TO DIE FOR (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 8) Read online

  Ready to come back.

  Heart throbbing, Sarah took off running. She stormed down a side street, panting, running, gasping for air, continually looking over her shoulder. Then she spotted the bright red Ford pick-up truck turn the corner she had just left and drive down the street.

  Sarah made it to the end of it, then turned right and ran into a small square that she crossed, hearing the truck roar behind her. She could hear it coming closer and closer, fast, and knew she could never outrun it. Instead, she searched for an escape, a hideout, and spotted a restaurant. She decided it was her only chance and went for it, crossing the street. The truck came roaring up behind her as she sprang for the door, and it missed her just as she opened it and fell inside.

  Panting, she stared at the glass door closing behind her, then up at the two men standing above her. They were both wearing uniforms.

  Police!

  One bent down and looked at her. His eyes were gentle.

  “Are you okay?”

  She sat up, then corrected her hair, even though she knew she had to look awful right now. They probably just took her for a drunk homeless person.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I tripped.”

  His eyes rested on her, and his head tilted. “Say, haven’t I seen you before?”

  Sarah looked away. “No, no, I’m sure you haven’t.”

  He snapped his fingers. “Yes, I have. Wait a second. I think we have a missing person’s search out on you.”

  He grabbed his phone to look through a series of pictures. Sarah stared at him, heart throbbing. She glanced toward the door, wondering if it would open and her kidnapper would enter, or if the truck was waiting for her out there, the driver thinking she had to come back out at some point.

  “No, not me.”

  “Yes, isn’t this you?” he asked and showed her an old picture of Sarah. She knew exactly where it was taken. It was the picture of her and Scott from their vacation in Scotland last year.

  Sarah shook her head.

  “That’s not me.”

  He gave her a severe look. “I think it is you. You better come with me.”

  The officer turned his head to address his colleague, who was getting leftover bags from the waiter.

  “Jackson. I think we found Sarah Abbey.”

  While he looked away, Sarah saw her chance. She rose to her feet, then rushed for the door. She hurried outside while she heard them yelling from behind her.

  Soon, she could hear footsteps behind her as they tried to catch up to her, but she was fast, faster than ever. The last thing she wanted was to be taken to the station and tell them what had happened.

  The consequences would be devastating. She couldn’t risk it.

  Chapter 44

  The head of Cocoa Beach Police Department, my good friend Chief Annie, met me in the station's lobby. I had called her and told her I needed to talk to her.

  We hugged. Annie gave the best hugs.

  “How is the baby?” she asked as we walked in through the glass doors. They were building the new police station across the street from this one since the old one had suffered severe damage during Hurricane Irma that ravaged our area a few years earlier. The roof had never been properly repaired, and there was visible water damage on the ceiling.

  “Good,” I said, not mentioning the second infant in my house. I kept thinking about Amy, wondering how she had known where to find us. Had she seen us sitting outside at the café and then followed me into the parking lot just to steal a few seconds with her baby? Just to hold him? I couldn’t blame her. It had to be devastating not to be able to be with him all the time. Just being away for an hour or two from Angel made my heart ache, even though I knew she was with her dad. Amy hadn’t been with Owen for weeks. It had to be killing her.

  If you miss him so much, why don’t you just come back?

  I still believed she would. At some point, it was going to be too unbearable for her, and then she’d show up. I was certain of it, but I knew how tough it was. I felt it in my own body. But I also knew how tough it was to be fifteen. She was just a child herself. And she had no help from her family.

  It was rough.

  “Not keeping you up at night too much, I hope?” Annie said as we entered her office, and she closed the door behind us. “You look great.”

  I paused. Did she just tell me I looked great? No one had complimented me for a very long time, and it almost made me cry.

  I sat down. Annie folded her hands on the desk. “You came here because of that guy, Scott Benton?”

  I nodded. “He called me and said you had brought him in earlier today.”

  Annie cleared her throat. “We did. Our patrol car drove by on Pineda Causeway, on the bridge, when they spotted two stopped vehicles. As they slowed down to ask if anyone needed help, they saw Scott Benton and a young girl, Lily Mitchell, in what appeared to be a quarrel. They stopped the patrol car and saw Scott Benton grab the girl’s arm, pulling her against her will. They got out to see what was going on, and the girl screamed for their help, then ran to them as Scott Benton loosened his grip on her. She told them he was trying to kidnap her, and our officers brought him in.”

  I stared at her, barely blinking. Scott hadn’t told me all this when he called. He had just said he was arrested on the bridge, and I had assumed her was taken in because he was a suspect in Sarah's disappearance. Hearing this story made my heart drop. What the heck was he doing?

  Was I wrong about him?

  “When we brought him in, we realized he was wanted by the Winter Park Police Department, suspected in the disappearance of his girlfriend.”

  “Sarah Abbey,” I said

  “Oh, so, you know.”

  I sighed. “Yes. I’ve been trying to help him find her, but we ran out of clues.”

  Annie nodded. “I had a feeling it was something like that. How do you know this guy?”

  “High school,” I said. “Let’s just leave it at that.”

  “Ah, I see. Well, the two of you are in luck today.”

  I lifted my gaze to meet hers.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I just got off the phone with Winter Park, and they told me he was no longer a suspect.”

  “Really?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Sarah Abbey was spotted by a couple of colleagues in a restaurant in Winter Park a few hours ago. She’s alive and well. Not very interested in talking to the police since she took off running, but your friend is off the hook. For now, at least.”

  I leaned back in the chair, feeling confused. Had Matt been right, then? Had Sarah just left once again?

  “I’ll be…”

  “Yes, guess your friend lucked out. Our girl, Lily Mitchell, isn’t going to press charges against Scott Benton as long as she never sees him again, so he’s being released tonight. You can take him with you when you leave.”

  Chapter 45

  THEN:

  “I’ll have the tuna salad on rye.”

  Lynn looked at Stan sitting across from her. He was still looking through the menu as always, taking forever to decide, and then when he did, he’d always end up getting jealous of her food, and they’d end up sharing.

  “I’ll grab the Angus burger,” he said and handed the waitress the menu. “Medium rare and with a side of cheese fries.”

  “Sure. Anything else?” the waitress asked.

  They both shook their heads, and she left. Lynn folded her hands and leaned her elbows on the table. She looked at her boyfriend, staring him deep in the eyes. Things between them had been bad lately, or maybe not that bad, just different. It was like they didn’t quite click the way they used to. She was thinking a lot about Jeff, and that, of course, had something to do with it. She wasn’t really present anymore, and Stan was beginning to notice.

  “So, what’s going on?” he asked with a light shrug. “Anything new at the job?”

  He asked this even though he knew she couldn’t tell him anything about her work, e
xcept for the rare occasion when one of the ladies at the front desk quit or had the flu.

  She shook her head and leaned her chin on her hands. “Not really. Just same old, same old. And you? How are things at the dean’s office?”

  “They’re good, as usual. Dean O’Conner drives me nuts and is just too old for his position, in my opinion. I mean, we need new, fresh eyes on what to do with the campus if we’re ever to make any progress. I’ve come up with many new suggestions, but he doesn’t care. If it ain’t broken, then why fix it, right?”

  “Well, that was always O’Conner’s approach, even when he was younger, I have heard. That’s why they like him so much. He hasn’t changed anything in thirty years.”

  “And that’s what’s getting to me. I work with international students registered at the Department of Medicine, right? There are over nine hundred people. I manage their academic records, follow up on examination periods, register and review their grades, and solve daily requests. That is work volume enough for at least two people, not just one. I love working with the students and helping them with their daily issues, but there is only one of me. And I have been asking for help for years, and they keep expanding the program, which means more students for me to help. But he still…”

  Lynn nodded but wasn’t listening anymore. She wasn’t even looking at her boyfriend anymore as he went on his usual rant about his job. Something else had caught her interest—or someone. Behind Stan, a young man had entered and was now sitting right behind them, ordering a coffee. He was simply sitting there, staring at her intently, while sipping his cup, smiling from ear to ear.

  Jeff.

  Lynn tried to focus on what her boyfriend was talking about, but she simply couldn’t. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Jeff sitting right behind him, and their eyes remained locked. Lynn felt completely pulled into his like she had no will of her own anymore.

  This is not good, she told herself, yet still didn’t stop and look away. This is not good at all.

  “So, next thing I know, O’Conner is standing right behind me as I say this,” Stan said and laughed loudly. “Boy, that was embarrassing.”

  Lynn chuckled to let him know she was listening, even though she wasn’t. All that was in her mind right now was her and Jeff. It was like no one else existed. He was just sitting there, not saying or doing anything except drinking his coffee, staring at her, and it made her lose herself altogether.

  You can’t do this. You can’t fall for him. He’s your patient.

  Lynn finally broke the spell as the waitress brought their food, and she looked down at her tuna salad sandwich. She smiled at the girl, then took the first bite. As she once again lifted her gaze to look behind her boyfriend, she realized Jeff was no longer there. He was gone, and all that was left behind was his empty coffee cup on the table.

  Lynn swallowed her bite and washed it down with Perrier sparkling water, feeling her heart race in her chest. What was it about him that attracted her to him so much yet made her feel creeped out at the same time?

  What on earth had she gotten herself into?

  Chapter 46

  “I’m gonna need a heck of an explanation here, Scott. It better be good.”

  We had just gotten into my minivan when I turned to look at him. It had gotten dark out, and I planned to take him to his car, but it had been taken to impound, they told me. Now, I just wanted to take him to a bus stop and tell him to get lost. But at this moment, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to take him anywhere—not until I knew more. I felt so betrayed and lost. Still, there was a part of me that wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. His sweet eyes kept lingering on me, and I couldn’t shake the feelings I had for him, even though I was trying so hard not to give them any attention. They refused to be pushed away, and it was driving me nuts.

  Scott looked down at his hands, then shook his head slowly.

  “I was only trying to help. I was driving across the bridge when I saw her. Her car had broken down, and I decided to stop and help. She said it was her battery, so I found my jumper cables in the trunk and tried to get it back to life. But as we tried over and over again, it didn’t work. The battery remained dead.”

  I nodded, biting my lip. That didn’t sound too awful. “Okay, so you helped her out, but what about what the officers saw? Why did you grab her arm? Why did she say that you were about to kidnap her?”

  Scott’s eyes grew wide. He turned to look at me, a look of dismay on his face. “The girl is insane. I told her I could give her a lift to town, and she refused. She said she would rather stand out there in the darkness. Her phone had died while we were working on the battery, so she couldn’t call for help. I told her it was too dangerous and that I wasn’t leaving her there. I mean, what should I have done? I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to her after I left. So, yes, I argued with her, but she wouldn’t listen to me. She kept yelling at me, telling me just to leave, so yes, I grabbed her arm and said I’d take her home, but I wasn’t even pulling her. Then, when the police came, she kept ranting on and on about how I was trying to kidnap her, and she screamed at them for help. So, of course, they took me in. But I swear, Eva Rae, the girl was just crazy and wouldn’t listen to reason.”

  He was getting agitated as he spoke, and his nostrils flared slightly. I watched his face, trying to figure out if I believed him or not. First, there had been Hannah, who claimed he hit her and tried to run her over in his car, then there was Sarah Abbey, who had fallen down the stairs or maybe been pushed. Were they all just coincidences? If so, it was very unfortunate, and it was hard for me to believe him. But then again, there were those eyes that he looked at me with and that cute smile that I couldn’t ignore. I had been so madly in love with him back then, and now, I was staring at that same face once again, unable to see any fault with the person behind it.

  “I swear, Eva Rae. I was only trying to help her.”

  I sighed and started up the minivan.

  “All right. Where do I take you now? Where are you staying?”

  He exhaled. “I have sort of been sleeping in my car.”

  I felt like screaming. “You don’t have anywhere to go?”

  “I guess I could go home now that the police won’t be looking for me anymore.”

  I looked at the clock.

  “It’s late. All right. I’ll take you to Viera. I just need to text Matt and let him know I won’t be home until much later.”

  “You’re so good to me,” he said. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

  “Well, don’t make me regret it,” I said and took a turn out of the police station’s parking lot. I looked at him again as the minivan drove into A1A. “I mean it, Scott. Please, don’t make a fool of me.”

  He lifted both his hands resignedly.

  “I won’t. I promise.”

  “All right. Now, tomorrow, we’ll reach out to all of Sarah’s family to hear if she’s been in contact with them. Maybe it could be all over tomorrow, and you can be reunited with her back home. Then we can all go back to our normal lives. Wouldn’t that be something?”

  Chapter 47

  It looked exactly the same as it had three years ago—the small house in the middle of a big empty lot. The house wasn’t much, but it had the cutest wooden wrap-around porch, and Sarah remembered sitting there on endless nights with her brother, talking about their futures or crushes. Her brother was older than her by six years and always felt protective of her and who she dated. He had moved away from their parents long before she did, and she’d come and visit him as a teenager, just to get away from their parents. Only he understood what she went through. Only he ever understood her. And now, he was going to do it again.

  Sarah walked up to the porch and stood by the front door for a few minutes, gathering her courage. She looked at her bare feet. She had so many scratches and was bleeding from running barefoot across town. Her arm was hurting from a fall, and her entire body ached.

  And she felt so ti
red, so incredibly tired.

  Sarah opened the screen door and knocked. She held her breath for a few heartbeats when she heard movement on the other side, and the door opened.

  The sight of her brother’s face made her smile nervously. He stared at her for a few seconds like he didn’t recognize her, or maybe he didn’t believe his own eyes. Then, he burst into a loud, happy shriek.

  “Sis? Is it really you?”

  Sarah nodded, feeling a pinch deep in her stomach. She had missed him more than she knew.

  “It’s really you? Really? Wuhuuu,” he said as he grabbed Sarah around the waist and lifted her in the air.

  She couldn’t stop laughing. He spun her around, eyes tearing up.

  “You’re back? You’re back?”

  She nodded, biting her lip. She had thought long and hard on what to tell him, how to explain where she had been because he would undoubtedly have questions—and a lot of them. She had no clue how to avoid having to answer any of them. But she’d have to find something to say without involving her brother in all that had happened. He couldn’t know.

  Her brother put her down again and held the door open for her. “Come on in. I have some leftover pizza from earlier tonight if you’re hungry. Are you hungry? You look hungry.”

  She walked inside and felt tears filling her eyes. It had been so long since she had last been in his living room. She had missed it more than she wanted to admit. She had missed her brother more than she had been willing to realize.