Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Two days later, early Saturday morning, Tessa and I packed up the white SUV she'd borrowed from one of her roommates. Before I could slide into the passenger seat, Tessa grabbed my arm and held up her camera. "Let's do a quick video, Cassidy."
"Here?" I protested. "You're double-parked and there are overloaded trash bins waiting for pickup right next to us."
"Exactly. It's the New York City vibe. Come on.
" She pulled me to her side. Using a selfie stick, she turned on the camera and said, "It's go time.
Cassidy and I are headed for Stonecross, Maine, to try to find out what happened to Natalie Warren.
If you don't know what we're doing, catch the latest episode of our podcast, Mysteries Uncorked, for all the details.
We have an eight-hour drive ahead of us, and once we get to Stonecross, we'll post another video.
" She turned to me. "What do you think, Cassidy?
Are we going to find out what happened to Natalie Warren? "
"I hope so," I said, looking into the camera. "Natalie deserves justice, and her family needs to know what happened to her. If you have any tips, feel free to drop them in the comments."
"See you soon," Tessa said, then clicked off the camera. "Let's go."
We got into the car, and I settled into my seat as Tessa navigated the Manhattan traffic with her usual impatience, leaning heavily on the horn when the car in front of her kept braking unnecessarily. I exhaled in relief when we finally left the city.
It had been months since I'd gotten out of Manhattan, and it felt good to see trees and grass and open roads. I had needed a change in perspective, and this trip was certainly going to give me that.
Tessa flipped through her playlist, finding just the right song to kick us off.
"This is going to be good," Tessa said, sending me a bright smile. "I just wish Morgan could have come with us."
I was sad that Morgan hadn't come for the road trip, but her complicated living situation had made it impossible for her to leave today. "We'll see her on Monday."
"So, let's talk about Natalie. I didn't have a chance to read the report you sent me last night, but it looked like you did a lot of research in the past two days."
"I did, and I will say that what I learned about her has made me more invested in her disappearance. Natalie lived in a studio apartment in Manhattan about three blocks from me. I probably passed her on the subway and didn't even know it."
"I didn't realize she lived that close."
"She moved there after she broke up with her boyfriend.
She also changed jobs after the breakup because she worked with her ex.
I contacted the company she was working for when she disappeared.
HR wouldn't tell me anything, but I reached out to one of her coworkers, who said that Natalie was stressed before she went to Maine.
That she said she desperately needed to get out of town.
The coworker was the first one to worry when Natalie didn't come back.
She tried to contact her, as did her supervisor, but their calls and texts went unanswered.
Then Natalie's brother, Adam, showed up ten days later, asking if anyone had heard from her.
That's when he got the police involved, but without evidence of foul play, the police couldn't or wouldn't do anything. "
"Then the press got wind of the story."
"Yes. Adam also hired a private investigator, but he couldn't come up with anything, either. Natalie just disappeared off the face of the earth. I don't know how we're going to find anything, Tessa. It's been ten months since Natalie disappeared. The trail is very cold."
"It will be a challenge, but that will give us a good story to tell."
"I suppose. I also spoke to Natalie's brother. He said Natalie had been estranged from him and his parents since she'd moved to New York."
"You talked to her brother, too?" Tessa asked with surprise. "I feel like a slacker with you doing so much of the research."
"You were busy, and once I got going, I couldn't stop.
Adam was reluctant to speak to me at first. He didn't want to open that old wound, but as we spoke, he loosened up and mentioned that there was some family drama, and he was a little bitter that Natalie had moved to New York with her boyfriend, leaving him to hold the family together.
But after she disappeared, he felt guilty that he hadn't known she was gone for so long. "
"What about Natalie's boyfriend? Was he ever a suspect?"
"Adam told me the police talked to the ex, but he claimed he hadn't talked to Natalie in six months, and there was no evidence to dispute his statement."
"So, there's not a lot to go on."
"That's what I've been saying."
"But we have a secret weapon—you and your relationship to the owner of the Stonecross Inn."
"We agreed not to tell my grandmother who I am," I reminded her. "That's why you booked the room under your name."
"Don't worry. I won't say anything. But eventually, you'll tell her the truth. Or she'll already know who you are because she's seen a picture of you, or because you look like your dad."
"I don't look like him, and I can't imagine she's seen a photo of me."
"You don't know that. Your father didn't want you to see her, but maybe she wanted to see you, if only from afar."
"I'm not sure that makes me feel better or worse."
Sympathy filled Tessa's eyes. "I know there's an emotional component for you, Cassidy, but until you want to deal with the family connection, we'll focus on Natalie's case and figure out the rest later."
"I just hope my grandmother isn't tied to Natalie's disappearance… I can't even contemplate what that would mean." I shivered as I watched the landscape slide by, wondering if we should turn around now, because it felt like the road we were on might take us somewhere we really shouldn't go.
Eight hours and several rest stops later, we took the exit for Stonecross. I sat up a little straighter, tired from the drive and stressed from my mixed emotions, but also excited to see the town where my father had spent the first eighteen years of his life.
It was a little after six p.m. when we drove along a winding and hilly road that led us past two schools.
The first appeared to be a combined elementary and middle school, the second, a high school.
Modest homes surrounded the schools, sitting on fairly large lots, but the homes got smaller and closer together as we reached the downtown area.
Charming brick buildings boasting antiques, artisan jewelry, and unique gifts were mixed with cafés and bakeries, a bar and grill, and a restaurant that claimed to have the freshest fish on the coast.
"There's more here than I thought there would be," Tessa commented.
"I agree. But it's still strange to think my father grew up here. He's the picture of sophistication—tailored suits, the best whiskey and cigars, Michelin-starred restaurants, and expensive wine. He's about as far from rustic charm as you could get."
"Maybe that's why he left and never came back."
"Maybe." I glanced at the GPS. "Looks like the inn is a little up the coast."
As we left the downtown area, we drove along the harbor, with dozens of boats ranging from motorboats and sailboats to fishing vessels. Next to the harbor was a big boatyard that looked like it had seen better days, but the name on the building was mine. That made my chest tighten.
Tessa cast me a quick look. "Clarke and Sons Boatworks?"
"My grandfather's business."
"Who was the son? Your father?"
"No, my grandfather was the son. His father started the business.
I don't know who took it over after my grandfather died.
" As the road wound upward, I could see an old lighthouse on a bluff, its lights going on as the fog began to roll in.
A few miles past the lighthouse, the Stonecross Inn came into view.
The three-story Victorian was majestic but also weathered.
It looked like the kind of house that might have been beautiful if it hadn't been pummeled by years of wind and the salty sea.
As we turned into a long drive, I could see a wide porch circling the house, with Adirondack chairs placed at strategic viewing corners.
Tessa pulled into the parking lot and let out a sigh of relief. "We made it!"
I wasn't sure I was as relieved as she was, because now the reality of what we were here to do was going to begin. When I opened the door, the wind caught it, and I was surprised by the shocking burst of cold, damp air.
"It's freezing," I said, wrapping my arms around my body as I got out of the car.
Tessa came around to join me, camera and selfie stick in hand. "Let's do a quick video."
"Now? I don't look very good."
"You look…real. So do I. That's what we want."
Tessa's "real" was a lot better than mine, but she was already turning me toward the camera with the inn in the background.
"Hello, everyone," Tessa said. "Cassidy and I made it to the Stonecross Inn, the last place that Natalie Warren was seen alive. It's getting too dark to see much now, especially with the fog rolling in, which kind of gives this whole area an eerie feeling. Don't you think so, Cassidy?"
"It definitely feels like we're far away from New York City," I said as more chills ran through me.
"Wish us luck," Tessa added. "See you tomorrow." As she turned off the camera, she said, "Let's get our suitcases and check in before we freeze—"
As she abruptly ended her statement, I said, "Thanks for leaving out the to death part of that comment."
Tessa shrugged. "I wasn't going to say that."
I didn't believe her for a second, but I followed her to the back of the car so we could retrieve our suitcases and backpacks. Then we walked toward the iron gate with the brass plaque reading STONECROSS INN.