Page 6 of Dangerous Affair (The Phoenix Three #2)

The drive along the country road was beautiful, and he enjoyed the scenery as he ate his breakfast. Since Quinn hadn’t been in contact with her father, Liam didn’t expect to find her at the motel.

His hope was that someone there might have seen something.

Maybe she’d asked the desk clerk directions to somewhere or talked about places she wanted to go.

The Sunset Motel was appealing. The grounds were well-kept, bright flowers lined the entrance to the parking lot, and the yellow paint was cheery. He parked in front of the office and went in.

Mr. Sullivan had said that he’d called the motel several times when Quinn missed her scheduled check-in, and she hadn’t answered the phone in her room. He’d left messages for her to call him, but she hadn’t.

Liam expected to be told they couldn’t give out her room number or any information on her, and he could respect that, especially if he just walked in, a stranger, and started asking questions.

He’d considered his options before leaving Myrtle Beach, and he’d decided the best approach when asking anyone about her would be a brother looking for his sister.

He’d created a fake license with his name as Liam Sullivan, and he’d photoshopped a picture of him with her to put in his wallet.

An older woman was at the counter, and he hoped she’d be willing to help after hearing his sob story. He smiled as he walked up to the counter.

“Good morning,” she said. “Are you needing a room?”

“I’m not sure. I’m Liam Sullivan. My sister’s supposed to be staying here. Quinn Sullivan. Can you tell me if she’s still booked in a room? If she is, I’ll want a room, too.”

The woman narrowed her eyes. “How do I know you’re her brother? You could be one of those sex predators they talk about on the TV.”

“It’s smart of you to be suspicious, ma’am. It makes me feel better that my sister is staying in a place where you’re looking out for her.”

“Well, I got daughters, and I’d want someone to watch out for them if some stranger came looking for them. Your sister…if she really is your sister…is a pretty girl like them. Some men don’t have good intentions, you know.”

“I do know.” He took out his wallet. “This is my driver’s license with my name on it.

As you can see, Quinn and I have the same last name.

And this is a picture of my sister and I together, taken two years ago at our father’s house.

” He’d given the photo a Christmas theme with him and Quinn supposedly standing in front of a decorated tree.

She took the picture and brought it close to her eyes. “I see the resemblance.”

It had always fascinated him how you could lead someone to believe what you wanted them to with a few details, whether they were true or not. “You see, Miss…”

“Just call me Betta. Everyone does.”

“Betta, my father and I are worried. Quinn was supposed to call him Wednesday night, and she didn’t. She’s not answering her cell phone, and he’s called here several times, but she’s not answering the room phone either. He’s left messages, and—”

“Oh, I’ve taken those messages. They’re right here.” She turned and pulled several pink message sheets from a cubbyhole. “Your sister hasn’t stopped by so I could give them to her.”

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“Hmm. Not sure. Maybe two days ago. Her car’s still here. Haven’t seen it move for a few days now. It’s the nice blue one parked in front of her room. She’s booked for a week, so I just assumed I hadn’t noticed her coming and going.”

“Something’s not right. I feel it in my bones. Will you let me see inside her room? Please, Betta. My father and I are so worried.”

Betta’s eyes widened. “You think she’s dead in there?”

“No!” He sure hoped not. “But I think I need to see inside her room.”

“I’ll have to go with you.”

“That’s fine.”

She picked up a key on a large ring and dangled it in front of him. “The master key.”

“Do you have maid service?” he asked as they walked toward the room. If there was anything unusual—such as a dead body—in Quinn’s room, housekeeping would have reported it.

“Yes, but Miss Sullivan asked that no one enter her room unless she was in it. She said she had some expensive cameras and stuff that she didn’t want bothered. We’ve cleaned her room twice since she checked in, and she was there both times.”

They stopped at the door to Quinn’s room, and Betta inserted the key. He put his hand on her shoulder. “Let me go in first.” He didn’t know why, but he didn’t expect to find Quinn Sullivan’s body. There was the possibility that he was wrong, though, and if so, he didn’t want Betta to see.

“Oh, Lord, please don’t let her be dead,” Betta said.

He stepped into the room. There was no body. Thank you, Jesus. “You can come in.” He walked farther into the room.

“There’s her suitcase,” Betta said. “She must be around.”

A small white bag on the floor caught his attention, and he picked it up. The smell of rotten meat hit his nose as soon as he opened it.

Betta scrunched her nose. “Good Lord, what stinks?”

“I’m guessing this was going to be her lunch or dinner.

It stinks because it’s a day or two old.

” And smashed. Someone had stepped on it.

His gaze shifted around the room. There wasn’t any sign of a struggle, and her suitcase was still open on the suitcase rack.

He glanced inside but didn’t touch anything.

Quinn Sullivan was gone but had left her things behind. Because of the smashed meal and that her car was parked out front, his gut said someone had come to her room, and that she hadn’t left willingly.

“How long is the room paid for?” he asked.

“Sunday. Do you think something happened to her?”

Yeah, he did. Today was Friday, so only a few more days on the room. It needed to stay untouched. If the worst had happened to Quinn, the police would need to send a crime scene tech to the room, where hopefully whoever took her had left fingerprints behind.

“Betta, I’m going to pay for another week on the room. I need you to keep it locked up and everyone out.”

“You think something happened in here?”

“I hope not, but maybe.” He lifted his chin toward the door. “Let’s talk outside and not contaminate the room any more than we already have.” As he followed her out, he grabbed the Do Not Disturb hanger and put it on the outside of the door.

“Should I call the police?”

“Not yet.” He didn’t want the police to hinder his search for Quinn. “I’m an investigator, so I know how to find people. Why our father sent me here. Did my sister have her camera bag with her, do you know?”

“She had a large purple backpack every time I saw her, so that could have been a camera bag. Like I told you, she said she had some expensive camera equipment, and nothing like that was in the room.”

“Did she say why she was here? My sister’s a photojournalist, and her specialty is children who need help of some kind or other.”

“She did ask when she was checking in if there was an unusually high number of children getting sick in Hope Corner.”

That was interesting. “And are there?”

“I don’t know what a high number would be, but I know of three children who have leukemia.”

If Quinn was asking that question, she had come to Hope Corner for a reason. As he stood by while Betta closed and locked the door, he glanced over, seeing a housekeeping cart outside of a room with an open door. He headed that way.

“Excuse me, miss.” He dropped Quinn’s food bag in the trash can on the cart.

A young woman carrying sheets out of the room froze at seeing him. “Yes?”

“I’m looking for my sister. She was staying in room nine. Have you seen her?”

The woman’s gaze went past his shoulder.

“It’s all right, Macy, you can answer him,” Betta said, coming up next to him.

Macy’s eyes shifted back to him. “The last time I saw her, she was leaving with a man.”

Every bone in his body said she hadn’t gone freely. “How long ago?”

“It was Wednesday.”

That would fit the timeline. “What time did you see her?” Quinn had missed her Wednesday call. But the good news was that she hadn’t been missing since her last phone call on Sunday to her father, so the trail wasn’t all that cold.

“Around dinnertime. I was finished for the day and had gotten in my car to leave. She came out of her room with a man, and they got in a car and left. She didn’t look exactly happy, but it wasn’t my business.”

“Macy, this is really important. I need you to describe the man and the car.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Macy,” Betta snapped. “Answer his question.”

“Um, the man was a little taller than her, but not by much. He wasn’t skinny, but he wasn’t heavy. I guess I’d say he was lean. He had dirty blond hair, and he looked like he needed a haircut.”

“How long was it?”

“Past his ears but not touching his shoulder. That’s all I remember about him.”

It was better than nothing. “What about his car? Make and color?”

She closed her eyes. “It was…um, dark green, but I don’t know what kind.”

“A sedan or an SUV?”

“Not an SUV. It had four doors because he opened the back door and tossed her backpack in. I know it was hers because it was purple, and she always had it with her. I’m sorry, but that’s all I remember.”

“You’ve been a big help. Thank you.” He walked over to Quinn’s car, tried the door, finding it locked.

He peered through the window and didn’t see anything inside.

There was a sticker on the rear window for a rental car company.

Betta had followed him, and he said, “Let’s just leave the car here for now.

I’ll call the rental company if I need them to come pick it up. ”

“I’m so worried about her now, Mr. Sullivan.”

He was concerned, too. “Let’s go to the office so I can pay you for another week on the room. I also want to give you my phone number if Quinn should show up or you think of anything else you might remember.”

“I hope you find her,” Betta said after she took his credit card.

Oh, he was going to. The question was, what shape would she be in when he did?