Chapter 20 - Mia
MIA
Mia glanced at her watch for the third time in as many minutes.
Eve had been gone a long time.
Too long.
She looked around the dining room, her eyes scanning for any sign of her aunt returning.
Nothing.
“She’s been gone for over twenty minutes,” Lila said quietly beside her, voicing what Mia was thinking.
“Maybe she had to go upstairs to take the call?” Nolan suggested, but his eyes were alert, watchful.
“I’ll go look for her,” Mia said, standing.
“I’ll come with you,” Nolan said immediately. He glanced at Milly. “Stick by Lila.”
Milly nodded, her hand moving subtly to her side where Mia suspected she had a weapon concealed.
Mia and Nolan walked through the lobby to the front desk. The woman behind it looked up with a pleasant smile.
“Excuse me,” Mia said. “Did you see Dr. Reynolds?”
“Oh yes,” the woman said. “She went out the front door about twenty minutes ago.”
Mia’s stomach dropped.
They hurried outside to the parking lot.
Mia frowned as she scanned the rows of cars. “The rental car is gone.”
“What?” Nolan’s voice was sharp. “Call her.”
A bad feeling crept up Mia’s spine, cold and insistent. Eve wouldn’t just leave without a word. Not without telling them where she was going.
Mia dialed Eve’s number with shaking fingers.
It went straight to voicemail.
She tried again.
Voicemail again.
“She’s not answering,” Mia breathed, worry clawing at her chest. “Something’s wrong. Eve never just disappears.”
“Come on,” Nolan said, his voice grim. He put his hand on her back and guided her toward the Inn entrance.
Milly and Lila were coming down the stairs as they entered.
“She’s not in the rooms,” Lila told them, her face pale.
“Her car is gone,” Nolan said in a low voice, his eyes checking around the lobby.
“We need to see security footage,” Milly said. She turned to the front desk. “Who runs security here?”
“That would be Jack,” the woman said. “His office is just down that hall.”
They followed Milly down the corridor. Nolan knocked on the door marked “Manager.”
“Come in,” a voice called.
Jack looked up from his desk with surprise as they all filed in. He was a pleasant-looking man in his fifties with graying hair and kind eyes.
“Good morning,” he said, standing. “How can I help you?”
Nolan pulled out his badge and held it up. “I’m Deputy US Marshal Nolan Pierce. We have a situation, and I need your cooperation.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “Of course. What’s happened?”
“Dr. Reynolds. She left the dining room about thirty minutes ago, and we need to see your security footage from this morning.”
“Absolutely,” Jack said, already moving to his computer. He pulled up the footage and clicked through timestamps. “What time did she leave the dining room?”
“Around six forty,” Mia said.
Jack found the footage, and they all gathered around his desk to watch.
The screen showed the lobby. At 6:42 am, Eve came into view, walking quickly through the lobby. She pulled out her phone, looked at it, and then her face went pale. She hurried faster, pushing through the front doors.
The camera angle switched to the parking lot.
Eve went straight to her car, got in, and drove away.
No one was in the vicinity. No one following her. She just got in the car and left.
“Can you rewind that?” Nolan asked. “When she’s looking at her phone?”
Jack rewound. They watched Eve’s face change as she looked at the screen. Fear. Shock. Something that made her move faster.
“She got a message,” Milly said quietly. “Something that made her leave.”
“Do you want me to call the police?” Jack asked, concern evident on his face.
“No,” Nolan told him firmly. “But I do need you to keep an eye on a guest named Calvin. If he leaves, if he does anything suspicious, I need you to call me immediately.” He pulled out a card with his number and handed it to Jack.
“Of course,” Jack said, taking the card. “Whatever you need.”
They left the office, Mia’s mind racing.
“Maybe she went to William’s?” Mia suggested, grasping at any explanation that made sense.
“Call him,” Milly advised.
Mia pulled out her phone and was about to dial when she noticed Lila’s nose buried in her own phone.
“Lila, sweetheart, this isn’t the time to check your socials,” Mia said, her voice sharper than she intended.
“I’m not,” Lila said, not looking up as they headed for Nolan’s car in the parking lot.
Mia climbed into the passenger seat beside Nolan. Milly and Lila slid into the back.
“I’m tracking Aunt Eve,” Lila said calmly, holding up her phone.
All heads turned to her.
She gave them a smug smile. “I keep track of my family.”
“Lila...” Nolan breathed, admiration clear in his voice. “You’re brilliant. Just like your granddad.”
Mia saw the flash of something dark cross Lila’s face. Disgust? Anger? It was gone quickly, but Mia’s heart tugged. They hadn’t had a chance to really talk since everything that had transpired. She made a mental note to sit down with her daughter soon.
Just then, Milly’s phone rang.
She answered immediately. “Dan, where have you been? I’ve been trying to call... Eve has...” She stopped, her eyebrows rising. “Keep me updated.”
She hung up, her voice grim. “David’s missing.”
Mia’s heart jolted, fear flooding through her. Another thought hit her like ice water. “You don’t think Eve’s been taken, too?”
“If I track her on my phone,” Lila suggested, her voice steady despite everything, “we may find them both.”
“Oh no,” Milly hissed. She looked at Nolan. “Let’s take them to Circle Pond. Then I’ll take your car and track Eve. David will never forgive us for getting the two of you more involved than you already are.”
“My father and the woman who’s been the only family Lila and I have had for the past ten years have been taken,” Mia said, anger bubbling up inside her. Her voice was low and fierce. “We’re going with you.”
“Actually,” Lila looked at her mother, her voice oddly calm. “I don’t mind going to Circle Pond, Mom.” She tapped something on her screen. “Shoot.” She growled in frustration. “I’m sorry. We need to get to Uncle William’s. My phone just died.”
Mia looked at Lila carefully. She knew her daughter. Knew all her stunts and expressions. Every tell when she was being less than truthful.
Lila was up to something.
“Nolan, do you have a charger in this car?” Milly asked.
“It’s back in my room,” Nolan told her, pulling out of the parking lot.
“Mine’s in the trunk in my luggage in Aunt Eve’s car,” Lila said quickly. “I know Uncle William has the same new phone as me, so he’ll have a charger.”
“Step on it, Nolan,” Milly said.
Nolan nodded and pressed the accelerator.
Mia’s eyes narrowed on her daughter for a few seconds.
Oh yes, the little minx was definitely up to something. Mia didn’t know whether to be proud or terrified.
She was so much like her...
Mia’s eyes widened as she sat back, her heart pounding.
So much like Mia’s father.
More memories flooded her mind, and she realized she’d never really forgotten her father. Not completely. Her mother had said if she hadn’t become a doctor, she’d want to be a children’s author. It had been her hobby, writing children’s stories just for Mia.
Stories about David Dare.
Mia’s chest tightened as she realized all those stories her mother had written weren’t just stories. They were small pieces of her father’s life. Encoded messages. Blueprints.
Her hand went up to her locket, fingers closing around it.
This is my heart for you to wear around your neck, so you will always have a part of me with you and know how much Daddy loves you, my little Morgan.
Tears pricked her eyes as they slowed and turned.
Her head lifted.
Her eyes widened.
They were at the gates of Circle Pond, the development etched into the recesses of her mind like a half-remembered dream.
Without thinking, she leaned forward. “Seven, two, three, nine.”
Nolan looked at her. “What?”
“The gate code,” Mia said, then gave a soft snort. “I don’t know if it still works.”
“Worth a shot,” Nolan said.
He rolled down the window and tapped the numbers into the keypad.
The gate opened.
“Well, that’s not very secure,” Milly stated as they drove through.
Mia’s breath caught as more memories hit her.
It had grown. There were a few more houses scattered around the pond. The trees were taller. But the bones of the place were the same.
As they rounded the far end of the pond, she looked up at the tall house looming in front of them.
“That’s William’s house,” Mia said, her voice barely above a whisper. “It’s where I lived until...”
She swallowed hard as the memory hit her so hard she didn’t even realize she’d sucked in a breath or let out a small sob. Didn’t notice the tears rolling down her cheeks until Lila’s hand found hers.
“No, Daddy, don’t go.” Little Mia’s arms reached out. “Don’t go, Daddy.”
Her father’s eyes were shining with unshed tears. The haunted look on his face as a young US Marshal led him away.
“It was a young Dan,” she sniffed, turning to Milly. “Dan has been with David for twenty-eight years?”
Milly gave her a tight smile and nodded. “Yes. Dan was fresh out of the Special Forces. He was one of the youngest ever. But at twenty-one, he was injured and couldn’t go back, so he joined the US Marshals. David was his first...” She paused. “And his last assignment.”
“Mom,” Lila’s voice was soft as she handed Mia a tissue. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, sweetheart,” Mia sniffed again, wiping at her cheeks. “Just all the memories coming back...”
“We don’t have to be here,” Lila said gently. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you...” She glanced to her right.
Mia followed her gaze to another house one property down from William’s.
Smaller than William’s but still beautiful. Colonial style with white columns.
“That’s my grandfather’s house,” Mia said, frowning as she looked at Lila. “Did you know?”
“Uh...” Lila blushed. “Aunt Eve and I may have been investigating your past...” She pulled a face.
Before Mia could respond, the front door of William’s house burst open.