Chapter 31
The walk to Kathleen and Phil’s is short. It’s a nice afternoon for early June, and if I wasn’t so worried about the couple, I would love this walk after spending the weekend cooped up in a hotel room in the city.
Other than the flat tires, nothing seems out of the ordinary when we get to their house. The front door is locked, and it’s obvious Kathleen had watered her plants recently. She has three big jade plants she keeps on her porch. She always said they bring good luck into her home.
She also used to keep a key under the bigger plant for me to get in if I ever needed to get out of the house but want to stay close to home. I never had to use the key in the past. One of them was always home whenever I’d walk down. So, when I slide the big ceramic put to the side and find an old rusted house key right where it has been since the day Kathleen first showed it to me, I can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Devon is busy looking at the tires on both vehicles when I unlock the front door and slip inside. Everything seems normal inside. The house is clean and orderly. Nothing seems to be out of place. I check their bedroom, the bed is made, there’s no laundry laying around. Everything is normal.I relax and let out a breath and relax. I don’t know what I expected to find, but all the worst case scenarios started running through my mind when neither one of them answered their phones.
“Yeah, she’s inside. Sure, I’ll give her the phone.” I hear Devon say from the living room. I leave the bedroom and almost walk right into Dev as he holds his phone out to me. “It’s Kathleen. She didn’t recognize my number at first.” The smile on his face as I take the phone from his hands sends a wave of warmth throughout my body.
“Oh, thank you.” I nod and take the phone from him. “Hi Kathleen.”
“Hello sweet girl,” she says into the speaker. “I’m so sorry we worried you. After you went missing from the gala Friday night, Adrian suggested Phil and I get away for a few days, just to be safe. So we went to my sisters down in Santa Barbara.”
“Oh my goodness,” I blink back the happy tears that threaten to fall from my eyes. “I’m so glad you and Phil are safe.”
Her laugh tinkles like a bell. “Honey, I’m just so happy to hear your voice and know that you’re safe and sound.” She pauses to say something inaudible to someone in the background. “Phil wants me to tell you not to leave that young man’s side. He trusts him to keep you safe.”
I laugh, this time letting a few of those happy tears fall. “I do too. I love you guys.”
“We love you too honey,” Kathleen says. “I made sure to stock the main house with plenty of food before I left. There are some casseroles in the freezer. I also made you a pan of those green enchiladas you love so much. There’s also a tray of bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers and stuffed mushrooms in the freezer. So, eat them soon. Mushrooms don’t freeze well for long.”
“Okay.” I laugh. She lists off some other things she stocked the kitchen with before we hang up. As I’m handing the phone back to Devon, it starts ringing again. He looks at me with a quirked brow and I shrug, not recognizing the number.
“Hello,” Devon says, answering the call. “No, we left the hotel this morning after he texted Tate, telling him the house was safe to return to.” Devon looks at me and his face shifts from the soft loving features he had while I was talking to Kathleen to something dark, angry. A look that tells me he’s getting some really bad news. “I don’t think so. No, Tate and Liam went to meet him at the club. Tate said his father told him something came up. Yeah, okay. Fuck. I’m heading back up to the main house now.” Devon heads for the front door and I follow. Who is he talking to? What’s going on? “No, I’m leaving Rhyann here. We’re at the grounds keeper’s house on her property.”
“Wait. Dev what’s wrong?” I ask. He’s standing at the front door, his index finger up, signaling me to hold on.
“Okay, yeah. See you soon.” Devon hangs up and pockets his phone. “Fuck” he yells, running his fingers through his hair.
“What?” I ask. I can’t take this, my heart went from racing to calm back to racing in all of five minutes. If this keeps up I’m going to die of a heart attack before my kidnappers get to me again.
“That was Detective Andrews. They went to the hotel to speak with us and found out we checked out. He also said that four more dozen roses were delivered to the hotel for you before we left.”
Well, that’s excessive and a little creepy. “Did any of them have a name on them?”
“Not really. One had a message. It said See you soon, Love L.”
I let out a sigh and laugh. “Well, that’s no problem. Adrian must have told Lenora where we were. She’s been sending me roses on my birthday and special occasions for the past two years.”
Devon”s expression changes from anger to horror and his next words leave a sick feeling in my stomach. “Unless Adrian has a line directly to hell, that’s impossible. Lenora has been dead for three years, Rhyann.”
The room begins to spin. God, I’m going to be sick. My mouth dries up, my tongue feeling like sandpaper against the roof of my mouth. I walk into the kitchen looking for something to drink. Whiskey, vodka, I don’t care what.
“That’s not the worst part, Rhyann.” I close a cabinet and look at Devon. I don’t know if I can handle any more bad news today. “Adrian’s car never left the parking garage at the hotel. The detectives said they called his office and he never went back there yesterday either.”
“Oh god. Tate and Liam.” My hands fly to my mouth as Devon nods sadly.
“I’m going back to the main house, to see if there’s a drivable car in the garage.” Devon walks into the small kitchen and kisses me on the forehead. “Lock the door behind me. Don’t let anyone in until I get back.”
Panic takes hold of me, freezing me in place. “Dev, please don’t leave me.” My voice cracks as I try not to show how scared I am. Devon pulls his phone out and runs his fingers across the screen, tapping away on the keys every few seconds.
“Look,” he holds up his phone. The outside of the house looks back at me in full color. Its the same feed that’s on the computer in my office. “I can see if anyone comes to the door. This is the safest place for you right now, baby doll.” He sets the phone on the counter and wraps me in his arms. “I will be right back, I promise.” He kisses the top of my head and I fight the urge to cry. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I say. Then I walk with him to the door and he kisses my lips one more time.
“Lock the door behind me, and don’t answer it for anyone. Not even the detectives. You wait for me to come back, understand?”
I nod my head, my bottom lip firmly locked between my teeth as I close the door behind him and lock it.
“I thought he’d never leave,” an eerily familiar voice says from the direction of Kathleen and Phil’s bedroom.