Rosemary Cottage

  “Not now, honey.” She handed the baby to the man, then climbed the ladder and practically fell onto the deck. “Where’s Grant?” Until she boarded, she’d hoped he was belowdeck, but it was clear this boat had no cabin.

  She reached out her hands to retrieve Raine, but Bossman shook his head and pointed to a seat. She longed to have the little girl back in her arms. Something about the man had always given her cold chills, and she didn’t trust her little cargo with him. “She knows me.”

  “She’ll get to know me.” Bossman shifted the little girl to his other arm. “Grant’s a busy man. He had me handle this for him.”

  Handle this. What did that mean? She eyed him, not sure if he was telling her the truth. “He didn’t tell me that. He said he was going to come himself.”

  Bossman shrugged. “What you see is what you get.”

  Was he laughing at her? She studied the glee in his eyes and tried to decipher what it meant. Maybe he was as glad as she was that their plan had fallen into place. “We need to come up with a cover story. Curtis will know that I took Raine. There needs to be some way to throw off suspicion. Maybe I can call Curtis and say we’ve both been kidnapped.”

  Bossman absorbed her fears in silence. Setting Raine on the deck, he reached toward the compartment in the dash and pulled out a revolver. “We’ve got that covered too.” He turned the gun barrel toward her. “I think when they find your body, they’ll assume the kid is dead too.”

  She didn’t argue, didn’t try to plead with him. Everyone knew this guy was as dangerous as they came. He’d shoot her without blinking an eye. Without thought, she flung her leg over the metal railing that enclosed the deck, then leaped over the edge and into the sea. The cold water closed over her head as she heard a shot.

  Something struck her arm, and blood darkened the water. The salt stung her eyes, but she kept them open anyway so she could see what he was doing.

  Bossman looked ghostly through the blur of the water. He leaned over the edge of the boat looking for her.

  Panic closed her throat. She kicked as hard as she could and swam under the boat to the other side. Her lungs burned for air, and she had to go up to draw more oxygen in. When she emerged near the back of the boat on the leeward side, she saw him still staring into the water on the other side of the boat. Another boat motored their way, and Bossman muttered a curse. Drawing in silent, shallow breaths, she huddled as close to the side as possible.

  Keeping only her nose and eyes above the water line, she watched him fumble with the key. The engine came to life. She dove down as fast as she could. As long as he didn’t see her, he would surely see the blood in the water and think he’d killed her. It was her only hope. Lucky for her the other boat made him hurry to escape. If he’d stayed, he would make sure he saw her body.

  Her hands touched sand, and she lingered on the bottom as long as she could. Her lungs burned, and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to stay under any longer. Swooping around, she kicked against the bottom and zipped toward the top. When her head broke water, she inhaled a great gulp of air.

  A wave struck her in the face, and she choked on salty water. Struggling to keep her head above the surf, she struck out toward the shore. If Bossman looked back toward the shore, he’d see her, but she had no choice. She’d drown if she didn’t get to land.

  Her knees scraped bottom, and she heaved herself out of the water and drew in a breath clear of moisture. She staggered to the beach and collapsed onto her knees, then vomited up seawater. Only then did she turn her head to look out over the seascape. The boat was a tiny speck in the distance. She doubted she’d been seen.

  But what about Raine? Hugging herself, she was surprised to find tears leaking from her eyes. Though she didn’t really know the little girl, she loved children. That much hadn’t been a lie. She had to contact Grant and warn him that Bossman had gone rogue. He wouldn’t be happy.

  But as she started down the beach to try to find help, her legs gave way and darkness took her under.

  Amy turned up the music as she drove to Curtis’s house. Mindy would be all right, and for the first time in a long while, Amy saw her way to a future without Ben. And that future included sweet little Raine. Amy wanted to hold the toddler and think about how lucky she was.

  Edith stood sweeping the porch when Amy pulled into the drive. She’d hung out colorful new flags of red and white that blew straight out from the posts in the breeze. Dressed in capris and a sleeveless white top, Edith looked happy and content after her morning in the water. Her hair was still damp.

  Even though it was likely Raine was sleeping, Amy frowned when she didn’t see the child. She got out of the car and shut the door. “Good morning.” She walked past new flowers pushing up in the beds along the sidewalk.

  Leaning on her broom, Edith paused and smiled. “I thought maybe you went with the helicopter. I got Curtis’s message about having to do a run.” She sobered. “I hope the patient is going to be okay.”

  “Sara was there, so I wasn’t needed. I’m sure the patient will be fine.” She looked past Edith through the open door. “So everything was okay with Raine and Heather?”

  Edith’s brows rose. “I assume so, though I’ll admit I thought they would be here by the time I arrived.”

  Amy’s gut tightened. “You haven’t seen them? I don’t like that. I’d better call and tell her to bring Raine home right now.” She went back to her car and got her purse. She pulled out her cell phone and placed a call to Heather. It rang six times, then went to voice mail. “Heather, where are you? Call me.”

  “She didn’t answer?”

  Edith was biting her lip and frowning so Amy forced herself to smile. “They probably stopped off for ice cream or went to the playground. Heather was excited to have her, so I’m sure she wanted to make sure Raine had a good time.”

  “I suppose you’re right.” Edith glanced at her watch. “Heather has had her, what, about an hour? It’s 11:10.”

  “We got to the sheriff’s about nine. We talked with him awhile, then realized, ah, the woman we helped was in eclampsia.” Just in time she caught herself from mentioning Mindy by name. Getting her to the car and dealing with the convulsions had taken awhile. “I’d guess Heather took Raine a little before ten, so maybe she’s had her an hour and a half.”

  Edith’s frown came again. “Plenty of time to get here, then.” She shaded her eyes with her hand and looked toward town. “She’s still not coming.”

  “Let me try to call her one more time.” Amy pulled up the phone number again, but there was still no answer. She dropped her phone back in her purse. “I’m going to go look for her.”

  Edith leaned the broom against the wall of the porch. “I’ll come with you.”

  “You should probably stay here in case she arrives.”

  Edith bit her lip. “It feels wrong to stay here and do nothing. I don’t like this, Amy. Something feels wrong.”

  Amy felt it too, but she chalked it up to nervousness about the upsetting morning. “I’m sure there’s an innocent explanation for what’s happened.”

  Edith shook her head. “I can see the worry in your face. You warned Curtis to check her references. You don’t trust her.”

  “She’s just young and flighty. I bet they’re at the playground.” She got back in her car and ran the window down. “I’ll call you when I find them. Let me know if you hear from them.”

  First, she checked Rosemary Cottage, just in case, but it was empty with no sign that Heather and Raine had been there. She drove slowly down Oyster Road, watching for any sign of a woman and child. At the playground, she got out and walked through the swings and slides, but Heather and Raine were nowhere around. She peeked in at the ice-cream shop and asked if the server had seen them there. When the answer was no, she went to the toy store, then to the candy shop. The answer was the same everywhere. Next she called the ambulance service that took injured people to the ferry. Maybe one of them had been hurt. Raine c
ould have run in front of a car or fallen.

  But when she asked if there had been an injured woman or child brought in, the dispatcher told her no. She called Edith to report in, but the other woman hadn’t heard anything either. Though she hated to do it, she had to call Curtis. Her chest squeezed, even though she kept telling herself there was an innocent explanation.

  He answered on the first ring. “Hey, I was about to call you. I just landed back at the Coast Guard airfield. You want to come pick me up?”

  “I’ll be right there.” She drove slowly through town and out to the field, hoping she wouldn’t have to tell him that Heather and Raine were missing. But there was still no sign of them, and Heather hadn’t returned her call.

  He came toward her before she pulled into a parking place. She stopped and he hopped in. His smile vanished when he looked at her face. “What’s wrong?”

  “We can’t find Heather and Raine. They never showed up at your house, and Heather isn’t answering her cell phone.”

  “Where have you looked?”

  “Everywhere. The playground, the ice-cream shop, the candy shop, the toy store. My house too, just in case they went there.”

  “Well, let’s not panic. I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation. Did you try the café?”

  She slapped her head. “No, I didn’t even think of that. Maybe Heather took her there to have an early lunch.” Of course that’s where they were. It made perfect sense. “Keep an eye out on the way. How is Mindy, by the way?”

  He stared out the window as the car moved slowly through town. “They rushed her in for a C-section, but they thought she’d be okay.”

  Two minutes later she parked in front of the café, and they both ran to the entrance. When the server told them she hadn’t seen Heather today, they checked with Imogene back in her office. She told them Heather had called in at nine thirty to say she wouldn’t be working today.

  “That was before you asked her to watch Raine, I think,” Amy said when they were back outside. “She must have decided to take the day off.”

  “She was dressed for the beach.” His mouth tight, Curtis glanced down the road. “I think we’d better talk to Tom.”

  “You mean, report Raine as missing?” Her voice trembled, and she swallowed hard. She warned herself not to fall apart. There had to be a logical reason for this.

  “She was told to go directly to my house and she didn’t. So, yeah, I’m going to report her missing.”

  He took her arm, and they dashed across the street between a family of four on bicycles. Tom’s SUV was still in front of the sheriff’s office, but they nearly collided with him on his way out the door.

  “Sorry, I have to run. I don’t have anything new to report.” He went past them to his vehicle.

  “Hold on,” Curtis said. “Raine is missing.”

  Tom paused with his hand on the door of his SUV. “Missing?”

  “I asked Heather Granger to take her to my house and wait for Edith to get back from surfing. They never arrived, and she’s not answering her cell phone.” Curtis spoke in a clipped voice.

  “I’m on my way to Rocky Corner. A fisherman found Heather unconscious on the beach. When he revived her, she was babbling about some man who took the baby. Given what you just told me, I think we have to assume the baby she’s talking about is Raine.”

  The words hit Amy hard, and she nearly sagged to her knees. Raine had to be all right. She had to be.

  THIRTY

  Its lights still flashing, the ambulance rested along the side of the dirt road parallel to the beach. Two paramedics tended to someone on a stretcher. Curtis leaped out before Amy’s car had rolled to a stop. Amy hurried behind him as he approached the young woman on the stretcher behind the ambulance.

  A paramedic tried to stop him, but he brushed past him. “It’s my niece who’s missing.”

  Heather’s eyes fluttered in her white face. Her hair and clothes were drenched, so she’d been in the ocean. He couldn’t make out the words she muttered until he leaned closer.

  “Tried to shoot me,” she whispered.

  He took her hand. It was ice cold. “Heather, where is Raine?”

  Her head lolled from side to side, and her eyes were wild. “Took her. He took her.”

  Curtis gripped her hand. “Who took her?” By some miracle he kept his voice strong and confident. He’d find her, and the man who had taken her would wish he’d never been born.

  Heather’s eyes opened but were unfocused. “Boss. Boss took her. He tried to shoot me.” She tried to sit up and shook her head. “I was bleeding.” She stared at her arm. “See? He shot me.” She squeezed his hand. “Don’t let him get me!”

  The bullet had dug a furrow in her arm, but it had stopped bleeding by now. “You’re going to be okay.” He glanced at the paramedic. “Can you give her something to bring her around? My year-old niece was in her care. I have to find her.”

  The paramedic, a tall man in his thirties, shook his head. “Sorry, dude. We stabilize the patient and get them to a doctor in Nags Head. That will be the doctor’s call.”

  Amy approached Heather’s other side. She smoothed her hair back. Her touch calmed Heather’s agitation. Her lids fluttered again, and she opened her eyes. They were clearer, more aware.

  “Amy, don’t let him kill me.”

  Amy rested her hand on Heather’s forehead. “You’re safe now. The paramedics are here. You’re going to be all right. No one is shooting at you now.”

  Heather’s eyes filled with moisture, and tears leaked from them. She released Curtis’s hand, then gripped Amy’s arm and tried to sit up. “He took her! Bossman took Raine! It’s not my fault, I swear!” Her cries grew more frantic.

  “Easy.” The paramedic tried to push her back against the pillow.

  She fought him and sat up, then swung her legs to the side of the stretcher. “We have to find Raine. She wasn’t supposed to be hurt!”

  Amy exchanged an alarmed glance with Curtis. “What do you mean she wasn’t supposed to be hurt? Did you take her somewhere?”

  Heather began to cry in earnest now, and her face contorted. “He promised she wouldn’t be hurt. She was just supposed to get a paternity test.”

  “What?” Curtis wanted to grab her and shake her. “Who wanted her to have a paternity test?” He glared at Amy. Had her parents arranged for this?

  She gave a slight shake of her head. “Think, Curtis. They went through the law. They wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize their chances of gaining custody. Thuggery isn’t my father’s style.”

  “Then who? And why?” He wanted to shake it out of Heather, make her tell him where his Raine was.

  Tom finished talking to the men who had found Heather. He joined them, and Curtis filled him in on what Heather had told them.

  Tom stared past Curtis to where Heather was getting more upset. “I think you’d better let me question her.” He shuffled to the stretcher. “Who wanted the paternity test, Heather? What reason were you given?”

  Heather hiccupped and rubbed her wet face with the back of her hand. “M-My boyfriend. He said he could make a lot of money on Raine’s parentage, but that he just had to prove it.”

  Amy looked as stunned as Curtis felt. “But Raine’s father is dead. I should know since he was my brother. This makes no sense.” She stared at Heather. “Did your boyfriend intend to try to get money out of my parents?”

  “I don’t know anything,” Heather wailed.

  The way she cried reminded Curtis that she was just a kid herself. Though technically an adult, she was still in her teens. “What were you told to do?”

  Tom shot him a glare. “Questioning the witness is my job, Curtis.”

  “It’s my niece who’s missing,” he fired back. “Who, Heather?”

  “I was supposed to meet Grant at the beach. He was picking us up on his boat. He’d take her to get the test.”

  “Then what?” Tom asked.

  “I—I assumed
we’d give her back.” But her gaze wandered away from his.

  Curtis’s stomach roiled, and it was all he could do not to throw up. “You’re lying. She wasn’t going to be given back, was she?” Where was Raine? This girl knew more than she was telling.

  “I don’t know,” she said in a low voice. “Grant never really said. But he’s a good man. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”

  “He had his goon try to shoot you,” Amy said quietly.

  Heather straightened and shook her head. “Oh no, I’m sure he didn’t tell Bossman to do what he did.”

  Curtis dug his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Can you call this Grant and ask what he’s done with Raine?”

  “I—I don’t know the number. It’s programmed into my phone, and I never have to dial it.” She patted her pockets.

  “Do you have your phone?” Amy asked.

  “I guess I lost it in the water.”

  Tom took out his notebook. “What’s Grant’s last name? We’ll track him that way.”

  Heather looked down at the ground. “He told me it was Smith, but I don’t think that’s his real name.”

  Curtis paced the dirt road. “Oh, come on! That’s pretty hard to believe you would swallow the lie and not ask him about it.”

  “It’s true. We met at a party. He said, ‘Hi, I’m Grant. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.’ No one had ever told me anything like that. I only get to see him once a month or so. Last names just didn’t seem to be important.”

  Amy put her hand on Heather’s arm. “Is he married?”

  “Of course not!” Heather ducked her head. “I mean, I don’t think so. He never said he was, and he doesn’t wear a wedding band.”

  “You poor, naive child.” Amy’s voice was sympathetic. “He’s manipulated you.”

  Heather flushed. “He hasn’t! He loves me. When this was finished, we were going on a long vacation.” She blinked rapidly. “That’s over, isn’t it? He’s going to be in a lot of trouble. But it’s not his fault, really! Bossman took her.”