Chapter 18
JULIA
J ulia’s heart thudded against her ribs as she scrambled to her feet. No one had seen her stepdaughter in hours. She could sense Grant’s upset from the simple message he’d sent.
With an epic storm blowing in, if she was lost in the woods, she could become seriously hurt by the wind, rain, and lightning.
She typed her response back to him before she scrolled through her contacts to her sister’s name. She pressed the call button and held the phone to her ear as she climbed to the rocky beach below and picked her way across it.
“Hey, Juju, everything okay?” Alicia asked.
“No,” she answered, taking giant steps across the rocks to make it into the cover of the thick trees.
“What happened?” Alicia’s voice conveyed a sense of panic. “Did Grant do something to you? Did he hit you?”
“No,” Julia said as she climbed over a tree root before picking up her frenzied pace back to her car. “Sierra’s missing.”
“What do you mean missing? Maybe she’s just out.”
“No, no one can get a hold of her. She got into an argument with her mother. She’s been gone for hours. And with the storm blowing in…”
“Surely, she’d know–“
“No,” Julia said with a shake of her head. “No, she wouldn’t. She grew up in the city. She’s terrible in the wilderness. She could be lost or worse. I need your help, Ally.”
“Yeah, of course, yes. We’ll get search and rescue on it.”
“I sent Grant to you,” she said, puffing for breath as she hurried through the woods. “Ally, be nice. He’s really worried.”
“I’m always nice.”
“You’re never nice to him. Just…try to forget why you don’t like him.”
“I’ll be professional. This is a missing park visitor. Happens all the time.”
“I know that. You know that. Grant is not used to this.”
“Okay, okay, stop lecturing me. I’ve already sent a message to the Rangers. Any idea where she was last seen?”
“No,” Julia said as she reached the car. “Grant may be able to tell you. I’m on my way.”
“See you when you get here, Juju.”
Julia ended the call and tossed the phone into her cupholder before she climbed into the driver’s seat and fired the engine. She whipped the small SUV around and headed toward town, her stomach fluttering.
Rain began to spatter her windshield as she slid into a parking space outside of the police station.
She slid from the car and raced inside before the deluge began.
Phones rang and a few other officers bustled around the station as she skirted a few desks, heading for the conference room where she knew she’d find Alicia with her map.
Her sister glanced up as she smoothed the paper across the wooden table Grant sat at with his back toward the door.
Julia smiled at Kyle who leaned against the doorjamb as she slipped past him and slid a hand onto Grant’s shoulder.
He snapped his gaze to her, seeming surprised to see her.
She squeezed his shoulder. “Hi.”
His features pinched as he grabbed hold of her hand, his grip tight.
“You’re just in time,” Alicia said. “We’re just getting started. When did you last see her?”
“This morning,” Grant said, his voice struggling to remain steady.
“And she left to go for a hike?”
“No, yes. I don’t know.” Grant shook his head as Alicia furrowed her brow, flicking her gaze to Julia.
Julia rubbed his shoulder. “It’s okay. Just take your time and tell us as much as you can.”
Grant slid his eyes closed as his fingers shifted to slide through hers. She patted his hand, wrapping it between hers. “Sierra left this morning, but she didn’t say where she was going. She just…left. She was upset. Lydia went with her.”
“What was she upset about?” Ethan asked.
“Does that matter?” Grant asked as he flicked his gaze to the man.
“It might,” Alicia said. “But if you don’t want to tell us–”
“Fine,” he said with a shake of his head. “She was upset because Julia and I had a fight, and Julia left. Lydia just happened to be stopping by and when Sierra ran out, she said she’d go with her.”
Alicia flicked her gaze to her sister. Julia offered her a slight nod, and Alicia returned her attention to Grant. “What time was this?”
“Ahhhh…”
“A little after eleven,” Julia said, the argument roiling through her mind. She imagined Sierra’s upset over her storming out. It was their first real argument. One she’d certainly never expected to have with her fake husband, but it had happened. And it had likely stunned them all.
“Okay, and then…” Alicia prompted.
“I started to get worried when the storm was coming in. We hadn’t heard from Sierra, and she wasn’t home. I tried calling her but she didn’t answer.”
“Could she just be avoiding everyone if she was upset? Is that something she’d do?” Ethan asked.
Grant heaved a sigh. “She may be avoiding my calls, yes. I’m not sure she’d avoid Julia’s.”
Ethan lifted his eyes to Julia who shook her head. “I tried twice, no answer.”
Alicia poked a finger at Kyle. “What about you? Would she answer her brother?”
“I seriously doubt that, but it’s worth a try,” Julia said.
“Mom’s calls?”
“She’d never answer Lydia’s calls,” Grant said.
“But she went hiking with her?” Alicia asked.
“Sierra left and Lydia went after her because…she wanted… Never mind. When I called Lydia, she said they got into an argument minutes into their hike and Sierra stormed off. She hasn’t seen her since.”
“Okay, so she’s upset with everyone. No one’s heard from her in hours. Mom’s seen her last,” Kyle recapped. “And where was this? Where did they hike?”
Grant slid his eyes closed. “Uhh, she said Wasp’s Nest or something.”
Alicia furrowed her brow.
“Did she mean Hornet’s Ridge?” Julia asked.
“Can we call Lydia? She’s the last one who saw Sierra. I’d like to talk to her.”
Grant nodded as he reached for his phone, trying to fish it out one-handed. Julia let go of his hand, but he refused to let go of hers.
“It’s okay,” she whispered as she tugged her hand free, keeping it on his shoulder to offer her support.
He offered her a glance, his features still pinched as he finally freed his phone and found Lydia’s number. The line trilled as he put it on speakerphone.
“What now, Grant? Still sobbing in your bourbon over that little–”
Julia’s eyes slid closed as she shook her head. Everyone must have heard about their argument.
“Lydia, it’s about Sierra.”
“What? She’s not back yet?”
“No, Lydia, she’s not. We’re looking for her but the police have some questions.”
“Police?” Lydia’s shrill voice went even higher. “The police are involved.”
“I’m sorry, Ms…” Alicia shot a glance at Julia as she searched for her last name.
“Mrs. Harrington,” Lydia answered for her.
Julia held back rolling her eyes at the woman as Alicia ignored it. “Right. This is Alicia Whitmore. What trail did you last see your daughter on?”
“I already told Grant. Wasp’s Head or whatever.”
“Could it have been Hornet’s Ridge?” Alicia asked.
“Umm, yes. That’s what it was. What a ridiculous name. I asked Sierra if there were–”
“Thanks, Lydia. Is there anything else you can tell us?” Julia asked.
“Like what?”
“What direction she went off in? If she mentioned where she was going.”
“Direction? Umm…she went…left. Really certain about that because when I waved to her, my ring caught the sun, and I realized how much I really did like it.”
Alicia screwed up her face. “Left?”
“Definitely left,” Lydia answered. “Look, Sierra is…dramatic. I’m sure she’s just hiding out trying to make everyone pay for her unhappiness. She’s fine.”
“I’m not so sure, Lydia.”
“Well, she does get her dramatic side from you,” Lydia said with a sigh. “Anyway, if you need any more help…I’ll be getting a massage, so you’ll have to wait until after five.”
The line clicked as Alicia stared at it before she raised her confused gaze to Julia. “Did she seriously think left was a direction?”
Grant slid his eyes closed as he white-knuckled his phone.
“Okay, I’m going to call the rangers with this information, see where we’re at,” Alicia said as she skirted around them to slip past Kyle at the door.
“I’ll check with the deputies,” Ethan said as he patted Julia’s shoulder on his way out.
Julia rubbed Grant’s shoulder again.
He grabbed her hand, pulling it close to his chest as he rose and faced her. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course,” she said. “They’ll find her. Alicia and Ethan do this all the time. People get lost in the park all the time.”
“During a storm?’
“That’s not ideal,” Julia admitted, “but we’ll find her.”
The worry etched into his face didn’t lift at all. Julia wished she could comfort him somehow, but she doubted anything short of finding Sierra would do that.
“Julia…”
“They’ll find her, Grant.”
He shook his head. “No, I…about this morning…”
“No,” she said, sliding a hand onto his arm, “don’t worry about that now. Sierra is what’s important, okay?”
Somehow his features registered more disappointment rather than less, though maybe the reality of Sierra being lost somewhere was hitting him.
Finally, his head bobbed up and down, his eyes still registering pain. “Well, thank you for coming.”
“Of course, Grant. This is important. It doesn’t matter what happened this morning. Sierra is more important than any of that.”
“She was so upset.”
“She must have been, if she willingly left with Lydia.”
“I’m not sure she actually wanted to leave with Lydia, I think she just didn’t want to be there anymore. I should have gone after her. I should have…” His voice faded as he shook his head, his eyes turning glassy.
She squeezed his arm again. “It’s okay. We’re going to find her. By tonight, she’ll be with you.”
He nodded, worry still clouding his eyes.
“And she’ll probably still be mad at you. And me. And Kyle.”
“Hey, I didn’t do anything,” Kyle said.
“She’s always mad at you no matter what,” Julia said with a smile at him.
“I don’t think she’s mad at you, Julia,” Grant said, threading his fingers through hers again. “She’s mad at me. And now, she’s out there…”
“And she’s going to be fine. It’s going to be okay. I promise,” Julia said. “We’re going to find her. I told you, Ethan and Alicia deal with this all the time.”
“How many people don’t come back?”
Julia shook her head. “You can’t think that way.”
“I can’t think of anything else,” Grant said. “This is…worse than when you both were kidnapped. Then, I had some control. I could buy my way out of it. But this…”
His breathing turned ragged as he fought through the emotions of a missing child.
“I know this is scary,” she said, “but you can’t panic.”
The corner of his lips turned up before his features pinched again. “I’m pretty sure I can.”
“Grant, stop thinking of everything that can go wrong. I know it’s hard, but you have to trust Ally and Ethan.”
“Shouldn’t they be back by now?”
“Not if the rangers are onto something or if they are waiting on a lead from one of the deputies. Why don’t you sit down?”
“I don’t want to sit down. I want to…I can’t sit down. I should go out there and look for her.”
“No, that’s the worst thing that you can do. You don’t know this area. There’s a storm. The last thing we need is you lost, too.”
“Maybe it would be better if I was lost.”
She clicked her tongue. “Don’t say that. Come on, sit down. You’re overwhelmed.”
“Thank you, Julia,” Grant said as he sank into the chair again, their hands still clasped.
She eased into the chair next to him, taking his other hand in hers, about to say something she hoped would be reassuring when Alicia swept into the room.
“So, here’s the situation…”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Julia said, recognizing the tired tone in her sister’s voice.
“It’s not great.”
“What?” Grant asked, panic lacing his voice. “What is it? Did they find her? Is she hurt?”
“No,” Alicia said, “but with the wind, search and rescue can’t put the heli in the air. The rangers haven’t seen her. And on top of that, one of the trails to Hornet’s Ridge is washed out from the downpour, along with a ton of other issues all over the park.”
“So, what does that mean? What…they’re not going to look for her?” Grant asked.
“No,” Alicia said, “but…it’s going to be a little slow. This storm is causing issues all over town, so we’re a little shorthanded to get people out on this.”
“Is search and rescue sending anyone to Hornet’s Ridge?” Julia asked.
Alicia offered her a look that said everything she didn’t want to hear.
“Ally…” Julia began with a shake of her head.
Before Alicia could answer a massive boom resounded before the lights flickered. Outside the window a massive branch slammed to the ground as lightning cleaved it off from the tree, charring the bark.
The jolt brought home the reality of the danger Sierra was in while exposed to the elements. Julia swallowed hard as the storm raged outside.
Ethan appeared at the door, something clutched in his hand. He glanced at Alicia, then Grant. “We’ve had a…development. Are you able to identify this?”
He unfurled the bag he clutched, exposing its contents. Julia’s heart sank as she recognized Sierra’s phone, now cracked and dirty.
“That’s…Sierra’s,” Grant said, his voice sounded incredulous, but his haunted eyes as they stared at the item spoke volumes.
“Hiker found it on Hornet’s Ridge and turned it into the rangers. No sign of your daughter. But we do know wherever she is, she can’t contact us.”
Grant’s hands tightened around hers as the terror they both felt ramped up.
Outside, the storm’s fury mirrored the turmoil within Julia.
Each flash of lightning seemed to expose the raw fear and helplessness she felt, and the thunder echoed her growing dread.
The relentless rain blurred the world outside, just as uncertainty clouded her thoughts.
Where was Sierra and would they find her in time before something tragic happened?