Vicious Valentine by Patti Benning (best fiction novels to read txt) 📗

“I don’t know where she is,” Hannah said. “I just know it isn’t like her not to pick up an order. I tried calling, but she didn’t answer. Your message about the police station came in two hours ago. I don’t think they would’ve kept her for that long, do you?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t really have much experience with that sort of thing. I don’t know how long it usually takes.”

Hannah sighed. She didn’t either, but this had to be too long, especially since she’d already given her statement about what happened to Rory. This visit was just for her to tell them about the silver car that Hannah had seen coming out of the driveway and her suspicions about Corbin’s attack.

“As soon as my clothes are out of the dryer, I’ll head into town and see if I can spot her bike anywhere. I’ll also send her a text message, she might be able to answer that even if she can’t answer the phone.”

“Do you think I should call the police station?”

“And ask if she’s there? Would they be able to tell you that? I’m sure they have some sort of confidentiality thing.” She heard a long beep and the sound of a metal door slamming from Caroline’s end of the line. “Maybe I’m thinking of doctors, though. I’ll give them a call once I get off the phone. You should just focus on work. I’ll let you know if I get in touch with her, okay?”

“All right,” Hannah said. She said goodbye to Caroline reluctantly and turned back to the food.

Usually, whoever worked the evening shift got there around four-thirty so the person who worked the morning shift could catch them up on how the day was going so far and finish the orders they were working on before they left. Hannah kept her eye on the clock, and when it slid past four-thirty to four forty-five, then four-fifty, she began to get worried. Had both of her friends vanished into thin air?

Frustrated and feeling overworked, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, dialed Caroline’s number, and put it on speakerphone while she spooned a serving of brown rice onto a plate. It rang for so long that she thought it was going to go to voicemail, but at last, her friend answered.

“Hannah, I was just about to call you,” Caroline said.

“What’s going on? I hate being left in the dark while I’m stuck here. Did you find Vanessa?”

“No, not yet,” she said. “Sorry it took me so long. I stopped by the police station to ask if they’d seen her. The woman at the desk said they had, but she left a couple hours ago.”

“Did she happen to know where Vanessa went?”

“No. I drove over to your house to see if she was there – I figured she might’ve just lost her phone or something – but I didn’t have any luck. I think we’re going to have to go look for her.”

“How?” Hannah asked, well aware that the sheer amount of stress she was under was making her snappy. “You’re supposed to have the evening shift today. I’ve been working all morning. Brian has the day off. And Tony’s nowhere near ready to even make a side dish on his own yet, let alone be in charge of the kitchen.”

“Call Brian in,” Caroline said. “No, hang on, I’ll do it. I’ll tell him that I have a personal emergency I have to deal with – which is the truth – and see if he can cover my shift.”

“Fine,” Hannah said. “I’ll be here until he comes in to take over, then I’ll help you look for Vanessa.”

Caroline texted her back a couple of minutes after they hung up, telling her that Brian would be there shortly for the evening shift. Hannah felt guilty, but finding Vanessa was more important. There was no telling what kind of trouble she had gotten herself into.

As soon as Brian walked through the doors, she shoved a spatula into his hand and tore her apron off. “Thank you so much,” she said. “We’ll make it up to you later. I’ve got to go.”

He gave her a befuddled goodbye as she hurried to the office, where she gathered up her purse and checked her phone again, this time sending Caroline a text to let her know that she was about to leave.

I’m in the parking lot, was the response she received a moment later.

She shoved her phone into her purse and hurried out of the building. Caroline was parked right in front of the restaurant, and Hannah made a beeline for her car, getting into the passenger seat as soon the lock clicked up.

“Any luck tracking her down?”

“Not yet. Has she responded to you at all?”

“No.” The two of them exchanged a long look.

“She wouldn’t have gone after Helena on her own, would she have?”

“I hope not.” Hannah bit her lip. “But she might have.”

Caroline nodded reluctantly. “That’s what I’m afraid of. She’s not… well, she doesn’t always think through the consequences of her actions, especially when she’s angry.”

“You’d think she would at least tell us what she was doing,” Hannah said, trying very hard not to be irritated at her missing friend. “She might be reckless, but she’s not stupid. Did she leave a note or anything at the house?”

“I didn’t see one. I just stuck my head inside and yelled for her.”

“Maybe her phone broke and she decided to leave a message for us,” Hannah suggested.

“Do you want to start looking there, then?”

“Do you have a better idea?”

Caroline shrugged. “Not really. I drove by the bar and the bike wasn’t parked there either.”

“I guess we’d better start at the house, then. Maybe she left a note.”

Chapter Nine

The drive back from the restaurant to her house had never felt so long. Caroline parked in front of the garage and Hannah