more human. More approachable. More rocks tumbled from the castle walls. “Tawny was . . . is . . . beautiful. She’s more than beautiful. But she always seemed to attract the wrong sorts. Could never seem to lose them.”
“My brother was smitten when he met her,” Rae said, “and she married him. He’s not the wrong sort, so I hope you can find comfort in knowing that.”
“But she’s gone now. The husband is usually a suspect.”
“I don’t believe for a moment he’s involved, but if he is, the police will know soon enough. That said, I’ve seen enough victims who never got justice. Enough unsolved crimes to know that law enforcement can’t be everywhere. Police detectives, investigators, special agents, the lot of them, they can’t solve every crime. Millions of crimes happen every year, many of them violent. So, here I am. I’m doing what I can to help. It can’t hurt, can it? Zoey could be running out of time.”
“All right. Okay. I’m convinced you have the right skills. You definitely sound like a reporter. I was already considering hiring a private investigator for all the reasons you mentioned. Tawny needs all the help she can get.” Sam swiveled the chair to the side so she could turn her head to the view. She gazed at the expanse for a few moments, then said, “Tawny grew up in this business. She learned everything, including how to guide tourists as well as how to keep the books. For some reason I will never understand, she was more drawn to computers than the scenery. I put her on the payroll in high school to manage the finances and develop our website. She attended a community college for a year here before . . .”
Sam frowned as if emotion would get the best of her, then she quickly composed herself. “She was the smartest among us. She takes after her father in that regard, except he loved the outdoors and had no interest in technology. He founded the business thirty-five years ago. He was a thrill seeker. Loved the adventure of it all and wanted to share that with the world. He died in an avalanche before she was born.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Sam shrugged. “She was surrounded by father figures. And I won’t lie, a couple of stepfathers too. But a man became obsessed with her. He was one of our clients, actually. She couldn’t get him to leave her alone.”
“And did you tell the police?”
“Of course. What could they do? Nothing, really. Not until he actually hurt her, and then a spoiled wealthy type would lawyer up and make it all go away. Tawny left with my blessing. I had hoped that she wouldn’t be gone long. That she would come back. That we would keep in touch.” Sam’s eyes teared up. “Sometimes I’ve regretted telling her to disappear. Sometimes I wish . . . I wish I would have hired a hit man to get rid of him. It just isn’t right that she should have to lose so much. That I should have to lose her because he wanted something, someone he couldn’t have.”
The woman’s passion and emotion washed over Rae in waves. She felt her pain to her core. There was a story there too. A way to make a difference.
Sam’s eyes took on a distant look.
“What’s the stalker’s name?” Rae asked.
“Simon Astor.”
Rae committed that name to memory. She could find him after she left Sam. Find him and also find out if the police were looking at him—he could have taken Zoey.
Was it a stretch to think that Zoey had been taken by this Simon guy five years ago when she disappeared the first time? She’d left her home because of a stalker. Changed her name, the works. What if he’d found her again? After all, it had been easy enough to find Sam’s name on Zoey’s birth certificate. Astor could’ve had a resource like Reggie at his fingertips and found her if he’d wanted. Then, because he was obsessed, he abducted her.
“Is there anything else you can tell me?” she asked.
“I’ve told you everything.” Sam rose from the chair and moved to stare out her window again.
Rae empathized with her. She could understand the woman drew strength from the scenery. But she also sensed that Sam was lying—she hadn’t told Rae everything and was intentionally holding back.
Rae grabbed a pen and paper from her bag. She had everything except a business card inside, of course! “If