No Way Out by Fern Michaels (great books for teens .TXT) 📗

important data was kept, all the information about everyone who had a driver’s license in the state. She wanted to find out if his license had been renewed or if he had filed a change of address. She shuddered when his face popped up on the screen. It was the same photo from when they had dated, and the address was the same. Where is he? She decided to call Kara and see if she could get Christian to find out. Ellie felt something flicker in the back of her mind.

Ellie pulled out the burner phone and dialed. Pretending Buddy and Percy could understand sign language, she put her finger to her lips to indicate that they shouldn’t make a sound. She shook her head at her silliness. As if, she said to herself. But at that moment, she didn’t care. She didn’t care if she had to tell Kara another made-up story. She needed to speak to her. Now.

“Hey!” Kara answered on the third ring. “Everything all right?”

“Yes. Kinda. Sorta,” Ellie sputtered.

“What’s going on?”

“I need Christian to find out where Rick is.” There was a moment of silence before Kara answered.

“Because?” she asked suspiciously.

“Because I think it will help me.”

“Help you what?” Kara asked.

“Help me figure out a few things.” Ellie was nervous but resolute.

“Like what?”

“Like what happened the night I ended up in the hospital,” Ellie declared.

“Girlfriend, do you really want to go there?”

“I need to go there. I have to go there. I have to go to the place where all of this began.”

“I know you don’t mean that literally.” Kara paused. “Do you?”

“Maybe at some point. But no, not now. I have to start putting the pieces together; otherwise . . .” Ellie stopped. She was on a slippery slope. She could reveal what she thought she knew, but then she would have to reveal where she was.

“Otherwise what?” Kara’s concern was obvious. “Are you sure you’re OK?”

“Yes. And I want to get better. In order for me to get better, I need more information.”

“Ellie, when you took this job, everyone thought it was good for you to get away and have time to regroup. But now I wonder if it was the best thing for you. You don’t have a support group.”

“I have a therapist I talk to.”

“Really?” Kara was dubious. “And how often is that?”

“As often as I need.”

“And how often is that?” Kara repeated herself.

“Kara. I need to know if you are going to help me or not.” Ellie was getting adamant.

“OK. OK. Let’s think about this.” Kara paused. “Of course I am not going to agree to let Christian lend him the money.”

“Rick asked for him to deposit it into a PayPal account, correct?” Ellie asked.

“Yes. That was the first red flag. Actually, I suppose, the phone call was the first. Rick hadn’t been in touch for two years; and then, out of the blue, he calls asking for $5,000. Second red flag was asking for it to be deposited in a PayPal account. Third, the idea that he was involved in some kind of start-up was also odd.”

“Exactly,” Ellie agreed. “What if Christian tells him that in order to get him the money, it has to be in the form of a check. Then the question would be where should he mail the check?”

“Brilliant,” Kara exclaimed. “But then again, you always were.”

“Except for the time I was dating him,” Ellie scoffed.

“And so what happens if Rick gives him an address? I don’t want Christian to actually send him money.”

“Let’s take this one step at a time,” Ellie mused. “He gets the address from Rick. He doesn’t mail a check. Rick calls back, asking about it. That would indicate how desperate Rick is for the money. Plus, it would buy me some time.”

“Time for what?” Kara asked.

“A little undercover work.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?”

“No, but I am sure I need to do something. This seems like a good place to start. Who knows? I might not care once I find out.”

“I certainly hope you don’t care,” Kara added.

“I don’t care about him. I care about me, and I need to start moving past this, this thing.” Ellie was certain about that.

“OK, girlfriend. I will talk to Christian when he gets back later. The only thing is, we don’t know how to contact Rick, so we’re going to have to wait until he calls back.”

“Did he indicate when that might be?”

“He said a few days. I guess it depends on how eager he is.”

“Right you are.” Ellie relaxed her shoulders. She had been unaware of how tightly wound up she was. “Hang on a minute.” Ellie put the phone down and stretched her arms behind her back and moved her neck from side to side. She groaned and picked up the phone. “Sorry, I had to disconnect my shoulders from my ears.”

“Your what?” Kara asked.

“You know. The tightness in the neck and shoulders when you’re stressed? Well, now I feel much better.”

“Oh, yes. That’s the feeling I get when I have to go to a Junior League meeting.”

Ellie laughed. “Have you ever thought of quitting?”

“Nah. What would I have to complain about?” Kara chuckled.

Ellie looked over at Buddy. His tail was thumping. She knew she should end the call soon.

“OK. We have a plan,” Ellie said. “A work in progress. Kind of like my life.”

“You crack me up.” Kara chortled. “Yes, a plan.”

“I’m going to give you a phone number. Do not call me unless it’s urgent. Ring twice, and I will call you back.”

“Wow, you really are top secret, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea. Write this down—857-555-1968,” Ellie responded. “Gotta go. Love you.” Ellie ended the call.

Ellie had a surge of energy. It was a feeling of renewal.

It was at that moment she decided to invite Hector in for coffee. She scribbled a note:

Hector, I’d like you to join me for coffee. Let me know what’s good for you.

She jumped up from her desk. “Come on, guys,”