Page 1 of Cougar Point

PROLOGUE

Victoria awakens to complete darkness. Her head is fuzzy and she tries to say, “Where am I?” but the words are muffled by a rough cloth that cuts into the sides of her mouth, and she can barely breathe. A little air comes through the gag but her nose is swollen and her breath whistles.

She’s lost track of time. All she knows is that she hurts all over and is reminded of it every time she awakens. She knows it has been quite a while because she’s lain in her own filth, unable to move, and she’s very thirsty.

Oh dear God!she thinks.What do they want from me?Why are they doing this?She forces herself to calm, to think, try to remember what happened. She recalls being in her room at the resort. She and her daughter drank champagne and talked for a while. They were going to meet in the morning. Rebecca had left the room and there was a knock at the door. She remembers thinking that Rebecca had forgotten something, and she had opened the door.

An object had come at her, and her nose exploded in pain; and some material was pulled over her head and face. The last thing she remembers is a pinch on the side of her neck. Nothingafter that until they dragged her into this place and that part is hazy. They must have drugged her.

The next thing she remembers is waking up on the cold floor, maybe hours ago, maybe yesterday, with her arms bound behind her and her ankles bound too. Her clothes have been removed but she doesn’t remember it. The bag was on her head the first time she came to but it must have been removed because now she is blindfolded and gagged.

Her thoughts turn to her daughters. Rebecca will be worried to death. And her youngest: What will happen when she finds out her mother is gone? Taken. There is so much she needs to tell her daughters. If she goes through with her plans, they will find out eventually, but she had wanted them to hear it from her. Not Jack, who would put a spin on it.

It’s hard to breathe around the gag so she has to try harder to calm herself.

Why would someone do this to her? It doesn’t make sense. She has nothing of her own. Some expensive jewelry maybe. An expensive car. Credit cards. A small bank account. But Jack holds the purse strings and doles out the money as he sees fit.

She closes her eyes tight and tries to jog her memory of the last moments before she woke up here. Was there anyone paying attention to them at the resort? Try as she might, she can’t remember who she saw, who she knew, or even what she ate. Her mind was totally on what she was planning to do.

The divorce? Is that what this is about? It’s not possible. Jack would never harm her. At least not physically. And he would never frighten his daughters.

Where is Rebecca?

Dear God, has she been taken too?

ONE

FRIDAY

Rebecca Marsh sits on the back deck of the Semiahmoo Resort, located in the furthest northwest corner of Washington State, looking across Drayton Harbor and from there to the Pacific Ocean. Seagulls screech and dive along the shoreline looking for whatever breakfast has washed up on the sand and rocks.

It’s late on a Friday morning. She’s soaking up the sun while waiting for her mom to come downstairs to join her. At dinner last night, Victoria promised to tell her this morning why she’s been so distant and distracted lately. They’d shared a couple of glasses of champagne but not enough for her mom to be sleeping so late. She may be putting on makeup and trying on one of the outfits she’s brought for their weekend getaway. Her mom packed enough clothes to stay a week.

Rebecca doesn’t understand why Victoria has become so obsessed with her looks. She’s a beautiful woman. Not that Dad ever notices, but plenty of other men do. He used to adore her, and had even bought the resort because her mom loved their stays here. He’d dedicated three of the suites for family use and one of those had family signage on the door. It was a Valentine’s gift and Rebecca remembered her mom had squealed with delight. She wondered if she would ever be that deeply in love.

The whole family had come to the resort over the years, but then her dad had started sending the rest of them while he attended to business alone. And then Veronica had moved away to Port Hadlock. Of all the careers Veronica could have chosen, why she would pick a dangerous one was beyond belief. Her rebellious decisions had rubbed their parents wrong, especially their dad. He had hoped she would get a taste of the chaos society served up and come to her senses. But she had stayed true to her convictions, and Rebecca admired her sister for that.

Rebecca, two years older, finished law school and now works for Dad’s law firm. Corporate law. As her father was wont to say, “That’s where the money is.” And he is right. Rebecca drives a new Lincoln Navigator. Veronica has a little mini car. Their parents offered to buy her something less likely to fold like a tin can in an accident, but she won’t budge. Just like she hasn’t budged on her career choice. Her little sister is determined to make her mark without anyone’s help.

Their dad had shown his disappointment a little too much and too often, and as a result Veronica has kept her distance. Eventually Rebecca gave up inviting her to these getaways.

Semiahmoo Resort is beautiful and it promises to be a perfect weekend. She and her mom had arrived at the resort yesterday, mid-morning, had lunch on the deck, walked along the beach, and taken in the beauty that surrounded them. But something was bothering her mom. At first Rebecca thought it had something to do with Veronica preferring to live in Port Townsend instead of closer to home. Her best attempts to find out what was causing her mom’s distress were met with responses such as, “Let’s just enjoy being here,” “I’m fine,” and “It’s nothing.” Rebecca knew nothing was fine.

Now, as she reclines on the deck, a feeling of unease comes over her. She turns over possible reasons for her mom’s unhappiness, from financial reasons to poor health, and itstrikes her that her mom has been unhappy for a while. Sure, she puts on a brave face, but there is a conflicted and sad Victoria underneath. Rebecca will give her a little longer and then she’ll go to her mom’s room.

Rebecca is pulled from her thoughts by someone tapping her shoulder.

“Miss. There’s a message at the front desk.”

She peers from under her sunglasses at the messenger. “Is it from my mother?” she asks the young woman wearing a housekeeping uniform.

“Mr. Whiting said you were out here and to tell you to come.”

Roger Whiting is the general manager. “Where is my mom? Did she come down?”

“I haven’t seen her, ma’am.”

“Tell Roger I’ll be right there.”

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