Chapter Twenty
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day went by in a blur, and Anya couldn’t have enjoyed herself more. Despite not knowing Ashley’s parents well, they’d been just as accepting of her as Eric’s had been.
Anya actually took over a lot of the cooking because it was something she enjoyed. Ashley had been looking drained, so Anya was glad that she had her family here to take care of her as well as Eric to watch Arielle when she and Brian needed a break. It was also nice that Arielle had a couple of grandmothers there during the holidays to hold her because she was definitely teething.
But Anya realized as she drove off to return to the cabin on Christmas evening—she’d felt like she had a family again. As a matter of fact, she felt more like she belonged with Eric’s than she ever had with hers. It had been the same when she’d been dating Eric in high school.
Since Jake Loughlin would be visiting tomorrow morning at the cabin, Anya wanted to get to sleep early and organize her notes in the morning. She’d been relieved that Eric wanted to be there with her too. He wanted to help with the search in any way that he could.
After pulling her truck into the garage, she gathered her Christmas gifts along with the food they’d sent home, including the cheesecake Eric had apparently purchased when he’d been in town yesterday.
But she felt like something was different when she walked inside the cabin and realized that her mom’s cell phone was beeping. There appeared to be a new message on voice mail.
It was the one source of communication that Anya had decided to keep once she’d sold the house, although she’d also picked up a more modern phone and kept it plugged in at the cabin. She’d held onto her mom’s cell phone with the original number because of the phone call Mom had received from Shanna.
Inhaling an unsteady breath, she rested her gifts along with the food on the table, trying to calm down her nerves. She’d put the food away first before listening to the message, she decided.
After everything was loaded in the refrigerator, she approached the plugged in cell phone again, sitting on the chair beside it. Picking it up, she glanced to see if there was a caller ID number.
No, it was just marked private. But then again, there hadn’t been a number before.
She scrolled through the settings, double tapping the screen where the message notification was displayed.
“Anya,” the woman said, in a voice that sounded like it was coming from inside a long tunnel. “I know you’re home and you haven’t given up on me. Please be careful. I’m not far away, but if something happened to you, it would devastate me more than you know. I’m going to need you.” There was a long pause. “I know we never seemed to get along, but I love you .”
And then the phone disconnected.
After a moment of stunned silence, her tears started falling, followed by gulping, heart wrenching sobs.
Another fifteen minutes later after she’d finally managed to settle down, she glanced at the ring on her finger.
“I don’t have to do this alone,” she said aloud, reaching for her cell phone.
Eric answered right away. “What’s wrong?”
“How did you know?” she asked in a shaky voice.
“I just sensed it,” he replied softly. “What happened?”
“Shanna left me a message.”
There was a long silence until finally he asked, “Are you sure?”
“Positive,” she said firmly.
“I’ll be right there,” he muttered, disconnecting.
While she waited on the couch, she decided to make a recording of the message on her laptop along with her phone, so by the time she was finished, Eric was pulling his truck into the driveway, and then parking at an angle near the porch.
He was carrying his duffel bag, she noticed as he walked inside.
“I’m staying the night,” he said, staring into her eyes with a look that warned her not to argue.
“Good,” she answered softly.
He glanced around the living room. “Although it’s nice and neat and organized, do you mean to say that you’ve only been living in this small space all this time?”
“Just through the winter. I’ve got a private investigator to pay,” she replied. “Can I get you something to drink? I don’t have much company, but I actually have beer in the fridge.”
“I can get it,” he said, resting his bag near the door before tugging off his coat and hanging it on the hook near the door.
A minute later he was back with his beer and a wine cooler for her. “Before I listen to the message, why don’t you drink this?”
She nodded. “I think I will.”
“Where do you sleep?” he asked, sitting beside her on the couch.
“Here. It’s a sleeper sofa,” she said.
He wrapped his arm around her. “You’re still looking kind of stunned.”
“I might just as well play the message for you. It’s actually…well, I’ll let you listen. I’ve already transferred a copy to my computer and phone.”
She pulled out her phone, playing the message aloud.
Now, it was Eric’s turn to look stunned.
“You still didn’t really believe me, did you?” she growled.
“It’s not that,” he replied, appearing to choose his words carefully. “Jake has mentioned to Brian that the traffickers have always resurfaced here in town, which could put you in danger. I was worried that someone could be playing some kind of sick game with you. Maybe someone who knew you were still looking into her disappearance.” He huffed out a breath. “But that sounds like Shanna alright. The message isn’t rehearsed or contrived.”
“So that leaves another big question. If she’s a captive, how was she able to leave me a message?”
“It’s been ten years,” he said. “Her circumstances might have earned her a certain level of trust. Maybe she’s being threatened in some other way. Maybe she’s protecting you .”
Could that be it?
A thought suddenly came to mind, and she stood, pacing the floor back and forth into the kitchen.
“Anya?” Eric looked concerned. “What’s going on in your head?”
She halted, meeting his gaze. “I’m thinking about my mom’s death. I didn’t have an autopsy done, because a series of heart attacks made sense when I talked with her doctor. But she’d been acting out of character for a while, and from what I was told, she wasn’t on any kind of medication.”
Eric grimaced. “I wish I could say that you’re definitely wrong. You probably knew her better than anyone at the end.”
She bit on her lip. “Do you think I should call Jake Loughlin?”
“It’s Christmas night and another few hours isn’t going to make a difference one way or another. They might even be able to track where that phone call came from since you have the date and the time recorded on the phone. You said he gave you his number at the auction the other day. Why don’t you send him a text, so he won’t be surprised by anything we have to say in the morning?”
“Yes—let’s,” she replied, picking up her phone and writing a short message, explaining the situation.
Jake Loughlin texted back right away. ‘Are you alright, Anya?”
She answered, ‘Yes. I have a friend here with me. Would you like me to forward the message?’
‘That would be great,’ Jake replied.
She forwarded the message.
‘ Got it. Hold on ,’ Jake wrote.
A minute later, he was back. ‘No wonder you’re shocked. Can I talk with you earlier in the morning —maybe eight instead of ten?’
‘Sure. I don’t work until two.’
‘See you then. I’m glad you have someone with you. We should talk security while I’m there. No arguments, please.’
‘Okay. See you at eight,’ she wrote, grimacing.
“What?” Eric asked, obviously reading her expression.
“He thinks that I should have some kind of security,” she answered.
“I do too,” Eric agreed, grimly. “But let’s put everything aside for the rest of the night, Anya.”
“Alright.” She sighed. “Would you like another beer?”
“I would. And I think you should have another one of those wine coolers too.”
She cocked her head. “Why?”
Eric rolled his eyes. “Besides the fact that it’s still pretty early?” He smiled wryly. “I’m nervous as hell, and I’m sure you are too. You know damn well that I mean to make love to you tonight.”
She snorted. “It’s about time. I mean we’re practically engaged.”
His eyes went wide. And then he crossed them when he started laughing.