Chapter 4 Mitch #2
"That looks like the same size as the one in your garden," she said, looking up at Mitch with wide eyes.
Mitch hunched down beside her, already pulling out his phone to photograph the print. "Yes," he agreed, his pulse quickening. "Yes, it does. Same unusual size, same depth of impression. This is our giant."
"You found another footprint like this?" Glory asked, her professional interest clearly piqued.
"Yes," Lori answered. "At Sunrise House this morning, in the garden bed by the front porch."
"I'll send you the pictures," Mitch told Glory, already pulling up the photos on his phone and forwarding them. "The more data points we have, the better profile we can build."
"Please do," Glory said, her phone chiming as the images arrived. She studied them carefully, then looked back at the print in the sand. "This is someone very large. Very distinctive. That should make them easier to identify once we have a suspect pool."
As Mitch stood up, brushing sand from his knees, he noticed Glory's eyes scanning the properties across the street. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth. The kind of smile that meant she'd just had an idea.
"What?" Mitch asked, recognizing that expression. He'd seen it often enough on his son’s face when he was onto something.
"There are all businesses on this road," Glory explained, her smile growing.
"After a spate of burglary pranks by some teenagers in Nantucket last summer, most of them installed security cameras.
And since they know me, as I consult for Carrie pretty regularly and help with forensic analysis on her cases, they might let me look at the footage. "
Mitch felt a surge of hope. "That could be exactly what we need. If we can get a look at the vehicle, get a plate number..." He swallowed and looked at Glory. "Let's go," he said, already starting toward the businesses.
"No," Glory said firmly, holding up her hand to stop him. "Not you."
Mitch frowned. "What? Why not?"
Glory looked from him to Lori and back again, her expression sympathetic but unyielding. "I know you're both anxious. I know you want to do everything possible to get Ryan and Tessa back. But I need you both to go home."
"Glory—" Mitch started to protest, but she cut him off.
"Get some rest. You both look like you've been up all night, which I'm guessing you have, and being exhausted isn't going to help you get them back.
" Her voice was kind but firm. "You're running on adrenaline right now, but that's going to crash soon.
When it does, you need to be somewhere safe, not stumbling around conducting interviews.
Let me handle the camera footage. I'll call you the second I have anything. "
Mitch wanted to argue. Every instinct screamed at him to keep moving, keep investigating, keep doing something. But he also knew Glory was right. He could feel the exhaustion pulling at him now that she'd mentioned it, the weight of the sleepless night and the constant fear dragging at his limbs.
"Promise you'll call the moment you have a lead?" he asked Glory.
"I promise," Glory said solemnly. "The very second."
Mitch and Lori reluctantly headed back to his truck with Misty. The drive to Pelican Bay felt longer than usual, or maybe that was just Mitch's exhaustion making everything feel like it was happening in slow motion.
When he pulled into his driveway and saw Ryan's truck still parked there, unchanged, unmoved, a ghost of his son's presence, Mitch's heart lurched painfully in his chest.
"I can't take this," he said softly, his hands still gripping the steering wheel even though he'd turned off the engine. He couldn't seem to make himself move, couldn't face walking into that empty house knowing Ryan wasn't there, might never be there again. "I can't lose another son."
His voice broke on the last word, and he hated how weak it sounded, how vulnerable. He'd lost Grady eight years ago, and it had nearly destroyed him. The thought of losing Ryan, too, of having both his sons taken from him...
He felt Lori move in the seat beside him, felt her lean across the leather seats. Then her arms were around him, pulling him close in a gesture of comfort that was so unexpected and so needed that Mitch found himself leaning into it without thinking.
"You're not going to lose Ryan," Lori said softly, her breath warm against his ear as she held him. Her voice was fierce with conviction. "We're going to find both him and Tessa. Alive. I won't accept any other outcome."
Mitch let himself be held for a moment, drawing strength from her certainty. Then he sat up, and their eyes locked. In that moment, with her face so close to his, Mitch saw something in her expression that matched what he'd been feeling all morning. All week, if he was being honest with himself.
Before he could think better of it, before logic could override instinct, Mitch pulled Lori toward him. Their lips met, and the world faded away.
The kiss was everything he hadn't known he needed.
Warm and soft and right in a way that made his chest ache. For just a few seconds, there was no investigation, no missing loved ones, no fear. There was just this. The feeling of Lori in his arms, the taste of her lips, the rightness of holding her close.
They were just beginning to come up for air, their foreheads still touching, when Mitch's phone rang with shrill insistence.
They jumped apart like teenagers caught by their parents, and Mitch fumbled to pull his phone from his pocket. His heart was pounding, though he couldn't say if it was from the kiss or the fear of what news the call might bring.
He looked at the screen and felt his heartbeat slow slightly. "It's Piper," he said, his voice rough. He cleared his throat and tried again. "It's Piper."
"I'll leave you..." Lori said, already reaching for the door handle to give him privacy.
But Mitch's hand shot out to stop her, catching her wrist gently. "Please, stay," he said, meeting her eyes. "Please."
After a brief hesitation, Lori settled back into her seat with a small nod.
Mitch took a deep breath, forcing himself to put on the voice that disguised all his worries, the cheerful grandfather voice that Piper deserved to hear. He pressed the answer button.
"Hello, sweetheart," Mitch answered the phone, injecting warmth and normalcy into his tone. "Are you wanting to come home already?"
"Hi, Grandpa!" Piper's sweet voice echoed happily through the phone, and the sound of it made Mitch's throat tighten.
She sounded so carefree, so innocent, completely unaware of the nightmare unfolding back home.
"Emma's mother wants to ask you something.
.." There was a pause, and then Piper's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper that was still clearly audible.
"Please, please, please say yes, Grandpa!
And I promise I'll do mine and your chores for a week. .. no, a month!"
Despite everything, Mitch found himself smiling. "Mmm, this sounds serious," he said, playing along. "Let me speak to Debbie."
"Hello, Mitch!" Debbie Louwe's voice came on the line, bright and cheerful, reminding Mitch that life was going on as normal everywhere else in the world.
People were still making vacation plans and worrying about ordinary things.
It felt surreal. “Emma and I are going to Maine, where my parents have a cabin on the lake.
We'll be there for five days, and since camp is now finished, Emma was hoping Piper could join us. "
Mitch's first instinct was to immediately say no.
He wanted his granddaughter here, home with him, where he could protect her.
But then reality intruded on that instinct: Ryan had been abducted from this very house this morning.
What kind of protection could Mitch really offer when he couldn't even keep his own son safe?
Maybe Piper would be safer away from here. Away from whatever was happening in Pelican Bay.
"I..." Mitch started, then paused. "Where is this lake exactly? And may I ask who your parents are?"
Debbie gave a soft laugh, free of judgment, only one of understanding.
"Of course you can ask those questions, Mitch.
I'd do the exact same if you were taking Emma away somewhere.
" Her voice became more serious, more reassuring.
"You don't have to worry about Piper being safe with us.
My father is Admiral Dalton Warren, a retired Navy officer, and my mother is Mary Warren, a retired JAG attorney.
Trust me, we're quite strict about safety protocols.
Between my father's military background and my mother's legal expertise, we’ll ensure your granddaughter is as safe as humanly possible. "
Mitch made a mental note of the names. He couldn't deny to himself that he would be checking them out later.
It was simply an ingrained habit at this point, the investigator's instinct to verify everything.
But Debbie's credentials were impressive, and her understanding of his need to ask questions spoke well of her judgment.
"Please, Grandpa!" Piper's voice rang through in the background, audible even though she wasn't holding the phone.
"Please, Mr. Brandon!" Emma's voice joined in.
Mitch rubbed his eyes, the exhaustion suddenly feeling overwhelming. Maybe it would be best for Piper not to be here for a few days. At least until they had some idea of what they were dealing with, who was behind these kidnappings, and whether his family remained in danger.
"Okay," he said finally, to a chorus of excited cheers from both girls. "She can go."
"Thank you! I love you, Grandpa!" Piper called, her voice full of joy.
"We'll pop by later to pick up Piper's things..." Debbie started to say.
"No, it's okay," Mitch said quickly, not wanting anyone to come to the house right now.
Not wanting to risk having to explain why he looked like he'd not slept in a week, or why Ryan's truck was sitting in the driveway but Ryan was nowhere to be found.
"If Piper messages Lori with a list of what she wants to bring, we'll get it packed and drop it off at your house.
We're going to be out the entire afternoon anyway. "
That last part was a lie, but a necessary one.
"Oh, okay," Debbie said easily. "That works perfectly. I'll have Piper send the list right away. Thank you again, Mitch."
They said their goodbyes and hung up.
Mitch sat in silence for a moment, staring at his phone. Then he looked at Lori. "Did you hear all that?"
Lori smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yes, I heard Piper's joy that you're allowing her to go." There was a pause, and then her smile turned slightly knowing. "I assume you're going to look into Debbie's parents?"
Mitch smiled back at her, surprised and pleased by how well she was getting to know him. They were developing this easy understanding, this ability to read each other's thoughts, and it had happened so fast. Like they were meant to know each other, meant to be in each other's lives.
He surprised himself with that thought, and even more so when he realized he liked the sound of it. Meant to be.
Then reality intruded again, as it had a habit of doing lately.
Lori lived in Florida. He lived in Nantucket.
They were only together now because of a house swap and a terrible series of events.
Once this was over, once they found Tessa and Ryan and caught whoever was behind this, Lori would go back to her life in Florida.
Mitch pushed that thought aside. She was here now, and he didn't have time to ponder the semantics of their relationship when they had more pressing matters.
Ryan and Tessa were missing, and they still had a mystery to solve.
But his lips were still tingling from that kiss, and his heart did a little jolt as they both climbed out of the truck. Her physical presence was almost overwhelming, and Mitch had to force himself to focus.
Lori's phone chimed as she opened her door, and she pulled it out to check the message. "I've got Piper's list of clothes," she said. "She wants her favorite jeans, the ones with the flowers, and about five different shirts, apparently."
Mitch let Misty out of the back seat, and the dog immediately trotted toward Seabird Cottage, probably looking for her water bowl. "Let's pack Piper's bag now and take it over," Mitch suggested. "Then that's done, and we don't have to worry about it."
"Good idea," Lori agreed.
They walked together toward Sunrise House, both of them moving slowly, the exhaustion that Glory had mentioned finally catching up to them.
Mitch was mentally cataloging what they needed to do next, which was to call Marcus for an update, check in with Glory in a few hours, and maybe try to get an hour or two of sleep.
But when they reached the front door, Mitch stopped abruptly.
There was a note taped to the door, a piece of white paper folded in half.
Mitch's hand shook slightly as he reached for it. He pulled it off the door and unfolded it, Lori leaning in close beside him to read over his shoulder.
The message was written in block letters, neat and precise:
YOU AND RYAN WERE WARNED TO STAY OUT OF THIS. THAT FAMILY IS TROUBLE AND HAS NOW ENTANGLED YOU AND YOUR SON IN THEIR MESS, WHICH IS ONLY GOING TO CAUSE YOU AND RYAN PAIN TOO.