After the post-coital bliss, Kenzie’s cell phone buzzed incessantly.
“Shit!” she cried as she leaped off the floor. She figured it was Mariah, already checking to see if she’d made any headway on finding Tristan (when in reality she’d procrastinated to have woo instead), but to her surprise, it was Austin sending her a text. In fact, he seemed to be sending it to everyone, because before she could reply, Jillian texted her asking if she’d heard the news, and Hayden’s phone simultaneously went off.
That news turned out to be the doctor results of why Cheyenne hadn’t been feeling so hot lately. Kenzie, a professional who was paid to read clues, should have seen this coming.
We have the doctor results, the text read. Cheyenne is going to be just fine. I’m a certified genius so I should have anticipated this. Everyone, Cheyenne and I are going to have a baby!
Kenzie squealed in excitement as she read Austin’s text over and over.
“What the hell?” Hayden wanted to know as he came up behind her, having not read his own message yet.
“Cheyenne’s pregnant!” she announced.
“Awesome!” Hayden replied as he went to send Austin a congratulatory text. Austin’s and Cheyenne’s phones were probably going crazy with all the replies they were getting from their friends.
They hadn’t been married long, but it was no surprise that Austin and Cheyenne had been consummating their marriage. And of course, a natural result was the creation of a new life. Cheyenne’s illness had simply been morning sickness, plus her cravings and mood swings mixed with soreness. She’d taken three home pregnancy tests before confirming her positive findings with a doctor.
Kenzie was genuinely happy for her friends. And hearing that they were expecting a baby made her remember that she was supposed to be searching for someone else’s. Hayden encouraged her to proceed while he continued to work on his story about the new amusement park.
That amusement park was Kenzie’s destination as she and Sage headed there. She’d called the owner ahead of time to inform him that she was on her way and would need access to the teacup ride to scout for evidence. He’d reluctantly agreed, but even Kenzie had to admit to herself that this was a shot in the dark. The ride had probably seen hundreds of other passengers since Tristan’s abduction.
But she nevertheless put her regular clothes back on, dug out her camera, went to the park, and began taking photos and writing down notes.
Sage had already sniffed the shirt Kenzie had acquired from Mariah that contained Tristan’s scent, and was doing some snooping of her own. She moved her nose around the teacups, but she began to wander off the track.
“Sage, where are you going?” Kenzie inquired. Sage looked over her shoulder and barked, indicating that she wanted her master to follow her. So Kenzie packed up her camera and followed the dog. Sage weaved her way through a curious crowd, Kenzie right behind her, until she stopped at the duck pond.
Ah, the duck pond. The biggest carnival game rip-off that Kenzie had ever had the unfortunate privilege to endure. The idea was to pick up a certain amount of ducks, which varied depending on how much money you paid, and add up the numbers on the bottom of each duck. The total would indicate the type of prize you received. Never mind the huge stuffed animals hanging up – Kenzie was lucky to have gotten a whistle at that thing.
Still, it was a very popular attraction for kids, and apparently Tristan Cooper was no exception. It seemed that he’d gotten off the teacup ride and headed for the duck pond.
“Excuse me,” Kenzie said to the man in the booth. “Do you recognize this boy?” She showed him Tristan’s picture on her cell phone.
The man squinted at it, then said, “Looks familiar, but I’ve handled dozens of kids since this place opened.”
“Well, was he with anyone?”
He looked again. “You know what, I do remember him. Well, not him so much as the hot chick he was with. There’s no way she could’ve been his mama; no mother around here looks that good.”
Kenzie thanked the shallow carnie and looked around, wondering what her next step was. But Sage had already figured that out for her, as she seemed to have caught another whiff of Tristan. To Kenzie’s surprise, she ended up following her dog to the outskirts of the park, right up to the fence that was intended to keep intruders out.
But apparently it had another purpose, because Kenzie saw a loose board that Sage was poking at with her nose. She gently pushed it aside and saw what appeared to be tire impressions in the soft grass and dirt.
Sage squeezed through the opening in the fence and stood in the imprints, then began barking in victory. So that was where the scent of Tristan Cooper ended. Whoever had taken him had brought him through the hole in the fence, thrown him into a vehicle, and sped off. Kenzie could see the tracks leading off into the distance, but once they hit the nearby road, they’d be impossible to follow.
“What are you doing back here?” A voice suddenly demanded.
Kenzie looked behind her and Sage growled in warning. The two found themselves staring at a young woman with pumpkin-red hair, who was eyeing them suspiciously.
“I’m sorry,” Kenzie apologized as she climbed back through the fence. “I was just…”
“Snooping around,” the woman interjected, her voice tinged with arrogance.
Kenzie was taken aback. What was this girl’s problem?
“No,” she amended, “I was just doing my job. I’m here on business.” Then she showed this conceited girl her ID.
“Oh, so you’re a cop?”
“No, not a cop.” Why did everyone think a detective or private investigator was the same thing as a cop?
“Whatever. What are you doing here?”
“I’m investigating a kidnapping. Have you ever seen this boy?” She showed this girl the picture of Tristan. She scowled at it for barely three seconds before saying, “No. What makes you think I would have?”
“No reason, except it’s weird that you’re back here with this defective fence.”
The woman had no reply to this except another “Whatever” before turning around and stomping in the other direction.
Sage growled at her disappearing backside.
“You can say that again,” Kenzie muttered. Then she went back through the fence and took photos of the tire tracks before returning inside the park to leave. As she was about to do so, the carnie at the duck pond flagged her down.
“Yo,” he said to her, “that chick I told you about that was with that kid? She just walked by here, pissed off.”
“Really? What does she look like? And don’t say hot; I need details. What’s she wearing? What color is her hair?”
“Her hair? Well, it’s like stupid fiery red. Actually, it’s more orange, like it looks like her head is giving birth to a pumpkin. And her outfit? Not like the last one that showed off all the curves the right way. She had a scarf on and a baggy shirt.”
The description of the girl’s hair was enough. Kenzie notified the park’s owner of the broken fence, and then went to the police station to report her findings. It had officially been twenty-four hours, so an official investigation was launched. But Kenzie wasn’t going to stop doing her job, either. And she boldly went back to the Cooper household to get more information.
“Where’s Mariah?” she asked when Bryce answered the door and invited her in.
“At the store,” he replied. “She’s getting groceries. I told her to do something, anything, to get her mind off this tragedy.”
“You don’t seem very upset about it.”
“I am upset, Kenzie. Believe me. I haven’t even been able to write because I’m too worried about my son to focus on whatever story that’s in progress.”
Kenzie didn’t want to believe him. She knew him. And she had her suspicions. But the concern on his face looked genuine.
But she was still here on business, and it was time to get down to it.
“Do you know a young woman with very red hair?”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Why do you ask?”
“She’s a person of interest in your son’s kidnapping.”
“Lauren? No, she couldn’t be.”
“Oh, so you do know her.”
Bryce had an expression of a deer caught in headlights on his face. Apparently he knew this “Lauren” very well.
“Seriously?” Kenzie had to say snidely. “You haven’t changed a bit.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Oh, isn’t it? It seems to me that you’re doing the same thing to Mariah that you did to me. Sayings don’t just form randomly; they have meaning. And there is one saying that definitely applies to you – ‘Once a cheater, always a cheater.’”
“Kenzie, I’ve changed. I’m married for crying out loud!”
“I know you. A kid and a ring on your finger don’t change a person.”
“Mariah saw your ad and I encouraged her to call you. I asked for you specifically because I know you’re the best.”
“I’m not the best, and you should know this is a major conflict of interest.”
“Yeah, except I figured you’d at least be on my side and want to help, since you’ve always had a passion about you when it comes to something you’re determined to do. I never thought you’d be against me.”
“What the hell did you think would happen?!”
Bryce apparently didn’t know how to respond to this outburst. So Kenzie took this opportunity to voice her theory.
“Mariah said she was talking to you when Tristan disappeared. And you know the red-headed woman who’s a person of interest in his kidnapping. Did you talk to your wife to distract her so that someone else could take your son, for whatever screwed-up reason? The creator knows you wouldn’t be responsible enough to handle a child.”
“That is sick, Kenzie. Really sick. You’re holding a grudge against me because of our past together, and now you’re more determined to prove that I had some involvement in my son’s kidnapping than to actually find him.”
“I’m just weighing all the angles here. And since I know your history…”
“Damn it, to hell with my history! Screw it! It has nothing to do with this! I have changed, even if you don’t believe it! If anything, Tristan made me realize the kind of person I really wanted to be rather than thinking I’d lost something.”
“Then at least point me in the right direction. Who is this Lauren and why would she be hanging around a broken fence that allowed the kidnapper to escape with your son?”
“Yeah, if I tell you that, you’ll be even more judgmental.”
“Do you want to find your son or not?”
“I’ll hire a different PI and give them all the information you’ve obtained if I have to. No judgments, no bias.”
“Yeah, good luck with that. The clock is ticking, Bryce. You know we don’t have time to screw around and give another PI all the details when I’m so far in. So start talking.”
Bryce heaved a sigh. “It wasn’t an affair. At least, not one like you’re thinking of. Mariah and I, well, she’s younger than I am, younger than you even, and every marriage has its problems. We’ve had a few falling outs to the point of almost calling it quits. Well, then we heard about something that could help, and it was worth a shot.”
“And what would that be?”
“Well, have you ever heard of mixers? Or swingers?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“It’s a legitimate form of marriage therapy. Being with others makes you realize how much you love your spouse.”
“Yeah, that’s the biggest crock of shit I’ve ever heard. I don’t believe in that.”
“It doesn’t matter if you believe in it or not. It worked for me and Mariah. Of course, Lauren, well, she had a husband, but swinging didn’t work for her. We uh…well...”
“You had an affair with her.”
“No, there was no affair. I mean, yes, there was, but Mariah was with us.”
“What?”
“Come on, Kenzie. You aren’t that innocent or naïve. Surely you’ve heard of a threesome.”
Kenzie’s eyes must have turned as large and wide as flying saucers. She knew that Bryce was no saint, but this was the last thing she’d expected.
“Uh…excuse me?” was all she could muster.
“You heard me. Kenzie, it was completely consensual, and it’s not illegal.”
“It’s just sick.”
“It’s only sick if it’s cheating. Mariah and I were both involved and we discussed it together.”
“So, because you slept with this woman and your wife at the same time, you think she can’t possibly have any reason to kidnap your son.”
“She’d never do that.”
“How do you know that? Did she even meet him?”
“Yeah, we introduced her to him as a good friend of ours.”
Kenzie snorted at that one.
“Don’t be so crass,” Bryce retorted. “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”
“I have no intention of trying it, ever. Do what you want Bryce, but I’m here to find your son. So if you swear this Lauren had nothing to do with Tristan’s disappearance, who would?”
Bryce seemed to contemplate this, but, not surprisingly, he came up empty. He also said that he didn’t know where Lauren lived; only that she wasn’t a native of Aurora Skies. She’d come from Isla Paradiso. So Kenzie finally bid him farewell and went back to the cabin.
This whole situation was getting out of hand. She was finding herself having to walk on eggshells to keep from exposing a past she’d long since forgotten. If Hayden discovered her true past relationship with Bryce, what would become of them? Hayden wasn’t like most guys, but Kenzie cared about him too much to risk it. She trusted him, but did he trust her if she kept this from him?
But then again, if she told him, would he think worse of her? The whole scenario was giving her a migraine. She didn’t know what to do, or which path was the right one to take. She was torn between honesty and deceit, a decision that should be easy to make.
Her best hope was to get this case solved as fast as possible and get the hell out of Aurora Skies.
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