Vanished (17 page)

Mason was stunned. “She stole your keys?”
Her twin stole from her? What kind of relationship did they have?

Ava leaned her head against her window and covered her face with one hand. “I’m going to kill her. I don’t care how injured she is. This is the last time I let her do this to me.”

“The last time? She’s done it before?”

“Not exactly.” Ava sighed. “Last time she broke my television and the microwave when I let her stay with me. I had to make a personal rule that I wouldn’t let her sleep under my roof ever again. Or even come for a visit. I go out of my way to meet her somewhere else if she wants to get together.”

“I don’t understand,” Mason said slowly. “What’s wrong with her?”

Ava was quiet. “It’s complicated,” she finally said.

“I can see that.”
Should he press the issue?
He wasn’t one to pry, but twice he’d seen Ava rattled by her sister’s actions. He bit his lip, overwhelmed by his desire to know what was going on in the FBI agent’s life. She’d been exposed to the nastiness that’d enveloped him in the last few days. Now it was his turn for a peek at what was upsetting the usually calm and cool agent.

Ava turned to him. “Have you ever loved someone, and the existence of that emotion was completely out of your control? Someone who knows you inside and out? Someone who is closer to you than anyone else in the world? That deep-down soul connection where you physically feel them moving about in the world?”

She paused, and he felt her staring at his profile. He was scared to look directly at her. It might make her stop talking.

But had he?
“No. Not even in my marriage,” he answered honestly. “The person who knows me best is my partner, Ray. But even he doesn’t know everything.”

She nodded and slumped back in her seat. “You can’t understand unless you have a twin. There’s no other bond like it. We shared everything. Growing up, she took what was mine just like I helped myself to what was hers. There was no division of anything between us. But as an adult, there have to be boundaries. I learned about those boundaries when I went to college. Jayne never did. She operates as if we’re still twelve.”

“So your car is her car, and she believes there is nothing wrong with that,” Mason guessed.

“Exactly. In her eyes, I’m being selfish by keeping my car from her when she believes that half of it is hers.”

“Even though you paid for it. She doesn’t understand that?”

“No,” said Ava. “She can’t assign a value to something that she never paid for. She’s horrible with money. She’s never saved a dime in her life and flits from job to job and man to man. She operates like the world owes her everything.”

“And you owe her whatever you’ve worked your butt off for,” Mason said. A picture of her twin had started to form in his mind. A narcissist. A woman who believed the world should rotate around her. He’d met women like that, maybe even dated a few. How would it be to grow up with one of those women as your sister? Your
twin
sister?

“Then there are the addictions. She’s been arrested for meth use and selling oxy. I can’t count the number of times she’s been picked up for drunk and disorderly. Not only is she drunk a lot, she’s a mean drunk. She’s been in and out of every rehab program there is. I paid for two of them and then said no more. But every six months she approaches me with a new one. ‘I know it will work this time,’ she claims. But how can they work when she puts no effort into them? As soon as she walks out the door, she’s back to her old ways.”

“That has to be hard on you,” Mason answered.

“It rips me to pieces,” she said in a soft voice. “She’s part of me. She
is
me. When I see her like that, it shows who I’d be if I’d made different decisions in my life. It’s only by the grace of God that I’m not the one in the hospital this minute.”

“That’s not true,” asserted Mason. “You don’t have a narcissistic bone in your body. You two might share identical DNA, but somehow it operates differently in you. You are nowhere near the person your sister sounds like.”

“But I am!” Ava cried. “I want it all! I want my life to be a fucking piece of cake. I wish I could curl up in bed all day feeling high as a kite and let the world go on around me. Do you know how great that sounds? I wish I had a Mercedes like my neighbor. I feel a stab of envy every time he drives by. I understand how she feels!”

“So do you walk into his house and steal his keys?” Mason snapped. “Hell, no! That’s what’s different about you. That’s what separates you from your twin. You have morals and standards. Everybody wishes they could escape from their shitty life sometimes, but they don’t do it. They get up and go to work and act like decent human beings.”

“But some days I feel so close to that line,” Ava said. “What happens on the day I finally trip and take the plunge?”

“You’re being too hard on yourself. Think about a little kid. What kid doesn’t want to grab that candy bar from the grocery shelf when their mom isn’t looking? Some of them actually do it. But you know what? They learn it’s wrong. They learn to control their impulses. But a few people never learn. They’re the reason we have a job. It sounds like your twin is still a little kid who can’t control her impulses.”

Ava was quiet for a moment. “Jayne used to steal from stores. She’d make me feel guilty because I wouldn’t do the same. I even lied to cover for her.”

“Hell, I stole some shit when I was a kid. My dad beat me over the head, and I never did it again. A lot of kids are tempted. It’s a normal life lesson to learn. The problem happens when someone doesn’t learn. Something in their brain keeps them from understanding right from wrong.”

“I enabled her,” Ava said. “I should have let her get punished. I covered for her all the time. When she didn’t do her homework or when she snuck out with boys. I shouldn’t have done all that. Maybe she’d be a different person.”

“You can’t tell me your sister is in the hospital because you covered for her behavior in high school.” Mason stopped at a traffic light and looked at Ava. “She stole and wrecked your car. There’s no excuse, and I’m not going to let you make one for her. None of what happened today or anytime in her life is your fault. She’s done this to herself.” He stepped on the accelerator, watching Ava out of the corner of his eye. “You have every right to be pissed as hell.”

“Oh, I am. That’s why you’re driving. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I can barely see straight.”

“Good. Hang on to that feeling when you confront her.”

“I don’t know what to say to her. I don’t know how badly hurt she is.”

“It doesn’t matter how hurt she is. Get mad at her for hurting herself! She could have killed someone. Her injuries shouldn’t affect what you have to tell her.”

“Argh!” Ava thumped a fist on the car door. “She’s so infuriating. It’s always been like this, and that’s why I stay away from her.”

“So why did you move to Portland? You said she was here first.”

“I thought it would be different. I thought she’d finally grown up. We’d been in different states for several years and our mother had passed, so I thought it was time to be sisters again. I wasn’t here for a week before I realized I was wrong. I’ve tried to talk to her about how she acts. She says I’m full of it.”

“Truth always sounds like lies to a sinner.”

“That’s exactly how she responds. Like I’m lying to her and making things up. I can’t believe I’ve allowed her to do this to me again.”

Mason snorted. “Agent McLane, you’ll be lucky if this is the worst thing you ever have happen to you.” He pulled into a parking space at Emanuel Hospital. Ava leaped out of the vehicle and strode toward the Emergency Room entrance. Mason jogged to catch up with her, and then hung back as she checked in with the desk.

His phone rang. Jake.

“Hey, son. What’s up?”

“Is it okay if I go over to McKenzie’s for a little bit? She couldn’t make it to the vigil and wants to hear about it.”

Mason scowled. “Did you ask your mom?”

“Yeah.”

He waited. “And?”

“She said no.”

“So why are you asking me?” Mason shook his head. Had Jake already forgotten that he might have been face-to-face with Henley’s abductor?

“I haven’t gotten to see her hardly at all. And it’s almost Christmas.”

“Jake. Do you remember your conversation with the FBI today?
No one
is going anywhere without an agent or a cop with them. Agent McLane is busy this evening, and I don’t think it’s wise to ask one of the Clackamas County deputies to go with you so you can visit with some girl. Got it?”

“She’s not just
some girl
.
I like her—a lot—and this is totally unfair.”

Mason was speechless. But only for two seconds. “What the hell is unfair? That you’re not allowed to wander the streets while there’s a kidnapper possibly targeting your family? That part is unfair?” Anger infused his voice.
What was the kid thinking?

Jake wasn’t thinking. His hormones were.

“Whatever.”

“Listen. I get that you like this girl. But that needs to be put on hold. Go play your Xbox or watch a movie. You are not to leave that house tonight. Your mom told you not to, and I’m standing with her. Get over it.”

Jake mumbled something that sounded like good-bye and clicked off.

Mason blew out a breath, sliding his phone back into his pocket.
Boys.
Jake was thinking with another part of his anatomy, and his parents’ refusals were making him grumpy. And stupid.

Mason glanced around at the waiting room and was surprised at the size of the crowd for eight o’clock at night. It was packed. A TV droned on, set to CNN. A second TV showed kids’ cartoons, but the sound was off. The four kids watching didn’t seem to mind that they couldn’t hear the show.

Ava gestured for him to follow her and a woman in scrubs. They moved down a hall that widened into a larger room with a dozen curtained-off beds. Feet were visible under the curtains around the beds. Some in scrubs and hospital clogs or white sneakers. Visitors obvious in their jeans and street shoes.

“They’re waiting for a bed in the hospital,” Ava said to him in a low voice. “The cops left because they’re keeping her overnight for observation for a bad concussion. Tomorrow, she has to report downtown to be processed for her arrest.” Her voice shook as she ended her sentence.

The nurse stopped at a curtained bed. “Jayne? You’ve got some visitors.” She smiled brightly at Ava and Mason as she whipped back the curtain.

So that’s Jayne McLane.
The woman with closed eyes lying in the bed didn’t look anything like Ava. Her hair was a bright blonde, and she seemed paler and bonier. She had a dozen lacerations down the left side of her face and a large bandage on her forehead. Her left wrist and hand were bandaged. Her eyes opened, and the resemblance punched Mason in the stomach. Ava’s eyes stared out of the other woman’s face.

“Ava!” Jayne sniffed and rubbed her nose with her forearm, avoiding her bandages. “I was so scared. I can’t believe this happened!”

Ava stood at the foot of the bed, staring at her sister, her face unreadable.

Jayne held out her good hand for her sister to take. Ava didn’t move. Jayne glanced at Mason and back to her stiff sister, her gaze confused. She let her arm drop.

“How badly are you hurt?” Ava asked.

“Well,” Jayne gestured at her head. “I think you can see most of it. I sprained my hand on the steering wheel, and they say I have a bad concussion. I don’t hurt too bad right now.”

Her glassy eyes told Mason she was enjoying some potent painkillers.

“Were you drunk?” Ava asked.

Jayne looked away. “Not really. I’m sure my test will come back—”

“How much did you drink?” Ava’s words sliced through the air.

“I don’t know!” Jayne yelled back. “I can’t remember.” She gritted her teeth as she stared at her twin.

Mason took a half step backward. The tension around the bed was stifling. If Jayne was expecting some sympathy from her twin, it wasn’t coming.

“You stole my keys out of my purse this morning.”

Jayne jerked her head like she’d been slapped. “No, I didn’t.”

“Then how did you
wreck my car
?”

Jayne burst into tears. “Jesus Christ, Ava! You don’t have to yell at me. I’m hurt! I have a concussion and have to stay in the hospital.”

“You. Stole. My. Car.”

Jayne sniffed. “You have no sympathy for me at all. How can you be such a bitch at a time like this? I mean, the car is insured, right?”

Mason blinked.
Ava hadn’t been exaggerating.

“You stole my car. You drove it drunk. You wrecked it, and you hit another car. You’re lucky you didn’t kill someone! You’re probably going to jail for drunk driving. And if I feel like it, you’ll be charged with stealing my Honda, too!” Ava clenched her hands into fists, and Mason rocked onto his toes in case he had to stop her from taking a swing at her sister.

“You’re so mean to me! You’ve always hated me!”

Jayne is nuts. How does Ava put up with it?

Ava closed her eyes, and Mason imagined he could hear her counting to ten.

“You’re going to survive,” said Ava calmly. “But you’ve interfered in my life enough this decade. Don’t call me.” She turned around and walked away.

Jayne sat upright in her bed. “Ava! Wait! I need someone to give me a ride home tomorrow.”

“Ask your boyfriend,” Ava tossed over her shoulder as she departed.

Jayne gasped and turned to stare at Mason. “Who are you?”

“A friend of your twin.”

“Are you dating her? She only pretends to be nice at first. Deep down she has a lot of issues, especially when it comes to men. You should be careful around her,” Jayne said with a straight face, blue eyes full of innocence.

“Thanks for the advice,” said Mason, touching the brim of his hat. “Good luck to you, ma’am. I hope your cellmate doesn’t have irritable bowel syndrome.”

He followed Ava’s footsteps.

18

62 HOURS MISSING

Ava strode blindly out of the hospital, brushing the tears on her face. Her twin had looked like a battered doll, and Ava had been cruel to her. Jayne was being kept overnight in the hospital, and all Ava cared about was that she’d wrecked her car, and then told her to never call again.

Which twin was the selfish one?

She yanked on the door handle of Mason’s vehicle. Locked. As she’d known it would be. He was the predictable type who always locked his doors. She laid her forehead on the cool metal of the car and blinked away her tears. Predictability was something she could use a big dose of right now. She was exhausted from having the rug ripped out from under her.

It left her silently bleeding inside, where no one could see.

The car doors clicked as Mason hit his remote. Ava didn’t move.

“Hey.” He cleared his throat. “Your twin is a real piece of work.”

Ava lifted her head, wiped her nose, and nodded. “You saw a good example tonight. Did you notice how she didn’t admit she stole my car? And never apologized for wrecking it? In her mind, it was her right. She believes she doesn’t need to apologize to me for anything.” She leaned against the car, shaking her head.

“Would an apology have helped?” His voice was low and gentle as he leaned an arm on the car’s roof, by her shoulder.

Ava thought about it. “I don’t know. I guess I wouldn’t believe she meant it, so it wouldn’t have helped at all. I simply want to hear her say the words, because I don’t believe she’s capable of it.” She looked at him; his brown eyes weren’t visible under the brim of his hat in the dim hospital parking lot. “Did she say something to you after I left?”

His mouth twitched into a half smile. “Yeah, she was concerned for my well-being if I continued to hang around with you.”

Ava wished she was surprised. “She tries to destroy any friendships I have.”

Mason nodded. “She told me you have issues. Especially with men.”

“Oh Lord.” She cringed.

“She asked if we were dating.”

Ava felt her cheeks darken and was thankful for the poor light. “In the past, she’d get my boyfriends alone and tell them horrible lies about me. Then she’d hit on them. It’s pretty surprising how many fell for it. I know of three who cheated on me with her.”

“That’s sick.”

“If you’d stayed any longer, I’m sure she would have flirted with you. Even when she’s drunk and high on pain meds, she can come on pretty strong.”

Mason leaned closer, and his eyes became visible. Ava’s pulse pounded in her ears as she met his gaze.
He’s not thinking of my twin.
His concentration was on her. Every bit of focus and determination she’d seen in the man over the last three days was laser beamed directly at her. She caught her breath.

“What would you do if I kissed you right now, Special Agent McLane?” he drawled.

Playing up his cowboy side did odd things to Ava’s stomach.

“Why would you want—”

His mouth cut her off.

All anguish and emotion about Jayne evaporated. The only thought in her head was that Mason Callahan knew damn well how to kiss a woman. Warm lips pressed hers, urging her mouth open, and she complied. He caged her against the car. One hand slid up her neck into her hair and took a firm hold of the back of her skull, holding her where he wanted her. He didn’t keep anything back, pressing his chest against hers.

His kiss was demanding; he wasn’t asking permission for the intrusion. Ava welcomed the distraction and mentally sank into the pleasure that he offered. Sensations of silk and heavenly friction danced through her mouth. A headiness enveloped her, rushing from the touch of his lips and shooting through every nerve fiber until she was dizzy.

He was cowboy through and through, from his hat to his boots to his manners to his ethics.

She’d never kissed a cowboy before.

And this wouldn’t be her last time.

Mason pulled back a fraction. “I’m not interested in your twin, Special Agent McLane. I’ve been interested in you from the first moment I saw you.”

Ava couldn’t think.

Inches away, he held her gaze and his eyes crinkled. “I take it you don’t have an objection.”

“We work together, detective,” she forced out. She didn’t know where the thought came from, but if he wanted an objection, she’d come up with one.

“That’s the best you can do?”

She sputtered.

“I thought so.” He kissed her again and ran a slow finger down her cheek, lighting her up like a fire. His touch rocketed pathways through her limbs, and she felt like she’d taken a megadose of speed.

How’d he do that?

She wanted to get lost in him, forget that her sister had turned her life upside down, and that a family she cared about was missing their little girl. She’d been going nonstop for three days, worrying about Henley and her family. Ava needed to catch her breath and recharge. Mason Callahan fit the bill.

“Can I take you home, Ava?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

She didn’t ask whose home. They were both on the same page.

The crowd had nearly melted away. He stepped out from his hiding spot across the street. He’d hung back during the vigil, afraid of cameras and police recordings. All the police cars and news cameras were gone. A few people scurried about and picked up the garbage that’d been left behind. It had to be pretty safe by now. He took a hard look at each person in sight.

The FBI agents were so easy to spot. They were constantly looking every which way, scanning every person around them. They didn’t listen to the people on the small stage; they were too busy looking for a criminal.

They should have been looking straight ahead.

He strolled across the street and into the grass, feeling a need to interact with the people who’d come to support Henley. “Do you need a hand?” he asked the three women folding up the banner.

They smiled at him but turned him down. “This is the last of it, and we’ve got it. Thank you for showing your support for the family tonight,” one woman said. Her two helpers nodded in agreement.

False words.

The women acted out of fear. They’d thrown the vigil together in the desperate hope that their own children wouldn’t be touched. Karma said that if they helped others in their darkest times, then evil wouldn’t cross their own doorstep.

He believed firmly in Karma. But he’d been waiting two decades for it to take its course. Now he’d waited long enough, and it was time to give it a hand. Small steps. Careful steps. His plan was coming together. He’d seen the pain on the faces of the family tonight, and it’d felt like cool ice on a burn. It’d eased the hole in his heart. The hole could never be repaired; he’d accepted that fact after years of alcohol and the loss of his family, job, and self-worth.

He’d had to fall to the bottom before he could pick himself up. In his misery, he’d torn down the innocent people around him. Twice. Thankfully, they’d rebounded. He cared about the people in his life and hadn’t meant to hurt them. His first wife had moved on after trying to pull him out of his soul-deep depression for three years. His second wife had caught the brunt of his anger from his losses in life. She’d stuck it out for two years, believing she could heal him. But she’d eventually left, too.

It’d taken his wife and son abandoning him to open his eyes. The boy wasn’t his. When he’d met his second wife, part of her appeal had been her son. He’d believed that having a child to nurture would be good for him, but it’d been the opposite. He’d resented the boy and resented the mother for their close relationship. He’d never bonded with the child.

After they’d left, he began his search for healing. He’d examined his life and his past and had clearly seen where he’d lost the balance. He’d made the corrections.

Now he walked along the Willamette River, leaving the sounds of the vigil cleanup behind him. The musty, wet scent of the river filled his nose. The river had a beautiful park on its west side, lit by the tall buildings of the city, and people strolled the long walk in spite of the cold night air.

Christmas was coming. People flocked to the city to get in the holiday mood. Stores put up decor and lights. Even the Morrison Bridge was lit up with green and red. If he hadn’t spied on the vigil for the missing girl, he would have sworn all was in balance with the world.

But it wasn’t. He’d waited a long time to set things to rights. His pain and loss had to be atoned for; the person who’d created his pain had to suffer the same. Then he could be at ease. He’d be able to breathe again. His life wouldn’t have the gray shadow that had consistently hung over him, reminding him that the guilty one hadn’t paid. His nightmares would ease.

He’d
been the one who’d done all the paying.
He’d
been the one to have his life ripped away.

Soon.

He breathed faster. He was so close to that blessed peace he’d sought for so many years.

He hadn’t been driving the minivan. He’d used it only that once, and it’d been hidden away since Friday morning. He’d been surprised to see the AMBER Alert on the news. That had happened a bit faster than he’d expected.

Where had they gotten the license-plate number? How had they connected the stolen van with Henley Fairbanks? He smiled to think of all the minivans that’d been pulled over with the hopes of finding a small blonde child in the back. Let the police waste their resources. The van had served its purpose. By the time they found it, they’d realize their focus had been misdirected from day one.

His plan hadn’t gone completely as expected, but he’d managed nicely when curveballs had been thrown his way. It was important to keep his options open. He hadn’t given up on his primary goal; it was still possible.

He’d kept a careful eye on the girl’s family tonight. They’d stuck together in a small group, never letting one another out of their sight. It was heartwarming to see their pain. It’d been worth every step so far. They were an odd blend of a family. Two fathers, two mothers. The other child. Everyone seemed to get along; they hadn’t turned on one another like he’d hoped.

They had to have their suspicions. When would they start to act out against one another? When would the inner dismantling begin?

He thought about the paper bag sitting in the trunk of his car.

It was time for the next phase.