At 4:00 p.m., Claire Montgomery pulled her green Pontiac Bonneville into her cousin’s driveway and pulled up behind Sara’s Audi. “Looks like she’s home.” Claire tossed a smile at her ten-year-old daughter.
“Good. I hope Chloe’s there.” Allysa unbuckled her seat belt, stepped out of the car, and headed for the front door. “Look, Mom. The window in Sara’s car is busted.”
Claire had already seen it. “I wonder what happened?”
“We could ask.” Allysa grinned, revealing a set of braces.
“Smarty.” Claire pulled Allysa into a hug, planted a kiss on the top of her head, and ruffled her red hair.
Claire rang the bell several times, but no one answered. She peered through the glass panel.
“Maybe she’s taking a shower.” Allysa leaned forward and tried the door. It opened easily, and she moved forward with it.
Claire wasn’t sure why, but she pulled Allysa back tight against her. Something wasn’t right. The broken window on Sara’s car, the front door unlocked and no one answering. Maybe Sara was taking a shower, but Claire doubted that. The Sara she knew would be ready and waiting for them. The coffee would be brewed and cookies or some decadent dessert set out on a plate.
“You’re hurting my shoulders,Mom.” Allysa tried to wriggle out of Claire’s grasp.
“I’m sorry.” She loosened her hold slightly but kept a firm grip.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.” She turned Allysa to face her. “It’s probably nothing, but I need you to wait in the car. OK?”
“Why?”
“Just stay in the car. I’ll be right back.” Claire watched her daughter reluctantly climb back into the car, and then she slowly turned and went inside. Leaving the door open, she called out, “Sara? Sara, are you here? Scott?”
The only response was an unnatural quiet. She moved ahead a few more steps and noticed several items lying on the kitchen floor.
Pictures of Scott and Chloe, some refrigerator magnets, car keys, a canister of mace, and a phone. Fear coursed through her. Sara would never leave stuff lying around like that.
Stop it. Claire told herself in no uncertain terms that the mess was not an indication of foul play. A toddler in the house meant messes like this one. The pictures, maybe, but not the phone.
Being an avid CSI fan, her thoughts fled into scenarios she didn’t want to consider. She knew better than to touch anything, but maybe she should have a look around in case Sara was hurt or . . . Don’t go there, Claire.Wanting to give herself a fighting chance if she did encounter someone, Claire took a butcher knife out of the knife drawer and held it at the ready.
The walk-through was quick, with the main floor consisting of a tiled entry, kitchen, living room, laundry, guest room, and bathroom. Upstairs took a few minutes, as she checked the office, two bedrooms, bath, and the master suite. Everything was neat and clean, even the baby’s room. Not touching the banister, Claire hurried downstairs. From her vantage point, she discovered the most damaging evidence so far. The tall vase in the entry, partially hidden by the front door, had been knocked over. Fragments of pottery and dry flowers littered the tile floor. Claire put the knife away, then carefully pulled the front door closed and hurried to her car.
“Isn’t Sara home?” Allysa shifted in her seat.
“I don’t think so.”
“Where is she? I want to see Chloe. Sara said she’d be here when we came.”
“I know. Maybe she’s running late.” Claire knew differently, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“What about her car?”
“Maybe she’s using Scott’s or a neighbor’s. Maybe Grandy came to get her.” Grandy was Allysa’s nickname for her grandmother— Claire’s mother and Sara’s aunt.
Claire reached into the backseat for her purse and rooted around for her cell phone. “I’ll call Sara’s cell.” She let it ring several times. When she didn’t get an answer, Claire called information for Scott’s work number.
“Watson, Simons, and Keller, this is Jackie,” the receptionist answered.
“Jackie, this is Sara’s cousin Claire. I’m at the house, but no one seems to be home. Is Scott there?”
“He isn’t, but he should be home soon. He was going to pick up Chloe on his way. Sara was supposed to get her by three, but the day care called a few minutes ago to say she hadn’t shown up.”
Claire sighed. “OK. I’ll wait here for him.”
“Is everything all right?” Jackie asked.
“I’m not sure. Sara’s car is here, and the window is broken.”
“Oh, right. She called earlier to say it had been broken into at the garage where she parks. I offered to get Scott out of his meeting, but she insisted she could handle it herself.” Jackie hesitated. “You don’t suppose whoever broke into her car followed her home, do you? I’ve heard about stuff like that happening.”
“I hope not.” Claire managed to breathe through her tightening throat. “I went through the house, and she’s not here.”
“Good.That means she probably borrowed a car or maybe rented one so she could run her errands. She said she had to go shopping.”
“But wasn’t she supposed to pick up Chloe at three?”
“Look, Scott should be there in a few minutes. Maybe he’ll have talked to her.”
“Right.”
“Claire, please call me when you learn anything. You have me worried. I’ll never forgive myself if something has happened to her.
I should have gotten Scott out of that meeting.”
“I’ll let you know. And don’t blame yourself. Sounds like it was Sara’s choice. Besides, it’s too soon to panic.”
While she waited, Claire called her parents, thinking Sara might have contacted them. “Dad.” Claire released a long sigh and then told him about Sara. “I was hoping she’d talked to you or Mom.”
“Hang on a second.” Claire could hear him talking to her mom before answering. “Neither of us has heard from her. Have you talked to Scott?”
“He’s on his way home now.”
“Your mother and I will be there shortly. We were coming for dinner anyway; we’ll just come early. And Claire, maybe you should call the police.”
“It’s too soon for that, isn’t it? I’ll see what Scott says.”
“OK, but don’t wait too long. There have been some threats against me, and—”
“Threats? What kind of threats?” Claire interrupted.
“It’s a political thing. We’ll talk more about that when we get there.” Her father, known to his constituents as Senator Dale Wilde, hung up, leaving Claire feeling even more certain that something terrible had happened to her cousin.
Scott pulled in a few minutes later and used the remote to open the garage, waving to her as he drove in. Claire told Allysa to stay put and hurried into the garage behind him. “Please tell me you know where Sara is.”
Scott climbed out of the car, looking none too pleased. “I have no idea. She was supposed to be here waiting for you. I haven’t talked to her since this morning.”
“Jackie said her car had been broken into.”
“I didn’t know about that until a few minutes ago.” He ran a hand through his dark, wavy hair. “I’ve been in meetings all day.”
Claire reached out for a hug, and Scott hugged her back. “It’s good to see you, Claire.”
“You too.” She backed away.
“I don’t understand this,” Scott said as he shut the car door. “It isn’t like Sara to just not show up.”
“I know. I’m worried that something has happened to her. The front door was unlocked, and I checked through the house. She’s not there, but I saw some things lying on the kitchen floor. I called Dad, but neither he nor Mom has heard from her. He said something about getting some threats against the family and thought we should call the police.”
Scott groaned and drew his hand down his face. “Let’s go inside.” He rounded the car and pulled open the backseat to free Chloe from her car seat.
Claire hadn’t seen the baby for six months, and the changes were phenomenal. Chloe stared at her, pressing back into her father’s protective arms.
When he walked into the kitchen Scott pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and dialed 911. Once he’d given the operator the information, Scott looked around at the items on the floor. “There’s no way Sara would have done this. Someone was here.” He pointed at the phone jack in the kitchen. “The phone is unplugged.” His Adam’s apple rose and fell as his dark eyes filled with fear.
“I’ll get Allysa,” Claire said. As she hurried back to the car she hollered over her shoulder, “I didn’t touch anything just in case.”
“Right.”
Claire hurried back into the house. Scott hadn’t moved; he just stood there, with the child in his arms, staring at the clutter on the kitchen floor. He avoided walking into the kitchen and joined Claire and Allysa in the family room. Chloe pointed toward Allysa, leaning forward to let her dad know she wanted down.
Scott set her down, his features drawn.
“Allysa,” Claire said, “why don’t you take Chloe up to her room and play with her?”
“Sure.” Allysa held out her arms. “Come on, Chloe.”
“Issa . . .” Chloe made a beeline for her older cousin.
“Scott.” Claire searched for the right words. “It may be nothing. . . .”
He nodded. “I hope you’re right.”
“Jackie said Sara’s car had been broken into. Maybe she called the police and had someone take her to the station.”
He brightened then, but only for a moment. “She would have called the day care to let them know she’d be late.” Still, he punched a number into the cell phone. “I’ll call around—see if anyone’s seen her.”