He leaned against the counter. “But why would she go to such lengths to hold on to this old place? Sentimental reasons? Or something else?”
Lauren shrugged. “I don’t know.”
She sounded frustrated and he didn’t blame her. “Let’s backtrack. What else did the doctor say?”
She closed her eyes, trying to remember. “He said Beth had been agitated ever since our visit.”
Just as Jason thought, her sister had reacted to their conversation. “And we discussed the Corwin Curse and the journal,” he said, naming the two things Beth had responded to. “And then she escaped. Because…”
“She wanted something.”
“The journal?”
Lauren sighed. “That might have been the impetus for her escape, but what about before? What was she sending Brody Pittman here to find?”
They stared at each other blankly, until something else niggled at the back of his mind. “Um, Lauren?”
“Yes?”
“If Beth is looking for something in this house, she will come back here.”
Lauren shivered. “The police aren’t sitting in their car anymore. They’re doing drive-bys.”
“I know.” Another reason Jason refused to go home.
Lauren shifted uncomfortably. “I still don’t think my sister would hurt me,” she said at last.
Jason, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure.
GABRIELLE HAD an impromptu book-signing and speaking engagement in Boston. She’d invited Amber and Mike and Jason and Lauren. Despite the awkwardness between Jason and Lauren, they’d agreed to go. For Gabrielle’s sake.
Lauren was excited. A night away from the house. A night on the town. An evening when she could wear fun, funky clothing, put her troubles behind her and just have a good time.
She’d even taken the morning off from working on the house to head over to the nearest mall for a quick shopping trip. She couldn’t drive to New York for her clothes, but she could afford a few purchases on her credit card, or so she told herself as justification.
No sooner had she walked into the house and placed her bags on the floor than the doorbell rang. She shrugged off her jacket, placing it on the coat stand, then looked through the peephole before opening the door to one of the local cops she’d met before.
“Ms. Perkins, may I come in?” the officer asked.
A chill rushed through Lauren as she nodded and stepped back to let him inside.
“What’s wrong? Did you find my sister?” she asked, visions of a shoot-out running through her mind.
“What’s going on?” Jason asked, striding up to her side.
He acknowledged the cop with a nod of his head.
“He was just about to tell me.” Lauren swallowed hard, unable to keep the tremor from her voice.
Jason placed his hand on her shoulder and she appreciated the support.
The officer took off his hat and tucked the cap beneath his arm. “No, ma’am. We haven’t located your sister but we did have a report of a sighting.”
Lauren’s heart pounded hard in her chest.
“Where?” Jason asked.
“There was a convenience store robbery across state lines in Rhode Island. The suspects fit the description of your sister and her accomplice. Witnesses claim they took off in a southwesterly direction. Away from here.”