The moment she thought of it, she knew it was true. So much had been on her mind with the murder, and the competition, and her wedding that she hadn’t even considered charging her phone. What could she do now? She was cut off from the world and stuck in this Dumpster inside a truck that was going to some location that only the driver knew.
She had to think and she had to think clearly. Tracey had taught her how to use her smartphone. And Tracey had said that there was a way to get an extra charge out of the battery by pressing a certain sequence of key numbers. The numbers were different for some carriers and some phones, but Tracey had given her the sequence of numbers that would work on her particular phone.
First, she had to think of the numbers and the sequence. And then she had to decide who to call. The sheriff’s station would be the logical choice under any other circumstances, but Delores had invited all of the deputies to the wedding. There would be only a skeleton staff on duty, and in the worst case scenario, they’d be dealing with other calls and she would be put on hold!
“Think. You’ve got to think clearly.” Hannah said the words out loud, hoping they’d sink in more rapidly that way. She’d be better off calling an individual deputy, one that put duty ahead of anything else and who wouldn’t turn off his or her phone.
Mike. The moment Hannah thought of it, she knew she was right. Mike was a cop through and through. Even during the ceremony, he’d have his cell phone in his pocket. It would be set on vibrate so that it didn’t disturb anyone else, but he’d check it if he got a call.
Now all she needed was the sequence of numbers and the name of the garbage service. She’d seen the name on the side of the Dumpster. It was something starting with an A. She was sure of that. And it was someone’s name, a name that had reminded her of a professor she’d had in college. History. That was it. Alquist. Professor Alquist. That was the professor’s name, but the garbage service’s name was something slightly different. Alquin. That was it. Alquin Trash Removal.
That was when something wonderful happened. Hannah’s mind kicked into high gear. She remembered the sequence of numbers, punched them in, and heard a most welcome dial tone. Then she hit the speed-dialing number for Mike and she heard his phone begin to ring.
“Kingston here,” Mike answered and Hannah gave a little sob of relief. She had to be fast. She had to be thorough. She had very little time to give Mike all of the information he needed.
“It’s Hannah. I’m in an Alquin Trash Removal truck that left the Lake Eden Inn ten minutes or so ago. Rodney Paloma tried to kill me. Pick him up. He murdered Chef Du . . .”
The dial tone sounded again and then her phone went dark. Hannah gave a little sob and sent up a silent prayer that Mike would act fast.
“Where is she?” Delores asked. “You don’t suppose she fell asleep, do you?”
“No, Mother.” Andrea took a deep breath and prayed for patience. Since she was right here in church, perhaps her prayer would be answered. They’d been trying to calm their mother down for almost an hour, and she’d asked this and other questions countless times before.
Michelle reached out to pat their mother’s hand. “I called the condo five times, Mother. There’s no answer. And Doc contacted the hospital, just in case she’d been in an accident.”
“And Bill checked with the sheriff’s station.” Andrea began to go through the list of calls everyone had made. “Michelle and I called everyone we knew who isn’t already here, and no one’s heard from her.”
“Eat this, dear,” Grandma Knudson said, handing Delores a chocolate bar that she’d run back to the parsonage to get. “It’ll help to calm your nerves.”
“Nothing will calm my nerves at this point!” Delores insisted, but she opened the candy and took a bite.
Just then, Lisa’s cell phone rang and she glanced at the display. “It’s Herb. He sent me a text. He says he located Hannah’s cookie truck in front of the Lake Eden Inn. He’s going inside to look for her.”
The five women exchanged bewildered glances, and then Grandma Knudson asked, “What is she doing out there?”
Delores, who’d jumped to her feet when Lisa had told them about Herb’s text message, sat down heavily in her chair. “I just knew something like this would happen! My baby’s been kidnapped and we haven’t even held the wedding yet!”
“Have they heard from her?” Ross asked, not pausing as he paced the floor of Reverend Bob’s office.
Norman shook his head. “Not yet.”
“How about Mike? Have they heard from him?”
“No, not a word.”
Ross swallowed hard. “You don’t suppose that . . .” he paused, unable to go on with his unwelcome train of thought.
“Absolutely not.” Norman was very definite. “Don’t even think it, Ross. If Hannah had second thoughts about marrying you, she’d march right in the door of the church and tell you.”
Ross smiled. “You’re right, she would. It’s just that I feel so . . . so . . . I don’t even know how to describe it.”
“Helpless?”