least, she may have been kidnapped.” Gina pulled away. She’d quit shaking, but she was staring at him, her eyes riveting and pleading. “I have to find her. Will you help me?”
The question bucked around inside him though the answer was a given. He could never turn his back on a woman in danger.
Chapter Two
Unwilling to involve the whole family in this until he had a better idea what he was dealing with, Langston had taken Gina to the screened back porch that served as the most popular gathering spot of the big house. Gina was perched in a wooden rocker, sipping from the tall glass of lemonade Lenora had pushed into her hand the second she saw how hot and sweaty the girl was. Langston took a seat opposite her on the wicker sofa, moving a few of the pillows so he could lean back.
Gina stared at him, and he sensed that it was not only fear but suspicion that shadowed her dark eyes. “How do you and my mother know each other?”
“We both worked for the same company when we were in college.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And you haven’t seen her since then?”
“That’s right.”
“I don’t get it,” Gina said. “If you haven’t seen my mother in years, why would she tell me to come to you now?”
“I don’t know, but if you tell me everything, maybe we can figure this out together. Start at the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”
“I don’t know much. That’s the problem—or at least one of the problems.”
“What makes you think she’s been abducted?”
Gina’s hands shook, tinkling the ice in her glass. “Mom called me this morning.”
“What time was that?”
“Eight minutes after ten, according to the record on my cell phone.
“Did it record the number she called from?”
“It was her cell phone, but when I tried to call her back, there was no answer.”
Langston leaned in closer. “What did Trish say when she called?”
Gina shook her head. “I don’t remember exactly, but she said I should not try to get in touch with her—or to call the police. She said that she’d call me again as soon as she could, but she didn’t know when that would be.”
Langston noticed the teenager’s eyes were red-rimmed.
“Are you sure she said not to call the police?”
“I’m sure. I wanted to call 9-1-1, but then I was afraid to. I didn’t know what to do except come here.”
“Did Trish mention anyone’s name?”
Gina shook her head again. “But she also talked to the camp supervisor and told her there was a family emergency, and that she needed someone to drive me to the nearest bus station so that I could go to a relative’s home. When I got back on the phone, she told me to buy a ticket to Colts Run Cross and tell the driver to let me out at Jack’s Bluff Ranch. She said he’d pass right by here on his route and that once I got here, I should stay until she could get in touch with me.”
“But she didn’t say she was in danger or that she’d been abducted?”
“No, but she hasn’t called back. She knows I’m upset…but I can’t reach her. That’s not something my mom would do.”
“Who’s this camp supervisor you mentioned?”
“Ms. Bulligia. I’m working as a junior counselor in a summer camp south of Dallas. That’s where we live—Dallas.”
So Trish had moved back to Texas. He wondered when that had happened, not that it mattered. Their lives had gone different ways long ago—which made this all the more bizarre. “Is there a husband, other siblings?”
“No. My father’s dead. There’s just Mom and me. She owns a boutique, not far from our house.”
“What about a boyfriend?”
“Me? Or Mom?”
“Your mom. Is there someone she might have had a fight with?”
“There’s no boyfriend, at least not lately. She’s off guys,’ cause they’re jerks. This one guy used to come into the boutique to buy gifts for his wife, but he started hitting on Mom and then showing up everywhere she went.”
“What happened with him?”
“She called the cops, and they scared him off.”
So she did normally go to the cops, instead of telling her daughter not to call them. “When was that?”
“A year ago.”
“And she hasn’t been bothered by him since?”
“I don’t think so.”
Which didn’t necessarily mean the man had lost his fascination for Trish. She was not an easy person to forget. Langston could definitely vouch for that. They sat without talking, with only the whir of the ceiling fan and the occasional whinny of a horse in a nearby pasture to break the silence.
“Think carefully, Gina. Did your mother say anything else when she called?”
“Only that…” Gina’s voice broke completely and she hugged her arms around her chest. “She said that she loved me. That’s the last thing she said before she hung up.”
“Who did you tell that you were coming here?”
“No one.”
“Not even a girlfriend?”
“No. I was afraid they’d call the police and make this worse for my mom.” Gina shuddered. “I have to find her, but I don’t know where to look. I don’t know how to start.” A tear spilled from her right eye and started to roll down her cheek. She brushed it away with the back of her hand.
Something tightened around Langston’s chest like a lasso. He walked over and put a hand on Gina’s shoulder. He was awkward at dealing with emotional females, always had been. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’ll find your mother, Gina. Count on it.”
Gina jumped up from the rocker. “I’ll go with you to look for her.”
“No, you stay here at the ranch. You’ll be safe and you’ll be available if Trish tries to contact you again. But you can help.”
“How?”
“Write down anything I should know. Home and boutique addresses. Names of employees at the boutique. Names and phone numbers of your mother’s friends—male and female. The name of the stalker from last year. Where she goes when she wants some quiet time away from home. Anyplace you think she might go to hide.”
He
