Untraceable (19 page)

“Is this safe? I
mean the ride—for the baby.”

“Other than being
very loud, you are basically moving in a burst of
air.”

The men said
nothing as they watched us. Jonathan helped me up onto the boat and
into my seat, handing me a headphone set to put on. Jonathan seated
himself beside me and the boat began to move. He was right about
the noise, it was loud, but within moments we were on the lake and
moving toward the opposite shore. It was actually beautiful to be
out on the water as we moved effortlessly along the surface toward
the northwest end of the lake. It didn’t take long and we were
moving up onto the other side of the shore. The driver only moved
fifteen or twenty feet onto the opposite bank when the motor slowed
and Jonathan signaled to me that it was safe to get down. To my
surprise the boat motor sped back up and they moved onto the
water.

“Where are they
going?”

“They will be out
on the lake while we look at the house. Come on, this way,” he said
leading me toward a path that was somewhat
overgrown.

“So how did you
find the house out here? I knew there was one on the property, I’d
just forgotten about it.”

“I was looking up
information about the property on the tax collector’s site and
noticed there was an improvement. After studying the aerial photos
and finding out where it was, I came out here two days ago, hiked
around the lake to be precise, to find it. I did not think you
would appreciate the hike. It is long enough when you cross the
lake.”

“How far is
it?”

“From here,
perhaps a half kilometer.”

“In
American?”

“I think that
would be equivalent to a third of a mile. Do not worry, it is all
level terrain and we will be there in a few minutes. I would not
have suggested you doing this if I thought it would be too
difficult in your con—pre—in your expectant
state.”

“Nice save,” I
laughed lightly. Glad to pause my train of thought—but not for
long. I followed silently, wondering what I was doing. I started my
morning with making a bad decision and it was only getting worse. I
rode in a noisy boat driven by men who made my skin crawl, and now
I was hiking through the woods with someone my husband didn’t trust
and I barely knew. Okay, it was time to pull out my cell phone and
let my husband know what I was up to.

Jonathan’s head
turned as soon as he heard the electronic
sound.

“What are you
doing?”

“Letting Micah
know where I’m at.”

“I do not think
so,” he said slowing his walk.

My heart began to
pick up speed. “Why not?” I snapped.

He appeared to be
reaching for my phone as I snatched it away.

“Leese, I am sorry
but there is no signal out here once you cross the lake, unless you
have a booster.”

I studied my
signal indicator—I had zero bars.

“I hope I am not
making you nervous. There is the house,” he said pointing just
ahead of us.

I took a
comforting breath. Okay, he was on the level, the house was
charming. It had a tin roof and the exterior was unpainted cedar
clapboard siding. The windows were double hung with sharp peaks
above them. There was a covered porch that appeared to go all the
way around the house, and a porch swing not far from the front
door. “What kind of architecture is this?”

“I have no idea.
But, if I was guessing, I would say American country-cabin, with a
tiny amount of New England cottage thrown in.”

“You say there is
furniture inside?”

“Yes. I have a
feeling once they managed to haul it all back here they did not
want to haul any of it out of here. I was just surprised that no
one had broken into it—well, until I did
anyway.”

“You
broke
in?”

“Picked the locks
actually. They were fairly simple,” he said as he turned the front
door knob. “I left it unlocked. I assumed with the fence up now
around the property and the fact that no one has broken in here in
the five years since it was built, it was
safe.”

“Wow,” was the
only thing I could say. The floors were polished wood, the
furniture was white oak. The main part of the house was a great
room with a large stone fireplace. The kitchen was in the center of
the room and was an open design. The appliances were astonishing.
“Are those antiques?”

“No, they are
reproductions, but they are expensive reproductions. I have the
power on. I put some bottles of water in the refrigerator the other
day, would you like one?”

“Definitely.
August, pregnant, and just walked a half mile through the
woods—yes, I want water.”

He laughed easily
as he opened the refrigerator and removed the lid from a water
bottle and handed it to me and then took one out for himself. “It
is not a half mile, but August and pregnant I will not argue with.
Come on and I will show you the rest of the
house.”

There were two
bedrooms on the lower floor that shared a bath and then up the
stairs had a large balcony hallway looking down into the living
room, and a master bedroom with a private bath and an exceptional
view of the lake. He showed me the fuel cell behind the house and
the solar panels that ran all along the back of the roof. We
finished by going up the porch and following it back around to the
front where he invited me to relax on the swing for a little while
before starting the hike back to the boat.

“So what do you
think?”

I gave a
tremendous yawn and relaxed against the back of the swing as I
polished off my cold water. “It’s fantastic, but the walk wore me
out.”

“I did not make
you over do it, did I? I thought it would be pretty easy for you,
but you are, how shall I say, getting more expectant every time I
see you.”

“I think there is
only one degree to expectant; you either are or you aren’t. But I
am getting bigger every day.”

“I would think if
I said that, you would say I was being rude
again.”

I closed my eyes
and smiled as I recalled telling him that asking about my hair
color was rude. He was babbling on about having the road pushed
through or building a bridge across the lake (which I thought was a
bit extreme) as I listened to his voice. “You have a nice voice,
Jonathan—your accent, I mean.” I reluctantly opened my eyes, “Time
to head back. I’m taking a long nap as soon as I get
home.”

“You are not too
tired to drive, are you?”

“Nah,” I said,
reclosing my eyes for one final moment of relaxation. As soon as I
got my lazy butt out of this swing, I was going to go home and beg
Micah to forgive me for driving my Aero. If I was bad, I’d make it
home just as fast as I made it here this morning. I would be in
trouble with him anyway, so I might as well enjoy the
drive.

PLAY

CHAPTER eleven

Micah made it home
around three thirty and hit the button to open the garage door.
Nadia’s Lexus was there, but the Aston Martin was gone.
Immediately, he began to wonder where was his wife? He thought
about dialing her cell, but Nadia was home so perhaps she would
know where Leese went.

Kimmy greeted him
as soon as he came through the door. She threw her arms around him
for a big hug and told him she missed him while she and her mother
had been in Louisiana visiting David. “I got to go to grandma and
grandpa Gavarreen’s house,” she happily announced. “I had to make
sure I didn’t touch anything.” She sounded a little disappointed on
that last line.

“That’s because,”
Nadia said as she came around the corner from the kitchen and gave
Micah a hug as well, “I told you their things are very old and very
special, and I didn’t want you to accidently break something of
theirs.”

He ruffled Kimmy’s
hair and then smiled back at Nadia, “Where’s
Leese?”

“She left a note
on the kitchen counter about going out to the property to see
something Jonathan wanted to show her. She said she thought she’d
be back by four.”

His brow
furrowed.

“Don’t worry,
Micah,” she stated, anticipating his thoughts.

“I just don’t
trust him.”

Nadia smiled as
she gripped the back of his hand, “I’m sure she’s fine, but call
her if you’re that worried.”

He didn’t need any
more urging to grab his cell and dial her number. It went to
voicemail. His teeth ground together as he dialed Jonathan’s
number. Within two rings it was answered. He dispensed with the
greeting, “Where’s my wife?”

The question was
met with brief silence. “Micah? I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize the
number.” That wasn’t surprising since he hadn’t called Jonathan
from his cell before, but he had saved the information in his phone
from Leese’s, just as a precaution.

“Where’s Leese?”
he repeated, a little more sternly.

“She left the
property around one-thirty, one-forty-five. She should be back at
your house any time,” he replied.

“What the hell?
I’ll call you back if I need to,” Micah said, snapping his phone
shut without waiting for a response from
Jonathan.

“What is it,
Micah?” Nadia asked as she watched the color drain from his face.
She turned to look out the window and she saw what had taken him by
surprise. There were two highway patrol cars in their driveway, and
the troopers were approaching the front door with their hats in
their hands.

Micah reached the
door before they could ring the bell.

“Can I help you?”
he asked, but there was a quiver that had started in his throat
that he couldn’t mask.

“Mrs. Winslett,
Mr. Gavarreen, may we come in? We need to—”

“What’s wrong?”
Nadia interrupted, “What’s this about?”

“We’re sorry
ma’am, but there’s been a car accident and we believe your
daughter—”

Nadia’s hand
immediately covered her mouth as she asked what she was afraid to
know, “Is she okay? Where is she?”

“Please,” the
other officer asked, “could we sit somewhere for a
moment?”

The officers
stepped in through the doorway as they were led in silence to the
couch. Kimmy was already in the living room
playing.

“I don’t know if
it’s a good idea for her to be in here,” The officer began,
motioning toward Kimmy.

“She stays,” Micah
said numbly. “What happened?”

“Approximately
twenty minutes ago witnesses saw a Shelby Aero moving at a high
rate of speed heading south on I-95, driven by a young, blonde
woman matching your daughter’s description. She lost control of the
vehicle near the 76 mile marker.

“Sweet Jesus, no.”
Nadia began to crumple as the trooper reached to take her
hand.

“I’m very sorry,
but there wasn’t anything anyone could do.”

“No,” Micah
growled, rising from the couch, “she’s not driving her Aero. She’s
in her Aston Martin.”

“She’s the only
person in this county that has—”

Micah was already
moving for the garage, with one of the troopers close behind him.
Kimmy was also trailing wanting to know why her mother was suddenly
so upset.

“What’s wrong,
Micah?” came Kimmy’s frightened voice. “Who had an
accident?”

He tore open the
door into the garage as he stared at the Lexus and Corvette and
then continued walking toward the door that connected the other
three car garage. When he opened the door, you could hear the air
leave his lungs as if someone had hit him in the chest with a
bullet. Parked in the second garage was her Aston Martin—the Aero
was gone.

“Oh, God… Oh, God,
no… It can’t be true,” he said as his body hit the door frame and
collapsed down to the floor.

“Micah,” Kimmy
cried out, thrusting herself against him and holding on tightly.
“What’s wrong? Where’s my sister?”