Destiny's Revenge (Destiny Series - Book 2) by Straight, Nancy (novels in english .TXT) 📗

those bobble head dolls after a while. When Mike left, it was just Peanut and me again. It was time to put the first bit of my plan in motion. Peanut and I sat together on the couch, and I could feel fear gripping me. I knew searching for the Beast shouldn’t be dangerous, but what I might see when I found him scared the crap out of me.

I closed my eyes and thought of that night on the mountain when he entered my campsite. I thought back to his face and his faded t-shirt and jeans. Pangs of horror enveloped me when the tunnel appeared. I placed my hand on Peanut’s back, as if this might somehow steady me, and stepped into the tunnel.

I was transported to a familiar place, my parent’s home. The Beast was in human form and he was with my father, this time not dressed in tattered clothes but in a pair of dress slacks and a polo shirt. The two were talking quietly.

“What will something like this cost?” my dad had asked the Beast.

“If I am not successful, you will never receive a bill from me. I can assure you, my rates are far below the going average for someone in my field. Not being paid if I cannot find her is that much more incentive for me to be thorough and bring her home.” He spoke so formally, a British accent I thought, just nasally enough to be annoying.

My dad said nothing, but I could tell he liked the terms of the deal they’d struck.

“For me to get started, I will need a list of all of Lauren’s friends and her relationship with them, how she knew them, her most recent cellular bills, your home phone bill, and access to her computer. Any other information you may have on her whereabouts or where you believe she may have gone will speed things along.”

Dad sighed deeply and responded, “Maybe I wasn’t clear. She hasn’t lived with us for several years now: she a….was in an accident right after she graduated from college. A month ago her boyfriend Max Meyer came back from Afghanistan, and she told us she was moving in with him. Six days ago he phoned us in a panic saying she had taken off with his truck, and he didn’t know where she was. I was pretty sure he had done something to her, then yesterday her bank account was emptied. My wife, Molly, was the joint account holder with Lauren, so they let Lauren empty the account, but she wasn’t able to close it. The bank notified us that Lauren had tried to close the account. I went to the bank to look at the security footage, and it was Lauren all right. I know she’s alive, I know she isn’t with Max, and she hasn’t contacted her mother or me for over a week.”

The Beast pulled out a small note pad and was taking notes as my father spoke. “What about her friends? Has she made any contact, in person or by phone?”

“No, not that I know of. Max called us earlier today. He told us that she had been at his grandfather’s house earlier today. His grandfather had a heart attack during her visit and died right in front of her. Max’s grandfather and Lauren were pretty close; they’d been in the nursing home together. Seeing him die must have scared her or something. Max said she called him and said there was something wrong with his grandfather, but she didn’t stay to help him. This isn’t like Lauren at all. I just don’t know what to make of it.”

The Beast stopped writing and looked a bit shaken, but only momentarily. He continued with, “Have you talked to Max today?”

“No, my wife talked to him. Molly’s been worried sick. I don’t want her to know what you’re up to. I told her you were a friend from the office stopping by to talk about a project at work. If you don’t mind, I’d prefer to keep it that way. If she finds out I’ve hired a private investigator to find Lauren, she’ll go from worried to full blown hysterics. The truth is, Lauren’s always been close to her mother, but since the accident, the two really haven’t reconnected.”

I watched for a few more minutes but knew what I had to do and quick. I willed myself away from their conversation, stepped back through the awaiting tunnel and returned to my body.

I powered up the phone and called Seth right away. He answered immediately, dispensing with the customary, “Hello” in favor of a panicked voice yelling into the phone, “Lauren, where are you? Your parents are terrified. You need to hang up and call them right now.”

In an assertive tone, “Seth I can’t, just listen for a minute, okay? There’s this guy, a private investigator. I’m pretty sure that my dad hired him. Whatever you do, do not give him this phone number. Don’t tell him anything. Say that you haven’t talked to me since the nursing home. Okay?”

“So you’re somewhere in hiding, you won’t tell me or anyone where you are, your dad hired someone to find you, and you want me to purposely not help him. That’s what you’re asking, right?”

“You don’t understand, Seth, this isn’t a real private investigator.” I waffled wondering how much I could tell him. “He’s really bad news. The more he knows how close we are, the worse it can be for you and Amanda. Please just tell him you haven’t had any contact with me.”

“Lauren, I’m not going to lie to the guy. Whatever the problem is, you don’t have to hide out on your own. Go to your parents. They need to see you. They’re both scared stiff that something terrible is going on.”

I took a deep breath to steady my voice, “Seth, something terrible is going on. If you give this guy any information, it will just be worse.