Page 96 of The Unforgiven
She drank the juice and handed him the empty cup. “Go on, then.”
“When Emma and I got to the hotel, we wanted to surprise you, so we went up to your room. You weren’t there. I rang you on your mobile, but you didn’t pick up, so I left a voicemail and took Emma out for something to eat since she was tired and hungry. I thought you’d ring me back by the time we were finished. When I hadn’t heard back from you after several hours, I returned to the hotel, but you were still out. I thought you might be with your father, so I tracked Seth down at his office. He seemed very surprised to hear from me, since he was under the impression you’d left New Orleans. That’s when I began to genuinely worry,” Gabe said, taking Quinn’s hand in his own.
“How did you find me?” she asked. “No one knew where Brett and I were heading.”
“After I spoke to Seth, I asked the concierge to check if your things were still in your room. They were, so I knew you hadn’t checked out. I rang Rhys and he put me in touch with the cameraman you’d been working with. He said he’d left you several messages but hadn’t heard back from you. He was about to leave for Charleston but came right over. He was worried about you. He is a nice bloke.”
“But Jason had no idea where I’d gone,” Quinn interjected.
“No, he didn’t, but he thought I might need his help, since he was familiar with the city and had a vehicle at his disposal. I kept trying your mobile, but it eventually informed me that your mailbox was full, which sent me into a blind panic. I know how fanatical you are about checking your messages.”
Quinn smiled in acknowledgement. “Type A personality. Can’t help it.”
“I know, love.”
“So what led you to the cemetery?” she asked.
“I rang the police, but they said you had to be missing for at least twenty-four hours before they could begin treating it as a missing person case. I had no idea exactly how long you’d been gone, but according to the concierge, you’d ordered room service that morning, so it was definitely less than twenty-four hours. The police wouldn’t even speak to me until the following day, and I wasn’t prepared to wait that long. I was worried sick.”
Quinn squeezed Gabe’s hand in gratitude. He was the most methodical, logical person she knew. He would have made an excellent detective. In a sense, he was one, because any archeologist had to find the clues and then string them together to form a hypothesis and establish a timeline of events. Gabe had done exactly that, and within a fairly short time.
“I asked the manager to talk to the employees, to see if anyone could recall you leaving the hotel. No one could, but the manager, lovely lady by the way, contacted someone who’d worked the earlier shift and had left for the day. The woman remembered you meeting a young man of Brett’s description in the lobby. She overheard you talking about breaking into a tomb. She thought it was a joke, but I know you better than that.”
“But she didn’t know which tomb,” Quinn pointed out.
“No, but Brett did. I contacted Seth again and he went in search of his son, since he couldn’t raise him on his mobile. I nearly lost my mind, but Jason kept me company and invited us to stay in his room. The hotel was fully booked, and I just couldn’t be bothered to go looking for something at that time of night. Emma was jet-lagged and needed to go to bed. And she was frightened.”
“They wouldn’t let you stay in my room?” Quinn asked, surprised at the priggishness of the hotel staff.
“I didn’t want to disturb anything, in case the police would need to search the room,” Gabe replied. He might have been mad with worry, but he was still practical as ever, God bless him. “I called Seth again first thing in the morning, but he still hadn’t managed to locate Brett. He’d been in touch with his ex-wife and told me of your visit to the hospital.”
Gabe’s voice sounded hoarse, and Quinn knew he was trying to keep it together. She couldn’t begin to image the thoughts that must have passed through his head when she’d failed to turn up by morning.
“Seth eventually managed to track down Brett through a friend of his. Brett had turned off his phone and the GPS signal, and had taken off. He was halfway to Texas by the time Seth caught up with him.”
“I saw Seth’s knuckles,” Quinn remarked.
Gabe nodded. “He beat the truth out of him, then forced him to come back. Seth took him to the police, at which point Brett accused his father of assault and Seth was taken into custody.”
Quinn shook her head in disbelief. Not only had Brett left town, proving once and for all that he’d had no intention of coming back for her, but he’d accused his own father of a crime against him when Seth was only trying to save his daughter and grandchild. What an unbelievable prick her brother had turned out to be.
“Kathy Besson came over to the hotel first thing in the morning. She thought I might need help with Emma, which was very kind of her. Jason and I raced to the cemetery as soon as we got the call from Seth. When I saw you lying there, I thought we were too late,” Gabe muttered. “You were so white, so still. Jason called an ambulance and the police, and they were there within minutes. Kathy called Dr. Glahn. She met us in the Emergency Room.”
“I’m glad it was Seth who ultimately found Brett,” Quinn said. Had Gabe laid a hand on Brett, he might have been arrested, and she would never have been rescued.
“Quinn, had I been the one to find Brett, I would have killed him with my bare hands. I would have torn him apart. He’s actually safer in custody,” Gabe growled.
“He’ll go to prison for years if convicted,” Quinn speculated. “It will destroy Seth.”
“Brett Besson must answer for what he’s done.”
“Gabe, I want to go home,” Quinn pleaded. “Please take me home.”
“We can leave as soon as Dr. Glahn gives us the green light,” Gabe promised.
“Gabe, I was thinking about the wedding…”
“So have I.”
