Page 42 of Last Seen

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The room is comfortable, albeit painted a vivid vermilion that Halley doesn’t think is going to be conducive to sleep.

There is a lovely spa bathroom with a claw-foot tub, marble countertops, a toilet room, and towels so fluffy she is tempted to shove one in her bag.

She takes a shower, luxuriating despite herself.

Her misgivings washed away by homemade lavender soap.

The whole evening parades past in Technicolor—the humiliations, the revelations, the sorrow. Chowdhury seemed like a very nice woman. Halley doesn’t want to admit how terrified she is right now, not even to herself.

The sheriff’s crack about her not having a job is unnerving. The words stung, yes, but he seems to know a lot more about her than she does of him. Chief Early must really have been running his mouth.

And the spacey woman who runs the Inn. What in the world was that? Saying Halley’s aura is red? What the hell does that even mean?

She looks it up online, out of curiosity. Strength, passion, resilience, power. A tendency to live in the moment.

Well, she’s sure as hell living in the moment right now.

It’s nearly midnight, but she needs to check in before anyone else starts sending messages and gets her arrested again, or worse. She texts her dad, taking comfort in the tiny chirps of connection as each letter appears on the screen. She uses the safe word they’d agreed on: ailurophile .

Cat lover.

She calls Alison Everlane’s phone, gets voicemail. “Alison, it’s Halley James. Just wanted you to be on alert. Someone’s hurt the people I’ve talked with about Cat’s disappearance. Please watch your back.”

Hurt. As if they can recover.

There is a three-word email from Theo.

Please check in.

He just will not let her go.

Do you want him to, Halley? Do you want him to just walk away? Or do you want him to keep fighting for you?

It. Doesn’t. Matter. We want different things.

In the end, after debating with herself and her powerful, resilient, impetuous aura for five minutes, she calls, reminding herself to keep it light.

Theo answers on the first ring, voice frantic. “Tell me you’re okay.”

“I’m okay.”

He sighs in relief. “It’s been hours. I thought something might have happened.”

“I ran afoul of the local sheriff. This place is a little odd.”

“Do they know anything about your sister?”

“More than they’re saying, for sure. I can’t seem to get a straight answer out of anyone.

I lucked into a conversation with a woman who teaches at the writers’ retreat and filed the missing persons report on Cat.

She was a little drunk and said a lot of things.

I get the sense Cat’s disappearance was brushed under the rug. ”

“Never good.”

“No.”

“So what’s your plan? You said you’re heading home tomorrow?”

“I think so. I’m being encouraged to do just that.

I’m all tucked up at the Inn, in a bright-red room because that’s what my aura dictated, and will be given my Jeep keys in the morning.

The sheriff actually put me in cuffs earlier and dragged me to the station.

Which is incredibly nice and totally modern.

The architecture is beautiful. There’s a lot of money here. ”

“Wait. Back up to the handcuffs.”

In another world, another life, she would make a silly comment about the handcuffs, and Theo would respond with something seductive, and they’d have a fun few hours. Now, it just feels wrong. Everything feels wrong and she just wants to collapse.

“He was just trying to scare me, I think.”

“Unlawful arrest is a serious issue. And he’s holding your keys?”

“Long story. So Baird Early, the chief of police in Marchburg, remember? He called down here and warned them I was coming. Brockton, that’s the sheriff here, he’s one of the sons of the founder, claims he knows nothing about my sister, and treated me like a suspect for a while.

I think it was more a scare tactic, to be honest. I lawyered up, then he backed off and told me what was going on. ”

“Suspect for what? What’s going on?”

She explains about Dr. Chowdhury, dead on the heels of Kater. The stranger in the bar, and the female stranger who followed on the video.

“Halley,” he says with dread. “You’re in danger.”

“I mean, obviously I’m rattling cages. The more I do, the more information I get.”

“And people are dying. You could, too.”

“Fair point. That was never my intention. But there’s something going on here. Why would all of this suddenly happen? I make a few phone calls and people start getting killed? It makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense. Whoever killed your sister fifteen years ago is hunting you now.”

“Assuming she was killed ... I suppose that’s possible. What a cheery thought.”

“I really want you to get out of there. I want to come get you.”

She thinks about that for a minute. To be rescued.

To need rescuing. There is some comfort in the idea, and of course, allowing Theo to come might save their marriage.

But the cold, hard reality is, things are not good between them, and though he might be trying now, it’s awfully late.

She’s still furious at him, and scared, and this is not a good place to be making decisions.

There will be no knight in shining armor to come save her at the end of the day, when things get hard, when she becomes a target. She has to save herself first.

“That’s very romantic, Theo. I appreciate it.”

His tone shifts, cooling. “I’m serious.”

“I know you are. Seriously. I think the sheriff just wants to make sure I’m not going to be making waves. Bad press for their idyllic little town, that sort of thing. I think I have what I need from here anyway. The minute he gives me my keys, I’m gone.”

“And why did he take your keys, might I ask?”

“For my safety, he says.”

“No. Stop right there. I am on my way.”

“May I remind you that you’re in Texas? You have responsibilities, and so do I. I’m fine. No one’s getting in this room. I took precautions.”

“I assume he took your gun, too?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re under house arrest unarmed, in a strange town that your sister disappeared from. Halley. You’re being incredibly reckless. You aren’t showing the appropriate amount of concern here. None of this is kosher.”

Her confidence begins to lag, and her anger rises. “What would you have me do, Theo? The man has my keys and my weapon, and I’m stashed away in this weird inn for the night. In a few hours, he’ll escort me out of town, with admonishments not to come back. Watch.”

“I do not like this. Not at all.”

She doesn’t tell him about the younger brother’s concern that she needs an escort, or any of the other strange things. He’s tuned up enough already.

“Listen. If you’re that worried, get someone from a local agency to come. You absolutely can’t leave your post. But I am fine. I swear. I’ll be out of here in the morning, and when you get home ... we can talk. Now is not the time. Okay?”

She can hear him breathing. Weighing the options. He knows she’s right, he knows he can’t just run off. That he’s offered—twice—is something they’re going to have to talk about. She knows he means well, but it’s stifling. She doesn’t need saving.

Finally, he sighs. “You will call if you need help?”

“You know I will. And I’ll call the local cops, too. I’m not an idiot, Theo. Now I have to get some sleep. It’s been a really, really long day. Talk soon. I promise.”

She hangs up before he can protest anymore. She already feels dumb enough for getting in over her head. Having him point it out to her again and again isn’t helping. The push-pull of loving him and hating him is wearing on her, too.

She tries to watch TV to distract herself, but every squeak and clank makes her tense.

She finally puts on the Golf Channel and is having the nightmare about Elvis, the blood pouring from his fuzzy neck, but she’s not totally asleep and knows she’s dreaming when she hears a rhythmic knocking. It’s coming from outside.

Ping.

Ping.

Ping.

She is fully awake now. Something is hitting her window.

She moves to the frame carefully, lifts the edge of the curtain.

A man is standing below. Noah Brockton. Throwing rocks at the glass.

He sees her looking and waves, miming for her to open the window.

She tries a few times before she can get the old crank to turn. The air meanders in, cool, soft, with a hint of pine and rain. She is surprised to realize it smells like home.

“Can I come up?” he stage-whispers, moving toward the huge oak tree that she’s just now noticing has a thick branch that would make climbing to her window a piece of cake.

Halley may be curious and impetuous and looking to rattle cages, but she is not stupid.

“Absolutely not.”

For a second, he looks amused. “Then the lobby. It’s important.”

He jingles something—are those her keys?

He’s breaking her out. Now, this is a whole different story.

She holds up a finger and closes the window.

Grabs all her things, shoving them into her overnight bag.

She pulls on her Vans and is out the door, leaving the TV on for a bit of subterfuge in case the innkeeper is spying for the sheriff.

She makes her way quietly down the hallway, down the stairs, into the incense-perfumed lobby.

Noah is already inside and waiting, and she stifles a little yelp of surprise.

She’d seen the innkeeper lock the door after the sheriff left.

“I have keys,” he says quietly, noticing her alarm. “We all do.”

“Why?”

He gives her a bemused look. “Because it’s our town.”

“Oh. Okay. Is this a jailbreak?”

He nods, reaching out a hand for her bag. “I don’t like how heavy handed my brother is being. You’ve done nothing wrong, and no one can blame you for wanting to learn more about your sister’s disappearance.”

“May I have them?”

Noah frowns. “Yes. If you’ll agree to let me make you an omelet and tell you my version of things.”

She ignores her stomach’s gleeful anticipation of proper food. “I gotta admit, I’d like to book it out of here. Your brother isn’t a big fan of mine. I don’t know that I want to chance it.”

“I don’t blame you for feeling that way. And yes, of course, here.” He hands her the keys, and her blood pressure drops a notch. “But the offer still stands. I’d really like to talk.”

He seems so sincere. So did Ted Bundy, she reminds herself.

She flips the keys through her fingers, mentally reminding herself to make sure she has the locks changed in both Marchburg and DC.

It would take no effort at all to copy the house keys to all her places.

She shudders inwardly. That seems so incredibly devious, but so does killing two women.

She does not trust the Brockton brothers. Even though Noah is helping her.

“No chance he gave you my gun?”

“Why are you carrying a gun?”

“I’ll take that as a no. Listen, fine, we can talk, but can we get out of here? This place is lovely, but it gives me the creeps.”

He looks around as if seeing it for the first time, nodding. He’s taller than her, and he looks over her head as if there’s something visible only to him. Or through her, maybe.

She glances over her shoulder, but no one’s there.

“I get it. It always gave me the creeps, too. There are tunnels out of the basement to other parts of town. Used to freak me out when I was a kid. My brothers would take my things and leave them in the tunnels so I’d have to go down there in the dark to retrieve them, then they’d jump out and scare me. ”

“Your family ran the Inn?”

“No.” He smiles absently, then shakes his head. “Of course, you wouldn’t know. This was our house. This was the first building my dad completed. The red room you were in? It was my room growing up.”

Halley doesn’t want to use the phrase “against my better judgment,” but aware and wary, she agrees to move their conversation to the restaurant.

A neutral third-party location, as Noah calls it.

Plus, he promises they won’t be alone; the morning staff are already there prepping for breakfast. They technically aren’t alone here, she thinks, until Noah says, “Leave the key for Emma. She’ll see it when she comes in the morning. ”

Deep breaths, Halley.

He notices her discomfort. “I know you want to leave as soon as possible. Follow me? I’ll make sure we don’t cross paths with Cameron.”

“Don’t make me regret this, Noah.”

He gives her a smile that’s so devilishly charming she can’t help but smile back. “Anything to piss off my brother.”

She gets behind the wheel of the Jeep, blocking out Theo’s voice, which is shouting “Leave, leave now,” and follows Noah to the restaurant.

She’s already decided if it’s dark she’s just going to floor it.

But he’s true to his word; she sees people moving about inside.

It’s 4:00 a.m. The first light of dawn is a whisper away.

With a sigh, she puts the Jeep in park, palms her pepper spray, and goes inside.