Page 10 of Lost Love Cove 2
Carrie held his gaze, her cop’s instinct pricking. He was lying, or at the very least, hiding something. Fear radiated from him, tightly coiled.
“She’d been spending more time in Key West,” he admitted finally. “Sometimes at Panorama Shores apartments.”
The name hit Carrie like a pebble striking water, sending ripples through her memory. Panorama Shores. She knew that place, though she couldn’t yet recall why it mattered.
“Do you think he lived there?” she asked carefully.
Ian’s eyes flicked. “Pretty sure.” The words felt deliberate, almost as if he wanted to hand her the lead without saying it outright.
Carrie’s gut tightened. He was scared, and with reason.
She shifted tactics. “Has anyone threatened you or your wife?”
For a long time, Ian didn’t answer. He stared at the perfect order of his daughter’s closet, jaw tight, eyes glassy. Then his shoulders slumped, and he dragged a hand down his face.
“Yes.” His voice was raw. “We were threatened. All of us. Erika, Arno, Katy.”
Carrie’s pulse quickened. “What were the demands?”
“Five million dollars,” Ian said hoarsely. “And my yacht. The Sunset.”
Carrie stared at him. “They want money and a way to vanish.”
He gave a short, bitter nod.
“How were you threatened?” Carrie’s eyes held his. “Were you called? Sent notes? Or messages on your phone?”
“Not my phone.” Ian reached into his jacket and pulled out a cheap burner phone. “This arrived at my and my wife’s hotel room in West Palm Beach a few days ago.” He held it out but kept his grip firm. “I can’t let you take it. I know I’ll be contacted again now. But you can look.”
Carrie took it, scrolling carefully.
Where is the money? Tik-tok! Time is running out!
Above that:I have Katy. If you don’t deliver five million and The Sunset in five hours, you’ll never see her again.
A photo followed—Katy, alive, smiling, raising a glass of champagne like she was posing for an ad.
Carrie’s chest clenched. This was proof of life. Proof that Katy had been alive two days ago when according to the time stamps on the phone, the threats had started. By the look of the photo, it was also proof that Katy didn’t even realize she was in danger, which was odd considering what Ian had said earlier. In the photo, Katy looked happy. Sultry, even, as if she was teasing whoever took the photo.
She looked up sharply. “Earlier, you said Katy called you for money and that she was desperate because she said she was in danger and needed to disappear.” Carrie glanced back at the picture and then held it up to him. “This picture doesn’t look like a woman who was scared or in danger.”
His shoulders sagged. “That wasn’t true.” Ian’s voice was hoarse, and his eyes darkened with the sorrow weighing down on him. “But I couldn’t tell you, not out there.”
It dawned on Carrie then. Ian hadn’t trusted any of the cops on the scene.
“If you are so worried, why let your wife and Arno go with the water ambulance?” Carrie asked him. “It seems a bit dangerous to be fighting with them at a time like this.”
“The fight wasn’t real,” Ian admitted. “I had to stage the fight with Erika and Arno to get them away and keep them safe. They needed to go with the ambulance, and from there they’ll go to a safe house.”
“You don’t trust the cops?” Carrie’s mind ticked fast. “Then why trust me? I’m also a cop.”
Ian’s eyes lifted, meeting hers with a haunted intensity. “Because you’re not from here—or even Florida. And Trevor always said if it came down to it, if I needed help, you were the most honest cop he knew.”
Trevor’s name hit like a gut punch. Carrie steadied herself, even as unease prickled down her spine. Trevor’s name resurfaced once again, and this time, it was associated with a murder.
Before she could respond, the phone buzzed in her hand.
Now you know the seriousness of the situation. You’re being given another chance to get the money and yacht. You have until the morning, or Erika is next!
