The Disappearance of Emily: Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic Series Book 2 by Elizabeth Pantley (best books under 200 pages .txt) 📗

“That’s a few too many coincidences. Hayden, can you forward that photo to me, please?” asked Jaxson. “We’ll look into it. Thanks for lunch, guys. I’m going to get this info over to the station.”

Jaxson hustled out of the café. We finished up and said our goodbyes to Vessie. Axel offered to drop me off at Olivia’s for our hike through the park. I was looking forward to it. Perhaps Olivia would share new gossip and spill a few more secrets today. Maybe I could prod her into telling me what she knew about my mother because I was sure she knew something.

24

With all the madness around me lately, I’d gotten away from my usual jogging and hiking routine. I was feeling anxious about it since I did not want to slip back into my old patterns of exercise avoidance. I was grateful that Olivia was a hiker, and since she was retired, she was always up for a hike. In addition, she was chatty as she walked, and today that might come in handy.

The day, as always, was perfect. A bright blue sky held a smattering of perfectly spaced, white clouds lit by bright sunshine. Hmm. How did Destiny Falls control its own weather? That seems like high-level magic to me. And it must rain some time to maintain all the gorgeous vegetation. Maybe it rained in the night while I slept and brought out the sun with the morning? Another question about this peculiar place.

Olivia, Hercules, and I were slowly making our way down the path at the entry to the park. In this area, the path was wide enough for the three of us. They made it out of woodchips and gravel, so the level surface enabled us to focus on our conversation instead of our feet.

I told Olivia about my visit with Han and gave her an update on his condition.

“It surprised me to hear that Han had a hiking accident,” Olivia said. “With his background, you would think he’d be pretty much indestructible!”

“What background do you mean,” I asked.

She stumbled around her sentence. “Well, umm, I just mean, umm, he’s done so much hiking here, he should have the routes memorized by now.”

I gave her the side-eye. “What aren’t you telling me, Olivia?”

“Oh. Well. That’s not for me to tell,” she said. “If you get to know Han well enough, he might share some of his background. But it’s not for me to say.”

She’d already started to say, but there was no point in pushing her. I really loved Olivia, but she had a way of slipping just bits of information into a conversation and then backpedaling when she realized she had said too much, which was not unusual. Once she clammed up, that would be it. I changed the subject.

“I heard something weird about Nakita’s case today. Apparently, they haven’t been able to learn the name of the man she was having an affair with.”

“Affair?!” Olivia stared at me in shock. “Is that what they’re saying?”

“Yes, they’re thinking it may have been a crime of passion, because of the affair and her contentious divorce.”

“That is absolutely absurd,” Olivia said. “I happen to know that Nakita and her husband have been separated for over a year. They both are dating other people. Affair, my foot!”

“They also said her husband is out of town and they can’t locate him.”

“Well, of course he is! He moved away from Destiny Falls after they separated. I heard he got special approval to move to Glad . . . um, to move away.”

“Were you going to say Gladstone?”

Suddenly she became quite interested in what Hercules was looking at (just a bird).

“Olivia? No one wants to talk about Gladstone. Why is that?”

“Hayden, there are some topics that are off-limits for good reason, and this is one of those. It’s got a long, complicated, and sinister history that is partially concealed. It’s forbidden to travel there unless you gain special approval—which is extremely difficult to get.”

Wow. Olivia had never spoken to me that way and she’d never been so outright secretive about something since she was the queen of gossip. It elevated my concerns about the warnings I’d received and the mystery box as well.

“How do you even apply for such an approval to travel there?”

“That’s part of the secrecy that surrounds the islands. People don’t even know how it’s done until one day they do.”

“Don’t people ever travel there on their own, without permission?” I asked.

“If you do, you’ll likely just arrive to find yourself right back at home. We honestly don’t even know what we don’t know. I would strongly suggest you drop the subject and stop asking about it.”

I thought about how that statement kind of summed up Destiny Falls. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I just kept finding out more things a bit at a time.

We walked in silence for a while. She seemed very focused on her dog and the view, but I knew she hoped that I would stop asking questions about Gladstone. I would. For now. But I’d continue to research this odd story.

As long as I was trying to pry information from her, it was time to see if I could gain any intel on my mother.

“I know you’ve lived here your entire life, and you’ve known my father and Axel since he was a toddler. Did you know anything about my mother?”

I was watching Olivia when I asked her this question, and I could see the blush creep up her face and her eyes darting around. Her voice came out just an octave too high. “Your mother?”

“Yes, my mother.”

“Well, she’s never been to Destiny Falls, so no, I’ve never met her.”

“But do you know of her?”

“Maybe. I’ve heard some things.”

“Olivia, please!” I stopped walking, faced her, and touched her arm. “I’ve never been told anything about her. I would really like to know something. Anything.”

“Let’s just say . . . that I’ve heard