Page 2 of The Scenic Route
His pulse jumped in excitement, and he allowed himself a smile. For some reason he couldn’t define, Felicity Pax had woken him up, and he couldn’t get enough of her. Setting his jaw, he felt determination fill him. Today he’d talk to Felicity. It was time to move the investigation forward…and past time to meet her face-to-face. Buzzing with anticipation, he started to jog.
One
Earlier that morning…
Felicity Pax increased her pace, pulling ahead of the rest of the group. Her sisters were reluctant runners, and she knew they’d be happy to slow to a shuffling jog that was barely faster than a walk once Felicity wasn’t there to prod them on. Weaving through the trees, she let her mind go blank, focusing only on the way her thighs burned and her heart raced and the crisp air filled her lungs.
Despite her trembling legs, straining lungs, and a rather ridiculous amount of sweat, Felicity smiled as she finally slowed to a walk. As masochistic as it might be, there was nothing like a trail run to settle her brain. The trees thinned as she reached her backyard, and Felicity was grateful for the gazillionth time that their family’s house sat right up against national forest land. Circling around to the front porch, she jogged up the steps and yanked open the squeaky screen door as she pulled out her key.When she turned it in the lock, however, the dead bolt was already disengaged.
Felicity went still for just a moment before sliding the key out and turning the knob. It was too late to be sneaky, since the screen door hinges had already announced her presence, but she still tried to be quiet as she pushed open the door and stepped cautiously inside.
Pulling out her phone, she quickly silenced it before tapping out a three-word text—front door unlocked—and sending it to her sisters.
The alarm didn’t give its usual warning beep to let her know she had to enter the code before it started blaring. Instead, the control panel sat blank and eerily silent. The living room appeared empty, the early-morning sunlight just starting to filter through the blinds on the east-facing window. She crept into the kitchen, relieved to see the family dog, Warrant, crouched—scared but safe—under the table. Soundlessly, she yanked open the door to the pantry, only to find it empty.
Upstairs then.
Felicity climbed the steps, knowing exactly where to place her feet to avoid the creaks from a lifetime of going up and down these stairs. As she reached the top, she heard the lightest of thuds to her left.
Mom’s bedroom.
It wasn’t really a surprise. That was the room the cops had focused on the hardest when they came with a search warrant looking for the priceless necklace Felicity’s mother had supposedly stolen before she skipped town and left her daughters topick up the pieces. It made sense that any opportunistic thieves wanting to snatch the necklace would focus there as well.
Just another mess Jane Pax had left her five daughters to clean up.
Felicity moved down the hallway, trying to keep her steps as light as possible on the hardwood floor. She was grateful for her running shoes as she soundlessly approached the closed door of her mother’s bedroom. Carefully, keeping her body flat against the wall in case someone were to shoot at her through the doorway, she turned the knob and cracked open the door.
No one was visible through the tiny opening, so she took a deep breath and shoved open the door, rushing inside to keep the element of surprise.
Instead of jumping on the intruder, however, she stopped abruptly and stared at the person digging through the small closet. All those searches, all that research, all those nights away from home searching for her mother so she could drag her back home before they lost everything, and nothing…until now.
“Mom?”
Jane jumped and spun around, her elbow making the plastic hangers rattle together. “Oh! Felicity, you startled me.” Pressing a hand to her chest, she sent her daughter a chiding look. “Shouldn’t you be out training your sisters instead of here trying to give me a heart attack?”
Even after twenty-two years of experience dealing with her mother’s gaslighting, Felicity was still a little thrown by Jane’s casual attitude. After a silent moment, however, a thousandquestions pressed forward, making it almost impossible to speak. Felicity finally managed to ask, “Mom, where’ve you been?”
Jane waved a hand, brushing away the question. “Oh, here and there. Figured it was time to see some old friends.” Tugging a phone from her back jeans pocket, she glanced at the screen and frowned at Felicity. “You usually train the other girls until seven. Have you been slacking off?”
Again, Felicity was struck speechless for a long moment at the sheer audacity of the woman in front of her. All the frustrating days on the road, all the sleepless nights in thin-walled motel rooms, all the dangerous and life-changing moments her sisters had experienced that she’d missed…all because of the selfishness and greed of the person who’d given birth to them.
Something snapped inside her, and the last strands of guilt for hunting her own mother like she was just another skip slipped away. She reached for Jane’s wrist, calm settling over her as she prepared to take the bail jumper in front of her down. Her mom was taller than she was, but Felicity was stronger, and she knew she could keep Jane contained until her sisters arrived to help.
Jane’s well-developed sense of self-preservation must’ve kicked in, since she took a step back and yanked her arm out of reach. “Don’t you dare put your hands on me, Felicity Florence Pax. I am your mother.”
“You’re a thief and a skip,” Felicity stated grimly, moving to grab Jane again. “It’s my job to bring you in. Plus, it’s the only way to save our home.” Bitterness surged through her at the reminder of yet another terrible thing her mother haddone—putting the house her children lived in, the housetheyhad paid for with their own blood, sweat, and tears, up as collateral for her bail bond only to skip town immediately. If Felicity didn’t get her mother to her next court appearance, she and her sisters would soon have nowhere to live.
Her mom’s gaze flicked over Felicity’s shoulder. Stomach tightening with instinctual dread, she started to turn around when pain radiated from her temple and everything went black.
***
“Fifi! Open your eyes.”
The command sounded like it came from far away.
“We’re going to sit here eating Cheetos and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream until you wake up.” That was her sister Charlie’s voice.
Annoyance gave Felicity that extra push she needed to raise her weighted eyelids. The bright light felt like a laser cutting directly into her brain, and she squeezed her eyes closed again with a groan.
