Trapped Read online

  “Still. She wasn’t very nice about it. And how busy could she really be? In this tiny town. It’s not like it’s Cleveland where there’s real crime.”

  He couldn’t disagree with her assessment about the town or Leslie so he said nothing.

  “If she doesn’t live right in town, does that mean it’s not in your jurisdiction? Should I go someplace else?” She looked at him, obviously still wanting him to do something.

  Nate thought about that for a moment. “Actually, I think this is the right place. It seems I remember something about the town expanding their city limits out past her house. Have you gone to her house?”

  She nodded. “She wasn’t there. Called her fiancé. He hadn’t talked to her either.”

  “Didn’t I read somewhere that she broke up with him?”

  “Yea, I read that, too, but he didn’t mention it when I called him. So I don’t know if it really happened that way or that’s just people blowing up an argument into more than it really was.”

  That was interesting. Keren had Ange’s fiancé’s phone number. So perhaps, her relationship was closer than he’d first thought. “Was he worried about her?”

  “Not really. You know who he is, right? He’s a Cleveland Browns player, and they’re in training camp right now so he’s been really busy. He probably hasn’t had time to worry about her being gone.”

  “See, there you have it. I’m sure she’s fine. If her fiancé isn’t concerned, then there’s probably nothing to worry about.”

  “Then why won’t she return my calls? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Well maybe the two of them did break up. And that’s probably why she hasn’t wanted to talk to anyone. She’s nursing a broken heart.”

  Her cousin laughed. “Nursing a broken heart? That doesn’t sound like Ange at all. It’s not her first broken engagement. She loves to get engaged, but marriage is a different story. I think she can’t believe anyone wants to marry her unless it’s for her money. Besides, it was my birthday. She wouldn’t just blow me off like that.”

  Ange Matthews probably would do just that. Even though he’d never met her, her reputation was well-known. And it wasn’t exactly a good one. “Look, I’ll check into it a little, and if I find anything suspicious, I’ll let you know. OK?”

  She stood. “Thanks. Do you want my phone number?”

  “Sure. And while you’re at it, the fiancé’s number as well. Hold on a minute.” He walked over to a file cabinet and came back with a paper. “We might as well make this official. Fill this out and on the backside give me any information that might be helpful. Names and numbers of friends, including the fiancé. I don’t know if you have access to any of her credit cards or such but that would be helpful as well.”

  “Oh, I don’t have access to that at all. Like I said, I come from the other side of her family. Not the rich side.”

  What might that be like—having a very rich cousin who was also glamorous and famous? Keren obviously didn’t have any of those things herself. Could this woman have led to her cousin disappearing? Stop it. Not everyone is a suspect. You don’t even know if the woman’s really in trouble.

  After Keren left, he pulled his keyboard closer. He had an obligation to help. Ange Matthews deserved the same consideration as any one of the other citizens of Mt. Pleasant. It couldn’t hurt to spend a few minutes checking out the situation.

  Famous and rich. That probably added up to lots of technology and social media. After twenty minutes at the keyboard, Nate had a good idea of Ange’s life before she disappeared.

  And he wasn’t so sure Ange Matthew’s cousin wasn’t right.

  Ange hadn’t been on her public social media for more than a week. Before that, her posts were consistent. Since the Friday before she was to have lunch with Keren. Before that she was everywhere, the woman loved her social media. Her name was on all the major sites along with lots of news stories. She posted about anything and everything. And her followers seemed to love it. He didn’t get why anyone would care what Ange Matthews had for breakfast, but they seemed to.

  He stared out the window, his gaze focused on the bank. Did Ange Matthews use the town’s only bank? Less than a minute later, he walked into that financial institution.

  “Hey, Nate.” Clint Smith gave him a wave from where he stood talking with one of the tellers.

  “Just the man I’m looking for. Can we talk in your office?” Clint was the bank manager—or whatever his title was these days. It seemed to change from time to time, depending on what big bank had purchased it that week.

  “Sure. Is there a problem?’

  “Not a problem. I just have a question.” He answered as they walked into the office.

  Clint shut the door and motioned for him to sit.

  Nate shook his head. “This won’t take much time. I was wondering if Ange Matthews uses this bank.”

  Clint’s eyes widened. “It’s probably not legal for me to give you the answer to that question.”

  “Yeah, I sort of thought that’s what you might say. But let me ask you this hypothetically.”

  Clint arched an orange-red brow. “Hypothetically?”

  “I’m not just asking out of curiosity, you know.”

  “Then why are you asking?”

  “Her cousin’s worried about her. I’m sure it’s nothing, but I figured one of the ways I could establish that it was, indeed, nothing was to see if her credit card transactions have been normal for the past week or so. So does she bank here?”

  “I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you I have met her on more than one occasion. If that helps.” Clint walked around the desk and sat down at his computer. He looked up at Nate. “The last week or so? Hypothetically, of course.”

  “Of course.”

  A moment later Clint looked up with a worried expression. “Hypothetically speaking, it would be most unusual for someone like her to have no transactions for the past nine days.”

  “No transactions as in zero?”

  Clint nodded. “What’s going on, Nate?”

  “I’m not at liberty to say. I was really hoping you’d tell me she went on a trip to some exotic location to nurse a broken heart, and she’s there spending lots of her money.”

  “Well, I’m also sure our hypothetical person would have credit cards from other banks. That said, that someone likes our card. A lot.”

  “Can you access the info for me? About other cards?”

  “Sorry. I can’t do that even hypothetically.”

  “That’s OK. I think I got what I needed. If you hear from her or her cards are accessed, let me know.”

  “Hypothetically.”

  “Of course.”

  Nate walked across the street. It didn’t appear as if Ange Matthews had gone on a last-minute trip somewhere. The last time she’d been on social media was the night she’d broken up with her fiancé. He needed to talk to the man.

  He went to Leslie’s office and knocked even though the door was open.

  She motioned him in.

  “There might be something to the cousin’s concern about Ange Matthews.”

  “Really?” She arched a brow. “Why do you think that?”

  “She hasn’t been on social media or had a credit card charge since the night she broke up with her fiancé nine days ago. The Friday night before she was to have lunch with her cousin.”

  “Credit card? You have no right to access that info.”

  “I didn’t. I just asked hypothetically. And got answered hypothetically.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Spare me the small-town bonding. You just said she broke up with her fiancé. She’s probably off nursing a broken heart.”

  “Or maybe he wasn’t happy that she broke it off with him in such a public way. Nobody likes to be humiliated. Didn’t you see the news?”

  “The football player, right?”

  “Right.”

  She flipped a pencil back and forth. “Let it go, Nate. Ange Matthews is
just off on another one of her trips somewhere. Everyone knows how she is. She’s a spoiled brat who comes and goes as she pleases, without considering her cousin’s feelings or her birthday.”

  “Then why hasn’t she used her credit card or been on social media?”

  “How would I know?”

  “People don’t just disappear without a reason. I think we have an obligation to at least check out the situation.”

  “Not true. It happens all the time, and you know it.”

  “She hasn’t posted anything on her social media in more than a week. Before that, she was all over it. Dozens of times every day.”

  Leslie rolled her eyes. “You’re just trying to figure out a way to meet the beautiful, rich girl now that you’re an eligible bachelor again.”

  “You say that as if it’s what I wanted. Remember, you’re the one who broke it off and gave me back the ring. Because you have other things you want to do before you settle down. And this wasn’t the place you wanted to settle down in anyway. Remember?”

  Ignoring his words, she tapped her manicured nails on her desktop. “There’s no case here, Nate.”

  “Her cousin thinks differently. And she drove all the way down here looking for her. That says something, doesn’t it?”

  “I’m sure it’s not the first time Ange has been rude to her. Even the cousin admitted that she takes off on unscheduled jaunts without telling her.”

  “You’re probably right, but I’m still going to look into it a little further.”

  “No, you’re not. I said there’s no case. And I’m still your boss.”

  “For the next few weeks anyway.” He met her gaze and then leaned closer. “What if I’m right and you’re wrong? What if Ange Matthews really is missing and you did nothing about it? It might mess up your meteoric rise at the FBI if they find out you didn’t follow up on a citizen’s complaint about her missing cousin.”

  Leslie’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. You want to waste your time, waste it. What do I care?”

  “Leslie, I really don’t understand where this animosity’s coming from. You broke up with me, not the other way around. I didn’t stand in your way when the FBI accepted your application.”

  “For a cop, you are clueless.” She held up her hands in surrender. “Go do what you want. I have an appointment.” She made a grand exit from her office.

  The others in the squad room pretended not to notice their argument.

  He had a feeling she regretted giving back his ring, but it was a done deal. And he had no plans to undo the deal. She may have been the one to make the decision, but it was the right decision. For both of them. He was more than happy living here in his hometown. Not her—she’d never be happy living here permanently. Mount Pleasant was only a stepping stone to other places—more glamorous places with a lot more action. Leslie was also wrong about his interest in Ange Matthews. Beautiful and rich was way too high maintenance for his taste. Nate liked simple.

  He’d learned that lesson from Leslie.

  Well, there were two ways to work a case. Old-fashioned footwork or new-fashioned computer work. He’d found out what he could on the computer. Now, it was time for old-fashioned police work. There were things that could only be learned by talking to people. Technology helped, but people solved crimes.

  First a trip to the Brown’s training facility in Berea and then to the last place she’d been seen: Cleveland. He hated big cities.

  3

  Her death would be her own fault. She should have known better. One minute she’d stepped up to a limo, and the next she was here. He’d asked her to call him Luther, and that was all she remembered until she woke up trapped in this basement. He was drugging her. Day and night morphed into each other with large chunks of time missing in between. She wasn’t quite sure low long she’d been here, but it was more than enough for someone to report the fact that she was missing.

  Surely someone had contacted the police by now. Unless Luther was right? Maybe nobody cared enough to notice she was gone. No, she had to believe they were looking for her right this minute. Weren’t they? Panic slammed back into her as strong as Luther’s slap. She took a deep breath, her eyes fluttering. Keep me sane, God, in this insane place.

  Zarlengo probably wouldn’t notice she was missing, not after what she did to him.

  If only she could go back to that night. Her mind went back in time to the restaurant. Reliving it probably wasn’t the healthiest choice but she couldn’t help herself. It had been her last few minutes of freedom.

  She’d talked Zarlengo into taking her to a five-star restaurant where most people had to wait for months to get a reservation, but all they’d done that evening was walk in and ask for a table. The owner had been more than happy to have the two of them as guests.

  The handsome football player and his beautiful fiancé.

  Her lip quivered as she looked down at the dirty T-shirt she wore. There wasn’t anything beautiful about her any more.

  It had been between the appetizer and the soup when she’d chosen to exact revenge on her unfaithful fiancé. He’d humiliated her in public, and now, it was her turn to do the same to him. Turnabout was fair play.

  Handsome, rich, and famous didn’t add up to good husband material—or even make for a good boyfriend. Time and time again, she’d forgiven him for his indiscretions as he promised her it wouldn’t happen again. But it always did.

  She’d jumped up from the table with a flourish. When she’d been sure that all eyes were on them, she’d slid the ring off her finger. She’d tossed her blonde curls back and said, “Just because you’re the Cleveland quarterback doesn’t mean you can treat me like this. I won’t tolerate it.”

  His handsome face turned splotchy red. Good. “Sit down, Ange,” he whispered through clenched teeth. “Don’t cause a scene. I said I was sor—”

  “I don’t want to hear any more of your excuses or your apologies. We’re done.” She flung the ring at him. Giving her blonde hair another angry toss, she weaved her way among the tables.

  The other customers watched her departure, some surreptitiously, others were more blatant. Camera phones pointed her way. There must have been a lot of action on social media that night.

  And that was exactly what she’d intended. Zarlengo’s flings were well-hidden from his adoring fans. Everyone assumed he was a fine, upstanding young man. He deserved to be exposed for the liar he was.

  And that was exactly what she’d done.

  Once outside, she’d wiped away sincere tears as her hopes and dreams had crashed. At one point, she’d really believed Zarlengo was the one.

  She’d hurried up to the doorman. “I need you to call me a cab. And tell them to hurry. Please. I need to get out of here.”

  The doorman pulled out his cell phone.

  But she’d spied a limo parked across the street. Heading for it, she’d called back. “Never mind. I just found my own ride.” She’d knocked on the window and forced her most charming smile.

  The driver’s window slid down.

  “I need a ride.”

  He smiled, his bright blue eyes crinkling at the corners. “Sorry, ma’am. I’m waiting for some other customers. Want me to—”

  “Oh, come on. I’ll pay you double what they’re paying. I need to get out of here. Now.” She gave him a sweet smile with just a bit of flirt. “Please.”

  “You don’t even know what they’re paying me.”

  Giving him another sunny smile, she shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll pay it. Actually, I’ll pay you a thousand dollars. How does that sound? And you can probably be back before your other customers even know you’re gone. I only want to go to a downtown hotel. Won’t take but a few minutes. You’ll be back before they get finished eating. They probably won’t even know you left.”

  “Hey, I know you.”

  She leaned down, allowing her silky white blouse to droop an extra inch or so, knowing it looked good against her tan. “That’s right, I’m A
nge Matthews. Now will you take me to the hotel?”

  He tore his gaze from her chest. “Let me see the money.”

  It was a rare day when someone told her no. “We can stop at an ATM along the way. How’s that sound?”

  His door opened and he jumped out with a smile.

  Good, this was more like the service she was accustomed to.

  “Let me get that door for you, Ms. Matthews.” He took hold of her arm and moved closer. Something jabbed her in the arm.

  “Ouch. What was that?”

  She’d tried to pull her arm away, but he’d held on tight. Then he smiled.

  “Nothing for you to worry about, Ange.”

  Her head began to spin as her eyes lost focus. Now there was two of him. She tried to blink away the extra man. He stayed. “Wh…at…happened? What did…you do?”

  “I told you not to worry about it, Ange.”

  With a little push, she tumbled into the limo. Something…wrong. She tried to sit up but her muscles didn’t seem to be working. Not…good. “I… I…changed…my mind. Let me out.”

  The door slammed shut. The whole world was spinning. It looked so far away, but Ange reached for the latch. She needed to get out of here. The lock clicked.

  “Let…me…” Too hard to think. Too tired. Her eyes closed. And when she opened them again, she was in this room. Trapped by a monster.

  Each day she was in this prison made it more likely that she would never get out. Never see the sky again or breathe fresh air. Never…tears seeped out as her list continued. She twisted her body. Ignoring the pain, she closed her eyes as the ropes cut into her already raw wrists and ankles. And as always, she could barely move.

  If she escaped it wouldn’t be through her brute strength.

  Luther kept talking about how pretty girls thought they were so much better than everyone else. Someone pretty must have hurt him so much that he’d become a monster.

  She assessed her situation. She had no sheets or coverings of any sort, just the dirty t-shirt. He’d taken her clothes along with her freedom and dignity. If beauty or strength wouldn’t help, that left brains. Her Daddy had said she was as smart as she was pretty. There had to be a way out of this mess.