Page 50 of Last Seen
“I know. But hear me out. I spoke with some of the people who knew her. A friend. Her ex-husband. And her therapist.” She shudders a little at the idea of the letter in her backpack. Should she show him? Or will that really set him off?
“Halley, you must stop. You can’t open this chapter of our lives. You can’t.”
“Well, I have. It’s not fair to expect me to simply learn this news and go about my life as if nothing has changed. Everything has changed. And I’m going to finish this. I’m going to find her. At least find out what happened to her. The last place she was supposed to be is just a few hours south of here. I’m going to take a quick run down there and see what they have to say.”
His demeanor shifts immediately.Unhappyisn’t a strong enough term. He is furious.
“Absolutely not. I forbid you to go.”
She was afraid he was going to react like this. She goes for the logical response.
“I understand your concern, but you can’t forbid me to do anything, Dad. I’m an adult. This has to happen. I have to know why she did it, and to do that, I have to find out where she is. Whether she’s alive ornot. I just wanted you to tell Anne to stop by and give Ailuros his tuna. I filled up his bowls, and he’s all set for the day. Seriously, you don’t need to worry. I’ll be back tomorrow, Saturday at the latest.”
She’s never seen him so fired up. He never yells, but he does now. “You have no business getting involved. Hire a private investigator if you’re that hell bent on finding that monster. I’ll pay for it.” He struggles in the bed as if he will get up and physically stop her, and she shakes her head and presses his shoulders back down to the thin, crackly mattress. Whoever designed hospital beds didn’t have snuggly rest in mind.
“Relax. Okay? I won’t take any chances. It’s a writers’ retreat in a sweet little town that has a huge farm on its land. It looks like a really nice place. I just want to talk to them. It will be a quick in and out. I want to get the lay of the land, see what she saw. It might help me figure out where she is.”
“Then call them and ask them for pictures.”
“You’re funny.”
“And how does Theo feel about this?”
She blows out a breath. “We’re on a break.”
“You don’t get breaks from your husband, Halley. What the hell is going on? Is that why you were so available to come running?”
“You’re my dad. You got hurt. Of course I was going to come running. That’s not fair.”
“And work is cool with you skipping out?”
“I have some ... Oh, hell, might as well. I got fired, okay? I’ve lost my job, my world’s been turned upside down, and then I find out you’ve been lying to me my whole life. Now I have one tiny chance at finding out the truth about my past, and you’re telling me not to. I’m sorry. That doesn’t work for me.”
“You got fired?”
She plops into an infuriated pile in his side chair. “Yes. The board is blaming me for a ransomware attack. I believe it’s in retaliation for a sexual harassment incident. I am going to have to sue them, and thingswith Theo have been really rough. Okay? This is just something I need to do, because if I sit here another minute, I’m going to go mad.”
His face twists with hurt.
“I don’t mean you. I mean I have nothing to lose right now.”
“You. You could lose yourself. And that would kill me, Halley. For God’s sake, please. Don’t do this.”
“It’s going to be fine. Promise. I love you, Dad. I’ll see you in a couple of days. I’ll bring you back some homegrown zucchini.”
The joke falls flat. He’s so mad his voice is shaking.
“I’ve never known you to act foolishly, Halley Leia James. But that’s what you’re doing. You are flaunting my concerns—my very valid concerns, and I bet your husband’s as well—and putting yourself, and your family, at risk. I will not stand for it.”
All three names, huh? Her temper is starting to flare now, too. But she’s not going to engage. She has every right to her own story, and finding Cat is integral to learning the truth.
“We’ll see. I’ll be back before you get released. Promise.”
She blows him a kiss and leaves the room before he goes apoplectic. He’s broken her trust, and now he doesn’t have a say in what she does. She stifles a pang at his anguished roar—“Halley, please”—and closes the door to his room.
Out at the nurses’ station, she looks for Kater, but she must be in a room. She asks the nurse on duty if she’s seen her.
“No, actually. She hasn’t come in yet this morning. She’s late.”
