Obsession (31 page)

Melissa felt a slight stab of fear as she realized she was actually considering meeting with someone she knew nothing about, but it wasn't like she was going out on a date with him or anything. It was strictly a meeting to find out some details so she could decide if she wanted to try out for the part or not. How dangerous could that be? She decided she would meet with him but pass on the hamburger.

“Sure. I guess so. But… just for a few minutes. I won't have time to go eat anything.”

“No problem. Where are you now? Is there somewhere nearby where we can talk? I have my car and can meet you wherever you like.”

She thought for a moment. “There's a park just a couple of blocks from here, on Washington and Eighth. Do you know where it is?”

“Absolutely. What time?”

Melissa glanced at the kitchen clock. Mrs. Johnson was due home in about forty-five minutes, and she was never late. “How about in an hour?”

“Great. I'll be looking forward to it. I'll be driving a red BMW, and I'll park by the playground.”

“I'll be there. Goodbye, Carlo.”

She hung up the phone, her heart hammering in her chest. She had never done anything so daring before, and she knew Toni would be upset with her. But then, why should she care what Toni thought?

“Lissa?”

Melissa jumped. She hadn't heard Tyler come in. He was standing at her elbow, staring up at her, his brown eyes opened wide.

“Who's Carlo?”

She smiled reassuringly. “Nobody special. Just a friend. Listen, how would you like me to color with you until your mom gets home?”

Tyler's face lit up. “I'll be right back.” He ran out of the kitchen and down the hall toward his room, undoubtedly, Melissa thought, to retrieve his colors and coloring book. Her stomach was feeling a bit queasy, and she hoped coloring with Tyler might help keep her mind off her upcoming meeting with Carlo. She couldn't help but wonder if this meeting could be the beginning of the greatest adventure of her life.

It had been a long day, and an emotional one at that. Toni had been amazed to realize just how many gifts and mementos Brad had given her over the years, and what a sentimental attachment they held for her. But she had determined, after telling Melissa the previous evening that the engagement was off, that she would gather together all the things that reminded her of Brad and store them away somewhere. It wasn't that she wanted to be rid of them—she might, in fact, bring them back out some day, when her heart was ready—but she did feel the need to get them out of sight so she could think more clearly about her future. There were a lot of decisions to be made, and although they didn't all center around Abe Matthews, it was his face that dominated her every thought, regardless of which aspect of her future she was considering.

Toni was glad she had gone ahead and secured a position as a substitute teacher for the fall. The extra money to supplement what her father had left them certainly couldn't hurt; and besides, she needed something constructive to do now that things were just about cleared up at the office. She also wanted some free time to sort through her feelings for Abe and to come to some concrete decisions regarding the agency, teaching, and possibly even writing her first book.

Carefully wrapping a ceramic vase that Brad had given her for her birthday two years earlier, she placed it in the box along with several other wrapped items and decided to call it a day. It was getting late and she needed to see about getting dinner started before Melissa got home, which should be any minute now. April was sitting outside on the back porch swing, reading, and Toni decided not to disturb her. Although April was always more than willing to help with anything and everything around the house, Toni thought that she probably needed some quiet time to herself. The previous day at the lake had been a draining one for both of them, although they agreed it had been cathartic as well. Still, it had not begun to prepare Toni for Melissa's extreme reaction to her announcement regarding her broken engagement with Brad.

Toni sighed, walked into the kitchen, and pulled some ground beef out of the refrigerator. A quick pot of spaghetti and a tossed green salad with garlic bread, one of Melissa's favorite meals, just might help reopen the communication lines between them. At least, she hoped so. Melissa had not spoken to her since she had run to her room in tears the previous night.

Dinner was almost ready to put on the table when April walked in from outside. “Oh, my dear, you should have asked me to help. I've just been sitting out there on the porch swing, reading and drowsing a bit. Actually, I must have been drowsing more than I realized, or I would have heard you in here. You really should have called me. Here, let me at least set the table.”

“I didn't want to disturb you. I know what a comfortable spot that is out there. It's one of my favorite places.”

“I can see why.” April was already taking plates and glasses out of the cupboard and carrying them to the table. “Where's Melissa? Isn't she usually home by now?”

Toni checked her watch. “I was just thinking the same thing. She always lets me know if she's going to be late, but maybe she just forgot. I'll call over there and check.”

Tyler's mother answered on the second ring.

“Beth? Oh, you're home. This is Toni. I thought maybe you had to work late and Melissa had stayed over a little longer.”

“Hi, Toni. No, I got home at the usual time, and she left right away. That was almost an hour ago. You mean she's not home yet?”

Toni felt the first prick of fear as she remembered the caller's warning a couple of weeks earlier. There had been no further calls since Abe had placed a trace on her phone, and she had hoped that was the end of it. Now she wasn't so sure.

“No. She hasn't come home, and she hasn't called. That's not like her. She didn't say anything about going anywhere else, did she? Maybe over to Carrie's?”

“Not to me, but just a minute, let me ask Tyler. He's in his room. I'll be right back.”

Toni tapped her fingers on the table as she waited anxiously for what seemed an interminable amount of time but was actually only a couple of minutes. When Beth came back on the line, she sounded a bit hesitant.

“Toni, I'm… not real sure about what Tyler said. You know how kids' imaginations can be sometimes. At the same time, I've never known him to lie. He said Melissa was talking to her friend on the phone and that they were going to meet at the park.”

“You mean, Carrie?”

“No. Tyler said it was someone named… Carlo. Do you know anyone by that name?”

Toni gasped. Surely, it couldn't be… and yet Carlo was just too strange a name for a little boy to come up with on his own. As desperately as Toni wanted to believe that this was just some sort of freakish mistake on Tyler's part, she knew better. She had never been so terrified in all her life.

“I'll… I'll call you back. Thank you, Beth.”

“But—”

Toni hung up the phone and looked at April. “Something's happened to Melissa. Something awful. I…”

She burst into tears, and April hurried to her side, lowering her into a chair. “Toni, what is it? What's happened to Melissa? Please tell me.”

Struggling to control her breathing, Toni looked up at the concerned woman standing over her. “It's Carlo,” she whispered. “I think Carlo has gotten to Melissa somehow. Oh, April, what are we going to do?”

April's face paled and she sat down next to Toni. “Oh, dear God, no. Not Melissa. What makes you think it's Carlo? Are you sure?”

“No, not completely, but… Tyler overheard her talking on the phone with someone named Carlo, making plans to meet him at the park—over an hour ago.” She rose from her chair and started toward the front door. “Do you suppose there's any chance they'd still be there? We could drive over there…”

“Hold on, my dear. Before we go running out looking for her, we've got to call the police. Maybe you should call Abe directly, since he's already working on Julie's case.”

Toni nodded, suddenly aware of how much she needed Abe to be there with them, to lend her his strength and to assure her that Melissa would be all right. “You're right. I need to call Abe.” She went to the living room to get the address book. Sinking down onto the couch, she dialed his home number.
Please, Abe. Please be there!

“Hello?”

“Abe, it's Toni. Please, I need your help. It's Melissa. I… think something terrible has happened to her.”

CHAPTER 15

I
t was less than fifteen minutes before Abe arrived, but it seemed an eternity to Toni as she paced the living room, stopping every few moments to peek out the window. April sat on the couch, her face ashen, her hands clenched in her lap. When Toni heard Abe's car door slam, she had the screen door open before he had mounted the steps. The moment he saw her face, he stopped. “What is it? What happened to—”

“Do you remember Carlo, from Julie's file? I think he's got Melissa.”

Abe's dark eyes opened wide. “Carlo. You mean…?” His jaws clenched. “Let's go inside. I want to know everything. Don't leave anything out. Do you have some paper I can write on? I want to get this down while it's fresh.”

Toni went to the kitchen and retrieved a pen and some notepaper. Abe nodded in greeting to April, who was still seated on the couch. Toni sat down next to her while Abe sat across from them in an armchair, perched on the edge of the seat, pen and paper in hand. He grilled Toni on every detail, and she answered as best she could, with April filling in on occasion. When they had exhausted what little information the two women could give him, Abe reached over and laid the pen and paper on the coffee table, then looked at Toni. The compassion and concern on his face were the only rays of hope Toni could see in this terrible situation.

“I'm going to call the station,” Abe announced, his voice soft but firm.

“But, what if—”

“I know what you're thinking, but there's always a much better chance of getting someone back safely when the police are involved.”

“But you are the police. Can't you…?”

Abe shook his head. “No. Not only do I have a professional obligation to report this, but it's much too big a deal for me to handle on my own. Toni, I can't go into detail, but you know I've been working on Julie's case, and… Let me just say that this apparent ‘Carlo connection’ could turn into something a lot bigger than anything we might have imagined. That's all I can tell you right now. I'm sure Melissa is going to be fine, but if this guy Carlo—or anybody else—has her, we've got to play by the rules. In fact, if it starts looking more like a kidnapping than a runaway situation, we'll have to call in the state police, maybe even the FBI. There's too much at stake to take any chances.”

His eyes held hers until she nodded in agreement. “I know you're right. I'm just so scared. Not knowing where she is, or what's happening to her…”

“I know, sweetheart. I'll do everything I can. I promise.”

Even in the midst of her pain and fear, Toni caught the endearment. She doubted that Abe was even aware he had uttered it, but
April had noticed. Toni could tell by the way she straightened up and looked from one to the other, but she said nothing.

“I'm going to call the station now,” Abe went on, “and then I want you to give me a list of all of Melissa's friends, anywhere she might have gone. We'll start calling around just to make sure she didn't stop somewhere on the way home.”

“Abe, that's not like her. She wouldn't do that without letting me know.”

“I'm sure that's true, but it's something we have to do.”

As Abe made the call to the station, Toni jotted down names and numbers on the notepad Abe had been using. She understood his point that the calls to Melissa's friends had to be made, but she knew in her heart that it was a wasted effort. Whoever Carlo was, and whatever part he had played in Julie's death, he now had Melissa—somewhere.
Oh, Lord, you know where she is. Please, please keep her safe!

Abe hung up the phone and turned to her. “They'll be here in a few minutes. They'll probably ask you some of the same questions I asked, but just cooperate with them. We need all the information we can get, and sometimes, by repeating it, you remember something you forgot the first time.” He looked at the paper in her hand. “Got your list ready?”

“Yes, but…” Toni paused. There was something she had to do, something more important even than making the necessary phone calls to Melissa's friends. “Do you mind if I make one quick call first? I need to talk to someone at church, to request prayer…” Her voice cracked. “I need to know people are praying for Melissa.”

Abe's jaw twitched and he nodded. “Sure. Go ahead.”

Toni had no sooner hung up the phone after calling the church than it rang. She jumped, then looked at Abe questioningly.

“You can answer it,” he said. “We've still got a trace on it.”

“Do you think it might be…?”

“It could be anybody, but if it's about Melissa—Carlo or anyone else—talk slowly and carefully.”

Her hand shaking, Toni picked up the receiver. Beth Johnson's concerned voice greeted her, asking if she'd heard anything from Melissa. When Toni said she hadn't, Beth said Tyler had found Melissa's journal on the floor in the family room and asked if she should bring it over or just wait and give it to Melissa the next day. Sensing that the journal could be important, Toni covered the mouthpiece of the receiver with her hand and explained to Abe what Beth had said.