put on some music and headed to the Mercers' house. She parked in between their house and her parents' and walked slowly up the driveway. Staring at the tree in their front yard, memories flooded of times spent climbing it as kids and teens with Macy and Alex. She paused on the porch, trying to hold onto happier times. Finally, she sat on the bench and succumbed to memories, seeing them as vividly as the tree itself.

  Tears welled in her eyes as the memories with Ariana came into view. The first time she'd crawled had been under that tree. She and Alex had been there, and they'd both been thrilled. Then later, she'd toddled around, picking flowers and chasing butterflies.

  The front door opened, pulling Zoey from her memories.

  "Zoey, are you okay?" Alyssa stepped outside, pulling her sweater tighter to protect against the cold air.

  "Yeah, sorry."

  "No need to apologize." She sat down. "I know what you're going through."

  Zoey nodded. She needed to tell her about Alex, but was losing courage by the moment.

  Alyssa patted Zoey's left hand. "A missing kid can put a lot of strain on a relationship."

  Zoey glanced at her naked ring finger and sighed.

  "Did you know things got really rocky with Chad and me?"

  "Is that why you were gone for a little while?"

  Alyssa sighed and leaned back. "Yeah. I wasn't sure we'd make it, but somehow we did. We almost didn't. I…" Her voice trailed off and her expression glazed over. She seemed to be as lost in her own thoughts as Zoey.

  She studied Alyssa and decided she couldn't know about Alex's arrest. Not with as calm as she was.

  Zoey took a deep breath. "Did you hear about Alex?"

  Alyssa's eyes widened. "What?"

  "I should probably tell you and Chad together."

  "What is it?" Alyssa covered her mouth. "Is he okay?"

  "He's not injured—"

  "Tell me what happened."

  Zoey frowned. "He's in jail."

  Alyssa's face paled, and her eyes filled with tears.

  Warning

  Alex sat in the interrogation room with his back to the two-way mirror as much as possible. The handcuffs slid through a bar on the side of the table made it challenging, but he was pretty flexible.

  At long last, the door opened. Nick came in, a stern expression on his face. "Need anything?"

  "I could use some water."

  "Maybe later."

  "Why ask?"

  He shrugged and sat across from Alex. "What the hell were you thinking?"

  Alex gave him a double-take. "What—?"

  Nick arched a brow and glanced over at the mirror. "Breaking and entering? You need to let us handle the case. Got it?" He looked at the mirror again.

  Now it made sense. Nick was putting on a show for someone. "Yeah. Sure do. I'm not going to do anything like that again."

  "Good. I hear you got an attorney."

  "Yeah." The one Nick had called. "I'm waiting for him to come back and talk to me."

  "I want to talk to him, too. Stay here."

  Alex shook the cuffs against the table. "I don't have much of a choice, now do I?"

  "Just stay put." Nick got up and left, slamming the door.


  Clearly, someone was putting pressure on the captain.

  The back of Alex's head itched. It had started as soon as they'd stuck him to the table, and it hadn't stopped since. He slid down in the chair and rubbed the back of his head against the chair, finally getting the itch.

  Mid-scratch, the door opened. Alex bolted upright, jamming the cuffs against his wrist.

  Ralph Weiss, his larger-than-life attorney, entered. "Got you out of here," the six-and-a-half foot tall, stocky redhead bellowed. "Let's go somewhere with more privacy to talk."

  "Sounds good to me. What about these?" Alex nodded toward the cuffs.

  "Someone's coming in to release you. Any personal items I should retrieve?"

  "Other than my car?" Alex muttered.

  "We'll take care of that." He opened the door and stuck his head into the hallway. "We need someone to unlock these cuffs."

  Alex's head pounded like a jackhammer. "Got any aspirin?"

  "No. Toughen up, kid."

  Alex groaned and closed his eyes. When would the nightmare end? He just wanted Ariana back safe and sound, and everyone off his back. His own guilt was more than enough of a burden to bear.

  "It's about time," Weiss said.

  "Yeah, yeah." Keys rustled.

  Alex opened his eyes. An officer he didn't recognize walked toward him and released him from the cuffs. Alex rose and stretched. He twisted his sore, aching back.

  "Follow me." Weiss gestured toward the hall.

  "Gladly." Alex twisted each wrist until it popped, then he cracked his knuckles.

  "You have some paperwork to fill out," his attorney said. "Get that done, and then we'll get down to business."

  They went to the front desk, where Weiss was given a clipboard with a stack of papers.

  Alex took it and headed for the waiting area to fill them out.

  "No, this way," Weiss said. Everything he said sounded like an order from a drill sergeant.

  Alex spun around, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone he recognized. He did a double-take. "Mom?"

  She ran over and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, Alex. Did they finally let you go?"

  "Yeah, they—how did you know I was here?"

  "Don't worry about that. Do you need anything?"