Chapter 41
chapter
forty-one
Caleb rushed back downstairs, his boots pounding against the steps as he headed for the garage. Hamilton stayed on his heels, and Millie and Biscuit followed not far behind.
As they cleared the steps, the commotion must have drawn Naomi’s attention.
She stepped out of the office and met them in the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” she murmured.
Caleb didn’t answer. Not yet.
He wanted to see the garage first.
He yanked open the side door and flipped on the light.
Valentina’s red sedan was still parked in its spot right next to Millie’s. All the other cars were still there also.
His heart pounded in his ears at the sight.
He’d fully expected it to be gone.
She hadn’t driven away.
So if Valentina wasn’t here, how did she leave?
“Caleb?” Naomi asked from behind him.
He turned toward her. “Have you seen Valentina today?”
“No. Not since dinner yesterday, actually. She told me she wanted to get some sleep and asked to be left alone. Why?”
“Her room has been cleared. All her things are gone.”
“What?” Naomi’s eyes widened. “That doesn’t make sense. Where would she go?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He pulled out his phone.
Just then, Max stepped in from outside. A knot formed between his brow when he saw them all standing near the door leading to the garage.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Valentina’s missing,” Caleb said. “Have you seen her? Anyone come by to pick her up?”
Max’s eyes widened before he shook his head. “Haven’t seen her since last night. No cars came through that I noticed.”
Footsteps sounded behind them, and Sissy appeared at the bottom of the stairs, one hand on her belly. Her face was pale, her eyes wide.
She must have heard all the talking.
“Is everything okay?” Her voice trembled. “I heard you say Valentina’s missing?”
“We don’t know where she is.” Caleb kept his tone calm despite the tension coiling in his chest. “Her things are gone, but her car’s still here.”
“You don’t think—” Sissy stopped, fear flickering across her features. “You don’t think she had something to do with what happened, do you?”
“I don’t know,” Caleb said. “But until we have answers, I need everyone to stay inside. No one goes outside alone. No one opens the door to anyone they don’t know. Understood?”
Naomi nodded.
Max’s jaw tightened, but he gave a sharp nod.
Millie crossed her arms over her chest.
Sissy hugged herself, looking smaller and more vulnerable than ever. “This is so scary.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Caleb said.
But in truth, he wasn’t so sure he believed those words.
Two hours had passed since they’d discovered Valentina’s empty room.
Caleb sat at the dining table now, laptop open in front of him, Sheriff Sutherland beside him. Caleb had handed over the box he’d found in the woods, and they’d been reviewing the security footage for the past hour.
While they did that, Naomi and Millie worked on dinner. His mother wouldn’t be coming today. She was helping Luke out with his kids.
The smell of baked chicken filled the house and made his stomach rumble, despite the dire circumstances.
“There.” Caleb paused the video.
The timestamp read 4:47 a.m.
On the screen, a figure moved down the driveway in the predawn darkness—Valentina, a backpack slung over her shoulder and Pippa in her arms, moving quickly toward the road.
A car waited on the other side of the gate.
A dark SUV without any plates visible.
Valentina climbed into the passenger seat and took one last look at the house before closing the door.
Then the vehicle pulled away.
Sutherland leaned closer, squinting at the screen. “Can you get a better shot of the SUV?”
“That’s the clearest angle.” Frustration tightened Caleb’s jaw. “The camera doesn’t reach that far down the drive.”
“I’ll see what we can pull from traffic cams in the area.” Sutherland jotted something in his notebook. “We’ll track the vehicle. Find out who picked her up.”
Caleb nodded, but his chest felt tight.
Valentina had planned this. She’d packed her things. Called someone to get her.
And no one had noticed.
“What about the man you found dead? Ed Lowen?” Caleb shifted gears. “Any updates?”
Sutherland exhaled slowly. “I was going to tell you this earlier. We talked to this man’s friends and colleagues. He mostly worked insurance fraud and background checks, that kind of thing.”
He furrowed his brow. “So why was he here?”
“That’s the question.” Sutherland flipped a page in his notebook. “No one knows exactly who he was working for. He kept his client list confidential. But one colleague said Lowen mentioned he was on a surveillance job. Didn’t give details.”
Caleb’s mind raced. Surveillance.
Someone had hired a PI to watch the Refuge.
Or watch someone at the Refuge.
“Any leads on who might have killed him?” Caleb turned toward the sheriff at the table.
Sutherland met his gaze, his expression grim. “After today? It looks like Valentina—or whoever she really is—just became our number one suspect.”