Harvest Moon

Fourteen




On the sixteenth, Kelly arrived at Lief’s house at four in the afternoon, her arms laden with groceries. A second trip to her car brought her back with gifts for Lief and Courtney. While Lief and Courtney were pulling the last of their things together to pack, Kelly was cooking a special farewell dinner for them.

Too bad it couldn’t be a joyous occasion.

Kelly didn’t add her gifts to those still under the tree; she put hers on the table. Then she got busy—Courtney loved pasta, and Kelly had some to-die-for meatballs that she’d made ahead and added to her great-grandmother’s sauce. By the time she was fluffing up a salad, Lief had joined her in the kitchen.

“How can I help?” he asked.

“You can pour us each a glass of wine and keep me company. I brought some gifts—nothing so much. Just a holiday thought.”

“Kelly, you’re an amazing woman, all you’re doing for Courtney and I when you’re being abandoned for Christmas. I’d give anything to take you with me.”

“And you should, too. I was trained in one of the meanest kitchens in San Francisco—I could take the bastard!”

He chuckled as he poured wine. He put a glass in Kelly’s hand and clinked his against hers. “If I play this right, there won’t be any more holidays like this.”

“The most important thing is that Courtney understands she has some security in you.” Spike came prancing into the kitchen, loose again, a pair of folded socks hanging out of his mouth—socks that had been left in Lief’s suitcase. Lief picked him up. “Two important things,” Kelly amended. “That she feels secure and that I keep the dog alive!”

“The big challenge for you will be not killing him. When he’s not whimpering in the kennel, he’s in trouble.”

She leaned toward Lief and, over the puppy’s head, gave him a kiss. “I have ear plugs.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind staying here for him?”

She shook her head. “It only makes sense. That big old house will swallow me up. Besides, I’m going to sleep in your bed. With any luck I’ll smell your after-shave on the pillow.”

“Will you spend some time in Jillian’s kitchen?” he asked her.

“I’ll go over there once in a while. I might do some cooking. And I’ll be sure to keep an eye on things, just to make sure all is secure. Believe me, I won’t have time to be lonely with two big houses and a naughty puppy to manage.”

“I might call you fifteen times a day,” he said.

“There are two landlines and a cell,” she said. “Just be careful you don’t get yourself arrested for stalking.”

Courtney was understandably subdued during dinner. “Will you play with him sometimes?” she asked Kelly.

“Every day,” she said. “By the time you get home, he’ll sit up to shake hands.”

“Well, let’s clear the table and open a few presents. Courtney, Kelly brought you something.”

Courtney shook her head. “I don’t want to open anything until I get back. I just want this to be over.”

Kelly almost said, As we all do!

“Courtney, Kelly has gone to a lot of trouble for us—”

“No, it’s okay. Let’s all wait. That’s a better idea. Let’s get through this and celebrate a homecoming when it’s behind us. How about that? I like that idea.”

Before the table was even cleared, Courtney stood up. “I think I’ll just take Spike to bed now.”

Kelly stopped her before she could leave the kitchen. “Courtney, listen. I’m sorry you have to do this—your dad told me how hard it is. You’ll have your cell phone, right? Make sure my numbers are programmed in. If you ever wonder how the puppy’s getting along, call me.”

“Have you ever actually had a dog before?”

Her tone was so abrasive, Kelly had to fight the urge to stiffen indignantly. Instead she smiled and said, “No, I haven’t. And I thank you for letting me do this. I look forward to it. I’ll be very careful with him.”

Courtney just shrugged and left them alone.

“Maybe when she sees that we’re both on her team, things will improve,” Lief said.

“Maybe so,” Kelly said. But she was thinking, If it doesn’t improve a lot, I’m not signing on for this.

She didn’t stay late, though leaving Lief’s arms wasn’t easy. She told him to spend that last night at home with Courtney, in case she felt like talking. When she got to her own bed on the third floor of the Victorian, all she could do was toss and turn. She had a feeling this thing she had with him wasn’t going to make it. He had another woman in his life, a more important one. She didn’t mind falling second, but she couldn’t survive as persona non grata.



Lief and Courtney set out for the six-hour drive to San Francisco on the seventeenth, and it was a morbidly quiet drive. He tried to reassure her from time to time with statements like, “I know you won’t enjoy this visit as much as I’d like you to, Court, but it’s not dangerous. Worst case, highly annoying.”

“Right,” she said.

“Listen,” Lief said, “if there’s anything about this that’s dangerous, you need to speak up! Have your dad or stepmom ever done anything to physically harm you? Ever hit, ever put you in dangerous situations, ever—”

“The only dangerous thing is that I have to stay under the same roof with those carnivorous boys. And no—nobody touches me funny, either! But I have to tell you the truth, it goes way beyond highly annoying. I’ve had medical treatment after a couple of visits with them!”

There was no arguing that. “Do you carry hairspray?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Hairspray,” he said. “Right in the eyes! And fight back! Call the police! Do not let anyone hurt you.”

She sighed heavily. “Are you sure you’ll be close?”

“I will follow you all the way. I got all the information from your dad, booked a ticket on the same flights and a room at the Disney Hotel. We’re solid. He wasn’t at all happy about it, either. He says if I interfere, there will be trouble. The good news is—it’s Disney World. There will be a million people around. If you need help and you don’t see me standing six feet behind you, all you have to do is shout.”

“Thanks,” she said meekly. “You sure Spike’s going to be all right?”

“Sure, honey. Kelly’s not only a good, responsible person, she likes him. And he’s cute. Besides, she’s going to be all alone.”

“What about her sister and all those people?” she asked.

“Gone for the holidays. It’s just Kelly. They invited her along, but she didn’t want to impose. She volunteered to take care of the dog so he wouldn’t have to go to the vet’s kennel.”

“Oh,” she said. “I didn’t know she volunteered. I thought you asked her.”

“I told you—”

“Yeah, yeah, she’s nice,” Courtney interrupted.

“Listen, we’ll have a good dinner in San Francisco, then a little shopping. You might as well have some vacation clothes. We don’t fly to L.A. until midday tomorrow, so we have lots of time to relax. We can enjoy ourselves.”

“Sure,” she said, biting her nail down to the quick.

As much as Lief wished Lana were still alive, he was glad she didn’t have to see this. Watching Courtney suffer ripped his heart out. Lana had somehow managed to get around Stu most of the time, keeping Courtney’s visits to his house down to a bare minimum, but for his life, Lief couldn’t remember how she’d done it!

After checking in to their hotel, Lief took Courtney shopping. It was like dragging a ball and chain, but he managed to get her interested in a couple of shirts, capris and hoodies. Not much, but something. They chose an Italian restaurant, somewhere Courtney could get a cheese pizza and nothing exotic. They shopped a little bit afterward, but she just couldn’t relax and enjoy herself.

For all the times Lief had nearly fallen to his knees to pray she’d just stop sniping at him, he couldn’t bear her silence.

When they got to L.A., he rented a car. He stopped off at her favorite burger restaurant to be sure she had something solid to eat before dropping her at Stu’s, but she only picked. “Look, all we can do is get this over with,” he said. “I have an appointment with the lawyer tomorrow—he’s going to get together the paperwork. I’m filing for permanent custody. We’ll file the second we step off the plane after this ordeal. Let’s try to get through it, Court. I’m sorry, but that’s all we’ve got.”

“I know.”

He carried her bag to the front door. She rang the bell.

“Court?” he said, causing her to turn. He put down the bag and opened his arms to her. She rarely hugged him anymore, rarely showed physical affection. But with watery eyes, she filled his arms and hugged him hard. “It’s going to be all right. We’ll get past this.”

“Promise you’ll be there,” she whispered.

“Promise.”

The door opened and Stu stood there, a beam. “Welcome, Courtney! Long time! You look great! Ready for a little vacation with the family?”

Courtney just looked down and entered the house, pulling her suitcase behind her.

“Thanks, Lief,” Stu said. “Guess I’ll see you late on the second.”

“You’ll see me sooner than that. I was able to get tickets on your flight, reservations at your hotel. I’m going to be nearby in case Courtney needs me. No more bite marks, no more stitches, no more abuse.”

“Whatever,” he said dismissively. “Kids have their issues. Siblings fight sometimes. I can’t be on top of ’em every second.”

“Well, you’d better be, Stu.”

“Lighten up, man! I’m taking her on a goddamn vacation! And I can’t keep you from following us, but you’d better keep your distance or I’ll be calling my lawyer!”

Great, Lief thought. He can talk to my lawyer. “I won’t get in the way unless she needs me.”

“She isn’t going to need you. Stay out of my face while I vacation with my family!”



Courtney waited inside the door until Stu turned to her and told her where she was to sleep. Turned out she got the guest room—bed and everything.

“Want anything to eat?” he asked her.

“No, thank you,” she said. She pulled her suitcase to the bedroom and closed the door behind her. The house was fairly quiet; no greetings from the stepwitch or the boys, which suited her just fine. She checked her iPhone for messages and shot a text to Amber. Haven’t been beaten or fed to the dogs yet. Off to a good start!

Amber wrote her right back. Don’t be so dramatic! Try to have some fun!

“Shows what you know,” she said aloud.

She didn’t even open her suitcase; she was a little afraid to get comfortable, to let her guard down. She put in her earbuds and listened to some music from the phone. Every now and then she’d hear one of the boys shout or run down the hall, but she was left strictly alone. Maybe they’d just let her tag along, enjoy a little of Disney on her own. Lief had given her money and the emergency credit card—one that he had in her name in case she ever ran into a worst-case scenario and needed cab fare or even a plane ticket. If Stu and Sherry just left her alone, maybe she would enjoy a little trip to Orlando.

Late that night she texted Lief. “I’m sleeping in a bed and no one has bothered me.”

He texted back immediately; he hadn’t been asleep either. “Just do your best and let me know if you need me.”

She decided she was going to give it her best. Maybe when this was over Lief would be really proud of her and that would be the end of this back and forth crap. She didn’t want to ever go through this again! With her earbuds in her ears, she fell asleep listening to the music stored on her iPhone; she slept in her clothes. She didn’t leave her room once, not even for the bathroom. Sunlight was brightening the room when she woke up; the battery in her iPhone was dead from having it on all night. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She’d slept on top of the covers, not even burrowing into the bed. She rooted around in her bag for her recharger and plugged in the phone before even walking out of her room to the hallway bath.

There was an awful lot of activity in the house, but she thought that was probably normal. When she finally made her way to the kitchen, she saw there was luggage by the front door.

“Well, sleepyhead,” Sherry said cheerfully. “I was just about to wake you. You must have been awful tired to sleep so late.”

“What time is it?” she asked. She didn’t wear a watch; her iPhone was almost permanently attached to the palm of her hand. That was her time source.

“My gosh, it’s after seven, and we have an early start today! I hope you didn’t completely unpack! We need you and your suitcase ready in fifteen minutes!”

Courtney frowned. “For what?”

“For our trip, silly!” And then Sherry grinned.

“We’re not leaving till tomorrow,” Courtney said.

“Last-minute change of plans, pumpkin,” Stu said as he came into the room, holding his coffee cup. “It’s all good—we’ll get there a day early.”

They were awful dressed up for a travel day. Sherry was wearing a designer sweat suit—it might’ve been silk—gold sandals and lots of jewelry. Her red hair was teased and spiky, her fingernails long and coral, her toenails matched. Stu looked pretty slick himself, for a short bald guy. “You told my dad the twentieth.”

Stu immediately frowned. “Okay, now, that really hurts. I’m your dad, pumpkin. I know the guy’s important to you, but could you cut me some slack here? I’m taking you on a first-class vacation. I want you to enjoy yourself and your family. Can you let me be the dad?”

“You told Lief the twentieth,” she persisted, thinking what is this pumpkin shit?

“Last-minute great deal on tickets, that’s all,” he said, standing up to his full five-foot-six. “I’m sure he’ll figure it out.”

She decided she’d just call Lief from the airport if her phone had charged enough. So far things weren’t disastrous.

“I don’t have time to shower,” she said.

“Just wash up a little and change,” Stu said. “We have a car on the way. We’re going to get the fun started!”

Courtney had a very bad feeling about this, but she was also backed up to the wall. Their bags were sitting at the door, they were all being nice to her, and all Stu seemed to want was to be referred to as her dad. She could do that. But the bad feeling just wouldn’t go away.

A fancy car with a uniformed driver showed up; Stu was doing this up big. When they arrived at the airport, he had the driver transfer the bags to a skycap. Stu took charge of the boarding passes and IDs and ushered them all to the first-class lounge. He told the boys to sit at a table, and there was a slight shoving match as they did so. Stu barked, “Boys! Remember our deal?”

They stopped at once, hung their heads and sat down quietly. Boy, she had never seen anything like that before. Maybe things were changing—Sherry was cheerful, Stu was disciplining, the boys were almost human.

A few minutes later, another couple came into the lounge, all smiles upon seeing the Stu and Sherry Lord family. They had two small children with them, probably about three and four years old. There were lots of hugs and handshakes, and then the woman, a very pretty woman, came right up to where Courtney was sitting, bent at the waist to be on eye level with her, and said, “You must be Courtney! I’m Ann Paget! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, Courtney! The au pair quit without notice and here we are, stuck! Believe me, Dick and I will make it well worth your while—I promise!”

“Huh?” she said, completely confused.

“And this,” Ann said, bringing forward the children, “is Alison and Michael. This is Courtney, kids. Say hi!”

“Hi,” Michael, the older one, said. The little girl just stuffed her hand in her mouth and buried her head in her mother’s thigh.

“Aw, it’s early,” Ann said. “They’re usually much more friendly and outgoing.” Then she laughed. “That’s something you’ll have to watch! These two will walk off with any stranger!”

“What?” Courtney said. She actually found herself thinking she wanted to stay confused, but the sick reality of it was coming through. “I don’t understand,” she said hopefully.

“Courtney,” Stu said. “Come with me a second, honey.” He took her arm rather gently, pulled her out of her chair in the first-class lounge. She looked over her shoulder to see Sherry herding Ann and Dick Paget to the bar for Bloody Marys as Stu led her farther into the lounge. He sat her down on a sofa far enough away from the group so that they wouldn’t be overheard. “Here’s the deal, Courtney. These people are very important to my business. He’s a well-known director. If I get him for this film, it could set me up for life. I’m ready to make a deal with you—help me out with this and you never have to have anything to do with me again. Screw this up for me and I’ll make sure you never see Lief Holbrook again. I have custody. I’m your biological father. He won’t even get weekends.”

“Help you out how?” she asked with a scowl.

“You call me dad, you help watch the kids. That’s it. We all have a good time and when it’s over, Dick and Ann will give you a big wad of cash for some babysitting. That’s all.”

“I want my dad!” she said.

“I’m serious, Courtney. If you screw this up now, I’ll fight Lief for permanent custody. I’m your biological father. I’ll win.”

“After doing this to me?” she asked.

“Doing what? Taking you on a sinfully perfect Hawaiian vacation? I’m sure the courts will lock me up for it!”

“Hawaiian vac— We’re supposed to go to Disney World! My dad has tickets on the same plane and a room at the same—”

Stu was smiling. “Here’s how it is, sweetheart. Help me out here. Help watch the kids so Dick and Ann can have some fun. It won’t be that bad. And after it’s over, you go back to the mountains with your knight in shining armor and I’ll leave you alone. I need this, Courtney. Like I’ve never needed anything.”

“I don’t even babysit! I hardly ever have!”

“Come on, you’re a smart girl. Ann and Dick will never be far away. Just play with them, keep them out of trouble. It’s not like you have to change diapers or feed them!”

She looked at the boys. “Them, too?”

“They don’t need that much watching. Besides, I told them both if you complain about the way they act even once, they’re finished. If they’re good, I’ll take them on the Disney Cruise. Now, you’ll have to give me your cell phone.”

Her eyes welled. “No,” she said, pulling away from him.

“Will you stop acting like I’m a kidnapper? I’ll call your dad later, tell him where we are. Courtney, I swear to you, if you do this for me, I’ll never bother you again. It won’t be bad, I promise. Ann and Dick are good parents. They’ll be watching their kids most of the time anyway—they just need a hand keeping the kids busy and out of trouble. So we can talk, so we can go out to dinner and stuff.”

“Why?” she asked, shaking her head. “Why did you do this? You tricked me and you tricked Lief!”

“You heard her—the au pair quit. They were going to cancel and I already had two first-class condos on the beach. I need this director, Courtney. Work with me here.”

“I need to talk to Lief first…”

“No. That’s a deal breaker. You have to promise not to bring him into this—he’ll never go along with it and I need this time with the Pagets. You work with me, help me out, or we fight it out in court and you have to put up with us for the rest of your life.”

She felt a tear run down her cheek. To her absolute amazement, Stu wiped it gently away with his thumb. He’d never paid much attention to her, much less shown gentle affection.

“Listen,” he said softly. “I’m desperate, all right? I have some serious money problems and one small shot at working it out. I don’t want it to be this way with us, but I need a couple of breaks here. Call me Dad. Keep the little kids out of trouble so Ann and Dick can focus on business. That’s all I need, honey. Please.”

Part of her wanted to do it now—start screaming. Ask for help. Tell anyone who would listen that he had tricked her and was taking her away against her will. To a sinfully perfect Hawaiian vacation…? She might succeed in causing them to miss their flight, but after that? Could he be telling the truth? Just go to the beach with these kids in tow, do a little babysitting while the parents go out to dinner, and this nightmare part of her life was over?

“How bad can it be, huh? Ten days at the beach in exchange for me giving up custody? Come on.”

“But I have to talk to Lief.”

“I told you, pumpkin. You know he’s not going to go along with this. He’ll screw up my deal and I’ll be fighting him in court for years. But you’ll spend those years living in my house, I guarantee that.” He held out his hand. “I’ll call him later and let him know where we are. Phone please.”

She was torn. She didn’t really believe him, and she didn’t trust him. She wasn’t sure that if she did this for ten days, he’d set her free. But she was absolutely certain that if she didn’t play his game, he’d make her suffer somehow.

She put the phone in his hand. When Lief didn’t hear from her, he might alert the National Guard.

“Thanks, pumpkin. I owe you for this and I promise I’ll come through. Now go splash a little water on your face and get in the game. This is all going to come out the way you want it to.”

She sniffed and watched Stu walk to join Sherry and the Pagets at the bar where they had a Bloody Mary just waiting for him. And she went to the bathroom to get a grip, to talk herself into her ten-day sentence.

At the bar, Ann faced Stu with concern. “Is there a problem?” she asked. “Is Courtney having second thoughts?”

“Well,” Stu laughed. “She’s only fourteen, remember. She wanted to be sure she’d get her fair share of beach time, too. I’m sure it’ll work out that she’ll have plenty of fun.”

“Of course!” Ann said emphatically. “We always made sure our au pairs had their own time!”

“There you go,” Stu said, lifting his glass. “To a perfect vacation. And a perfect friendship!”



The ten-day sentence began with Courtney sitting in coach with four kids while the two fun couples enjoyed first-class. The little ones were well-behaved, thanks to being used to babysitters and the abundant supply of books and portable DVD players with their favorite movies and snacks. Aaron and Conner lasted about an hour before they started kicking the seats in front of them, scraping and making too much noise. Courtney knew she was taking a chance, but she couldn’t help herself—she exacted a little revenge on Stu and Sherry. When the flight attendant asked her if she was responsible for the boys she said, “Actually, I’m the au pair for these two little angels. The parents of those two are in first-class. Maybe you should get them?”

Stu came back, warned them sternly, frowned at Courtney and went back to his party. He had to come back three more times. He leaned his face close to Courtney’s and said, “You’re pushing me.”

“Quote—‘they don’t need that much watching,’” she said. “End quote. Indentured servants only have two hands.” Then she smiled into his annoyed eyes and mouthed, I hate you so much.

She did what was expected of her for six hours; Ann and Dick came to check on their kids but never had to be called out of first-class. By the time the plane landed in Maui, Courtney was exhausted, hungry and near tears, but Ann was impressed.

Stu had a stretch limo waiting, and Courtney helped herd all the luggage and children to the car. When they reached the condos, they parted company, and Courtney went with Stu, Sherry and the boys to their condo to settle in. Before they even had their luggage dropped off, Sherry walked next door and said to Dick and Ann, “Drinks on the beach in a half hour!”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Ann said. “The kids might need a nap after that long plane ride.”

“Courtney will watch them. Won’t you, sweetheart?” Sherry said.

She straightened her spine. “I didn’t get food on the plane,” she said. “They don’t serve food in coach. Just in first-class.”

“Oh, darling,” Ann said. “You must be starving! I’ll have something sent up to you and the kids from the beach bar immediately. Can you get the kids settled or do you need my help with that?”

She thought for a second. Ann was as selfish as Sherry, but wearing a ‘nice suit.’ “Just go,” she said wearily. “Mom?” she said, the word souring in her mouth. “Please take the boys with you so they don’t wake the little ones.”

“Courtney,” Sherry answered with a laugh. “They can’t go to a bar!”

“I can’t handle all of them at nap time.”

“They’ll be fine on the beach,” Stu said.

Ann wrote down her cell phone number and put it by the hotel phone. “Just call me if there’s any problem, Courtney. I’ll come right up.”

Courtney eyeballed the phone, then shot a glance at Stu.

“Go ahead, everyone,” Stu said.

When the room was clear but for Courtney, Stu and the two little kids, Stu said, “I’m going to call Lief, tell him where we are. If you call him, the deal’s off. You’ll be moving back in with me.”

“I should tell him I said I’d do it.”

“I’ll tell him. Just don’t let me down and I won’t let you down.”

Two hours later, a pizza was delivered to the condo where Courtney was babysitting two children who, after sleeping on the plane, were not at all tired.

This time, she thought to herself, Lief is going to kill him. She was looking forward to it. If she survived this.



Lief’s appointment with his lawyer was very encouraging. With Courtney’s strong desire to live with Lief in Virgin River along with the accompanying issues of bites, stitches and sleeping on the floor while everyone else in the family not only had a bed but their own bedrooms, this should be a slam dunk. Not to mention the fact that Stu had kicked her out, given her up to Lief. After all, she was fourteen-and-a-half years old, not four-and-a-half. And she wasn’t choosing to live with Lief because she could get away with murder—since living with him her appearance had changed dramatically as had her grades. She had new friends and new and healthy hobbies such as riding.

“Unless Stu fights you on this, I don’t see a problem,” the lawyer said. “Could take us a while—courts move slowly. But she shouldn’t have to go back to him.”

So Lief texted her. Good news. Lawyer says we’re going to be fine. Finish this visit on good terms and we’ll have our custody.

About four hours later she texted back. thanx. U R the bomb. Having fun. TTYS

It didn’t feel right. First of all, her responses were usually immediate. Even a half hour or hour seemed too long, but four hours? And Courtney didn’t text things like, “You are the bomb,” which had gone out a long time ago. And TTYS, for “talk to you soon,” was a more adult acronym.

As soon as he’d gotten her response, he’d texted right back, You all right?

Great. Later, came right back at him.

So he went to the airport the next day, fully expecting to see the entire Lord family in the boarding area, ready to go. When he didn’t see them, he assumed they were running late. But as boarding time neared, he became more worried. Then as most of the passengers got on the plane and departure time approached, he went to the gate agent and asked if they had already boarded.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not allowed to give out that information,” she said.

“Can you check and see if my daughter, Courtney Lord, is on the plane.”

“Listen, I’m not supposed to—”

He took out his wallet and flipped it open. There was the most recent picture of Courtney. “I’m her stepfather, but she lives with me full-time. Her mother is deceased and she’s supposed to take this trip to Orlando with her biological father and his new family—she didn’t want to. Help me out here. I promised her I’d be nearby if she needed me. I’m not getting on the plane until I know she’s there.”

“Sir, this could be just one giant—”

“What?” he asked. “Scam? To get on a plane full of people with a terrified fourteen-year-old girl? “

The gate agent thought for a moment, clearly weighing breaking the rules against helping a person who came off as believable.

“Take the picture out of the sleeve, please,” she said quietly.

He did so. She clicked around on her computer a bit, then carried the picture away from her podium. She showed it to the agent who was checking in the boarding passengers. Then she went down the Jetway. Five really awful minutes passed before she came back and said, “I didn’t see her. No one remembers seeing her. I don’t show the name Lord on the manifest.”

He closed his eyes, his mouth opening with an unspoken Oh, dear God, his head tilting back. He took the picture from the gate agent and said, “Thank you. I have to get my bags off the plane.”

“Aren’t you going to board now, Mr. Holbrook?” she asked.

“No. I have to get my luggage off the plane and find my daughter,” he said.

Once he had his luggage, he phoned his lawyer. He tried Courtney’s phone and Stu’s, but was sent to voice mail both times. He called the hotel in Orlando; they wouldn’t tell him if there was a reservation in Stu’s name, but they would say no one by that name had checked in.

Then he called Kelly. “He tripped me up again,” he said. “I can’t find Courtney and she’s not taking my calls. Neither is Stu.”

“Oh, my God,” Kelly said. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Call the police, I guess. I’ll call you in a while.”