The granddaughter of the woman who made your life hell goes missing then asks for your help. What do you do?
The granddaughter of the woman who made your life hell goes missing then asks for your help. What do you do?
When journalist Audrey Lord is asked by her longtime nemesis, Sharon Miller, to help find her kidnapped granddaughter, she’s stunned and deeply wary. Two decades ago, Sharon ran Audrey out of Bennington. Helping her now feels unthinkable.
But a child is missing, and the clock is ticking.
Most abductions involve someone close to home but the Millers have enemies. Plenty of them. Old feuds, buried secrets, and bitter rivalries mean the list of suspects is long. Even Audrey has a motive.
As she’s pulled deeper into Sharon’s murky world, Audrey doesn’t know who to trust. Is Sharon a grieving grandmother or a master manipulator playing one last game?
Chapter 1
Day 1, Monday
Six-year-old Rylee Miller left the school grounds with her friends. The parents called it the walking bus. It was a silly name because it didn’t have wheels. Sophie’s house was first, then Cara’s, and then Alice’s house. After Alice’s, Rylee walked to the corner alone before turning into her street, where Nana Miller waited at the gate to watch her for the last leg home. A few moments of quiet between the noise of school, the chatter of her friends, and the chaos of home. Her favourite part of the day.
“Come on, Rylee.”
Alice was always in a hurry to have afternoon tea with her dad since he had started working from home. Rylee’s dad didn’t live with them, but other dads lived somewhere else. But not even listening to Alice go on about all the fun things they would do that night would make her sad today. Mrs Tomlins had told her she was an excellent reader. She thought she was the best reader in class, but this made it true. The new book was in her school bag. She couldn’t wait to tell Nana Miller and show it to her.
Rylee ran, her legs pumping as she tried to keep up with her friends. Her blonde hair flew behind her, and her wide eyes were bright with excitement as she rushed forward. She always had to try harder. No one would read to her every night like Alice or Cara’s parents. Her mother was too tired to last more than a few minutes. Nana Miller was always folding washing or cooking and found her books boring. But she had to practice so she wouldn’t be left behind.
The idea came to her while Nana Miller was flicking through one of her celebrity magazines: Rylee could read to her while she made dinner. Rylee would read while Nana Miller cooked and corrected the words she didn’t know. It worked. She learned where Botswana was. How a prenuptial agreement worked. Who fell in love, often on an island. Who suffered in the media spotlight, which happened a lot to help sell magazines. Each time Rylee stumbled, Nana Miller corrected her. They fell into a rhythm of practicing each night, and now Rylee was officially the best reader in class.
Rylee said goodbye to her friends one by one. Sophie’s mum stood at the door with the baby on her hip, always hurrying her inside. Cara let herself in because her mother worked the night shift and was asleep, and her dad didn’t arrive home until later. When they arrived at Alice’s, her dad stood outside on the phone, vaping. He wore a business shirt and track pants most days because only the top half of him could be seen online. Alice ran towards her father, who hugged her as she passed him and disappeared inside.
The houses between Alice’s and the corner looked the same. Brick. Small lawn. Concrete driveway. Some were tidier than others. As usual, the street was empty. The people who worked in other places weren’t home yet. She stopped outside a house where a beagle was sleeping in the window. Rylee watched its belly rise and fall with each breath. Its fur was soft and white, with a few flecks of grey around its muzzle. Its eyes were closed in peaceful slumber. She smiled, comforted by the sight.
A man’s voice said, “I like dogs.”
Rylee turned towards the man. His face was gentle and kind, with a twinkle in his warm brown eyes. There were slight wrinkles around his eyes that crinkled when he smiled. Nana Miller had told her never to talk to strangers, but he seemed nice, and he liked dogs.
She smiled. “Me too.”
“Do you have a dog?” the man asked.
Last Christmas she had asked for a dog, and the one before, but it never came. Nana Miller told her she could get one when she was older and walk it herself, but no one would tell her how old she needed to be. She wanted a dog so bad. She shook her head.
“Oh, that’s a pity. We got our son a puppy.”
Why did everyone have a dog except her? It was so unfair.
“When I’m bigger, I can get one.”
The man studied the beagle. “He looks so peaceful.”
“He sleeps like that every day.”
The man kept looking at the dog. “I wonder how much sleep he gets every day. Probably more than you and I.”
How much did old dogs sleep? They could check. Nana Miller had told her to do that so that the next time someone asked, she would be the one who knew. Nana Miller said it was how she got to be so smart.
The man took out his phone. “I’ve got a photo of our dog, if you’d like to see it.”
The man took out his phone and scrolled through lots of photos before showing her one of his puppy. It was jet-black, with big, soulful eyes.
“That’s Sam. He’s a Labrador. He chews a lot, but he has a kind heart.”
Rylee watched the dog. She had an idea. Would Nana Miller let her have a dog now that she was the best reader in class? Nana Miller had taught her how to ask for things the right way so grown-ups would say yes.
“He’s in my car, if you’d like to pat him.”
Oh, how she wanted to pat him. But Nana Miller had also told her not to go near strange cars. Someone might lock her inside and take her away. But bad people didn’t carry around a puppy. No harm in having a look. She turned and followed the man.