Although he wanted to phone Jessie again, he decided to wait until he was ready to board the helicopter. The more he thought about how scared Jody and Steffie had to be, the harder he pressed on the accelerator. George started to pass a truck in front of him, but as he veered into the oncoming lane, he saw an SUV barreling toward him. Its horn blared. George swerved back into his own lane behind the truck, again. He got ready to try once more, but noticed the truck’s right turn signal blinking. It slowed down to a crawl to pull into a Chevron plant. George tried to go around it again, but another truck nearly ran into him. Its horn continued to wail, even after George swung back into his lane.
Catching his breath, he waited for the trucker in front of him to make the damn turn. Then he saw a clear road ahead, and he pushed harder on the gas.
George passed Donahue Drive, one of the last major intersections before the helicopter pad, at least, according to MapQuest. And then he noticed the flashing light in his rearview mirror. “Oh, shit,” he murmured, releasing his foot from the accelerator. “God, no, please….”
The cop car was descending on him. He could hear the siren now.
“Please, God.”
George’s stomach was in knots as he slowly pulled over to the road’s shoulder. The lights in his rearview mirror were blinding now. For a moment, the bright strobes illuminated the inside of his car. And then the policeman passed him.
George sagged forward against the wheel. He took a deep breath, and pressed on. But he couldn’t stop trembling. He watched the squad car take a right turn ahead. He hoped the cop wasn’t headed to Coupland Aeronautics.
For the next few blocks, he drove at the 35-miles-per-hour speed limit. Then he noticed the airfield ahead to his left. Two helicopters were parked on the airstrip. George didn’t see a cop car anywhere near the place. Yet his hands still shook on the wheel as he went beyond the tall chain-link fence and followed the signs to customer parking. He didn’t think he’d breathe right or stop shaking until he saw his kids and knew they were safe.
He was just pulling into one of the parking spots when someone trotted out of the trailer office. George rolled down his window and saw that it was a woman in her midthirties, wearing a gray jumpsuit. She was pretty with dark brown hair, pulled back in a ponytail. “Mr. McMillan?” she said, approaching his car.
George nodded a few more times than necessary. He was waiting for her to say something like, “I’m afraid the Salem Police are looking for you….”
Instead, she leaned toward his car window and smiled. “Hi, I’m Kate. You spoke with me earlier. If you need to park for more than twenty-four hours, go ahead and take a spot where that green sign is.”
George glanced over his shoulder and saw a green sign on a light post: LONG-TERM PARKING. He looked back up at the woman and nodded again. He was still shaking, and he could tell she’d noticed.
“They charge twelve bucks a day for long-term parking,” she said. “It’ll be added to your bill. And speaking of paperwork, it’s all ready for you. Just come on into the office. We’ll get it signed, and we’ll be our way to Seattle. I’ll be your pilot tonight, Mr. McMillan. Do you have any luggage for your trip?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t. But thanks.”
“Okeydoke,” she said. “Then I’ll see you in the office.” She turned and trotted back toward the trailer.
George tried to take a few calming breaths as he maneuvered over to the long-term parking area. It just dawned on him that this was a rental, and he’d have to somehow get it back to the rent-a-car company. But that didn’t matter right now. He was just relieved he’d be on his way to Seattle soon, with no one detaining him. No delays.
Still, he couldn’t stop trembling, even after he’d parked the rental and locked it. Standing beside the car, he took out his cell phone and dialed home once more. He just needed to hear Jessie assure him again that Steffie and Jody were all right.
George listened to the ring tones, four of them so far. Something was wrong. Why wasn’t Jessie picking up? He’d figured they were checking his caller ID. They must have known his cell phone number by now. If they were trying to lure him there using Jessie and the kids, they would have had her pick up by now.
The machine clicked on. Hi, you’ve reached the McMillans. Sorry we’re not here to take your call. But if you’d like to leave a message for George, Ina, Jody or Stephanie, just talk to us after the beep!
It was Ina’s voice on the recording. He still hadn’t changed it.
The beep sounded. George kept wondering why no one was picking up. “Hello, Jessie?” he said into the machine. “Um, it’s George. I’m on my way. I should be there around nine o’clock. I just wanted to touch base with you. Are you there, Jessie? Jody? Steffie? Well, I guess you’re not there. I’ll see you guys soon, okay?”
He clicked off the line. Then he punched his home phone number again. Another four ring tones went by while George gazed out at the two helicopters on the airstrip. One of them was waiting for him. Ina’s recorded message came back on.
George quickly clicked off the cell phone. He had a horrible feeling in his gut. No one was picking up at his house-just the voice of someone already dead.
Chapter Twenty-four
At Danny’s Diner, the burgers and sandwiches were served in red plastic baskets, lined with paper. Desserts came from a rotating display case near the cash register. The walls were decorated with neon beer signs, mounted fish plaques, and another sign by the counter that said:
GO TO HELEN WAITE!
The dinner crowd was dwindling in the cozy, homey little restaurant. Karen noticed a family of four in a booth, an older couple at one of the tables, and two trucker types, both at the counter with a few stools between them.
And Amelia was nowhere to be seen.
The waitress, a chubby blonde with a Farrah Fawcett hairdo left over from the seventies, told Karen she could sit anywhere. So Karen plopped down at a window table and prayed that Amelia just happened to be in the restroom.
She waited three minutes, then got up and checked the ladies’ room. No one.
This was crazy. Amelia had called from here thirty minutes ago. She’d been stranded, without a car. Karen had practically begged her to stay put, too. And now she was gone. How could someone just vanish like that?
But then, that sort of thing had happened a lot, back when Amelia and Annabelle’s father had been alive.
With a nervous sigh, Karen sat back down at the table. She decided to give Amelia three more minutes. Then she’d call her from the phone booth outside. Of course, if Amelia was anywhere in the vicinity, her cell phone wouldn’t work. So it was probably pointless.
Karen glanced at her wristwatch. George would touch down in Seattle in less than an hour. They were counting on Amelia to somehow intercede with her sister.
Had she somehow already met up with Annabelle?
Karen looked out the rain-beaded window. Against the darkness, she saw only her own reflection. She looked haggard and worried. The blond waitress came by for Karen’s drink order. Karen noticed her name tag: YOUR SERVER IS CONNIE.
“Could I have a Diet Coke, please?” Karen said. “Also, Connie, I was supposed to meet someone here. Have you seen a very pretty, 19-year-old girl with shoulder-length black hair? She should have been here about a half hour ago.”
Connie shook her head. “Nope, sorry, I haven’t noticed anyone like that tonight, hon-been here since four. I’ll get your Diet Coke in a jiff.” She sauntered toward the kitchen.
Digging out her cell phone, Karen checked the last caller. She left her trench coat on her chair, then hurried
