Page 47 of Relentless
They’d just merged onto the 405 when Kara received an update. “Her niece was married at a small venue in Topanga Canyon. And interestingly, the night before the wedding, there was a 9-1-1 call from the location for a medical incident.”
“If she died or was killed, we would know,” Ethan said, his tone more certain than he felt. He was confident Sabina and her team would have found that information if it had been reported. And a death at a wedding was something the news would pick up on. However, it wasn’t a guarantee.
“Sabina has the date and time of the call. She’s pulling up the ambulance records and will have a preliminary update shortly. She’s also locating the contact information for the mother of the bride, Evelyn’s sister.” She paused and read another text. As she did, her shoulders released some of the tension they’d been holding. “Ava isn’t finding any death records that match Evelyn at any of the nearby hospitals,” she reported.
Ethan didn’t feel quite as relieved as Kara appeared to be. He was, however, giving Evelyn’s health better odds now than when no one had answered her door.
“Keep heading north?” Cass asked.
“Please. Thank you,” Kara replied. He took her right hand in his, leaving her left holding her phone, ever ready for updates. It wasn’t until they were passing Will Rogers Beach that it dinged with a text.
Rather than wait, Ethan leaned over and read along with her. Evelyn had fallen from a ladder the night before the wedding. She’d suffered a mild concussion and a sprained ankle. The report was sparse on details, but it stated that she’d been hanging lights outside when the ladder tipped. The notes indicated that one of the legs sank into a wet spot in the grass. It did not speculate as to why she was hanging lights in the first place.
His unease quieted a touch at the update. The good news was, she was alive. The bad news was, they still didn’t know where she was. However, Sabina had included Evelyn’s sister’s phone number in the message. Hopefully that last question would be answered in short order.
Without a word, Kara hit the number Sabina had sent, connected the call, and turned it on Speaker mode. Three rings filled the cab of the SUV before a woman answered.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Mrs. Howard?” Kara said.
“Who may I ask is calling? Is this a solicitation? If so, take me off your list.”
“No!” Kara said, no doubt hoping to stop the woman from hanging up. “My name is Dr. Kara Kenyon and I’m a colleague of Evelyn’s.”
“Evelyn?” she replied, still skeptical.
“Yes, please, this isn’t a solicitation,” she said. “I’ve worked with her for years. Most recently we were in South Sudan together. There are some issues affecting a few of our teammates that I want to discuss with her, but I’ve been unable to locate her. I was hoping you might know where she is? Or, if you don’t feel comfortable telling me where she is, could you give her my number?”
“Hold on,” Mrs. Howard replied. A muffled conversation occurred on the other end of the line, then another voice answered.
“Kara?”
Kara startled in response then smiled on a sigh. “Evelyn! It’s so good to hear your voice. How are you?”
“I’m fine. But based on what my sister said, it sounds like there are problems with our colleagues? It’s not a virus, is it?”
“No, it’s not a virus. I’m in LA visiting family. If you’re in the area, too, perhaps we could stop by and talk? We’re near Malibu right now but staying closer to the city.”
Evelyn made a slight disgruntled sound. “I fell a few days ago and sprained my ankle, so I’m staying with my sister until next week. She lives in Malibu. Since I’m homebound, feel free to come by anytime.”
“Text me the address. Oh wait, you don’t have a cell phone, do you?”
“Hate the things. You know that,” Evelyn said on a laugh. “I can give it to you the old-fashioned way, assuming you’re not driving?” When Kara confirmed she wasn’t, Evelyn rattled off the address. Bill dutifully wrote it down then entered it into the mapping app.
“It looks like we’re close. Mind if we stop by in about thirty minutes?” Kara asked.
“That would be lovely. I adore my sister, but company other than family will be a most welcome respite.”
The two chatted for a moment more, then Kara ended the call. Turning to him, she smiled. “Okay, I feel better now. Of the five of my colleagues left here in the US, she is my favorite. Not that I want anything bad to happen to anyone else, but I would have been devastated if something happened to Evelyn.”
Ethan picked up her hand again and kissed it. He was happy for her. And Evelyn. But the creepy crawlies weren’t letting go. It sounded as if her accident was really an accident. But he wanted to know more.
On time, Cass pulled the SUV to a stop in front of a large ranch-style home. The circular driveway held a Jaguar, a Bentley, and, incongruously, an ancient-looking Harley. Based on what Kara had told him about Evelyn, he had to wonder if the chopper was hers.
“Come in!” Evelyn called from the open door almost as soon as they’d lit from the SUV. The tall woman, with a sleek blond bob, was supported by a crutch on one side and a very tall, fit man in leather cuts on the other.
“Kara! It’s great to see you,” Evelyn said, grabbing her and pulling her into a hug. “And this is Warren, the gentleman who came to my rescue when I took the tumble,” she said, stepping aside. The man held his hand out and shook Kara’s. “He just stopped by for a surprise visit,” Evelyn added with a wink. Warren was probably ten years younger than Evelyn, but Evelyn had a twinkle in her eye that Ethan suspected could draw a man in.
