Chapter 15
fifteen
. . .
REAGAN
When we entered the diner around the corner from the department, an older woman immediately approached with a smile.
“Aspen, honey,” she said, leaning in to press a kiss to Aspen’s cheek. “Good to see you, dear.”
“You too, Bonnie.”
“Table for two?”
“Yes please.”
Once she led us to a booth along the windows and we were settled with menus, she looked between Aspen and me, asking, “Who’s your friend?”
“Oh, this is Reagan. Reagan, this is Bonnie, the owner of the diner.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Reagan,” Bonnie said. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
Wait a minute…
“You know who I am?” I asked Aspen when Bonnie disappeared.
Aspen gave me a sheepish smile. “Guilty.”
“How?”
“There’s been talk of you floating around the family since you first came to town a month ago,” she admitted with a shrug.
My gaze narrowed. “What kind of talk?”
Her grin widened. “Mostly the boys giving Finn shit. You know how men are.”
Boy, did I ever.
“It’s not like that with us. I’m only here to find my sister.”
“I admire your dedication,” Aspen said. “But there’s something about this town…
and those Lawless men. I came here on a case once myself.
I had no plans other than finding a killer and moving on to my next adventure.
” She lifted her left hand, showing off the diamond winking on her ring finger. “I wound up with a hell of a lot more.”
“That’s not…I’m not looking for a relationship. I just want Lainey back.”
I couldn’t live my life—could barely breathe properly—until she was home safe.
Aspen nodded in understanding. “I had a sister, so I get it.”
“Had?”
“She died in a fire when I was sixteen.”
“Shit, I’m so sorry.”
Waving me off, she said, “I’ve spent a lot of time in therapy coming to terms with it. I miss her every day. It’s an ache that never fully goes away, you know?”
I nodded, rubbing my chest, the spot right over my heart reserved entirely for my sister. “I know.”
“Tell me about her.”
Before I could, Bonnie returned, and I quickly glanced at the menu, selecting a club sandwich with sweet potato fries on the side and a water to drink. Aspen ordered the same, and Bonnie disappeared again.
Then, I launched into tales of Lainey.
I told her everything good about my sister: her fearlessness, her free spirit, her talent for capturing the heart and soul of any subject she photographed, whether person, place, or thing. Her sharp wit, the way she devoured mystery novels like they were candy.
How she was my best friend, and how badly I missed her.
“I know that feeling well,” she admitted. “It’s been, hell…almost twenty years since Lola died, and she was six years older than me, but we were inseparable. It’s like losing a limb, you know?”
I nodded. “She’s my twin, so I feel like half of my soul is gone.”
Aspen reached out and patted my hand. “I hope she comes home safely.”
“Me too.”
“Where are they at with the investigation? You just met with Lane, right?”
Snorting, I said, “Yeah, that went great.” I shot her a little sarcastic thumbs up.
“Oh no.”
“Oh, yes. He essentially accused me of being the reason she’s missing because I never reported it. They lost the benefit of the first forty-eight.”
“I never understood that. I mean, I get it from the standpoint that you’re more likely to locate an MP”—I took the abbreviation to mean missing person—“when the leads are still hot and fresh, but protocol also dictates waiting twenty-four hours before they’ll even file the missing person’s report?
” She looked at me then, as if searching my face for something. “Why didn’t you file a report?”
“My sister can be a bit of a wild card,” I admitted. “I’m the more level-headed, even keeled twin.”
“Like Finn and West.”
I frowned. “Which is which?”
“Finn is like you,” she said with a smile, though she didn’t elaborate.
That explained why we got along so well, I thought. The old adage was that opposites attract, but I never put much stock in that. Troy was as different from me as you could get, and our relationship had crashed and burned spectacularly.
“He’s the older of them, isn’t he?” She nodded.
“Me too. Anyway,” I continued, steering us back on track, “she has a habit of going off the grid without warning. We’re both photographers, and while I love photographing people, Lainey especially loves photographing places.
Especially remote, hidden gems. She loves hiking and being in nature.
I even bought her a satellite phone for our birthday about five years ago so she had some way to call for help if she needed it.
” Pausing, I inhaled deeply, pressing down on the emotion welling, threatening to pull me under. My vision blurred as moisture welled.
“Why was she here?”
“On a job. We trade off on travel,” I said, diving into a succinct explanation of how our business worked. “It was supposed to be my turn, but I came down with the flu, so she came in my place.
“Between the last time I talked to her and getting the call from Lane about coming out here to identify a body, less than two days had passed.” Unbidden, a few tears splashed free, and I angrily swiped at my face.
“I should’ve known though. I did know.” I tapped my heart.
“I could tell things weren’t right, but I was giving her the benefit of the doubt. Praying I was wrong.”
I’d never forgive myself for that, for not following my intuition.
Especially after that last text.
Goddesses, what the fuck had I been thinking?
Dropping my head, I buried my face in my hands, willing myself to pull my shit together. A gentle touch encircled my wrist, but I didn’t move, not yet, content for the moment to let Aspen’s silent presence soothe me.
Once I’d collected myself, Aspen asked, “So where does that leave the investigation?”
“I have no idea,” I admitted. “After the sheriff threw that accusation at me, I stormed out.”
Aspen nodded sympathetically. “As much as I had to admit it, and as big of an asshole Lane can be, he’s a hell of a cop.”
“I just feel like there have to be more leads they could be running down. Why does it seem like the investigation is stalled out? I handed over Lainey’s laptop a month ago. And what about security footage from the bar? I know this is a small town, but there have to be cameras, right?”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure Trey is all over that.”
“Why would Trey be working on it?”
“He’s kind of a tech savant, and he owns his own security company.” Aspen sighed. “Look, these things take time. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but you have to trust that your sister is still out there somewhere, alive. And we’ll find her.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Aspen grinned, looking a little feral—in a good way.
“Because now you’ve got me.”
I blinked in surprise, not entirely sure I’d heard her correctly.
“Are…what?” I asked dumbly.
“You know who I am,” she said. “And you know what I do. This is literally my area of expertise, Reagan. Please, let me help.”
The absolute last thing I expected when I came to town for my meeting with Lane today was to run into Aspen McKay.
Having her offer to help me investigate my sister’s case was…incredibly generous of her, considering I knew she was busy with her business, burgeoning writing career, and planning a wedding.
But she wouldn’t take no for an answer, despite my refusal and attempt to dissuade her. Honestly, it had been for show anyway. Truthfully, I was excited to have someone looking into things who wasn’t restricted by the same protocols Lane and his department was.
We spent more than two hours in the diner, chatting over our meals, then dessert, then the iced coffee Bonnie brought us without asking when it became obvious we had no plans of moving anytime soon.
First, we went over what I did know in regard to my sister’s disappearance. I passed along what little information I had, told her about Lainey’s stalker, and I shared with her all of the lingering questions I still had.
While I spoke, Aspen didn’t take any notes or record our conversation. She simply let me ramble, listening intently, her attention wholly focused on me.
Her belief in me, her obvious desire to help me, had me deciding to place my trust in her.
Which is why I also told her about the copies I’d kept of Lainey’s journals, and the small fact that I hadn’t told that to the police when I handed the originals over.
“Have you read them? Has anything jumped out?”
I shook my head, and the smooth skin between her eyebrows creased, so I rushed to clarify. “I haven’t read them. I-I’m not ready.”
“Understandable,” she said. “For years after Lola died, pretty much up until I graduated and left for college, my parents’ kept her room exactly as it had been.
Though she was getting ready to graduate college by then, little about it had changed since she finished high school.
Sometimes, I’d walk by the closed door and hear my mother in there crying, but I never could bring myself to enter. ”
“Did you ever?”
She nodded. “The day before I left for college.”
“How was it?”
“Fucking brutal,” she admitted with a humorless laugh.
“I couldn’t understand how she’d been gone for nearly two years and it still smelled like her.
How there was still a sweater discarded on her chair in the corner, like any second, she’d come back and retrieve it.
How her bed was still rumpled and unmade from the last time she’d slept in it.
And I couldn’t understand how I got to keep breathing while she was just… gone.”
I recognized the pain in her voice, certain the same expression that lingered in her eyes could also be found in mine.
Rolling my lips between my teeth, I fought back tears.
Focusing on the investigation, on bringing her home, was the best thing I could do for Lainey right now.
I reached over and grabbed one of Aspen’s hands, offering her the same comfort she’d provided me earlier.
Sniffing loudly, Aspen tilted her chin up, defiant even in the face of her own emotions, and squared her shoulders.
“We’ll find her.”
Three words I’d heard before—from the sheriff.
But coming from Aspen’s mouth?
This time, I believed them—believed her.
After all, you could never trust a man to do a job a woman could do better, and she’d solved a case four decades of law enforcement in this town hadn’t been able to.
“With you working the case, I have no doubt,” I told her, grinning.
She returned my smile, and another thought occurred to me.
“Hey, is there anywhere around here I could get some posters printed?” I grabbed my phone to show her the missing person flyer I’d designed last night.
“Go to the library,” she said immediately. “Ginny is the best, and she’ll be more than happy to help you. Tell her I sent you.”
I raised a brow. “You’re friendly with the librarian?”
“Oh yeah,” Aspen chuckled. “She was a huge help to me when I first got here on the Prom Night Arsonist case last year. I spent a lot of time there, going through old newspaper articles and yearbooks. She’s lived here forever and knows her shit.”
It seemed to me like Ginny could be a great resource for information on the comings and goings in this town, as well.
Before I could press Aspen further, her phone started buzzing, jumping and vibrating its way across the table. Picking it up, she checked the screen and muttered a curse.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, quickly gathering her things, withdrawing her wallet and dropping a few bills onto the table.
“It’s my agent, and I completely forgot we had this call.
” Another rifle through her bag had her coming up with a business card, which she passed to me.
“Call me and we’ll make a plan to sit down and get to work. ”
Following her lead, I also left some money on the table and moved toward the exit. On the sidewalk outside, she surprised me by turning and giving me a hug, which was almost comical given how tiny she was compared to me, then rushing off without another word.
I added her contact information to my phone before heading back up the block to my SUV.
Once I settled behind the wheel, I noticed the piece of paper under my wiper. I glanced around at other cars, but unease slid down my spine when I didn’t spot anything similar on nearby vehicles.
Getting out, I grabbed the note with a shaking hand and pulled it free.
The paper was crisp and white, free from any blemishes aside from a small smudge where it had rested under the wiper and a crease from the fold.
I opened it, and my heart dropped into my stomach as I read the words printed there in a big, bold font.
WELCOME TO DUSK VALLEY, REAGAN LINDSEY. YOU’LL BE SEEING YOUR SISTER VERY SOON.
What the fuck?
Alongside the fear that enveloped me in its adrenaline-soaked blanket, so many questions ran through my head.
Who had left this?
When had they left it?
Had anyone seen them?
And what the fuck did it mean?
Would I be seeing Lainey soon because she was still alive?
Or because she wasn’t?
I didn’t stop to consider what I was doing as I grabbed my phone and dialed Finn.