Her phone chimed again, and she regarded it an additional moment before picking it up.
Unknown: You’re not even going to guess? I thought you’d missed me.
Annoyed at the interruption but determined to get to the bottom of it through proactive measures, Sadie took the phone with her across the room where she sat down at her desk and opened her laptop. She typed the unknown phone number into the Google search bar and scrolled through the links until she found one that would give her the origination information about the owner of the phone number.
The link didn’t give names, but it did tell her that the number was registered through an AT&T wireless store in Fort Collins, Colorado—the closest large city to Garrison—and that the account had been opened in 2002. Not only was the caller someone local, it was someone who’d had the same number for more than a decade. That should give her some comfort, but it didn’t give her as much as she’d have liked.
Someone local would definitely know of the struggles Sadie had had since they were the reason she’d lived away from home for several months. Why would they tease her?
“This is ridiculous,” Sadie said, standing up from the desk and heading back to the kitchen table and her to-do list for tomorrow. She wanted to make sure it was complete before she turned in for the night.
Ridiculous or not, however, her anxiety was triggered, and she felt tense. In search of a remedy, her eyes were drawn to the pan of rice pudding still on the stove; she crossed the room toward it. Shawn had requested his favorite meal for lunch today—Evil Chicken—and she’d made enough rice to make rice pudding for dessert with the leftovers. Shawn had left for the bachelor party before the rice pudding was ready, so she’d enjoyed a bowl herself and had been waiting for the rest of it to cool before she put it in the fridge. She really shouldn’t have a second bowl, especially this late at night, but she knew the creamy dessert would help her calm down and focus—good food always did.
Sadie took a bite of the still-warm perfection while expertly pushing the feelings of tension from her mind. It was all about compartmentalization and she was not going to give the obnoxious texter more power than he or she deserved. Especially when so many other things needed her attention.
She scanned the longer to-do list for the wedding to see if she’d missed anything, then set it aside and looked at the shorter list she’d made just for tomorrow. Had she left off anything that would need her attention? In fact, she had! With a smile, she wrote, “Clear out space in bathroom for Pete” and felt her stomach flip-flop at the thought of how soon they would be sharing the master bathroom. The master bedroom.
Holy moly, this is happening!
The chime of another text message shattered her glitter-tipped thoughts, and Sadie’s eyes snapped to her phone still on the computer desk. The tension returned. She looked at the clock—it was just after 9:00 p.m.—then reminded herself that this newest text could very well be from someone else. Perhaps one of the guests who hadn’t yet confirmed their attendance. Or maybe it was Pete texting to tell her he loved her.
Sadie pushed away from the kitchen table and walked toward the phone. The screen had gone black by the time she reached it. She picked it up and slid her finger across the screen to wake it up.
Unknown: Didn’t I tell you that you’d never be free of me?
Jane!
The name came unbidden to Sadie’s mind, and her breath caught in her throat. Her heart began to race, and the tenuous optimism she’d felt faded fast. She’d become so used to not thinking of the woman who had threatened her life in Boston—it had been almost two years, after all—that it was a shock to suddenly jump to that conclusion. She immediately tried to dismiss it.
There were several people who held Sadie responsible for the consequences they’d faced after being caught in a variety of criminal behavior—it could be one of them. But Jane was the only one who had gotten away, so to speak. And Jane had said those exact words: “You’ll never be free of me.” Wouldn’t it be just like her to wait until two days before Sadie’s wedding—on an evening when Sadie would be home alone—to make good on that threat?
Sadie took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. Pete would want her to call him about this. She began toggling to the keypad on her phone.
Did I lock the doors after Shawn had left for the party?
She told herself, again, not to overreact. It was probably nothing. A moment later, the squeak of a floorboard froze her in place. Her head snapped up, but her eyes stared blankly at the cabinets in front of her.
This is not happening two days before my wedding!
Sadie felt the warmth of another person standing behind her at the precise moment something suddenly covered her eyes. She screamed, dropped her phone, and grabbed at the hands that were blinding her and pulling her backward.
A throaty whisper in her ear nearly paralyzed her. “Guess who?”
Chapter 2
Sadie threw her elbow back as hard as she could and hit solid flesh, then she kicked backward, and spun to the right, successfully pulling out of her attacker’s grasp. She ducked to avoid being grabbed again and was able to take a few steps away when her attacker didn’t put up a fight. She turned and crouched down, ready if they came after her.
“Gosh, Mom,” Shawn said, looking at her like she was crazy and rubbing a spot just below his ribs. “That hurt.”
Sadie’s brain registered that it wasn’t Jane standing in front of her. Her relief took center stage for half a beat before she straightened, balled her hands into fists at her side, and glared at her son. “What on earth are you thinking sneaking up on me like that!”
“I was thinking it would be funny,” Shawn said. He looked down and lifted his shirt, obviously looking for an injury he could use to evoke sympathy. He revealed less stomach than Sadie had ever seen on her massive boy. She’d noticed his weight loss when he’d arrived that morning but hadn’t realized how much of a difference it had made to his overall physique. “You have some freaking pointy elbows, Mom. I’m surprised I’m not bleeding.”
“I’m not sure I would feel all that bad if you were bleeding,” Sadie said, still angry. “You scared me half to death.”
“Which could have been funny if you hadn’t gone all ninja on me.” Shawn put his shirt down and smoothed the fabric. “What’s your deal?”
Sadie turned to the cabinet and got out a bowl instead of answering him right away. In light of the fact that it wasn’t Jane who’d broken into her house and attacked her, she felt silly for having thought it in the first place.
Shawn had a history with Jane from when she’d pretended to be interested in him in order to get closer to Sadie. The pseudo relationship was embarrassing for Shawn, and she knew he didn’t want to revisit the memories. Shawn had probably sent the texts all along, but her pride kept her from asking for confirmation; she wasn’t in the mood to hear him gloat over the fact that he’d totally had her going.
Sadie dished up some rice pudding and handed him the bowl. He’d asked her to save him some for when he got home, and now it seemed a perfect change of subject.
“Can I just have half of that amount?” Shawn asked.
Sadie looked at the brimming bowl, a bit hurt. “You love my rice pudding.”
“Too much,” he said, patting his flattened belly. “It’s way past seven o’clock at night, and that’s, like, pure carbs and sugar. After having Evil Chicken for lunch—which was awesome, by the way—and steaks for dinner, I need to draw a hard line.”
Sadie scooped half of the pudding back into the pan, only slightly mollified by his explanation. At least she could share the leftovers with Breanna tomorrow; she loved Sadie’s rice pudding, too. “You’ve never turned down my cooking in your life.”
“I’m finally eating the way I know I should. Except if I were really being careful I wouldn’t be eating this at all and I wouldn’t have asked for Evil Chicken in the first place.”
Sadie handed the half-full bowl
to her son who took it with a grateful smile. Shawn was part-Polynesian and part-African American, which explained his large build, dark coloring, and tightly curled, medium brown hair. In the past he’d worn his hair in a fluffy, picked-out Afro but had recently cut it rather short. The conservative style made his face look thinner and his jaw stronger. In a word, he looked more like a “man” than he ever had before.
Sadie would never have guessed she’d miss the frothy hair or the long braids of his youth but in a way, she did. Maybe it was harder for her to see him so grown up because of the relationship he’d developed with his birth mother, Lorraina, over the last year or so. Sadie hadn’t come to terms with the idea that she and Lorraina were sharing him now. When he was younger, she had been the only parent in his life.
“You’re looking really good,” Sadie said, as they headed to the table. She gathered her papers into a stack and set it aside so that neither of them accidentally spilled rice pudding on any of her precious lists.
“Thanks,” Shawn said before taking his first bite. The way he savored it, holding it in his mouth for a few seconds before chewing and swallowing, made Sadie feel better about him having a smaller portion. “Lorraina’s doctors suggested I work on eating better as we prep for the surgery.”
“Four weeks from now, right?” Sadie had learned about Lorraina through a bizarre set of circumstances on an Alaskan cruise several weeks ago. Lorraina had fallen ill on the cruise and had been in a hospital in Anchorage ever since where doctors were monitoring her recovery until she was strong enough for a living liver donation from her only biological child, Shawn, whom she had given up for adoption at birth.
Sadie was proud of him for being willing to donate part of his liver, but she was still a little jealous of the relationship he shared with Lorraina, hurt that he’d kept it from her for such a long time, and worried about her baby boy having major surgery. They were taking part of his liver, for heaven’s sake. That wasn’t like donating blood where a granola bar and some orange juice was sufficient for recovery.
“The surgery’s scheduled for a month from yesterday,” Shawn said. “Did I tell you I was able to get out of my lease early?”
“No,” Sadie said, though he’d told her he was going to try. The lease was supposed to extend through December. Shawn updated her with the specifics of how he’d negotiated the shortened term and went on to tell her his plans from here on out. After the wedding, he would fly back to Michigan long enough to take the final exam for his last class. He would then pack up his apartment and bring everything to Sadie’s house to store it for a little while.
“And then you’ll go to Anchorage from here?” Sadie asked when he finished.
“Yeah, I fly out on August seventeenth. The hospital arranged for me to stay in a guest house that won’t cost me much. Can you still come up in time for the surgery?”
“Absolutely,” Sadie said, so glad that he trusted her to not let her petty feelings get in the way of being a part of this experience. She was determined to prove herself worthy of his confidence. “And how are things with Maggie?”
Shawn glanced at her over his spoon and his whole face lit up. “Amaaaaazing,” he said in a breathy word that made her smile.
For the next ten minutes, he updated Sadie on the state of his relationship with Miss Maggie Lewish from Sacramento, California. Other than the time they’d spent together on the cruise, the rest of their relationship had taken place online, but it seemed to be getting pretty serious despite them living twenty-five hundred miles apart.
“I applied for some jobs in Sacramento last week,” Shawn said. Sadie put down her spoon with a clink. He smiled sheepishly as he continued, “Actually, I only applied for jobs in Sacramento.”
Sadie’s arms broke out in goose bumps. This was serious. She opened her mouth to ask about his long-term expectations of this relationship when her phone chimed with a text message. The sound reminded her of the text messages she’d received earlier in the evening. She looked at Shawn, who was scooping another bite of rice pudding from his bowl and, therefore, not sending her a cryptic text from someone’s phone he’d borrowed at the bachelor party earlier. Somehow her brain had built up an entire theory without having asked him a single question about it.
“What?” Shawn asked when he noticed her watching him.
“Um, were you sending me text messages earlier?”
“Earlier like this morning when we were meeting up at the airport and you had the wrong terminal?”
“No, earlier like when you were supposed to be at the bachelor party and then took five years off my life instead.”
“No offense, Mom,” Shawn said, looking back at his bowl as he scraped a final bite from the edges. “But that was not a party. It was a bunch of old guys playing poker without money and talking about fishing lures. Bo-oring.”
Sadie attempted a smile to cover her sinking stomach at the realization that it wasn’t Shawn behind the earlier messages. The text reminder chime sounded again, and she looked around for her phone before remembering that she’d dropped it when Shawn had played his practical joke. She searched the kitchen, finally locating the phone underneath the lip of the cabinets next to the stove. Good thing she’d invested in a top-of-the-line protective case. She’d been through enough phones in the last couple of years to know better than to take any chances. Before picking up the phone, she took a deep breath and braced herself.
Unknown: I don’t like it when you ignore me.
“Mom?”
Sadie’s heart rate increased again, and she looked up to see Shawn watching her. His forehead was wrinkled in concern. “You okay? Why did you think I was texting you?”
“I’ve been getting these weird messages tonight.”
Shawn crossed the room to her. “What do you mean, weird messages?”
Sadie gave him her phone and watched him scroll through the messages. She wanted to say something like, “I’m sure it’s not a big deal,” but she couldn’t make herself do it.
“Do you think it’s Jane?” Shawn asked when he finished. Him jumping to the same conclusion Sadie had without her saying so both validated her concern and increased it that much more. The phone chimed again, and Shawn’s eyes darted to the screen. He stiffened and Sadie stepped beside him so she could see the latest message.
Unknown: Tell Shawn hi for me. It’s been a long time.
Chapter 3
It was midnight before Sadie slid the key into the door of room 233 of the Carmichael Hotel in Garrison. Ironically, it was in the parking lot of this same hotel that Sadie had first met Jane Seeley more than two years ago. Sadie had had no idea at the time how much Jane would change her life and resented that Jane was doing it again.
After Sadie had called Pete about the texts, she called the police department as well. Everyone agreed it wasn’t safe for Shawn and Sadie to stay at the house tonight. Despite the fact that Sadie had spent several months in hiding following Jane’s threats, locking the front door behind her tonight was more painful than her other exoduses. The weight of Jane returning at what should be such a happy time left her feeling overwhelmed.
A subdued Pete and Shawn followed her into the hotel room, each of them burdened by their own thoughts. Sadie flipped on the light and took in the gold coverlets on the two queen-sized beds, the blue and gold patterned carpet, and the walnut dresser and desk. Home sweet home, she thought sarcastically as Pete gently pushed her to the side in order to inspect the room.
“I don’t think Jane is in here,” Sadie said, closing the door behind Shawn who was texting on his phone, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He hadn’t been in town long enough to unpack. Sadie, on the other hand, had been given five minutes to throw whatever she could into an overnight bag. Such unorganized packing had done little to improve her mood.
“Don’t start,” Pete said, and although she suspected he was trying to make a joke, they were all too tired for him to pull it off. He opened the closet, peeked into t
he bathroom, and then checked the window, pulling the blackout curtains tightly together after ensuring the window was locked and barred. Only when he was satisfied that the room was safe did he turn around. They held each other’s eyes for a few moments across the space of the room while Shawn dropped his bag and sat heavily on the bed closest to the door, seemingly oblivious of the mood of the room.
“This was the best option, Sadie,” Pete said.
Shawn looked up from his phone, glancing at Pete and then Sadie as though just now noticing the tension.
“I’m not saying it wasn’t. This just isn’t where I want to be.” She wanted to be in her own bedroom in her own home. She wanted to steal one more bite of her rice pudding. She frowned. She’d forgotten to put the rice pudding in the fridge. Her jaw tightened with the realization that she’d have to throw it all away once she got back home. It was mostly eggs and milk and couldn’t sit out all night. One more thing Jane had ruined for her. “Will I be able to go back home tomorrow? I have so much to do.”
“We’ll know better in the morning,” Pete said. “Finding Jane is the department’s top priority tonight.”
“What if they don’t find her?” Shawn asked. “What will happen with the wedding?”
“We’ll know better about that in the morning too,” Pete said, and Sadie closed her eyes as she processed his words. Could the wedding really not happen? She imagined the cake drying out in the freezer of Rachel’s Bakery, the beautiful ivory dress she’d found at a boutique in Denver staying in the closet of her home unused, and the phone calls she’d have to make to all the guests telling them not to come. Part of her tried to insist that the wedding wouldn’t be affected, that she wouldn’t give Jane the satisfaction, but the rest of her knew she might not have a choice.
The cell phone used to send the text messages Sadie had received had been traced to a woman in town who said she’d lost her phone at the grocery store earlier that evening. A missing cell phone wasn’t something you called the police about, and it wasn’t a fancy smart phone that could be locked with a password. It was the perfect device for Jane to contact Sadie with undetected.
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