Page 2 of Vanished in the Mist
She’d been tricked. Shanna didn’t have to be a private investigator to reach that conclusion. It was spelled out clearly and succinctly on the very first line of the first page in the folder.
Hey, sis. I’m so sorry that I tricked you.
Shanna swore again and plopped down in one of the chairs at the table to read the rest of the note. Her sister explained that she was desperate to help the Jericho family and the only way she knew how was to ask her brilliant private-investigator sister to look into Tanya’s disappearance. Cassidy begged her to please read everything in the folder, which had been given to her by the missing teen’s parents. The stack of pages contained background information on their daughter, what they’ddocumented and collected about the investigation that the police had done, as well as their own attempts to find out what had happened.
If you read this and are still set against helping, I’ll understand. You can enjoy the cabin regardless and have the vacation you deserve. I had to try one last time to get your help or I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Forgive me, please? Love you.
Shanna sighed. Of course, she’d forgive her sister…eventually. Honestly, in her place, she’d have probably done the same thing. But what Cassidy didn’t seem to get was that Shanna hadn’t made her decision lightly to not investigate the girl’s disappearance. She’d agonized over whether or not to come here and help. But in a town built around and dominated by a deadly lake, she’d decided it was best to trust in the local police rather than try to interject herself into the investigation.
Thankfully, her sister had given her an out, telling her it was okay to stay and use the cabin anyway. Cassidy and her husband hadn’t lied. They really were on a cruise, as the note went on to explain. To do right by her sister, all Shanna had to do was read the folder. Then she could set it aside without any guilt and get on with her plan to do absolutely nothing but sleep, read and eat for the next seven days.
Her gaze, seemingly of its own accord, slid back to the picture of the young woman on the flyer.
So young. So innocent.
Shanna had been that young once, that innocent. And what had happened to her had been horrendous. But she’d survived, because of the help of some really good people. Who was helping Tanya? Who was helping her parents?
Shanna started to shake.No.This wasn’t her problem. It wasn’t Shanna’s fault that this girl was missing. It wasn’t her duty tohelp every single person who got into some kind of trouble. She was only one person. There was only so muchshecould do.
Anger came to her rescue, giving her the strength to surge to her feet and snatch the missing poster off the door. She was about to slap it on top of the stack of documents in the folder when she noticed dark shadows of words bleeding through to the front of the flyer. Someone had written on the back and she didn’t have to guess who.
Cassidy.
She fisted her hands at her sides.Ignore it. Don’t turn it over. Don’t read it.
Oh, for the love of…who was she kidding? She was an investigator for a reason. Her curiosity was her superpower, driving her until she uncovered every little crumb of evidence to solve a case. Unfortunately, it was also her kryptonite. She let out a strangled groan and flipped over the flyer. Her sister’s neat teacher’s handwriting flowed across the page.
There is one more thing I need to tell you, and it’s a doozy. I really hope you can forgive me.
“Oh, Cassidy. What else have you done?”
To make sure you have the best possible chance at finding out what happened to Tanya, I—
The cabin door suddenly opened and a man stepped inside, eyes wide with surprise as he stared at her.
Shanna clawed for the pistol in her pocket.
The man leaped at her, tackling her to the floor.
Bam!The gun went off.
Chapter Two
“Get off me!” the woman yelled, twisting and bucking beneath Kaden Rafferty as he wrestled the pistol out of her right hand.
He sent it sliding across the hardwood floor out of her reach and grabbed her now-free wrist before her fist could make contact with his jaw.
“Knock it off, all right?” he practically growled. “Obviously there’s been some kind of misunderstanding here.”
“Misunderstanding?” She bucked against him again, her knee nearly connecting with a vulnerable part that had him settling his full weight on her to stop her from trying that move again.
“Lady, if you’ll just quit fighting me I’ll let you go. You’re obviously in the wrong cabin and—”
“Wrong cabin?” Her blue eyes blazed up at him, hot with anger. “You’re the one in the wrong cabin. Or maybe the right one if you were hoping to break in and steal something. You just didn’t expect anyone to be home.”
“You’re right about one thing. I was told that no one would be here.”
She jerked her wrists, struggling against his hold. “Who told you that? Your partner in crime? Let me guess. He’s waiting outside with a truck to load up whatever you both plan on stealing.”
