AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had no idea what Grant could do, but I was glad he was on his way.
* * *
I wanted to kill the man who had taken Autumn. The fact there was blood in the house meant she might be hurt already. I had to believe she was going to be all right because I needed to tell her I loved her. Dorothy sent a text to say the police were looking into the UK connection.
The day wore on into evening, and I kept driving. At one point, I felt as if I was going to drive off the road and pulled over to have a quick nap. Not long later and I was on my way again. I sent a message to Dorothy to say I would be back between nine and ten.
I stopped to eat and bought Bluey a tin of dog food and let him have a bit of a runaround. I ate the burger, but it sat like a stone in my stomach. How could I be sitting here eating if she was in trouble, or worse? No. I would not think that. Bluey was next to me, and he put his head on my lap. My dog glanced up with soulful eyes.
“I know, boy. I’ve been a fool, but we’re not going to lose her. When we find her, we are going to hold her tight and not let go.” I finished my food and we headed off again. I was on the home stretch. A couple more hours and we would be there.
* * *
The sight of Autumn’s car parked out the front of the cottage seemed so wrong when she wasn’t there. I headed over to Dorothy’s to see if she had any more news. I was tired, but now I was back, I had to do something, anything. Trying to sleep at a time like this was impossible. I knocked and Dorothy came out and hugged me.
“I thought I should come and see you before I went to the cottages. Are we allowed to go in?”
“I don’t think so. The police have put up tape like they do in the movies. The one I spoke to said they would be back to collect more evidence.”
“I need to do something. Will you come back to my place? I’ll go mad on my own and thinking the worst.”
“Of course, I will. To be honest I feel the same.”
The two of us walked across the street with Bluey straggling behind. My blood ran cold as I pushed open my front door. I sat on my couch, and Dorothy perched beside me. I had never felt so helpless in my life. Tears welled in my eyes, but I didn’t do the crying thing. Like many men, I didn’t show my feelings, but now after years of keeping them down, they were bubbling up to the surface.
Dorothy gripped my hand. When I glanced at her, she shook her head. “You love her, don’t you?”
“Yep, and I’ve been a bloody fool not telling her when I had the chance.”
“I’ve seen the same look in her eyes. I don’t know how it happened, but these old rundown cottages brought two lost souls together. Don’t give up yet.”
“But what can I do?” I shook my head. “I called her friend, Grant, and he’s on his way from America. He said he would be here by tomorrow lunchtime.”
“That’s good. She would want him here. If we’re not going to give up, you have to remember anything she said about this Kevin Patterson?”
Dorothy was right. Sitting here moping was not going to solve anything. I tried to think back to the conversations Autumn and I had about him.
“She didn’t like talking about her past much. When I asked stuff, she clammed up.”
“That makes two of you. Trying to get anything out of you is like finding rain in the desert. I knew both of you were shaking the bedhead, but she wouldn’t say a thing. Acted like you just came around for a cup of tea.”
I laughed. “I can’t believe you just said that. Thanks for making me smile.”
“Think about anything she may have told you that could be a clue to helping us find her.”
“A while back, she mentioned that this Kevin had sent her some emails. It messed with her head. He even sent pictures of retreats and holiday homes they could go to together. Like I mentioned before, she informed the police back in the UK and they blocked him. I thought that was the end of it.”
I ran my hands through my hair racking my brain to recall anything else. “He found out she had come to Australia, but he didn’t know where she was. She thought the cops back there had dealt with it.” I wasn’t sure how any of this could help.
“Maybe he has taken her to one of those homes you saw. Can you remember where any of them were? We could let the police know.”
“They were all over the country. But now I come to think of it, there was one in the Blue Mountains.”
I found my computer. The battery was flat, but I plugged it in and sat at the kitchen table with Dorothy next to me. I started to go through websites showing all the holiday homes in the area. There were so many it would take hours to find it.
My stomach turned at the thought Autumn had coped with this man on her own in London. I had made her a promise that I would protect her, and now I was making one that I would stop this sick individual from hurting her as well.
“It’s crazy. He was violating the restraining order by contacting her. She thought the cops were going to have him put in jail,” Ryan said.
