Missing in Cottonwood Springs

by Dianne Harman

  “That’s my girl,” he said as he stood up. “I’ll go see if Brigid has the ingredients I need for them. If not, I’ve got them at my house. Then we can binge watch some television until she gets back.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Sheriff Davis dropped Brigid off assuring her he’d get in touch the following afternoon to let her know what he learned about the property where the men they’d followed had gone. Even though he was pretty sure he knew whose property it was, he still had to make certain and then get in contact with the owner. He made her promise to get lots of rest and to think about something besides the Oliva Ford case for a while.

  When she unlocked her front door, she was eagerly greeted by Jett, who was obviously happy she was home. “Hey boy,” she said as she scratched his ears. He leaned against her, letting her know in dog language that he was happy to see her.

  She glanced over at the couch and smiled when she saw Linc and Holly sound asleep. Linc had his feet on the coffee table, his head tipped back, and was softly snoring. Holly was curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder. The remains of a plate of peanut butter cookies were on the table in front of them.

  Brigid crept as quietly as she could over to them and gingerly lifted the remote from Linc’s hand. Clicking it off, she turned, and touched his leg. “Linc?” she said softly.

  His eyes opened slowly and it took him a moment to collect himself and remember where he was. “Hey,” he said sleepily. Noticing that Holly was asleep on him, he carefully slipped out from underneath her, lowering her as gently as possible onto the couch. “What time is it?” he asked Brigid.

  “I don’t know. Late,” she said. “You didn’t have to stay.”

  “I know,” he said, “but I wanted to.” He turned and looked over at Holly. Tugging a throw blanket from the back of the couch, he covered her, then he turned back to Brigid and waved her towards the kitchen.

  Once they were in the kitchen, he leaned against the counter. “Holly was pretty upset earlier.”

  “Really? About what?” Brigid asked.

  “She thought that since she hadn’t done what you asked, that you’d kick her out,” he said. “She thought you left because of her.”

  “I didn’t,” she protested.

  “I know,” he said softly. “And I told her that. She told me about some stuff that happened with her mom a while back, and the whole situation kind of stirred things up for her. She’s okay now, but maybe you could spend a little time with her tomorrow morning. Just the two of you? No work or investigating cases or anything. Just two pretty ladies doing something fun together,” he suggested.

  “Sure,” Brigid said, surprised. “I didn’t even think she was upset when I left.”

  “I wondered,” Linc admitted. “But I didn’t want you to worry. I want you to know I have your back. We’re going to be a family. I don’t want it to be an us versus them sort of thing. I want all of us to work together so we understand one another. That’s why I stepped in. She’s a smart girl, and with everything she’s been through, it’s easy to forget that she’s just a kid.”

  “That it is,” Brigid agreed. “Thank you.” She yawned loudly. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m just exhausted.”

  “I need to go anyway. Get some sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow.” Linc kissed Brigid on the forehead as he pulled her in for a hug. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” Brigid said as she smiled. “Thanks for just being you.”

  “It’s my pleasure,” he said as he released her.

  “I’m going to visit a woman tomorrow about our cake. She runs a bakery business out of her house, and I hear she does really great work,” Brigid said as she kicked her shoes off. “You want to come?”

  “I could…,” Linc began and then he stopped, “but why don’t you take Holly? I still have work to do, and you know I like any and all cakes. I’m not going to be too worried about what you pick out. You two go and enjoy yourself. Maybe do a little shopping while you’re at it.”

  “That does sound like fun,” Brigid admitted.

  “Hey, you’re home,” a scratchy voice called from the couch. Brigid and Linc turned to see Holly sitting up.

  “Yeah, sorry if we woke you,” Brigid said as they returned to the great room.

  “Not a problem,” Holly said, stretching. “Look, I’m really sorry about this afternoon, Brigid.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Brigid said as she sat down next to her. “You won’t do it again, will you?”

  Holly shook her head emphatically. “Not a chance.”

  “Then I think we’re good. Hey, you want to go try some wedding cake tasting with me tomorrow morning? Maybe go shopping or do something after that?” Brigid asked as she brushed Holly’s hair back from her face.

  “Free cake? I’m all in,” she said smiling. Suddenly, she reached out and wrapped her arms around Brigid, hugging her tightly. “I love you, Brigid.”

  “I love you too, Holly,” Brigid said feeling a little emotional. A lump began to form in her throat as she hugged her back. “You better get to bed. I don’t want you grumpy in the morning.” She patted her on the back.

  “Okay, good night,” Holly said as she stood up and waved to them.

  “Good night,” Brigid said.

  “Night,” Linc called.

  “Oh, and Linc?” Holly said as she paused just inside the hall.

  “What’s up?” he said.

  “Thanks for our little talk. I love you, too,” she said with a small smile.

  “Love you too, kiddo. You have fun tomorrow.” Linc’s voice was thick with emotion as Holly turned and stepped into her bedroom.

  “Did that get you right in the feels?” Brigid asked with a small tear in her eye.

  “You bet it did,” he said exhaling loudly. “I’m heading home. Talk to you tomorrow.” He gave her a kiss and walked out the door.

  As Brigid was walking down the hall to her room, she thought about what Linc had said. He was right. She’d been treating Holly almost like a roommate. Not that it was a bad thing, but maybe, just maybe that wasn’t what she really needed right now. She probably needed to know what having a loving and caring parent was like, and apparently Linc was intuitive enough to have seen that.

  She changed her clothes and washed her face, thinking how lucky she was. Linc was an amazing man who was wise beyond his years, but also young at heart. Holly was brilliant, but also extremely caring. She listened and always tried to help, a rare thing in a teenager. Brigid realized she was a truly blessed woman to have developed a relationship with these two amazing and caring individuals.

  As she got in bed and pulled the blankets up to her chin, Brigid couldn’t help but smile thinking of all the wonderful people she had in her life. It was terrifying to think people could just vanish into thin air. Of course, she knew that wasn’t literally what had happened, but it still seemed that way. One minute, Olivia Ford had been picking a few things up at the grocery store. The next minute, she was missing. Gone, almost without a trace. If it hadn’t been for the security cameras, they would have zero leads to work with.

  Brigid knew it was easy to sit in the safety of her home and think something like that would never happen to her. The reality of it was far too scary to think about. Every day, all across the country, people disappeared. Some, never to be heard from again. Granted, not all of them were kidnapped or sold into human trafficking, but a lot of them were.

  Since learning about what happened to Olivia, Brigid had done a quick research on the topic of missing people. She’d read that over 3,000 people were sold or kidnapped into slavery every day. That number had been a real eye opener. That was like the population of a small town just, poof, disappearing every day. Some of them would be lucky and get rescued, but so many others wouldn’t be as lucky.

  She’d learned that between 600,000 to 800,000 people were trafficked across international borders every year. Around 80% of them were female and many were children. I
t was simply incomprehensible to Brigid.

  Her heart ached for every single person in the world who was living in slavery. The website she’d visited had said the majority of those taken were forced into prostitution. She couldn’t wrap her mind around that thought. Who could do that to another human being? What kind of a world did we live in where this was a very real danger we had to worry about?

  Sitting up in bed, Brigid felt compelled to bow her head. She wasn’t exactly the praying type, but now she felt the need. It wasn’t that she wasn’t religious. It was more that she just hadn’t thought about it in a long time. As she folded her hands and closed her eyes, her thoughts were focused on all the people who had been taken from their families and forced into servitude.

  “God, please help the people who have been taken from their loved ones. Please, help them find their way home. People like Olivia Ford don’t deserve to be taken away from their homes and loved ones and then forced into slavery. Help us bring her home.”

  She remained with her head bowed for several long moments, thinking positive thoughts that they would find Olivia. She didn’t know if her small prayer would help, but it was the only thing she could think of to try and get through this ordeal. There was no way she’d be able to sleep if she was afraid they wouldn’t be able to bring Olivia home.

  She sighed deeply, and slid back down under her blankets. For now, her loved ones were safe, but she was faced with a sleepless night of tossing and turning.

  CHAPTER 17

  The next day, Brigid and Holly had a leisurely, relaxing morning. They were to meet Lewellen around 10:00 a.m. to taste her various types of cakes, so there was no need to rush around. Brigid enjoyed sitting on the patio and sipping her coffee with Holly while they listened to the birds chirping and watched Jett chasing squirrels.

  “I’m really sorry I didn’t do like you told me to do,” Holly finally said. She’d been struggling to find the right words all morning.

  “I know,” Brigid said thoughtfully. “I realize you’ve practically had to raise yourself, so it may seem to go against what you’re used to. For the most part, I trust you to make the right decisions. After all, you’ve done a good job of keeping yourself out of trouble so far.” Brigid took another sip of her coffee, using it as a chance to think about her next words. “I just want you to trust that if I tell you I want you to do something, I have a reason for it.”

  “I understand,” Holly whispered as she lowered her head.

  “You’re not in trouble,” Brigid said as she softly touched Holly’s shoulder. “You just didn’t understand. It was a miscommunication between us. I see it as an opportunity for us to learn a little more about each other and work out the kinks. That’s all.”

  Holly lifted her head and looked hopefully at her informal guardian. “You don’t want me to move out?”

  “Are you kidding?” Brigid scoffed. “It never even crossed my mind. Look, we can disagree about things, but that doesn’t mean I want you to leave. I know there are going to be times we don’t see eye to eye, but I’ll never tell you to move out. You’re already like a daughter to me. I care about you a lot, Holly. I won’t ever give up on you.”

  Holly broke into a wide grin. “Thank you. I know we talked about it last night but…,” she let her sentence trail off.

  “You wanted to make sure everything was still the same this morning. I get it,” Brigid nodded. “It is, don’t worry.” Remembering she still hadn’t mentioned it to Holly she cried “Oh! I almost forgot. I wanted to ask you to be a bridesmaid with Missy. Fiona is going to be the matron of honor.”

  “Are you serious?” Holly exclaimed.

  “Completely. What do you say? We can look at dresses online if you’d like? Or I can take you to the dress shop where I got the other dresses?”

  “Let’s look online,” Holly nodded. “Now I’m really excited.”

  “Good. That means a lot to me.” She looked at her watch and sighed, “We should probably get ready to go. It’s about that time.”

  They went inside, leaving Jett to play in the backyard while they were gone. Brigid picked up her purse from the hall table and they walked out to her car, ready to cake-test at Lewellen’s home.

  “I never realized so many people had businesses in their own homes,” Holly said.

  “It’s a lot cheaper,” Brigid answered. “You don’t have to pay rent and you can set your own hours, plus you don’t have to leave your home. I think it’s wonderful Lewellen has been able to do something like this from her home. It’s kind of a natural, plus I hear that commercial kitchens are really expensive to build.”

  A few minutes later, Brigid drove into the driveway of a small one-story ranch style home with a sign in the yard that had “Lewellen’s Cakes” written on it. Brigid put the car in park and they climbed out.

  “You must be Brigid,” a plump older woman said as she emerged through the front door, smiling. Her reddish blonde hair looked as though it was freshly curled, and she had an apron tied around her thick waist.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Brigid said as they shook hands. “This is Holly. I brought her along to help me decide what I should order.”

  “Nice to meet you Holly,” Lewellen said as she shook her hand. “Well let’s get in the house and get you started trying out some of my cakes.”

  They followed her inside and back to a kitchen which was in the rear of the house and quite professional looking with a round table and chairs nearby. Lewellen motioned for them to sit down at the table as she headed to the far counter.

  “I made a few different kinds of cakes into cupcakes. Obviously, we can mix and match icings and such. I just put together the usual combinations, so you could try a variety of them out. And don’t worry, I have plain frosting in the refrigerator if you want to try it by itself,” Lewellen said as she carried a tray of cupcakes to them and set it on the table.

  “This has got to be one of the best days ever,” muttered Holly as her eyes grew wider and wider as she looked at the display in front of her.

  “Like cupcakes, do you?” Lewellen asked with a chuckle. Holly nodded vigorously. “Then it’s a good thing Brigid brought you. Sometimes brides can get tired of all the sweets, and they have a really hard time making a decision.”

  “There’s no way that’s happening with me. I could eat cupcakes every day,” Holly said as she rubbed her hands together in anticipation, a glazed look in her eyes.

  Lewellen began showing them the different flavors and explained what each one was and the flavors she felt would complement each one. They talked about fillings and icing and colors. Brigid had never really put too much thought into what the options were for a wedding cake. Things had changed so much since she was first married when it was common to only do things that were traditional. White cake with white icing and things like that. She’d never even dreamed of being able to have different kinds of fillings and frostings on a wedding cake.

  “I don’t know how I’m ever going to be able to choose one over the others,” she finally said after she’d tried her sixth cupcake. She was only trying a small sample of each, while Holly eagerly took far more enthusiastic bite size samples.

  “May I make a suggestion?” Lewellen asked. “Narrow it down slowly. First, eliminate what you know you don’t want.” She stood up and walked over to the refrigerator where there was a large binder sitting on top of it. She pulled it down and took a slip of paper out before handing it to Brigid.

  On it, there were all the different flavors of cakes, icings, and possible fillings. “Cross off any you know you don’t want. Then, think about the ones you do like. If you want to have one with a filling, you’re a little more limited on the designs you can choose, because I don’t like to make a tall cake with a filling. The fillings tend to make the cake unstable. Don’t want the cake to fall on top of you and ruin your wedding dress,” she chuckled.

  “That makes complete sense,” Brigid said nodding. “Thank you. Your cakes are amazing, an
d I definitely want to hire you to make the wedding cake. I just need a little time to think about what I want.”

  “That’s not a problem,” Lewellen said as she sat back down. “May I ask you a quick question?”

  “Of course,” Brigid said. She looked over at Holly who was playing on her phone while she took bites of the different cupcakes.

  “I heard Olivia Ford is missing, and you’re helping the sheriff find her. Is that true?” she asked in a hushed tone, as if there were other people present who might overhear her.

  “Word travels fast,” Brigid said. “Yes, it’s true, but I’m not working in an official capacity or anything like that. I just help question people and dig up information while the law enforcement officials deal with the crime scene and things like that.”

  “Amazing,” Lewellen said, mystified. “I’ve also heard you’ve helped the sheriff’s department with a few other cases as well. When I heard about Olivia, my heart dropped. She’s such a good person and has such a big heart. I hope and pray you’ll find her, and she’ll be alright. I know her husband is sick with worry, as we all are.”

  “We are too,” Brigid said softly. “We’re making progress, but when it comes to finding evidence and building a case that will stand up in court, it takes time.”

  “I’m sure that’s true,” she said nodding. “You probably need to be certain you’re covering all your bases, so someone doesn’t end up walking free on a technicality.”

  “Exactly,” Brigid said.

  “Any idea what’s going on? I heard about a young boy going missing a few towns over about a week ago. Do you think they’re connected?” she asked.

  Brigid knew they were getting into touchy territory. She wanted to make sure she didn’t say anything she shouldn’t, so she decided to deflect the question. “I’m not really sure at this point. I don’t have all the information myself. I just give the sheriff the information I come up with and let him put the pieces together. I don’t have the connections and the contacts he does.”