told him the name of their hotel just as Arizona’s cell phone rang. She dug into her purse and retrieved it. Lincoln.
“Lincoln?”
“Hey, Arizona. How are you?”
“Fine, you?”
“Doped up on pain medication, enduring Mom’s care at home and working. And I just found something big.”
“What? You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I rest. When I’m awake, I work. You want to hear this or not?”
“What have you got?” Her words made Braden twist in his seat to see her and Crawford glance in his rearview mirror.
“A news report of a missing woman in Tortola. Three months ago. The article said she checked in at the Frenchman’s Point Hotel and was never seen again. She has a sister in Oregon. I gave her a call and she had something very interesting to say.”
“What was that?”
“The missing woman was having an affair with a man who lives in Tortola. His name is Julian Blake.”
Sucking in her breath, she met Braden’s eyes, which hardened at her reaction. “We were just chased away by the very same man. Tatum went to see him before she disappeared.”
Lincoln cursed.
Had Braden’s sister had an affair with him? Both women had disappeared.
Crawford kept looking in his mirror.
“Can we talk to her?” Arizona asked her brother.
“She’ll come to you. She’s on her way to Tortola now. I gave her your hotel information.”
The woman had been looking for her sister just as Braden now was.
“Thanks, Lincoln.”
“Glad to help any way I can. Vengeance for my knee.”
She ended the call and stared at Braden.
“What?”
She glanced at Crawford. “There was another woman who disappeared three months ago. She was having an affair with Julian.” She allowed Braden some time to process that. “She has a sister in Oregon.”
“I’m familiar with that case,” Crawford said. “If Julian is behind both disappearances, he’s covering his tracks well. He checked out when I questioned him.”
“Tatum would have told me if she was seeing someone,” Braden said.
“Would she have? Julian doesn’t seem like a typical boyfriend.” Far from it. And Arizona wondered why Crawford hadn’t told them about the other missing woman.
Chapter 4
Braden sat with Arizona inside the busy hotel restaurant. The first missing woman’s sister had called Arizona’s cell number when she’d landed and asked to meet them here. Braden didn’t want to put the woman in danger, but he was curious to see if one of the hotel staff would say or do something. The manager, perhaps.
A short, plump woman in her early thirties appeared, her peppered dark hair cut above her ears.
“That looks like the woman in the picture Lincoln sent.”
“That’s her.” Braden lifted his hand.
Charlene Andrews nervously approached. “Mr. McCrae?”
Braden stood and shook her hand. “Thank you for coming all this way.”
“I’ve been looking for Courtney for weeks. I’m glad to help in any way.”
“This is Arizona Ivy.”
“Yes. Ivy.” The woman took her hand in polite greeting and then sat. She made no show over her obvious recognition of the name.
Putting her purse on the floor, she changed her mind and hung it over the back of the chair. She removed the light sweater she wore, letting it drape over the handbag. Sliding the roll of silverware over, she curled her hand around the glass of water on the table. Nervous.
Braden reached over and put his hand over her wrist. “We’re very sorry about your sister.”
“I can’t believe she’s still missing.” Tears glistened in her eyes.
“Mine is missing, too,” Braden said. “We’ll find them both.”
“Oh.” The woman covered her mouth with her hand, stopping herself from crying. When she regained her composure she straightened with a few blinks of her eyes. “The kind gentleman who called me explained about Tatum. I’m sorry, as well, Mr. McCrae.”
“Can you tell us what happened to your sister?” Arizona asked.
“She told me that she went on a trip to Tortola to see a man. She met him online. Which I always thought was strange. Courtney isn’t the type to do that sort of thing. But she’d been complaining that she wasn’t going on many dates and she was ready for a relationship. The fact that she found someone long distance bothered me. But she claimed to like this man very much.”
“That’s when she went missing,” Arizona helped her.
“Yes,” Charlene replied with a quiver in her voice.
“Can you tell us anything about him?” Braden asked.
“His name was Julian Blake. My sister said he was a retired high-risk insurance underwriter. She never said anything bad about him. He must have fooled her well.”
“Can we have copies of their email correspondence?” Arizona asked.
“Her computer was stolen shortly after she disappeared. The police haven’t been able to find anything. My sweet sister.” She wiped her eyes. “Our mother died a few years ago and she’s all I have left.”
“Was anything found in her house? Any evidence at all?”
Charlene shook her head. “She was living with me. Nothing else was out of place. Only her computer was taken from the guest room.” She looked from Arizona to him. “She just lost her job and was looking forward to going to the Caribbean. She even thought she might move there. To be with him.” Her face soured with the injustice. “That evil man. I don’t know what he did to my sister. That’s the worst part. Not knowing. Is she alive? Is she dead? It’s torture not knowing. I want to believe she is alive, but too much time has passed. She’d have called by now. If she could call, she would.” Then she looked imploringly at Braden. “Have you learned anything? Did Julian kidnap your sister?”
“She was seen getting into a taxi that took her to his house. It appears she was willing.”
“At first. That monster is up to something. He lured my sister, and now he’s lured yours.”
