Ben stared at her, shaking his head. An affair? He had to hold back any amusement he was feeling because judging by the look on her face, she was serious. He slipped the keys into his pants pocket, walked up to her, and put his hands on her waist. “There has never been anyone but you. Not now. Not ever. I love you.”
She rested her head against his chest, and for a long moment they stood silently breathing each other in.
Ben was the first to speak. “I need to talk to Jessie Cole about her sister, Sophie.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“I haven’t been completely truthful with her, and it’s weighing on me.”
“You’ve been holding things inside. That’s not healthy, Ben. Jessie Cole isn’t the only one you need to open up to.”
“You’re right, but I need you to be patient with me for a little while longer. Jessie needs to know the truth about her sister. I’ve learned things about Sophie Cole. Things that Jessie won’t want to hear. She doesn’t trust me as it is, but my conscience won’t allow me to keep what I know from her any longer.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Go, then, and get this over with so I can spend time with my husband.”
He kissed her on the forehead, and then both cheeks, and finally the mouth. “Our anniversary is coming up soon. What do you think about a week in Hawaii?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he put a finger over it. “No kids,” he said. “Just the two of us.”
“Money is tight and—”
“We’ll make do. You deserve to be pampered.”
“We’ll talk later,” she said. “Hurry home.”
It was six o’clock by the time Ben found a parking spot and made his way to Jessie’s house. He knocked, heard the dog bark, then looked up and saw Olivia looking out the window at him.
He waved, then watched her disappear. Until he heard the pitter-patter of feet coming down the stairs, he wasn’t sure if she had recognized him. When she opened the door, it was clear she was upset about something.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“I can’t find Jessie. She left a message telling me she’d be home soon, but that was hours ago. I’ve called everyone I can think of, but nobody knows where she is.”
Higgins barked as someone walked by, so Ben stepped inside and shut the door. The phone rang. Olivia left him to run back to the main part of the house. By the time he reached the top step, she was hanging up the phone.
“Wrong number.”
“Why don’t you tell me exactly what’s going on. Did you try calling her cell phone?”
“A dozen times. There’s no answer. I think she turned her cell phone off, and she never does that.”
“Did you check the office down the street?”
She nodded.
“Okay, let’s back up a bit. Before you left for school, did Jessie tell you anything at all about what her plans for the day were?”
“No, not really, but I can guess. She’d been spending most of her time on the Zee Gatley case.”
“Is that the missing girl?”
Olivia nodded. “She told me this morning that she’d had a breakthrough.”
“What sort of breakthrough?” he asked, hoping Jessie would walk through the door at any moment.
“It’s sort of complicated.”
“Try me.”
“When Jessie was at Zee’s house, she found a shoe box full of her possessions under the bed. On Saturday morning, we were sorting through the things in the box when we saw a picture of Zee wearing some funky sunglasses. In the lens we saw a man’s reflection. Jessie had the picture blown up, and we went to Zee’s neighborhood and asked people if they recognized the man in the photo.”
“Any luck?” he asked.
“No, not until last night when we drove back to Zee’s house and ran into one of the neighbors. She told us her brother recognized the guy in the picture. He said his name was Forrest Bloom, and he grew up on a farm somewhere in Woodland.”
“And you think that’s where Jessie might have gone today?”
Olivia wrinkled her nose. “I just know Jessie was working on trying to find out where he lives now, and when I asked her about it this morning, she said that his family had sold the farm.” Olivia walked to the kitchen, grabbed a notebook, and held it up for him to see. “I found this earlier. It’s an address in Woodland, but I have no idea if it has anything to do with Forrest Bloom or where Jessie might have gone.”
He made note of the address on his phone, then wrote his cell-phone number on the same pad of paper. “It’s still early, and I’m sure Jessie is fine, but I’m going to drive to Woodland and see what I can find out, okay?”
“Really?”
He smiled. “I wrote my number there for you to call if Jessie returns.”
She nodded.
“What kind of car does she drive?”
“A dark-green Jeep Grand Cherokee. Older model.”
“Got it. I’ll call you in an hour to check in.”
She nodded again. “There is one more thing I think you should know before you go.”
He waited.
“Zee’s dad, Arlo Gatley, was arrested.”
“Why?”
“Jessie noticed that Zee was wearing a necklace in the picture Arlo Gatley gave her of his daughter. The necklace looked exactly like the one that belonged to one of the twin girls recently found dead.”
The news stunned him. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. There’s just so much crazy stuff going on. First Jessie was attacked, and now she’s missing. I’m scared.”
“Okay,” he said, trying not to let her see his concern. “Lock the door behind me. Call me if you hear from Jessie.”
As he drove off, he couldn’t help but worry about Jessie. Had her car broken down? Maybe her cell phone ran out of batteries, and she would be home at any moment. He tried to tell himself that there was no reason to get worked up.
But why had Jessie called hours ago to tell Olivia she’d be home soon?
He had no idea what was going on, but seeing Olivia and hearing the worry in her voice made him step hard on the gas, keeping a keen eye on the road in front of him, hoping he’d see Jessie’s broken-down car on the side of the highway.
FORTY-THREE
Jessie woke to the smell of urine and rotten eggs. Her head throbbed. Her vision was blurry. When she tried to move, she realized her hands were fastened behind her back, tied to a wobbly wooden chair.
Her gaze darted around the room, but it was dark, and all she could see were shadows. Her heart raced as she took in her surroundings. Two crudely made cells and another room with a door that was secured with a thick chain and a padlock. A movement in one of the cells caught her attention.
What was that? “Who’s there?” Jessie asked.
“My name is Zee Gatley. Who are you?”
“Zee?”
“Do you know me?”
Jessie’s heart raced. “Your father hired me to find you.”
Another shadow caught her attention. In the cage next to Zee’s, a pale-skinned human on his or her hands and knees crawled to the middle of the cell, looking out as if to see what was going on. It was a woman. She looked as if she’d been starved. Her face was gaunt, her cheeks sunken.
“That’s Natalie,” Zee said. “And there’s a man named Dog in the locked cell over there.”
“Natalie Bailey?” Jessie asked.
“Yes. Are you here to save us?”
The sight of the two women made Jessie want to cry. She’d found Zee and now Natalie, too, yet she was powerless to help them. She’d fucked up. Never should have gone charging into the barn before calling 9-1-1. “I’m sorry,” she finally said. “Someone’s locked inside a box outside. My only thought was to get her out of there. I never should have—”
“She’s still alive?” Zee asked.
“Who?” Jessie asked. “The girl in the box? Is it a child?”
“I don’t know her age. I never saw her, but I know the madman found her on the side of the road and locked her up after she disobeyed his orders.”
“My husband is Mike Bailey,” Natalie said. “Do you know if he’s alive?”
Jessie inhaled slowly, swallowed, then looked at the woman who had moved closer now. She was so very thin. Her ribs jutted out, and the skin framing her haunted eyes was a sickly grayish yellow. “He’s alive,” Jessie told her. “Your husband has been all over the news asking for help to find you.”
Natalie began to sob, her body shaking uncontrollably.