Chapter 4 Mitch
MITCH
Mitch broke every speed limit between the hospital and Seabird Cottage. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles had gone white, and his mind kept replaying Lori’s text over and over.
Tessa has been taken again.
Someone had snatched her from the house.
Mitch’s foot pressed harder on the accelerator, pushing the truck past eighty on a road where the speed limit was forty-five. He didn’t care. Tessa was missing, Lori was alone, and he needed to get there now.
The truck skidded into the driveway at Seabird Cottage, and Mitch was out before the engine had fully stopped. He took the porch steps two at a time and found Lori already at the door, pulling it open before he could knock.
Her face was pale, and she was clutching a brightly painted cookie tin in her hands like she didn’t quite know what to do with it.
“Mitch,” she said, her voice breaking. “I’ve looked everywhere. I even tried to look for footprints and tire marks… There were none.” She glanced at the side table. “Except that cloth.” Her eyes shot back to his. “Oh, no! I moved it. I shouldn’t have moved it. I picked it up to smell it…”
Mitch pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly for a moment before pulling back to look at her properly. “Tell me everything. When did you last see her? What happened?”
Lori led him inside, setting the cookie tin on the hall table.
“About forty minutes ago. We came inside together from the hospital. She got a call from her brother on my phone and took it to Carrie’s office.
I went upstairs, and that’s when I saw the message on the mirror.
The threatening message written in lipstick. ”
“What threatening message?” Mitch frowned.
“The one on the mirror in my bedroom,” Lori said, sucking in a breath. “Sorry. I haven’t told you about that yet.”
“No, you haven’t,” Mitch said, feeling alarmed. “Why don’t we go upstairs to look at it while you continue telling me what happened?”
Lori nodded and led him upstairs to the bedroom, where she gestured at the dresser mirror. Mitch stood there reading the words written in red lipstick, his expression growing darker with each line.
THIS IS NOT OVER. YOU WILL STILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID. I WILL STILL DESTROY YOU AND YOUR FAMILY JUST LIKE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS DESTROYED MINE.
“You found this when you got home?” Mitch turned to her.
“Yes, and I went downstairs to call Tessa,” Lori continued.
“She hung up her call and came upstairs to see it.” She swallowed.
Her eyes were shining with unshed tears.
“Tessa’s first instinct was to call you.
I told her not to…” She sucked in a shaky breath.
“Mitch…” She swallowed, her voice wobbled as she tried to hold back the tears, and came out as a soft whisper.
“I told her not to.” He moved forward to console her, but she took a deep breath and held out her hand to stop him.
“No. I’m owning this. I should’ve called you right away.
Then maybe Tessa wouldn’t have been kidnapped again. ”
Mitch ignored her protest, stepped up to her, and pulled her into his arms. “This is not your fault,” he stressed. “I should never have let the two of you come back here on your own.” He glanced around as she gently pulled out of his arms. “Where is Misty?”
“We were going to get her later when we knew more about Ryan,” Lori told him. “She’s still at the Vet’s doggy day care and vacation center.”
Mitch wiped the stray tear that had escaped from her cheek. “What happened after Tessa came up here to see the threat?”
“Tessa was going to get my phone that she’d left in the office to take a photo of it,” Lori told him.
“She told me to take a shower. Once she’d taken the picture, she was going to do the same and put on some fresh clothes.
” Her voice was hoarse with emotion. “That’s the last time I saw or spoke to her. ”
“What happened next?” Mitch encouraged her to continue the story. Taking out his phone to get a few pictures of the threat. “Do you mind if I look over the dresser?”
“Go ahead,” Lori told him, then continued recounting what happened.
While she talked, Mitch carefully looked through the contents of Lori’s makeup box and frowned before turning back to her, then pointing to the writing on the mirror. “Where is that shade of lipstick?”
“I don’t know,” Lori answered. “I don’t wear that color, and as far as I know, neither does Carrie.”
“What about Tessa?” Mitch asked.
“All I’ve ever seen Tessa wear is colored lip balm or gloss,” Lori told him with a sad smile as she thought of Tessa. “She didn’t like wearing lipstick. She said it made her lips peel and feel heavy.” She gave a soft laugh, thinking about that.
Mitch had to smile at that. “Yes, that does sound like Tessa.” He turned back to the mirror. “That means this lipstick belonged to the person who wrote the message.” He looked at Lori. “I’m going to have to get Glory out here to take a sample of this. Don’t wash it off.”
“I haven’t touched it,” Lori told him.
“Let’s go back downstairs, and you can show me where you found the chemical-soaked cloth,” Mitch said.
They went back downstairs, and Lori walked to where she found the cloth. “It was over here.”
Lori pointed to near the front door.
Mitch nodded and used a pen on the side table to pick up the cloth and bring it to his nose.
“It smells like chloroform. The same stuff used before and the same type of cloth.” He took a photo of it and the space where Lori showed him she’d found it.
“I think it’s safe to assume that the same people took her again. ”
Mitch looked around the entryway, his eyes tracking from the door to the stairs to the office.
“The door was wide open when I came down,” Lori continued. “I searched everywhere. The house, the yard, Sunrise House, and both beaches. Her car’s still in the driveway, so she didn’t leave on her own. I even checked the tool shed out back.”
“Did you see anyone?” Mitch asked. “Hear anything unusual?”
“No,” Lori said, shaking her head. “I was in the shower. I didn’t hear a thing. “
“When you got home,” Mitch looked at Lori. “Were there any windows that were open that shouldn’t have been? Were the front and back doors still locked?”
Lori nodded. “I had to unlock the front door, and I know the back door is still locked because I tried it a little while ago.”
“Did you check the basement window?” Mitch asked.
“No.” Lori’s eyes darted toward the kitchen. “But I did lock the basement door.”
Mitch nodded and went to examine the lock on the door.
It didn’t look like it had been tampered with.
“We’ll need to change the locks on both the front and back doors.
” He glanced toward the kitchen. “I know Ryan reinforced the basement window, but we should just change the lock to that door, too, just to be safe.”
Lori’s eyes widened in alarm. “You think they have a key to my house?” Lori breathed.
“I don’t know,” Mitch admitted. “But let’s not take any chances. And just to ensure safety. We’re going to put locks on that can’t be picked.”
“Thank you,” Lori whispered, her brow crinkling into a deep frown. “What have I done?” she asked. “I keep going over and over in my mind.” Her eyes, dark with confusion, worry, and traces of fear, looked into his. “I don’t know why they think I destroyed anyone’s family.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Mitch promised. “But right now, we need to focus on finding Tessa.”
He scrolled through his phone to find Glory’s number. “I have to phone Glory.” He hit dial and it connected after two rings.
“Hi Mitch,” Glory answered. “If you’re calling to check up on Ryan. He’s asleep again.” There was a pause. “He muttered something about Tessa being taken again. What is going on?”
“Someone grabbed Tessa from Seabird Cottage while Lori was in the shower,” Mitch explained. “I have some more evidence for you to go over, and I’ll need you to come to Seabird Cottage.”
“Sure,” Glory said. “When do you want me there? Do you want me to call Jake to come sit with Ryan while I come to the cottage?”
“Um…” Mitch didn’t know if he wanted anyone else involved.
“Marcus already brought Jake into the circle of trust,” Glory told him. “We… uh… Jake and I are engaged.”
“Oh!” Mitch said. “Congratulations. When did this happen?”
“Two nights ago,” Glory told them. “On the day Tessa was first kidnapped. That is kind of why I haven’t said anything.”
“I’m sorry, Glory,” Mitch pinched the bridge of his nose. “We ruined your special day.”
“No!” Glory said adamantly. “Not at all. Like me, Jake is not very good at early retirement from the military. So he’s going to be working with me in my forensic business.”
“I’m happy for both of you,” Mitch told them, and despite everything going on, he grinned and couldn’t help adding, “It’s good to have a fighter pilot on the team. Especially if you need to get somewhere fast.”
“Is that a dad joke?” Glory asked, disgust in her voice. “You usually do a lot better than that, Mitch.”
“Give me a break,” Mitch said with a sigh. “I’m stressed, worried, and not on top form.”
“I have some information that I found,” Glory told him.
“I guess it’s not really information but…
Jake found the farmhouse where Tessa, Ryan, and Jackie were being held.
It’s an abandoned property about six miles outside town.
The family that owns it hasn’t lived on Nantucket for twenty years.
” She paused. “He went out there and looked around. There were signs the house had been used, but it had been cleared out since Ryan, Tessa, and Jackie escaped.”
“Does the family that owns it have any connection to the Lanes or the Standsteads?” Mitch asked.
“None that we can find,” Glory said. “The farmhouse was rented to a family two years ago, but they moved to Boston. It’s been sitting empty ever since. The local kids call it the ghost farm.”