Chapter 20
Her sister was in deep trouble, and Allison had no idea how to help her. Or why Diana was in danger.
This was like a jigsaw puzzle with several pieces missing. She couldn’t even determine what pieces were gone, or what the final puzzle revealed.
Rafe had insisted she step back and relax while he looked around the grounds thoroughly. She took advantage of this to shower and change into fresh clothing.
As she’d expected, he returned to the cabin without any other clues.
Now she sat on the sofa, gripping a steaming mug of coffee thanks to Rafe, who’d made a fresh pot.
She wasn’t used to feeling helpless.
It reminded her of the terrible day when Diana slipped on the riverbank and fell into the water, nearly drowning.
She’s not going to die. We’ll find her.
“Where do we even start? Should we call the cops?” she asked him.
Glancing up from the kitchen table, where he was making notes on a pad, he shook his head.
“What about Paul? He needs to know.”
“Hold off on calling him. I need to figure things out.”
Calm and controlled, and utterly professional, Rafael proved a steady rock. Despite what happened between them, she could rely on him. I trust him with this. Rafe knew all about investigating missing persons. He was an FBI agent with skills and experience.
And I’m falling apart. Get a grip, Allison.
“What do we do?” She twisted her hands together. “I don’t know what to do, what to think.”
“We start at the beginning, with Diana’s life.” Rafe set down the pen. “Let’s check her social media. Do you know anything about it?”
She told him about all of Di’s social media accounts. Now she wished she’d paid closer attention to her sister’s postings.
Allison scrolled through her phone, searching for Diana’s accounts. But when she tried to pull up each one, she received a message saying the account didn’t exist. Even her Jump ONit video account, so popular with twentysomethings who followed Di, had been deleted.
This was as troubling as the bloody veil. Diana thrived on social media attention and considered herself somewhat of an influencer. Social media helped her with exposure for her modeling career, and to get jobs.
She showed Rafe her phone and the message and told him about her sister thriving on attention. He frowned. “Does she have other accounts that you might not know of, a secret social media account?”
Allison felt a flare of hope. “Her finstagram! Fake Instagram she shares with family and close friends.”
Allison checked the account and her heart sank. Only three photos remained on the account. One was a photo of a forest with Diana wearing jeans, a hoodie and a backpack, an older photo of Diana in a pink dress and another of their childhood home. She scrutinized the photos, looking for clues.
“It’s still there, but she’s deleted a lot of content. Including the vid of us at the first stop on the Teddy Bear Run, and the vid of her trying on the veil.”
As Rafe took her phone and scrolled through the photos, she buried her head into her hands. “I don’t understand. Why would she do this? Did someone threaten her?”
He kept looking at the photos. “How many photos did she have on this particular account and what kind?”
“Not sure.” Allison searched her memory. Too often she’d dismissed her sister’s fake Instagram account with the excuse she’d been busy with work. In truth, she thought the social media account frivolous and vain.
“I only checked it maybe a couple of times a month. Maybe she had about fifty photos? Most of them had to do with her moods.”
“Like a journal?”
“Yeah.” Allison rubbed her temple. “It was always about Di, and how happy she’d be if she got a good modeling job, or her complaining about her boyfriends, general stuff like that.
Her relationships, or if she gained a pound or two.
Honestly, I found it a little self-serving and whining, so I rarely went on there. ”
Rafe tapped the phone. “Any reason you can think why she’d delete all the photos except these three?”
More confused, she shook her head. “I mean, these aren’t anything special. That’s the house where we grew up in upstate New York before we moved to South Florida, the dress, that’s an ordinary pink dress she always liked before she outgrew it, and the forest...”
“Anything special about the forest?”
“Not really, I mean, it was a modeling job for backpacks, one of her first magazine shoots. She wasn’t even happy about it because Di wasn’t into the outdoors. Is there a reason why she left these photos there? Maybe she was in a hurry to delete everything?”
He set down the phone. “Allison, people usually don’t delete an extensive social media footprint unless they’re trying to hide from the public.
It’s clear Diana is doing the same. Is there another reason why Diana didn’t want to elope with Paul?
A reason why she was adamant about having the wedding at his uncle’s house, other than a huge society affair? ”
“What are you getting at?”
His gaze remained calm and steady, but her heart began hammering hard. She knew what he thought, even before he told her.
“Diana could have been involved in smuggling drugs.”
“She’s innocent! Diana would never do that! She may be naive at times, but she’s not a criminal.”
“I told you before, she’s under investigation because it’s suspicious all the places she frequents were raided and fentanyl was found.”
Her temper flared. “What are you thinking, Rafe? You never liked my sister from the moment you met her. You only wanted to use her in the same way you used me! You slapped a label on her she doesn’t deserve.”
“In investigations, these kind of questions are typical. You look for the victim’s past and present, to see if they are involved in any kind of criminal activity.”
To his credit, Rafe didn’t rise to the bait and argue back. He remained calm and steady, a sharp contrast to the feelings raging inside her.
She glared at him. How could he be so calm when her entire world was shattering?
“There is a chance Diana may not be aware of what’s going on, Allison. You said she’s naive and trusting. Sometimes dealers use mules without them actually knowing what they are carrying.”
He gave her a pointed look. “Diana does travel for her modeling work.”
Oh dear. Allison rubbed her tired eyes. She hadn’t thought of that, or even considered it. Diana was clean-cut, wholesome and always avoided the fast party life. Maybe it was one reason why she hadn’t advanced as much as some models.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I can’t see her being fooled like that, though. She goes through everything in her suitcase. I taught her to be careful when she travels.”
“Was Diana aware of anyone who bore a grudge against her? Someone, perhaps another model, who would gloat and feel smug if anything happened to her?”
“No. Di always said most of the people in the business liked her, at least from what I’ve seen. Can’t you contact people in your office, have them do an official search?”
For the first time, Rafe looked frustrated.
“I can’t access my resources at the Bureau, Allison.
I’ve been suspended. If you want to go through official channels, then call the police and I’ll make the call to my team at the Bureau.
Chances are they can’t do much because the police here will investigate and, if needed, bring in the field office in Georgia to help. ”
“No.” She thought of all the exposure, and the publicity. “I think... I think she’s hiding because she’s scared. That much is obvious from the secret message. Right?”
He nodded.
“Getting the cops involved risks getting the media involved, and if she’s in danger.
..” Her throat closed tight. “It will increase the threat to her. I don’t think she’s being dramatic, Rafe.
I’m sorry for snapping at you, but I’m really worried.
My sister loves attention, but not like this.
She deleted all her social media because she’s hiding from everyone. ”
He came closer to her on the sofa and picked up her hand, gently pressing it. “I think you’re right. But it’s up to you what you want to do. I’m here to help out any way I can, as little as I can do.”
Allison stared down at his hand. Long, elegant fingers and black hair dusting the knuckles. A capable man, and an excellent agent, he was more than his job. He was a rock she needed right now.
“Thank you.” She slipped her hand away and stood, pacing. This closeness sent her feelings spiraling and she needed to focus on Diana.
Diana was hiding and wanted Allison to find her. The book and the deleted photos on her Instagram account indicated as much.
“Check her fake Instagram account and see if there’s an update,” Rafe advised. “I’ll call Jase, see if he can pull some CCTV footage of the road outside your cabin.”
“Can you do that or will it get you into trouble?”
He shrugged. “Jase will inform the local police there’s a suspicious biker wanted for questioning. There are a few bikers at the rally we’re keeping eyes on, so it’s legit.”
She checked the account. No updates. Minutes later, Rafe examined his phone to see the footage Jase had downloaded and sent to him.
Grainy and black-and-white, the security footage from the gas station on the corner of the main highway and the dirt road of the family cabin proved useless. There were a few bikes traveling back and forth during the suspected time when Diana vanished. Then she gasped, recognizing the family sedan.
“It must be her!” Allison’s fingers trailed over the screen. “She’s headed north.”
“Any idea why? A hotel or a friend in the area she’d visit?”
Allison tried to think. “No. She hasn’t been here in a few years. I doubt she knows anyone.”
Rafe made an impatient sound. “I’m going to the barn again to look for other tire tracks. Stay here.”