Chapter 8 Lori
LORI
Lori stood on the weathered dock, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she stared out at the slate-gray water where whitecaps churned under a bright blue sky.
Beside her, Mitch shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his jaw clenched so tight a muscle twitched beneath the stubble on his cheek.
Glory perched on a splintered wooden crate nearby, the blue glow of her laptop screen reflecting in her glasses as her fingers tapped impatiently against the keyboard, monitoring the GPS coordinates.
They’d been waiting for what felt like hours, but the thin gold watch on Lori’s wrist showed it had only been forty-five minutes.
Forty-five excruciating minutes of scanning the choppy horizon for Jake’s fishing boat.
Forty-five minutes of imagining every possible scenario of what Ryan and Jake might find.
Forty-five minutes of her heart hammering against her ribs, wondering if she would ever see her goddaughter’s smile again.
Trent had contacted Mitch a while ago when they were about to get a boat, letting them know that Jake had taken his fishing boat out on Trent’s orders to fetch Tessa. That Jake had helped Ryan escape the hospital and gone with him. That they had Tessa and were heading back to shore.
But knowing they were coming and actually seeing them were two very different things.
“There,” Glory said suddenly, pointing toward the water. “I see them.”
Lori’s head snapped up, her heart leaping into her throat. A fishing boat was cutting through the waves, its bow slicing white foam as it pitched and rolled toward the dock. She could make out three figures on board, but they were too far away to identify.
“Is that them?” she asked, her voice tight with anxiety.
“That’s Jake’s boat,” Mitch confirmed, and Lori could hear the relief in his voice. “They’re coming in.”
The next few minutes stretched like taffy pulled too thin, each second threatening to snap as the boat approached.
Lori watched it cut through the slate-gray chop, the majestic vessel rising and falling with each wave, salt spray glistening in the sunlight.
Her fingernails bit crescents into her palms. The figures aboard took shape through the haze.
There was Jake, a look of concentration on his face at the wheel, his experienced hands steady despite the rough water.
Near the bow huddled two figures, one supporting the other against the pitch and roll of the deck.
Please let Tessa be okay, Lori prayed silently, tasting copper where she’d bitten her lip. Please let her be safe.
The engine throttled down with a gurgling sputter as Jake guided the boat alongside the weathered planks. Mitch lunged forward, snatching the coiled rope Jake tossed in a perfect arc, his fingers working the wet line around the rusted cleat with practiced efficiency.
Lori scrambled aboard before the boat fully settled, the deck still swaying beneath her feet, the smell of diesel and brine filling her lungs.
Her gaze darted wildly until Lori found her.
Tessa sat hunched on a soft, cushioned bench, with a faded navy blanket clutched around her shoulders.
Her hair was wind-tangled and crusted with salt.
Her face was chalk-white against the bruise-purple shadows beneath her eyes, but her chest rose and fell with steady breaths. She was alive and safe. Tessa was back.
“Tessa,” Lori breathed, rushing forward and pulling her into a tight embrace. “Thank goodness you’re okay. I was so worried.”
“I’m okay,” Tessa said, her voice muffled against Lori’s shoulder. “I’m safe now.”
Lori pulled back, her hands moving to cup Tessa’s face as she looked her over carefully. “Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?”
“No, I’m not hurt,” Tessa assured her. “Just a little seasick and very grateful to be off that dinghy.” She gently touched the bandage still on her forehead. “My head hurts a bit.”
“We’re getting you both to the hospital.
” Lori’s gaze shifted to Ryan, who was sitting a few feet away.
He was dressed in jeans and a dark blue T-shirt, with a bright yellow jacket loosely draped over his shoulders.
His face was pale, drawn with exhaustion and pain, but he was smiling as he watched Tessa and Lori.
And there, on the front of his dark blue shirt, just visible where the yellow jacket had fallen open slightly, was a dark stain.
Wet. Spreading slowly, and Lori knew it was blood.
Lori’s breath caught, but she didn’t say anything.
She was careful not to call attention to it.
Ryan noticed where she was looking and quickly pulled the yellow jacket closed, covering the stain.
Their eyes met, and she saw the silent plea there.
Please don’t say anything. Not yet. Not in front of everyone.
Lori knew that to mean especially not in front of his dad.
Mitch had already had a problem when Ryan had nearly died the other day.
Lori gave a tiny nod. She understood. He didn’t want Mitch to worry.
Didn’t want Tessa to feel guilty. Didn’t want to make a scene when they’d just gotten back safely.
She walked over to him and carefully pulled him into a hug, mindful not to squeeze too hard. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear. “Thank you for saving her. Thank you for not giving up.”
“I’d do it again,” Ryan said, his voice rough. “I’d do anything for her.”
“I know.” Lori pulled back and kept her voice light, casual. “We do need to get you back to the hospital, though. You look exhausted.”
“I hate to admit it,” Ryan said, swallowing hard, “but all this rescue work has worn me out. I’m trying really hard not to vomit right now.”
“Let’s get you back then,” Lori said gently. She didn’t mention the blood. Didn’t say anything about the way his hands were trembling or how pale his lips were. Just kept Ryan’s secret and silently vowed to get him to the hospital as quickly as possible.
“Ryan!” Mitch said as he hopped on the boat and rushed over to his son, pulling him in a hug. “What the heck, son?”
“Yeah,” Ryan said with a sheepish smile. “I’m ready to go back to the hospital now. I think the nurse is going to be pretty mad that I escaped.”
“You think?” Mitch said, but there was relief in his voice that Ryan was willing to go back without argument. “Come on. Let’s get you taken care of.”
He turned to Glory and Jake. “I’ll get Ryan and Tessa to the hospital with Lori.”
“Jake and I will stay here,” Glory said as she walked further onto the boat and glanced at the dinghy being towed behind it.
“We’ll go over the dinghy.” She turned to Tessa.
“Trent said you have a grocery bag that was left for you.” Tessa nodded and grabbed the bag that was on the seat, holding it to her chest. “Can I take a look at what’s inside? ”
Tessa’s arms tightened around the bag she was clutching. “The giant left it for me. Ray. His name is Ray. He left me food, water, and a phone. And a note.”
“Trent said so.” Glory’s eyebrows rose with interest.
“It was about his sister,” Tessa explained. “He says he did this for his sister, Heather. I think someone’s using her to force him to help them.”
“That’s important evidence,” Glory said gently, moving closer. “I need to document it. Take photographs. Send the pictures to Trent in order to help us track Ray down and find out who’s coercing him.”
Tessa hesitated, her fingers gripping the bag tighter. Lori could see the conflict in her face. That bag represented survival. It represented the kindness of a stranger in the middle of a terrifying situation. It made sense that Tessa wouldn’t want to let it go.
“There’s a phone,” Tessa said finally, glancing at Jake. “Jake has the phone.”
Glory held out her hand for the bag. “May I?”
Slowly, reluctantly, Tessa held out the bag.
Glory took it carefully and looked inside as Jake stepped up to her and gave her the phone.
She took it and turned it over in her hand.
Her expression sharpened. “This is a military issue satellite phone,” Glory said.
“High-end model and expensive. It’s not something you can just buy at a regular store. ”
“Really?” Tessa frowned. “Then he is military, like Ryan suggested.”
“So far, it would seem so,” Glory agreed, then glanced at Jake. “We need to document everything in this bag? I want photographs of each item, a complete inventory, and a proper chain of custody.”
“Sure,” Jake said, moving to stand beside her. “Where is the note?”
“In the bag,” Tessa answered. “In the one that the phone had been in.”
Glory pulled out the note Ray had left and read it silently, her lips pressed into a thin line. Then she took out her phone, preparing to photograph it.
“Can you send a picture to Trent?” Tessa asked. “He asked me to.”
“Of course,” Glory said, but then she paused, looking at her phone screen. “Trent already asked me to.”
“Thank you,” Tessa said. “Please find Ray and his sister.”
Glory took several photographs of the note from different angles, then carefully placed it back in the bag. “I’ll look into this right away,” she promised Tessa.
Tessa nodded, seeming finally satisfied that they would find Ray and his sister. Lori’s heart swelled with pride. Beautiful Tessa, who had just been through a harrowing ordeal, was doing what she always did. Put someone else’s plight or cause before her own pain.
“But Tessa,” Glory said, her voice serious. “This Ray guy, he still kidnapped you. And Jackie. And Ryan.” She paused, her eyes searching Tessa’s face. “He may even be the one who hit Mitch and Elias Dane on the beach.”
“I don’t think he was,” Tessa said, and everyone turned toward her. Lori, Mitch, Ryan, and Jake all looked at her curiously, waiting.
“I know who’s doing this,” Tessa said, taking a deep breath. “Who’s really behind all of it!”
Lori felt her heart start to pound harder. “You know?”
“I’ve been piecing it together,” Tessa said.
She swallowed and rubbed her temples like her head was hurting.
“While I’m not completely sure why Elias Dane was here scoping out the houses and watching the cottage, I have an idea it might have something to do with Ray.
Maybe Elias knew something. Maybe he was trying to protect us. ”
Lori wanted to tell them they could talk about this on the way to the hospital.
Ryan needed medical attention, and Tessa needed to be looked over, too.
They shouldn’t be standing here on a boat having this conversation.
But she realized that no one was going anywhere until they’d heard what Tessa had to say.
Not Mitch. Not Glory. Not Jake. And certainly not Ryan, despite the blood seeping through his shirt.
“I’m not sure what these people have on Ray,” Tessa continued, “but I think it has something to do with his sister. They’re using her to force Ray to do their dirty work.”
“Okay,” Mitch said slowly, his voice controlled but tense. “So who’s coercing him? Who’s pulling the strings?”
Tessa’s eyes met Lori’s, and there was genuine regret in them. Sorrow, even. “Lori, I’m so sorry. This isn’t about you.” She paused. “Well, it is, and it isn’t. And the reason why you’re being targeted is my fault.”
“Why do you say that?” Lori asked, frowning. A knot of anxiety was forming in her stomach, tightening with each word Tessa spoke.
“Because the person who’s behind this thinks you’re my mother,” Tessa said, and Lori’s eyes widened as realization started to dawn.
“All that’s been happening is because of one of my mother’s cases.
A case that involved my mom working with Sally and Dr. Jackie Simons, who testified as an expert witness. ”
“The Whittakers,” Mitch breathed, and Lori saw realization flooding his expression like a dam breaking. “The man had a daughter.”
His eyes started to widen as more pieces fell into place. He stared at Tessa intensely. “Is it who I think it is?”
“Who?” Lori asked, even though part of her knew the answer. Part of her had known from the moment Tessa started explaining. But she needed to hear it. Needed Tessa to say the name out loud.
“Well, when I was taken earlier today,” Tessa said carefully, “the person who came to the door was wielding a cylindrical object. And an object that could’ve been used to hit Mitch and Elias with. It was the kind of object used to pump air into things like blow-up beds and...”
“Bicycle tires,” Mitched finished, his voice barely above a whisper.
An image flashed through Lori’s mind with crystal clarity. A visitor who had come to the door just hours after Tessa had been kidnapped.
“She was there all the time,” Lori said, feeling sick. “Right there. Right in front of us.”
“Yes,” Tessa said, nodding. “That is why I think Elias Dane was trying to protect us. Protect Sally and Dr. Simons, too. That’s why he was watching the cottage. He must’ve confronted the person on the beach that day, or they confronted him.”
“That makes so much sense,” Mitch hissed. “I should’ve seen it before.”
“None of us did. They were someone we didn’t see as a threat,” Lori said. “We dismissed them as a friendly neighbor with the cookies and the questions. Someone we felt sorry for because they seemed so sad and lonely.”
“Who are you talking about?” Jake asked, looking between them with confusion. “Who? Whittaker’s daughter?”
Tessa’s jaw tightened as she nodded. Her eyes were darting between Jake, Glory, Mitch, and Lori. “Clara Stark. I just have to confirm it when I get the information from Trent. But I’m sure she’s actually Clara Whittaker, the judge’s daughter.”