Page 10 of Secrets Bared
In Hawthorn Hills, PA. Haven Bed and Breakfast. Will call with new number.
A series of emails marked urgent caught her eye after it sent. Her stomach dropped and her skin broke out into a cold sweat.
From: Callahan, Sean
Subject: I just want to talk
Subject: Where are you?
Subject: Come home, I can do better
Maggie forwarded them to Alex without reading them. He wasn’t supposed to contact her, but she couldn’t remember if that stretched to email or not. Her brain was a bit fuzzy with everything going on. Ugh, she needed to do something else or she’d never sleep. Jess had wanted her to contact her once she settled somewhere. Maggie navigated to the messaging board she used to communicate with Jess.
RedHeadedNotStepChild: Jess? I’ve landed in Hawthorn Hills, PA. Have you had any issues?
QuiltingFiend: Maggie! Oh my gosh I’m so glad to hear from you. No, I haven’t had any problems.
QuiltingFiend: Do you still have my number?
RedHeadedNotStepChild: No, I forgot to write it down before I left.
Jess typed her number into the chat, and Maggie immediately added it to her phone, switching to texts.
Maggie: This is my new number for now. It’s a burner.
Jess: Great! There’s been some talk around the forums about a phishing scam. I don’t think anything’s been breached but you can never be too careful. Tell me everything.
They chatted for hours until Maggie finally fell asleep after midnight, sleeping like the dead. It seemed like her body was finally starting to understand that Sean wasn’t here. She was safe.
Chapter 3
FBIagentLukeGrahamleaned his head to one side until his stiff neck cracked, then repeated it on the other side. His latest case had taken all his headspace for months, but now it was finally over. Going undercover in a human trafficking organization would be enough to make God himself lose faith in humanity. The only bright spot was the two civilians that had been undercover to take it down with him. Not that they’d known he was on their side. When Jon Hunt admitted they’d thought about throwing him overboard with the other syndicate thug, he’d laughed. “I would have done the same thing,” he told him with a handshake. Then he tipped an imaginary hat to Violet, Jon’s girlfriend and the investigative reporter that had gotten Jon into that mess. “Thanks for not tossing me in the Atlantic in winter.”
She’d smiled at that, her masculine disguise left behind after the raid Luke’s supervisor, Ross, had organized.
The three of them had exchanged numbers, promising to keep in touch. That was before Luke picked up his mail and found his mother’s letter. Aaron, his younger brother, had been acting out.That wasn’t entirely new; anger had been Aaron’s main emotion after their dad passed away. As an eight-year-old, it had been manageable for their mom. But now he was eighteen and Mom was at her wits’ end. She’d written asking him to come home, knowing he was out of contact and she couldn’t reach him by phone. That’s why he was in the office across a desk from his supervisor, Ross.
“You’ve certainly earned the break, Graham. Are you sure you want to waste your paid leave, though? You know I won’t put you on a case for a while.”
“It’s not like I use it for anything,” Luke reminded him. He’d been a workaholic for years. “But I don’t want there to be any question if something comes up. I need to take care of some things back home.”
“I understand. Let me know before the end of the month if you need more time, okay? I know this case was hard on you.”
Luke could never scrub away the horrors he’d witnessed. But he was used to it at this point. He dealt with the dregs of humanity so upstanding citizens like his mom and brother didn’t have to.
“Thanks, boss.” He shook Ross’s hand over the desk and headed out. He’d packed his suitcase with anything and everything he could need over the next month, ready to head back to Hawthorn Hills once he’d finished the paperwork.
Driving home to Pennsylvania from Maryland gave him a lot of time to think. He’d read Mom’s letter so often that he had it memorized.
My dearest Luke,
I know I can’t reach you by phone and I have no idea when you’ll get this letter. But Aaron is acting strange and I don’t know what to do. Ever since your father died, he’s been acting out, but now that he’s out of school it’s gotten so much worse. He’s out at all hours of the night, he sleeps all day, and he won’t tell me where he’s going, what he’s doing, or who he’s with. I know he’s eighteen now and an adult, but a mother worries. He refuses to get a job, but he’s buying video games and fancy watches. Where is he getting the money? Nothing of mine has gone missing. I suppose I should be grateful that he’s earning it somehow, but I don’t believe it’s legitimate. And the way he talks to me! Your father would have beaten him, but I don’t have the heart.
There’s been talk around town of kids overdosing on drugs. Just last week Suzy’s Michael had to go to the hospital and while Suzy refuses to talk about it, the word is he got high on something. Some people say it was crack cocaine and some say it was heroin. You don’t think Aaron is involved in drugs, do you? Not my sweet boy. Although ever since Dad died, he hasn’t been all that sweet.
When you get done with your assignment, please call me. Maybe you could come home for a visit? Aaron could use a positive male influence around here for a bit.
Stay safe.
