Leave No Stone Unturned (A Lexie Starr Mystery, Book 1) (20 page)

We took off running again. We were far from the baggage claim where Wendy would be
waiting anxiously for us to appear. We were now half an hour late. I knew she'd be
concerned and upset if we weren't there to greet her.

"Come on," Stone said. "She'll have checked a suitcase, I assume, and she would have
had to wait to pick it up."

"Yes, I'm sure she did," I said. I breathed a sigh of relief. Once again, I thanked
God for having Stone with me. I needed someone who could think rationally and not
panic in a situation such as this. "I taught her to pack lightly, but she'd still
need more for this trip than she could possibly pack in a carry-on bag."

A few minutes later we were in front of the luggage claim conveyor belt. It was now
almost forty minutes past the time Wendy's flight had arrived. All passengers had
claimed their bags and departed. One bag remained on the still-revolving belt. I didn't
have to read the address tag to know it said "Wendy Pitt." I had given the luggage
to Wendy last Christmas. The pretty blue-plaid suitcase looked ominous. My daughter
was nowhere in sight.

* * *

Using Stone's phone, I called Wendy's cell phone number and left a panicky message
on her voice mail. I tried Wendy and Clay's home phone. I let it ring at least a dozen
times, but no one answered. I'm certain I used up several months' worth of airtime
minutes on Stone's phone.

Stone had gone to speak with an airline representative. While I waited for him to
return, I paced nervously around the baggage claim area. I looked in every nook and
cranny I could find—as if I truly expected Wendy to be hiding behind a trashcan or
something equally ridiculous.

Finally Stone returned. He had a concerned expression on his face. I nearly tackled
him as he strode toward me. "What did they say?" I asked impatiently.

"Her name's listed on the flight's manifest, which would indicate only that she checked
in luggage. But I'm sure it was after she'd checked her luggage when she called you.
If Clay decided not to let her catch the flight, her name would still have been registered
on the manifest and her luggage loaded onto the airplane," Stone said. He talked slowly
and softly in an unsuccessful attempt to calm me. I was a complete wreck. "So the
fact her name is on the manifest means very little at this point."

"What do we do now? We can't leave here until we're certain, without a single doubt,
that Wendy's not in the airport somewhere. Maybe she just had to use the restroom.
Yes! That's it! I'm sure that's all there is to it." Suddenly I felt a sense of relief.
I was probably just overreacting because of the stress I was under. It could be nothing
more than the fact Wendy had drunk too many complimentary beverages on the flight.
"I'll check the ladies' room, you check the men's."

"What?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant to say while I check the ladies' restroom, you could look
around in other areas where she might have gone. We can meet back here in a half hour
or so."

"Okay. First I'll go to the ticket counter, in case she wandered off looking for us
and we somehow missed each other."

She wasn't in any of the restrooms in the terminal, at the ticket counter, or any
other place Stone or I searched for her. I'd called her cell phone number and left
another three or four messages, each sounding more hysterical than the previous ones.
I'd also tried Wendy's home number several more times and was still unable to reach
either her or Clay.

"Should I call the police?" I asked Stone.

"NYPD or Kansas City?"

"Kansas City, I guess. I'm sure now that she never boarded the plane."

"I doubt they'd do anything until she's been missing for at least twenty-four hours."

"Do you think Clay abducted her?" I asked.

"Why would you 'abduct' someone who is already with you?"

"I don't know," I said. I didn't know what to think at this point. I was too flustered
to think clearly. "Do you think he'll hurt her?"

"No, Lexie, I don't. I can't imagine Clay is that stupid or apt to act that carelessly.
You can only kill and assault so many wives before you start looking suspicious. My
guess is that Wendy chickened out, not wanting to upset her husband—who she, incidentally,
just discovered is not exactly the kind of man she believed him to be. Or Clay could
have pressured her not to get on the plane because he wants to keep her away from
the New York area, in the event she was to hear something about the Eliza Pitt case
while she was here."

"That makes sense." I was beginning to feel a little better about the situation. Stone's
rational thinking was starting to have a calming effect on me.

"I think you should try again to contact Wendy or Clay by phone while I go speak with
security. I'll give them my cell phone number. I want them to be able to get in touch
with us if necessary. I'll also have Wendy paged a couple times before we leave the
airport." Stone sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before continuing. "We
both need to calm down. Chances are we are getting upset over nothing."

"My guess is you'll get a phone call from her or reach her at her house this evening,
and it will turn out that Wendy is just fine. Try not to panic, Lexie. Going to pieces
now won't help the situation at all."

"Okay, you're right," I said. I knew Stone was trying to tell me I needed to pull
myself together for Wendy's sake. "Thank you for being here for me."

"I can't think of any place I'd rather be." Stone kissed me very briefly on the lips
and wrapped his arms around me as I cried quietly into the collar of his shirt. It
was the first time he'd kissed me that way, and it was a bittersweet moment. It was
one of the best, and one of the worst, moments of my life. I couldn't rest easy until
I heard my daughter's voice and knew she was safe. Then maybe I could take the time
to analyze the way I was beginning to feel about Stone.

Chapter 21

We took one last thorough look around the airport before Stone convinced me Wendy
wasn't there and we should head back to the Camelot B&B in Schenectady. Wendy might
be trying to get in touch with me at the inn, he reminded me. On our way toward the
exit, I removed Wendy's suitcase from the baggage turnstile and then walked out of
the terminal with it. Watching it circling aimlessly around on the belt by itself
had been causing my stomach to feel tied up in knots. I was surprised when no one
from security stopped to question me or insist I show my identification.

Stone had called for a taxi to pick us up at JFK and take us to the garage where my
Jeep had been towed and a new fan belt had been installed. We were soon on our way
out of the city. I worried that each mile Stone drove took me farther away from Wendy.

We rode back to the inn in near silence. Stone concentrated on driving, while I stared
out the window. I was too concerned about the welfare of my daughter to make idle
chatter, and yet I didn't want to voice my deepest fears. Stone seemed to understand
how I felt and didn't try to press me. He reached over and patted my knee to comfort
me.

When we finally pulled up in front of the Camelot B&B, I saw Harriet standing in the
yard looking up at the porch. She had a hand on each hip and a cigarette dangling
from her mouth. A cloud of smoke enveloped her like a swarm of hungry gnats.

On the front porch was one of the most attractive young men I'd ever seen. He reminded
me of a popular movie star often featured in magazines that I subscribed to. With
a brush in his hand, he was covering the railing and the spindles around the porch
with a fresh coat of white paint. He waved as we pulled up to the curb.

Stone laughed and said, "I guess it didn't take long for Andy to fall under Harriet's
spell."

Stone introduced me to his nephew. I liked Andy immediately. Although taller and slimmer
than his uncle, Andy favored Stone in other ways. They had matching smiles and similar
personalities. Andy was definitely a chip off Stone's block.

Andy finished painting the front porch while we unpacked our overnight bags. Then
we enticed Harriet to walk across the street to the diner with us, and the four of
us sat down to eat. We had decided to clue Harriet in on the current situation. It
didn't seem to bother her that we'd been deceiving her all along. If the police, Clay,
or Wendy called for us at the inn, we wanted Harriet to know why it was important
to get the message to us immediately. Harriet surprised me with some remarkably good
ideas as we all discussed how to proceed with the situation. I'd still been unable
to reach Wendy or Clay on the phone.

After dinner, Stone paid the tab for all four of us. I'd been too upset to eat anything,
so had nervously rearranged the food on my plate until it no longer resembled an appetizing
meal. It was late as we walked back across the street to the inn. It had been a long,
nerve-wracking day and I was worn out and emotionally drained, but still rattled.
I climbed into bed, later amazed I'd eventually managed to fall sleep.

* * *

Early the next morning, sitting on the back porch, Andy, Stone, and I sipped our "full-flavored"
coffee. We were all startled when Stone's cell phone rang. Andy's eyes met mine and
held as his uncle spoke into the phone.

"Stone Van Patten here." He listened a moment and nodded his head at Andy and me.

"Clay?" Stone asked. He paused to listen again. "Yes, I am a friend of your mother-in-law's.
That was Lexie using my phone to call you."

I could only hear Stone's side of the conversation, but I listened intently, hoping
to pick up clues as to what Clay was saying on the other end.

"We were to pick Wendy up at the airport yesterday, and she didn't come in on the
flight. Her luggage did, but she didn't. We arrived a bit late due to car trouble,
but we looked everywhere, and Wendy was nowhere to be found."

Stone stopped to listen again. I leaned closer but still couldn't understand Clay's
words. It was obvious Clay was as concerned as we were about why Wendy didn't exit
the plane at JFK airport.

"Yes—uh-huh—of course, Clay—I agree," Stone said.

Stone listened to Clay as a puzzled look crossed his face.

With a final, "Yes, I think that'd be a good idea," Stone replaced the phone on its
clip on his belt. He reached over and clasped my hand in his.

"What's up?" Andy asked.

"Clay saw my number on his caller ID numerous times and wondered who was trying so
hard to get in touch with him. He listened to the messages you left and called immediately.
He told me Wendy did indeed board the plane. She had told him he could go on home,
but he'd stayed until she had gotten on the plane, anyway, and he didn't leave until
after it had taxied over to the runway. I believe him."

"But then—" Suddenly I was unable to continue my thought.

"Yes. I know what you're thinking. Wendy couldn't have been abducted at thirty thousand
feet. Whatever occurred, it had to have been after she disembarked from the plane."

"What was Clay's reaction to the news that Wendy was missing?" Andy asked.

"Clay was alarmed and upset, but not overly shocked by the idea she could have been
abducted at this end from the JFK airport. He made a curious statement when I first
told him she hadn't been at the airport when we arrived a bit late."

"What'd he say?" Andy and I asked in unison.

"He said, 'Oh no, not again.' There was genuine agony in his voice too."

"Talking about Eliza, wasn't he?" I asked.

"Yes, I think so. I asked what he meant by his remark, and when Clay realized what
he'd said, he replied, 'Oh nothing. Never mind.' "

"What do you think now, Stone?"

"I believe him, Lexie. I really do. He seemed totally surprised and sincerely upset.
I don't think he's responsible for Wendy's disappearance. Perhaps someone in New York
has a personal vendetta against him."

"Why?"

"Who knows? Anyway, he's booking a flight and heading out here. I told him I thought
it was a good idea. I think there's a connection between Wendy's disappearance and
Eliza's abduction. We need to buckle down and see what we can find out from any and
every source today. The sooner we can find Wendy, the better. First thing I'll do
is call the NYPD to report the incident."