Red Red Rose (5 page)

The
next morning, I dragged myself from bed with a frustrated groan to answer the
loud knock at the door. It would figure that even on my one day off I wouldn’t
get to sleep in. I grabbed a sweatshirt from my floor and threw it on over the
thin tank top I slept in. Sliding my feet into my slippers, I trudged through
the house to the door. When I pulled it open, Ben was standing just outside the
outer porch door with another police officer. I recognized him from the night I
came home to find Emily’s car in the garage, but her gone. That night was stuck
playing over and over in my mind like a bad song you wish you’d never heard.

She
was supposed to be on a ski trip with some other friends, but had texted me
that she was coming back early. The car hadn’t driven itself back, so I knew
she made it home from the mountain. At first I thought she might have just
decided to go out, but thought it weird she wouldn’t have texted me to meet up
with her after I got off work. When midnight struck and she hadn’t come back or
answered any of my calls and texts, I started to worry. We had a rule that if
she was going to be out all night, or have an adult sleepover, she had to let
me know who she was going to be with and where. I checked with our other
friends and then finally her parents to ask if anyone had heard from her. When
none of them had, I knew in my gut something was wrong and her parents agreed.
At that point I called the cops. Ben and this guy, Officer Munez, responded to
my call, but they wouldn’t, or couldn’t, do anything until she’d been missing
longer. Even then I’d been able to tell they weren’t taking my concerns
seriously. Ben was a little bitter that Emily had kicked him to the curb, but
he finally came around.

After
talking to him last night, I didn’t know what they could be here about, but I
knew it was about Em. Which meant something had happened. For a moment, I froze
in the doorway, a knot of fear and worry tightening my insides. With uneasy
steps I moved toward the second door and pulled it open.

“Good
morning officers,” my voice croaked, still heavy with sleep. I cleared my
throat, “What can I do for you guys?”

“Can
we come in?” Munez asked.

I
looked at Ben nervously and then stepped back and they followed me inside to
the living room where we took seats. “Is this about Emily?”

“Are
you sure you haven’t heard from your friend since you reported her missing?” Munez
observed me with shrewd, dark eyes. I could see Ben was trying not to show
anything in his expression and he was letting Munez take the lead.

I
frowned. “If I had heard from her, I would have let the police know. Now can
you tell me why you’re here this morning?”

“You
can’t think of any reason why Miss Raynes might have wanted to get away or fake
her disappearance?”

“No,
she wouldn’t do that without letting the people that care about her know. How
many times do I have to tell you guys that she didn’t just take off? Something
happened to her. I know it.”

“We
believe you Nora,” Ben finally spoke up. “We just had to ask. A vagrant was
picked up this morning and we found in his possession identification and credit
cards belonging to Emily. He claims to have taken them from a purse in the
dumpster behind your shop late last night. We recovered the purse from the
dumpster.”

“That’s
not possible.” I shook my head. “How would her purse have gotten inside the
dumpster?”

“We
were hoping you might have an idea about that.”

“I
don’t know how it got there. I sure as hell didn’t put it there, and I don’t
know who did. I do know Emily wouldn’t try to make it look like she
disappeared. So whoever put it in there is probably the person who took her. Can’t
you guys check for prints or something?” I thought back to the night before; I
hadn’t looked inside the dumpster when I tossed the trash bag in, so I couldn’t
say for sure if her purse was there or if someone had disposed of it later in
the night.

“Don’t
worry, we’ll be following all possible leads. We just wanted to get your take,
and then ask you if there was anyone, an employee or customer who might have
had issue with Miss Raynes.” Munez was still asking the questions.

“I
don’t understand. You think because it was behind my shop that someone from
Urban Grind did it? Anyone could have thrown it in there.”

“Like
I said, we’re checking out every possibility. Miss Raynes is a partner in your
business; were you guys having business troubles? Was there a relationship that
went sour?”

I
noticed a tightening in Ben’s face muscles when Munez asked about
relationships.

I
shook my head adamantly. “No. Business is great, and everyone at the shop loves
Em. It’s been a while since she was in a relationship. I know she’d been seeing
a few guys lately,”
sorry Ben,
“but I can’t imagine any of them having a
reason to hurt her.” I was still having a hard time believing someone had
thrown her purse in the dumpster. To dispose of it behind my shop was deliberate.

“You
guys already checked out her ex-boyfriend, Jason, right?” He was the only one
slimy enough to do something like this, and he was the reason she came back
early from her ski trip.”

“Yes,
we cleared Jason Reeves. Was there any other incident in recent weeks, or
something that may have been troubling her?” Officer Munez prodded.

“Not
that she mentioned to me, but last night when I left work, just after nine, I
thought there might have been someone hiding in the alley behind the shop. I
don’t know why, just a feeling I had. I didn’t check it out. I practically ran
to my car and got out of there as quickly as possible. After, I told myself it
had to be a cat or the wind, but there could’ve have been someone there. Do you
think it might have been the person who took Em and tossed her purse?”

 
Was
he there last night?

“I’m
afraid at this point we can’t say for sure that Emily was abducted. The purse
will be examined for prints and the man we picked up will be questioned
thoroughly. We’ll also talk to all of the business owners in the area and find
out if anyone was around last night who might have seen someone coming or going
from the alley around the time you left work.”

“Do
you think . . .” I was afraid to ask the question in my heart. “Is there a
chance that she might still be alright?” I couldn’t bear to say
alive.

“There’s
always a chance, Nora,” Ben tried to reassure me. “We’ll do everything we can
to find answers for you and her family, and if it’s possible, we’ll bring her
home.”

They
left after that, and I remained weighted to my spot on the couch. I drew my
feet up and hugged my knees to my chest, resting my chin atop them. My stomach was
sick with worry for Em. I was also racked with anger that I might have been so
close to the person who’d taken her last night, without even knowing it. Trying
to make sense of it in my head, only added to my frustrations. Why dump her
purse to be found behind the shop? Or did he not expect it to be found?
Wherever she was, was he hurting her? Had he kept her alive?

Poor
Em,
my
heart cracked inside my chest and tears welled in my eyes before a few slipped
out. I sucked in a breath and used the sleeve of my sweatshirt to wipe them
away. I had to get up before the worry and fear sucked me in and made it
impossible for me to leave that spot.

After
a long shower and a hot breakfast, I sat at the counter in our kitchen, sipping
a latte from my small, home espresso machine, staring out the window over the
sink. I’d made up my mind that I would go see Em’s parents this afternoon, but
now I was stalling. I couldn’t even imagine how they were holding up.

Emily
and I met our freshman year at Western, and many times since then she’d taken
me home with her for dinners and family get-togethers. It was my home away from
home and they were my second family. Her father, John Raynes was a retired
military man, and her mom a retired sixth grade teacher. She had one older brother,
James. He’d followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Army. He was
currently deployed oversees, although last I’d heard from his parents, he was
trying to get home. When Elise and John gave him the news about his sister,
he’d almost gone AWOL to come home and search for her. I was in their living
room while John talked him down on the phone, but Em’s disappearance was eating
them all up. They were a tight bunch and I’d always loved being in their home, feeling
like part of the family. Now, I dreaded going there and seeing their misery.
I’m sure they’d already been contacted about Em’s purse, so the pain and worry
would be fresh today. Although, I doubted it had faded even a little since I
had to call them and let them she hadn’t come home.

I
swung by the shop before heading to the Raynes’ residence and found that
Reggie, Cassie and Nina had everything under control.

“We’re
holding down the fort boss, but there were cops here this morning looking for
you. Told them you were taking the day off. They asked if they could take a
look around out back. I hope it was okay that I let them,” Reggie let me know.

“Of
course.” I filled him in on Em’s purse being found while Cassie and Nina both
listened in.

“God,
this is so awful. Who does this shit?” Cassie spit, disgusted.

“I
don’t know,” I muttered. I’m not sure that I wanted to know the kind of person
capable of this. Whatever happened to Em, whether she was still out there
somewhere or not, wasn’t good. “I want you guys to make sure from now on,
whoever is closing, no one takes out the trash alone and the girls need to be
walked to their cars. I don’t want to make anyone afraid, but let’s be smart.”

They
readily agreed and I felt better knowing that the guys would be vigilant and
cautious with the girls when closing. I popped into the office to grab last
night’s deposit from the safe to take to the bank.

“So,
when do I get to meet this new lover of yours?” Nina asked when I emerged from
the office.

“Who’s
been telling you I have a new lover?” I scowled at Cassie and Reggie. They both
wore guilty grins. I turned back to Nina. “I don’t, and after Nathan and with
everything going on, it’s the last thing on my mind.”

“Please,”
Reggie scoffed. “Maybe the last thing on your mind before you go to sleep at
night. I know I would be imaging him in my bed if he came in here giving me
those sex eyes the way he does you.”

I
rolled my eyes. “Whatever, I’m out of here. Try not to burn the place down
while I’m gone.”

On
my way out the door, I passed Danny buried in his work. “Danny, keep an eye on
them for me, would you?” I called loud enough for them to hear.

His
head shot up from his computer and he looked at me slightly confused. “Uh, oh,
yes. Sure thing.”

With
a smile and a wave I shoved open the door.

The
Raynes lived on the north end of the city, right on the outskirts of
Bellingham. They had a beautiful home set on a decent sized plot of land, but
when I pulled into their drive, it was as if a grey cloud of despair hung over
the residence. Or maybe the cloud was over me, but every step toward their door
was heavy.

Elise
answered in her bathrobe, her eyes red and puffy. Immediately, my own started
to sting. “Oh, Nora,” she said softly, her voice weary and full of pain. She
pulled the door open wider and stepped back to let me in.

We
joined an equally somber Mr. Raynes in the living room. Unlike his wife though,
he was dressed, but his shoulders sagged and his face spoke of the same pain I
heard in his wife’s voice. Normally a tall, strong man with a commanding
presence, he looked like a shell of himself. His hair seemed a little thinner
and greyer, as did Elise’s, but again, it might have just been me.

“I
presume the police contacted you this morning,” John spoke as Elise went to sit
beside him on the sofa.

I
dropped into an empty armchair. “They did, to let me know about the homeless
man who had Emily’s ID and credit cards, and that her purse was in my dumpster.
Did they tell you guys anything else?”

Elise
shook her head and John rubbed a soothing hand down her back. “No, that’s all
they would say. They asked if we thought she might have any reason to fake her
disappearance. I told those officers that was a bunch of bullshit. Emily
wouldn’t play games like that.”

“I
told them the same thing. I also told them that I thought someone might have
been in the alley last night when I took the trash out. I didn’t really see
anything, so it might have been a cat or the wind. Either way, I wasn’t much
help, but I think they’re going to be looking at everyone at the shop.”

“Oh
sweetheart, please be careful leaving at night. If whoever took Emily was there
. . . I just don’t even want to think about something happening to you as
well.” Elise leaned forward and gave my hand a squeeze.

“I
know. I just can’t help but think that maybe if I’d paid better attention I
would have something more to tell the police to help them find her.”

“It
won’t do for you to go putting yourself at risk. That won’t help anyone, least
of all Emily. She wouldn’t want anything to happen to you,” John admonished.
“Now, when was the last time you drove down to see your folks?”