Love Inspired Suspense December 2015, Box Set 2 of 2 Read Free Page A

refrigerator. If someone had been looking for something, they probably found it, but Aunt Betty had little in the way of money. Rachel noticed the television was still in place as well as the small appliances. There was a walk-in pantry near the arctic entry at the back. The wooden floors were littered with flour, sugar, cereal. She would disturb the kitchen if she walked across it. Instead, she’d check the rest of the house first. By then, she hoped that Jake had arrived, and he would know how to proceed.
    She walked several feet into her aunt’s bedroom before she couldn’t go any farther because of the mess on the floor, but from that point she could look into the open closet. No Aunt Betty.
    A sound from the living room sent a wave of panic through her. It was probably Jake, but just in case, she flattened herself behind the open door.
    â€œRachel, where are you?”
    Jake’s deep baritone voice pushed the panic away, and she came out from behind the bedroom door. “I’m in Aunt Betty’s bedroom.”
    â€œI should have known you wouldn’t listen to me,” Jake mumbled as he came into the short hallway.
    â€œYou brought Mitch.” Rachel knelt next to the leashed German shepherd and petted him. “He looks good.”
    â€œI thought if we needed to search for your aunt he could help. He loves tracking. Have you found anything?”
    â€œA mess, as you can see for yourself, but no sign of Aunt Betty. I haven’t looked in the bathroom or the second bedroom, though.”
    â€œI’ll check them and then we’ll wait for the police. You stay here with Mitch. This will only take a minute.” After handing her the German shepherd’s leash, Jake walked toward the open bathroom door and peered inside. “The same thing here but no Betty.”
    The door to the second bedroom was ajar but not open. Jake shouldered his way into the room but stayed by the entrance. “She must not be here. Could she have gone somewhere with anyone?”
    â€œMaybe. I suppose she could have fled when she saw the chaos, but she most likely would have contacted her sister or me.”
    â€œHave you called Linda?”
    â€œNo, I didn’t want to alarm her if I didn’t have to. If anything happened to Aunt Betty, we would be devastated.” Like when Jake had left Port Aurora years ago. His departure had stunned her, as if he’d taken part of her with him. She cared about the town and its people, but her family and Jake had been the most important people in her life. “I’ll call her, then we can stay inside by the front door.”
    While Rachel placed a call to Aunt Linda, Jake picked his way through the mess in the living room to look into the kitchen. When she answered, Rachel said, “I’m at Aunt Betty’s house. Her car is here, but she isn’t. She was upset today, and I wanted to make sure she was all right. Do you know anything?”
    â€œWell, that explains the weird message from her at lunchtime. I was waiting until she got home to call her. Her car is there?”
    â€œYes, where she parks it in the shed.” Rachel glanced at the chaos and hated to tell Aunt Linda, but she continued. “Someone tore her house apart as though they were looking for something. For all I know, they could have found it.”
    Her aunt gasped. “I’ll be right there.”
    â€œNo, stay put. The police are on the way. What did the message say?”
    â€œThat she should never have taken those pictures.”
    â€œWhat pictures?” Rachel asked as Jake returned to her side.
    â€œI’m not sure. You know how she’s always snapping pictures. She was excited about some new project and was going to show us this weekend. She told me one day the town might want to even display the photos.”
    Maybe that had been what she’d wanted to talk to Rachel about. But then if that were the case, why had someone