Page 82 of All Wrong
Corinne’s conclusion: There was no reason for anyone to believe they hadn’t completed their task and proceeded north, as commanded, at least not immediately.
The second thing she realized was that she was more alone in the world than she’d thought. She thought for sure that someone would have noticed her absence by now.
Who?a snarky little voice piped up in the back of her mind.Everyone at the bank knows you’re on leave. You don’t have any friends you see often enough to noticeyou’ve been missing a couple of days. Even the neighbors who might have noticed mail accumulating in the lobby box are now spread far and wide. Lacie’s hurt but giving you the space you need, and when Nick came to check on you, you told him not to let the door hit him on the ass on his way out.
Corinne exhaled. The little voice was right. No one was coming. The people she’d pushed away were finally giving her the space she’d demanded. Sucky timing, but whatever.
The third thing was, sitting and waiting were no longer options.
The protein bar was long gone. So was the water. She’d stretched it out as much as she could, but even now, the symptoms of dehydration were setting in. Dry mouth, fatigue, dizziness. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d peed. Worse, she was running a low-grade fever, which meant one or more of her cuts was infected.
At the first light of day, she would have to leave the SUV and seek help elsewhere while she still had some strength.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
NICK
Nick and Nicki drove out to Corinne’s Airbnb, riding side by side on their motorcycles. Him on his Harley, Nicki on her quasi-Ducati. He was thankful they hadn’t driven one of the enclosed vehicles because it meant talking wasn’t an option.
He knew what she was thinking because he was thinking the same thing. A quick call on the way out of The Zone had confirmed that Buckman had called out of work on Tuesday morning, citing a family emergency. Why Lacie hadn’t mentioned that to Nicki when they talked earlier, he didn’t know.Then again, maybe Lacie wasn’t aware. Lacie worked in the elementary school, and Buckman worked at the senior high.
It seemed too much of a coincidence for Corinne and Buckman to blow town at the same time, and, as already established, Nick didn’t believe in coincidences. He also refused to believe that Corinne had gone away with Buckman willingly, because Corinne didn’t belong with Brett Buckman. She belonged withhim.
The realization wasn’t as shocking as it might have been. The truth had been there for a while now, lurking in the shadows, hiding from the light of day, and he’d been doing his damnedest to pretend otherwise. It sure as hell explained a lot, including the certain knowledge that she was in trouble. According to his sister,croieshad that kind of connection.
Not that he was willing to shout that revelation from the rooftops. Not yet anyway.
They pulled into the Airbnb’s driveway, dismounted, and looked around. From the outside, nothing appeared to be amiss. No visible signs of damage or forced entry. The detached garage was empty, which they’d expected since Shane’s ping had indicated the SUV was in upstate New York.
Nick knocked on the front door of the house anyway, and when no one answered, he went around to the back, where Nicki was doing the same and getting the same result.
He was fully prepared to use the lockpicking skills he’d perfected long ago, but then Nicki held up her hand. Slipping on a leather glove, she tested the knob. The gold ball turned smoothly. A light push forward, and they were standing in the kitchen.
“Cute place,” Nicki commented.
It looked just like it had a few days earlier. Same towel on the counter in the same position. Same dishes in the rack beside the sink. The only difference was, the digital clock display on the stove was flashing. The one on the microwave said PF.Power failure.
That in itself wasn’t unusual. A series of strong thunderstorms had rolled through the area on Monday night. Perhaps the power had still been out when she left? Or maybe she hadn’t bothered to reset it.
They moved into the living room. Nothing out of place there either, as far as he could see. But itfeltwrong. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled as Nicki made a pass around the room, her eyes taking everything in.
They went to the bedroom next. The bed was unmade, the sheets rumpled. Was that atypical? Nick tried to remember whether the bed in Corinne’s apartment had been made, but he’d been fixated on other things at the time.
Nicki opened the hamper in the bathroom and lifted out a set of clothes. “Is this what she was wearing when you saw her Monday night?”
Nick looked at the pair of shorts and tank top Nicki held. In his mind, a picture formed of Corinne as she’d rounded on him that night, brandishing a key in her hand like it was some kind of weapon. He nodded.
Nicki moved over to the vanity sink and frowned.
“What?” Nick asked.
Nicki ignored him and opened the cabinet, her frown deepening. “If you were going away for a couple of days, wouldn’t you take your toothbrush, contacts, and birth control pills?”
Nick followed his sister out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom, where Nicki proceeded to open the double closet doors.
“Suitcase, carry-on, sports bag. What did she pack her clothes in?”
Nicki’s phone vibrated, and she pulled it out of her pocket. “It’s Ian,” she said, tapping the screenand answering with a short, “Yeah.” She listened as Ian said whatever it was he had to say, her expression giving nothing away. “Copy that.” Then, she shoved her phone back into her pocket.
