The Girl Who Disappeared Twice

Linda.

“I can’t find the tool I need. So I’ll be heading back to the main building. Enjoy your visit with your daughter.”

Her lips curved into a smile. “Thank you.”

With that, Ryan strode back to the building, a look of sheer irritation on his face.

He marched inside and straight to the head nurse’s station.

Jeri Koehler was back at her post.

“Hello.” She looked puzzled. “I thought you’d left.”

“I did. I was halfway down the drive when I realized I’d left my tone generator somewhere in here. Would it be a big problem if I looked for it?”

“Of course not.” Nurse Koehler made a wide sweep with her arm. “I’d just ask that you not interfere with our work.”

Ryan flashed her a smile. “Without my tone generator, I’m screwed.” He walked over to the panel of video monitors, pretending to search for about five minutes. Then, he looked under the panel, reached up and retrieved the missing tool.

“Here we go.” He looked and sounded utterly relieved. “You’re a gem. I can’t thank you enough.” He popped the tool into his toolbox. “I’ll get out of your hair now. See you in a few days when I have the part I need.”

With a friendly wave, Ryan made his exit.

Ruse complete. Time for Gecko to do his job.

Ryan climbed behind the wheel of the van and drove out of the parking lot. He steered diagonally across the street, returned to the alcove behind the trees and maneuvered the van into it. With Marc’s eagle eye, he and Casey would find him when they drove up, no problem.

Scrambling into the back of the van, Ryan fired up his laptop and Gecko came to life. Ryan carefully repositioned him, focusing his camera and microphone directly on Linda. If she sat either a little to the left or right this afternoon, he’d readjust the little critter accordingly. But, for now, the video and audio were perfect.

He put Gecko into sleep mode to conserve power for later, when it was needed.

Then, he called Casey and asked her to detour through the nearest Mickey D’s and pick up a couple of Big Macs and fries. He never ate junk food. But he’d been up since before dawn. And all this activity had made the power bar and coffee he’d downed earlier a distant memory. And, hey, a guy had to eat. So it was time to break a few rules. They weren’t the first ones he’d broken today.

The SOS call to Casey done, he sat back and waited.

Krissy heard her leave.

As always, she wriggled off the bed and searched the room, wishing with all her might that the woman had forgotten her laptop or her cell phone. Krissy knew how to use both. Her mommy had showed her. She even had a very simple cell phone with big numbers on it that she brought to school. Mommy had programmed it with emergency phone numbers. She knew which button was which. And she knew her own phone number. She could call it, even with somebody else’s cell phone.

But whenever the woman left Krissy alone, she always made sure to take everything with her. This time was the same. There was nothing down here. Nothing Krissy could use to call for help.

She scrambled up the long flight of steps and tried the door, pulling and pulling on the handle with every ounce of strength she possessed. But the door wouldn’t budge.

Huge tears filled Krissy’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

At the beginning, she’d known her mommy would come for her, no matter how many times the woman told her she wouldn’t. The woman said that her mommy had moved on without her, that her job kept her much too busy to be with Krissy. And she’d told her over and over again that she was her mommy, and that she’d love her forever.

Krissy hadn’t believed her. But lots of days had gone by. And there was still no sign of her mommy.

Could she really have wanted to send Krissy away? Was even Ashley too busy to play with her? She knew her daddy was.

What if they’d stopped looking?

No. No. No!

She ran down the steps, jumped on the bed and grabbed Oreo, clutching him with all her might.

Then she soaked him with her tears.

Marc eased his foot off the accelerator, pulling slowly up to the spot where Ryan’s van was parked. He and Casey had taken Marc’s Subaru Outback because it was black and would blend in better with the wooded area. Casey’s red Mazda Miata would stand out like a sore thumb.

The sounds of construction pounded through the air. It was midafternoon. Clearly, the crew was making as much progress as they could before quitting time. By three o’clock, they’d be jumping out of their machinery, packing up their tools and taking off for home.

As Marc and Casey exited the car, Hero’s leash wrapped around Casey’s hand, the large diesel engine of a construction crane roared to life. The noise was deafening. Hero made a braying sound.

“Not now, boy,” Casey told him. “I know the noise hurts your ears. Let’s get into Ryan’s van.”

They hurried over, and Marc pounded on the back of the van. “It’s us,” he yelled over the tumult.

Ryan opened the double doors. “Come on in.”

Hero needed no second invitation. He sniffed the air once, scanned the woods and then sprang into the van and away from construction hell. Casey released his leash to give him the freedom he needed, and followed suit, with Marc right behind her. By the time Marc slammed the doors and plunked down next to Casey, Hero was sprawled out on Ryan’s sweatshirt, panting and waiting for some water. He got it ASAP, from the Hero “supplies” Ryan had started keeping in the van.

“Big Macs and fries?” Marc couldn’t help ribbing him. “That’s more fat and calories than a full day at the gym could burn. And you skipped this morning’s workout. Careful. Lose your six-pack and you’ll lose your women.”

“It’s a one-shot deal,” Ryan retorted, taking the McDonald’s bag from Casey. “And I’ve seen you scarf down two or three chili dogs when you’re desperate enough. So cram it.”

“Cut it out, you two,” Casey said impatiently. “We’re not here to discuss your high-protein diets. Linda’s guest isn’t here yet, is she?”

“Nope.” Ryan shook his head. “The patients just finished lunch. Linda will be on her way out to the garden within the hour. Her daughter should be showing up soon after. Apparently, they try to avoid the construction chaos. And, since the crew breaks up between three and four o’clock, I’m expecting our accomplice around then.”

Marc arched a brow. “You found all this out from the nurses you charmed at the front desk?”

“Some of it, yes. The rest, I found out from Linda herself.”

“You spoke to her?”

“Yup.” Ryan munched on a Big Mac while he spoke. “She was right there when I planted Gecko. She’s pretty out of it. And the only thing on her mind was seeing her daughter and getting us workmen out of the way in time for her visit.”

Hero was eyeing Ryan’s burger and smacking his lips.

Casey gave him a chew toy to distract him and thoughtfully scratched his ears. “If she’s that out of touch with the world around her, it means her accomplice is actively running the show-just as we suspected. And she’s keeping Krissy around for a reason. I’m just not sure what it is.”

“Unless Linda has cash reserves we don’t know about,” Marc proposed. “If that’s the case, it would be a sweet deal for this woman. All she has to do is feed and house a five-year-old in some secret location, probably bring Linda some photos here and there, and, at the same time, masquerade as her older daughter. Maybe she got Linda to give her power of attorney, in which case, she can do whatever she wants with Linda’s assets.”

“I did a pretty thorough job of checking out Linda Turner’s bank records-both her real and assumed names,” Ryan replied. “Nothing impressive there. But that doesn’t account for jewelry, antiques or anything else of value she