Page 57 of Refuge for Ailsa

“Not if you haven’t found her, we aren’t. We’ll stick around and help for as long as we can. Our captain will understand, and so will our girls. It’s okay, Tavish. We’re not going to abandon you.” A hand landed on Tavish’s left shoulder, and he knew it was Conor. The right shoulder? Morris. Harley was standing right behind him.

Four men. That was all they were. The odds against them were astronomical. But finding that mystery man had just become the most important priority of his life.

* * *

Harley calledin a whole team and they started combing through everything. His phone rang and in a second he was back. “That was forensics. The snow globe?”

“Yeah?”

“They picked up a set of really good, fresh prints. Now the bad news. They don’t match anyone in the system.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Tavish was completely frazzled. And then he thought of something. “Wait. Where’s Starlight?”

“Your dog?” Harley asked.

“Yeah. She should be here. She comes down here with Ailsa. And she’s not here. Got anybody down there looking through the boat?”

Harley keyed up his mic. “All personnel at the MyrtleBay Marina scene, go to BC privacy channel. Repeat, go to BC privacy channel.” Then he fussed with something on his vest. “BC forensics, you copy?”

“Roger that, Harley.”

“You at the boat?”

“That’s an affirmative.”

“Is the dog there?”

“There’s no dog here.”

Where the hell was the dog? He hadn’t seen her in the video, but then she was usually behind the counter. “Is the back door open?”

Someone called from the back, “Yeah. It is.”

Starlight had gone out the back door. “Harley, please, call all the deputies and animal control, tell them to look for my dog. If they find an English Springer Spaniel, have them call you or me. If it’s her, she might be able to give us a clue.”

“Will do.” He watched as Harley left the little office, and he could hear the officer’s radio as he relayed the information to the entire department. Wherever Ailsa was, maybe Starlight was with her. At least she wouldn’t be alone.

But he was afraid he would be. Forever.

* * *

It was dark and uncomfortable.And Ailsa remembered nothing.

There was the last cup of coffee at the boat, and she and Starlight had gone to the store. She remembered opening up, turning on the computer, poking around on it, and laying her phone on the counter while she looked for a box of pencils. But after that, everything was fuzzy.

It took her just a few seconds to realize her hands were tied behind her back. She tried her feet?her ankles were tied too. There was a piece of duct tape over her mouth as well. Wherever she was, she was being slung around a bit, and she figured it was the inside of a car trunk. Her eyes were covered with something, so it was impossible to see. She thought about the man from the store, but she couldn’t remember. Had they hit her over the head? She didn’t have a headache, so that wasn’t it. Maybe they drugged her. That had to be it. Or a stun gun? She was really confused.

And where was Starlight? She wiggled around as best she could, but she didn’t feel anything else moving about. For a brief moment, she thought about screaming, but that would do nothing.

Then the car stopped, and she was sure whoever it was would take her out, but they didn’t. Instead, it got really quiet. Were they leaving her there to die? Possibly. She’d heard stories of people who’d kicked taillights out on cars and stuck their foot out so someone would see them, but she didn’t know where the taillights were, and it would be hard to do with her ankles bound.

Ailsa lay there and wondered what time it was. Had anyone noticed she was missing? There was no telling what time it would be before Tavish got back. Donovan was at work, but Maureen wasn’t. She didn’t call her parents every day, so not hearing from her wouldn’t alarm them. Struggling against her bindings got her nowhere. It was a sure bet that was duct tape too.

It was broiling hot in there, and she was wringing wet with sweat. At some point, her bladder gave way and she wet herself. Nice. Now she’d have to smell that. In her mind, she could hear everybody she knew. “Ailsa, you’re so strong.” “Ailsa, you’re the strongest person I’ve ever known.” “Ailsa, I’m so jealous. You can do anything.” “Ailsa, you’re so smart.”

She didn’t feel smart. She felt terrified.

* * *

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