Danny Mac excused himself from his table and went in search of Angelo. He wasted no time. “Did you know Katerina had a twin sister?”
“What? No.”
“Well, she just walked through the door and introduced herself to me and Kenann. Kenann had to go to the ladies’ room to get her nerves settled back down.”
“Is she okay?” He tried to squelch the intensity of his concern.
“She will be. But it shook her pretty bad.”
“Well, it would. Do you think she is involved in the Order?”
“That’s what I came to ask you, but apparently you’ve never heard of her.”
“Remember, I was not privy to much high-level info.”
“Well, the fact that you never knew she had this sister makes me think she wasn’t involved.”
“But we can’t be sure.”
“Right.”
“What do we do now, Danny Mac?”
“We keep our heads down and watch her.”
“On it.” Angelo left the bar where Danny Mac had found him and went in search of the woman. He knew he would have no trouble spotting her.
* * * *
The woman had run back to her oversize handbag in the kitchen area and retrieved the items she carried with her at all times. Once she had Kenann subdued, she dragged her quickly into the janitor’s closet. She took the CLOSED FOR CLEANING sign and put it outside the door, then ran to find her partner. She wanted to get all of them out of there before Magda recognized her.
* * * *
Danny Mac returned to the table and waited for Kenann to come back. After what seemed an interminable amount of time, he once again excused himself from his tablemates and went to find one of the women. He found Granny and Judy in short order and related what happened. He dispatched them to find her. They split up and made the rounds of all the bathrooms. Both saw the sign for cleaning and passed by that particular restroom. When they reconnoitered with no results, they both returned to that ladies’ room and investigated.
As they were looking around, a man in coveralls pushing a large trashcan entered and stopped short. Having found nothing, they made their apologies and exited. Rushing back to Danny Mac, they reported in.
He was visibly shaken. He wanted to grab everyone in the room and pummel them until they told him where Kenann was. He asked Judy to get Jake and Andy and Mrs. Gage. She brought them and they gathered at one corner of the ballroom.
Jake said, “Is there any chance she went back to the hotel?”
Danny Mac replied, “Not without telling me first.” He ran his hands over his face and up into his hair. “Someone has taken her. I can’t just stand here doing nothing!” He turned to the room and called out in a commanding voice, “I need everyone to stay where you are.” He turned to the others of his band and barked orders to them. “Secure the exits.”
They did not hesitate and scattered to do his bidding.
Danny whirled around and saw Magda standing in front of him. He grabbed her arms and hissed, “What have you done with her?”
The gentleman with her stepped closer and said quietly, “Take your hands off her, man.”
Magda had not moved or reacted. “Gervais, it is all right. Mr. McKenzie is obviously very upset about something. What is it, sir?”
Danny Mac released her and stepped back. “What has happened to my wife? What have you done with her?”
“I can assure you I do not know anything about your wife. What happened?”
“She is missing.”
“Why would you suspect me? May I ask?”
“You saw my wife’s reaction to you. She knew your sister. A few minutes later she was gone.”
“That has nothing to do with me. I assure you.”
Carter and Bridget came to his side at that point.
“What can we do?” Carter asked.
Danny Mac looked at Carter with tortured eyes. “Find her, John.”
His look broke Bridget’s heart and she took Carter by the hand and pulled him away at a dead run. They marshalled the security on hand for the event and scoured every inch of that building. But they were too late. The janitor had already placed the large trash container in a van in the alley behind the kitchen area, hotwired it, and was long gone.
* * * *
Back at the hotel, Danny Mac sat with his head in his hands, surrounded by the people who shared his grief and fear. They were all immobilized. Jake noticed that Angelo’s posture mirrored Danny Mac’s anguish. Bridget and Carter seemed to be the only ones still processing and strategizing. They paced back and forth in the back of the room, Rough pacing closely at their heels.
The door opened and Blade came into the room, rubbing his eyes from sleep. “What is going on? I woke up and mom was gone from our room. Why are you having a council of war without me?”
Everyone looked at him but no one spoke. His mother went to him and wrapped her arms around him. He scanned the crowd and realized that Kenann was missing. He knew from their faces what had happened. He looked at CJ.
“Give me your phone.”
CJ looked at him quizzically but handed his phone over to the boy. Blade did not waste any time but scrolled through the photos and found the ones he sought. He turned it to the band, holding up the phone. They came toward him to inspect more closely.
“I think these two have been following us.”
No one reacted save Granny. She fell soundly into the nearest chair.
* * * *
Kenann regained consciousness, realizing she was tied to a straight-back chair and thought, Well, this is pretty cliché.
She kept her head down until her mind cleared, and she could get the read of the room. Hearing nothing, she raised her eyes. Her heart seized. All breath escaped her. It was not possible.
She croaked, “Mother?”