Chapter 37
“So,” Quinn said as they leaned back on the couch after watching the video Teague had shot, “do you think we got to her?”
Ali watched Colby as he sat there, slowly shaking his head in wonder, staring at the now-blank screen. She had a feeling she knew just what had him so gobsmacked.
“Could we watch that moment when she spots Colby again?” she asked. “It just does my heart good.”
Hayley laughed and rewound the video. The moment when Liz’s eyes widened was wonderful, and the next instant when her jaw dropped, heedless of the fact that she was out in public, was even better.
But the best of all was the moment when fear flashed in her normally cold, gray eyes. That was absolutely priceless.
“As well you should be afraid,” she murmured.
Colby heard her, because his head snapped around to look at her. “So… I’m not imagining that?”
She reached out and took his hand, squeezed it. “That scared look in her eyes? No, you are not. Isn’t it wonderful?”
He laughed, then looked up toward the ceiling, biting his lower lip.
He closed his eyes, and she wished she knew what was racing through his mind at that moment.
When his eyes abruptly snapped open and he looked down, she saw that Ziggy was pawing at his leg, trying to climb up.
But before the pup could do it, and even before Colby could reach down for him, Cutter was there.
He picked Ziggy up just like Quinn and Hayley had told them he had when he’d brought Ziggy to them, and plopped the wiggly bit of black-and-white fur in Colby’s lap.
Colby simultaneously patted Cutter and picked Ziggy up.
He held the squirmy pup against his chest, and Ziggy reached up to swipe his chin with a pink tongue.
Even my puppy loves him.
For a moment she allowed herself to think beyond this crisis, to a time when things would settle and they could just be together. When this horrendous strain was behind him and Grace, and they could actually be happy. But then Quinn spoke, yanking her back to reality.
“We’ll be watching her carefully. Teague’s on her now. I suggest you remain here, Colby, so she can’t corner you at your house. I have a feeling she’s going to react rather strongly once she gets over the shock.”
Colby nodded. Ali reluctantly glanced at her watch. Hayley noticed, and nodded.
“Yes,” she said, “you need to be close by when Grace gets home from school, to make sure she doesn’t take any heat from this.”
She felt Colby stiffen, and reached over to grab his hand. “I won’t let her hurt Grace. If I have to go kick down the door or make up a story and call the sheriff.”
“We’ll call them, if necessary,” Quinn said. “We’ve already alerted Carly that things may be starting to move.”
“Good,” Colby said flatly. “Grace’s safety comes before anything else.”
“I’ll come with you,” Hayley said. “I think we can get away with another visit from your old friend.”
“Thank you,” Ali said, meaning it rather fiercely. She had the feeling things might start happening fast, and if she couldn’t have Colby at hand, Foxworth was the next best thing.
They only had a few minutes, so her goodbye with Colby was much shorter than she would have liked. But he blew all other thoughts out of her mind when, hugging her close, he whispered, “I can’t wait until this is over and we can just be us together.”
“All three of us,” she whispered back. She felt a ripple go through him, and knew she’d found the right response. And she meant it with all her heart.
They made it to her place ten minutes before Grace usually got home. Irene was still at the house next door, which usually meant Liz herself was picking her up from school.
“I hope that’s not a bad sign,” she muttered.
“We won’t assume,” Hayley said. “She does pick her up frequently, and she was already out. But we won’t assume it’s nothing, either.” She gave Ali a reassuring smile. “Now, show me this new greenhouse of yours. I’ve been thinking about one myself.”
“I still can’t quite believe he did it,” Ali said with an almost embarrassed smile as she led Hayley to the newly installed—and filled—structure, Cutter at their heels.
“I can. Because I can see how he feels about you.”
“Sometimes I can’t believe it’s even real,” she admitted, not even bothered by the fact that Hayley clearly knew how close she and Colby had become.
“Then trust Cutter. He knows it is.”
They walked around inside the small greenhouse, much warmer than the February chill outside, where her plants were already showing how much they liked it.
It might be crystal clear and the sun might be bright enough to make you squint, but that didn’t mean it was warm here in the Northwest. Sometimes February was one of the harshest months of all.
They’d gone back inside for some hot chocolate when Cutter alerted. He trotted over to the window and stood still, watching.
“Must be her car,” Ali said. “I swear, he can tell even cars apart.”
Hayley laughed as she went and turned on what Ali had taken to calling the spy cams, the ones that showed the house next door, including the driveway, at the edge of their broad visual field.
“I don’t even question anymore,” she said as the images popped to life on Ali’s flat-screen.
And sure enough, a moment later when a car pulled into view, it was Liz’s top-end luxury sedan.
The garage door began to rise, and the car pulled straight into the garage.
But not before Ali spotted the passenger.
Definitely Grace, she could tell even though the child was slouched almost below the level of the windows of the vehicle.
“She didn’t look happy,” Hayley said.
Ali sighed. “She never does when the mother picks her up.”
They watched until a light came on in Grace’s room at the back of the house.
Cutter finished making his rounds, interrupted by the arrival next door, then settled into the bed Ali had made for him from a soft throw.
Ziggy, adorably, had begun to imitate his big companion, following him around the house as he checked every door and window, then plopped down beside him on the floor.
“You know, you could rent him out as a puppy trainer, along with all the zillion other things he’s good at,” Ali said.
“Now, there’s a thought,” Hayley said with a smile.
Ali watched the screen. “I wish she wasn’t so careful about having the house checked for bugs or cams. I’d love to know what’s going on in there right now.”
“Agreed. We even thought about giving Grace something to record with, but the risk was too high that if her mother found it, she might hurt her.”
Ali grimaced. “Even higher, now that we know she’s hit her at least once,” she said, remembering that moment when they’d been talking on the lighthouse bench.
She’d felt a little uncomfortable, as if she was eavesdropping on something very personal, but it was all part of knowing what they had to know to rescue Grace.
And that particular bit of knowledge was well beyond infuriating, it was enraging.
Time passed and it was starting to seem like just another day next door when Cutter’s head came up.
He got to his feet and walked over to the window.
Ali looked at the screen and waited, trusting the dog’s incredible hearing.
And about a minute later a car pulled into the driveway.
It wasn’t on a par with Liz’s favored luxury model, but was the same make.
“A rideshare, maybe?” she suggested to Hayley. “We don’t have much in the way of taxis over here.”
“I’d agree, if the driver wasn’t acting like that,” Hayley said dryly, nodding at the screen.
Ali looked back at the man who’d gotten out from behind the wheel.
Tall and burly, he looked around. Not at the house number as she would have expected if he wanted to be sure he was at the right address, but all around him, lingering long enough on her house to make her uncomfortable.
Then he turned to look back the way he’d come, as if he were checking to see if anyone followed him.
“Security?” Ali asked.
“That would be my guess.”
Ali grimaced. A Foxworth operative would likely know one when she saw one.
They couldn’t tell who had come to the door, since they didn’t step outside, but watched as the man went into the house.
Quiet reigned again. Cutter was more restless, as if he’d somehow sensed the new arrival was…
different. Or maybe she was just starting to believe the dog was as amazing as the Foxworths said he was.
He’d certainly done nothing to disprove that.
But finally he settled back into his old spot, and she went back to snuggling with Ziggy, who didn’t have quite the calming effect petting Cutter did, but there was something about that soft fur and tiny body, and most of all the utter trust, that soothed her all the same.
Cutter suddenly scrambled to his feet. He raced to the back door and looked back at them, letting out an almost urgent bark. Hayley headed toward him while Ali grabbed up Ziggy to keep him from trying to follow. Playing together was one thing, but Cutter was obviously working now.
Hayley opened the door, but stayed inside. Cutter raced into the yard, leaped over the short fence in one scrambling bound, and headed for Grace. Hayley stayed at the door while Ali ran back to the screen, where she could see Cutter had already reached the window of Grace’s room.
The window that was open.
She watched, with her heart pounding, as the child leaned out as Cutter reared up on his hind legs to reach her. Grace’s hands went to his collar, and Ali guessed she was putting a message in the little canister.
The pounding in her chest became a wrench as Grace looked back over her shoulder every few seconds, as if she knew she was being pursued.
Still the child took a moment to stroke Cutter’s dark head, and even in the small image on the screen Ali could see her smile.
So even at times like this—or maybe especially—the clever, protective dog could provide comfort.
And then Grace pulled back inside, slid the window closed and darted back into her room and out of sight of the camera’s field.
Cutter wheeled around and started back toward them at a dead run, head down and tail out straight as if he understood speed was of the essence.
Which made Ali feel that painful twist in her chest again.
She spun around as fast as the dog had and hurried over to where Hayley was waiting, arriving in time to see him clear the fence again.
Hayley murmured something soft and loving to the amazing animal as she opened the tiny container and pulled a tightly rolled piece of paper, larger than the previous ones had been.
Ali you have to help me!!! She pulled me out of class.
Some stranger is here. She’s packing stuff.
She told me we’re going away and not coming back.
I asked her where and she said I didn’t need to know.
I asked her why and she wouldn’t answer.
I said what about Daddy, and she got really mad and said it’s all his fault. Help!
“So she’s going to run,” Ali said.
“Or try to,” Hayley said, with a hint of steel in her voice that calmed Ali a bit. She reached for the Foxworth phone. But before she even picked it up, the red light lit up and the urgent-sounding notification went off. Hayley hit the red button. Quinn’s voice came through immediately.
“We think she’s making a move.”
“We know she is,” Hayley countered, and relayed the contents of Grace’s note. “What happened on your end?”
“Liam’s been monitoring, and in touch with our contact over in Everett at the airport. He heard the pilot of the charter jet they use just filed a flight plan. Two passengers. And one of them is a child.”