Risky Return. Virginia Vaughan

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      “Kent is sending those threatening letters to the lab. I wish you’d given them to him when you first started receiving them.”

      She should have gone to the police with the letters, but they hadn’t been particularly helpful when Missy had disappeared. She’d assumed they wouldn’t be any more helpful about anonymous notes. And she hadn’t been able to convince herself, truly convince herself, that her suspicions were anything more than suspicion and speculation.

      Until now.

      Until Missy had shown up at her door two days ago.

      Until someone had tried to kill her.

      “I should have. I didn’t show them to anyone.”

      “Not even your father? He could have arranged protection for you. Hired you a bodyguard.”

      “No, I couldn’t tell him.” Missy had claimed to see Mason Industries on the building where she’d been held, which meant her father might be involved in this. She couldn’t trust him. The truth was she didn’t know who she could trust anymore. Everyone was a suspect.

      “Why not? What’s going on, Rebecca?”

      “I have a client, a teenaged girl I worked with named Missy, who went missing a few months ago. The police investigated but ultimately listed her as a runaway. But I knew this girl, Collin, and she wouldn’t have run away. I worried something terrible had happened to her, that she’d been a victim of foul play or abducted into a human trafficking ring. Foster kids are especially susceptible to traffickers. I started asking questions of all the people she knew. I put up missing posters and set up a Facebook page hoping someone would have information about her they wanted to share. I even started checking the news online for all the surrounding areas in case her body turned up somewhere else, like if she was the victim of a serial killer.” She’d felt silly even considering that possibility at the time, but no more.

      “Did they find her body?”

      “No, but I did find a mention of another missing girl who was found dead. She’d recently given birth and, Collin, she was from right here in Moss Creek. She was a foster kid, just like Missy, who went missing one day. I recognized her name immediately, but I hadn’t had much contact with her because her file was transferred to another county not long after I first met her. They found her a hundred miles across the border in Arkansas, and there was no sign anywhere of the baby she’d given birth to.”

      “What was her cause of death?”

      “The medical examiner ruled it as an overdose.”

      “But you didn’t believe that?”

      “I didn’t. I also was unable to find any trace of what happened to that child. He or she was never entered into the foster care system either here or in Arkansas. I checked with a social worker friend that lives there.”

      “She might have left it at a safe haven or put it up for a private adoption. Then she felt remorse and OD’d.”

      “I’m familiar with the adoption process. My cousin adopted her son and it was long and complicated. I realize it’s possible this girl had no connection to Missy, but I kept digging and I found other missing girls, all of them pregnant, and none of them had reason to run away from their foster homes. I became convinced I was dealing with some sort of baby-selling ring.”

      He frowned, obviously unconvinced. It was true she’d had no real evidence of a baby-selling operation—not until Missy confirmed her suspicions. Yet, he reached for her hand and squeezed it, a gesture that gave her comfort and assurance that he believed what she was saying. “Still, you’ve obviously stumbled onto something. Someone wants you dead. There has to be a reason for that.”

      She took a deep breath and made a decision. She needed to trust someone and Collin had proven himself today. Besides, he’d been out of the country for the past few months. He was the only person she knew for certain wasn’t involved. “There’s more,” she said and he looked at her. “Two nights ago, Missy reappeared. She showed up at my door. She’d been beaten and terrorized. She confirmed everything I’d suspected. She’d been held hostage and had her baby stolen from her.”

      His eyes widened. “What? She was here in town?”

      “Somehow, she escaped and came to me for help. I’ve been trying to help her piece together where it was they were held, but she was so panicked that she can’t be sure of anything. It can’t be far away because she hitchhiked to get here. She doesn’t remember being in the car for more than an hour or so.”

      Collin jumped to his feet. “Where is she now? We have to get her to the police.”

      “She won’t go. She’s afraid the police are involved. She claims she saw someone in a law enforcement uniform talking with one of her captors. I don’t know who she saw or from what town or county, but she’s convinced the police are involved. She was so frightened and I knew I couldn’t keep her at my house in case they came looking for her so I hid her out at a motel.”

      Collin leaned over her, his brow tightening in a way she remembered it did when he was anxious. “Rebecca, what if they followed her here? They know you have her. They could have already gotten to her at the motel. If this is true, they’ll do anything to keep her from ruining their operation.”

      She saw the fear in his eyes and suddenly felt the weight of what she was doing. She’d been too deep in protecting Missy to even think about the consequences of hiding her out. But three attacks in one day had opened her eyes. “I know there’s danger, but I can’t abandon her. I also can’t take the risk that she’ll run again if I go to the police before she’s ready to talk.”

      “Kent is right outside questioning the nurses. He’s going to want to talk to you about this latest attack, Rebecca. You need to tell him about Missy.”

      “I can’t. Please, Collin, you’re the only one I’ve trusted with this.”

      He stared at her and she saw his mind running through all the options. “Well, I can’t let you do this alone. I don’t know who or what she saw, but you can’t just assume all police are dirty because of it. We’ll talk to her and take her to the police together and try to sort this all out.”

      “Thank you, Collin. That means a lot to me.” Tears pressed at her eyes. It felt so good to not be in this alone any longer.

      Collin stood, his expression grim and worried. He leaned over her, placing a kiss on her head. “Try to get some rest. Don’t worry, I’ll be here making sure you’re safe. No one will bother you. I promise.”

      Yet just as he made that promise, the door swung open and her cousin Janice entered the room, followed by her father. She didn’t miss the way he zeroed in on Collin’s hand over hers. Collin obviously didn’t miss it, either. He took two steps backward and Rebecca found she missed his presence.

      Janice leaned over the bed and embraced her. “What are you doing here?” Rebecca asked. “How did you know?”

      “Kent called us,” her father said. “He told us what happened.”

      Good ol’ Kent. A family friend for years. He’d obviously neglected to mention Collin’s presence, given their reactions to seeing him.

      “I’m СКАЧАТЬ