Nowhere to Hide by Neil Turner

Author:Neil Turner [Turner, Neil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-15T16:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-FOUR

Tony

I took Pat home after the call from Dallas; she was too shaken to drive. Once there, we started thinking. If not Calgary or Pat’s house, Kevin’s most likely destination is probably Liberty Street. When a call to Brittany went unanswered, I hopped back in my car and raced home.

The house is dark and quiet when I arrive at ten thirty-five. Brittany’s Camry should be here already but isn’t. I hop out of the car and hurry inside. Plenty of doggie greetings, but no sign of my daughter. Another call to her goes straight to voicemail, another text goes unanswered.

I put the dogs out in the backyard, then conduct a room by room search of the house. No fugitives are tucked under the stairs or anywhere else. As I let the dogs back inside, my gaze strays to the seldom-used detached garage at the back of the yard. It opens off the alley, so it would be easy to sneak into—a great place to stash a secret guest. Deano and Dolly dog my heels as I conduct a thorough search of the garage. No Kevin there, either. I call Pat after we’re back in the house.

“Has Brittany heard from Kevin?” she asks anxiously.

“Britts isn’t here."

“Where is she?”

“No idea. She’s not answering her phone.”

“Text?”

“Nothing doing with that either.” I’m starting to worry. It’s out of character for her to be this late.

“Do you think they’re together, Tony?”

“I don’t know what to think. I hope not.” I don’t want my daughter mixed up in this mess.

“At least then he’d be somewhere safe,” she says.

That’s far from a sure thing.

“Don’t you think?” she asks.

“Probably true.”

A sweep of headlights lights up the living room. I walk to the picture window and peer outside. Brittany’s brake lights flash before the car doors swings open and she climbs out.

“She’s home,” I tell Pat.

“Alone?”

I watch Brittany haul her guitar case out of the backseat, click her key fob to lock the car, then turn to the house.

“She’s alone.”

Pat sighs. “Okay. She might know something. Call me when you know.”

“Hey, Pops,” Brittany says as she hip checks the front door closed and sets her guitar case down.

“Where have you been?”

My tone, harsher than I intended, draws a surprised look.

Brittany plants her fists on her hips. “I’m what, thirty minutes late? You know where I’ve been and who I was with.”

“Nowhere else? No unexpected visitors?”

“It was just me, Jocelyn, Poppy, Sara, and Ashley. We visited for a bit after practice.”

“You didn’t answer your phone or reply to my texts.”

She digs her phone out of her purse and checks. “Missed them, I guess.”

I watch her carefully, looking for any sign of deception.

“What’s your problem?” she asks.

How did I turn this into a confrontation? I wonder as she squats to accept dog kisses. I must be more unnerved than I realized.

“I’m sorry,” I say contritely. Then I tell her about Kevin.

Abandoning the dogs mid-hug, Brittany pops up. "Nobody knows where he is?”

“Not that we know of.”

“Is he coming to Chicago, Dad?”

“We don’t know.

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