What Doesn't Kill Her (Cape Charade #2)(96)

“I don’t know!” Verona was clearly furious. “I got back to the room and she was nowhere to be found.”



53


Birdie pulled out her phone. “I’m calling Temo and Adrian. Giving them a heads-up we have a possible abduction.”

Kellen gestured slightly, wanting Birdie to be silent. Verona didn’t know about the ongoing threats to Kellen, and Rae could so easily be led astray...by someone familiar. Someone she trusted. And that someone, whoever he was (or maybe she), could use Rae as bait to catch and kill Kellen.

What would happen to Rae then?

She would be killed, too, eliminated as a witness.

“Abduction?” Verona looked between Birdie and Kellen in alarm and then dismissal. “Don’t be silly. Anyone who abducted Rae would bring her back fast enough.”

“Temo’s phone is going to voice mail.” Birdie dialed again. “So’s Adrian’s. This cannot be good!”

“Where’s Nils Brooks?” Kellen asked Verona.

“I don’t know. He was hanging around outside our room, looking pained. I gave him a glass of water and a couple of aspirin. Now he’s disappeared. Rae left a drawing on the desk.” Verona snapped the paper at Kellen.

Kellen took it.

Birdie tapped at her phone. “Brooks isn’t answering. They’ve all gone missing.”

“I think it’s supposed to tell us what she’s doing. There’s something about Mommy and the head. But her handwriting is disgraceful. The schools simply don’t emphasize penmanship anymore. I’ve worked with her, but she has no interest in learning how to... I love her. She’s my granddaughter. But she needs two parents and—”

Maybe Kellen made a noise. Maybe Verona saw something in her face. Her tone changed from irritation to horror. “What’s wrong?”

Kellen stared at the drawing, stared so hard her eyeballs hurt. Rae had drawn herself—LightningBug—going to find the Triple Goddess. Kellen knew it was the Triple Goddess because it was a floating head with yellow lightning bolts for eyes. A man walked behind her; the crude drawing gave no hint of his identity, but Rae had drawn a bulbous five-fingered hand on one side, and that hand held a black crook that was pointed at Rae.

A gun. Kellen was almost positive it was a pistol.

The crayon writing was sloppier than normal, as if she’d been in a hurry. Or scared. Brave little Rae...had she been scared?

“Rae didn’t leave on her own,” Kellen said. “Someone forced her to.”

“But she wrote the note!” Verona didn’t want to believe.

“That someone forced her to write the note.” Kellen looked again at the note part of the drawing. “She wrote to me. ‘Dear Mommy.’ ‘Hed.’ ‘Back.’”

Verona grabbed Kellen’s arm. “What does that mean?”

“Something about the goddess head and—she has my back, and I have hers.” Kellen headed toward the closet and the safe. She used her usual code, 3252.

The safe didn’t open.

She took a breath, slowly punched in the number, 3,2,5,2.

The safe didn’t open.

“No!” She slammed the flat of her hand on the safe. “Why? Why now?”

“Let me.” Verona gave Kellen a gentle shove. “Do you know how many guests forget their own code? Of course everyone of responsibility at the winery has to know how to open a safe.” She typed in a special code.

The safe sang a little song, the door swung open—“There’s nothing here,” Verona said.

“No,” Kellen said hoarsely. “No!” She swept the lighted interior with her arm, as if she was a magician with an empty hat. “Max was supposed to put my bag in here. My bag packed with arms and ammunition. Why didn’t he? What happened?” Stricken, she looked at Verona. “Does Max know I changed rooms?”

Verona shook her head. “No, he doesn’t know. The groom needs to stay far away from your bedroom. What do you mean, arms? What do you mean, ammunition?”

“He must have put my backpack in the bridal suite. How could such a thing happen?” Kellen answered herself, “Well, easily enough, with everything that’s going on today. I should have carried my sidearm with me, but I was thinking of...corsets and ruffles and stiletto heels, and it never occurred to me—”

Verona got it at last. “There are guns in the suite with Aurora’s grandchildren?” Her voice squeaked in horror.

“The safe is locked,” Kellen assured her.

Verona dived for the phone and called the winery switchboard. She held out the phone as if begging Kellen to hear. “The line is busy. I have to leave a message!”

“Then leave the message in your sternest teacher voice,” Kellen said. “You know whoever hears it will immediately do as you say.”

“Right. They will.” Kellen’s trust in her abilities seemed to calm Verona, and Verona spoke into the phone, asking that someone be sent to the wedding suite to open the safe, secure the bag inside and bring it to room 345. She hung up and in despair said, “But today they’re so busy. Who knows when they’ll listen?”

“True. At the best, how quickly can they get it here?” Birdie asked.

“Not quickly enough. We need to move now.” Kellen began to settle into that deadly calm before battle. “If whoever took Rae is already on the property—”