The Chosen Read online

  Chapter 2 - Chief Collins

  As Erika closed the folder on the missing teenager case, her phone rang. She picked it up and checked the caller ID. It was her husband, Rick.

  “Hey,” she answered unenthusiastically. “What’s up?”

  “Don’t you sound glum? Did you lose your best friend?”

  “You’re my best friend, silly.” She cracked a small smile. “No, it’s just this case. It’s eating me up that I can’t get a single beat on it. How a girl could just up and disappear . . .”

  It reminded her of the Alexis McGregor case a couple years back. But they’d found that girl, alive and well. And this girl, she was a teenager, not a seven-year-old helpless child.

  “The Ferris case?”

  “Yes. She’s been gone over three months, now. And we haven’t uncovered a single clue as to her whereabouts. I feel so incompetent.”

  “You couldn’t get a location on her cell phone?”

  “No. Her mom swore she had it with her, but if she does, it’s either dead or turned off.”

  “What else have you tried?”

  Rick was a deputy with the county and was good at analyzing stuff from all angles, so she didn’t mind talking it through with him, but this time, there was just nothing to go on.

  “We got nothing, Rick. The girl walked out of her mother’s house three months ago and was never seen again. I’m starting to wonder if maybe the aliens actually did abduct her.”

  “Don’t you go listening to Dotty. You know she’s as nutty as a fruitcake.”

  Erika chuckled. He’d gotten that right. Dotty was a lonely old lady who called in several times a week with her random sightings of aliens, vampires, and most recently she’d spotted a gremlin in her garbage can. Of course, by the time they’d gotten there, the thing had disappeared.

  Still, there was no telling the lady that it was most likely just a mouse and no, soaking it with water would not make it repopulate and take over the earth. Still, it seemed alien abduction was the only viable option.

  “Well, where is she, then? People don’t just disappear.”

  “Now, honey, you know as well as I do, if a person doesn’t want to be found, they won’t be. And she’s a teenager. She’s stuck in that ‘I think I know everything’ stage of life. Odds are she will get tired of adulting soon enough and come back home.”

  “What if she’s not, though? What if she’s in trouble? Like maybe some crazed maniac has her stuffed down in the basement of his home in the middle of the desert and is having his way with her or something. It’s my job to —” She sighed.

  She was acting unreasonably. She just got too emotional in cases dealing with kids.

  “To what? Save the world? Honey, I hate to tell you this, but you are no Superman.”

  “Not even Clark Kent?” Her old self was coming back.

  “Now I don’t know about that. I’ll have to see how you look in black-rimmed glasses, first.”

  Erika giggled. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

  “Wait . . . what is this all about? Don’t tell me you’re canceling our trip . . . again.”

  “Rick, a girl is missing. How can I leave now?”

  “Hon-eeeey,” he cried. “We’ve been planning this trip for months. You’re the Chief of Police. There will never be a good time to leave.”

  “I know. I know. We’ll reschedule. As soon as we find the girl. I promise.”

  Rick sighed. “Okay, but our tickets to Out of Africa will be no good.”

  “I’ll buy us new ones. I know how much you’re looking forward to feeding the giraffes a carrot straight from your mouth.”

  “No way you're getting me to do that!” Rick chuckled. “I’m not getting that close to a giraffe ever again.”

  Rick had confided a humorous story of when he was eight. He and his family had been on one of the tour buses at the wildlife park, and his father had told him to put a carrot in his mouth, and the giraffe would give him a kiss.

  Excited, and not knowing just how long the tongue of a giraffe was, he did as his father advised. The giraffe came toward the bus to feast on the many treats hanging out the window and Rick proceeded to put the carrot in his mouth and his face out the window.

  As soon as that twenty-inch tongue slipped out, Rick had screamed his head off, jumped a mile high, banged his head on the roof of the bus, and scared the giraffe so severely it ran away. Ever since he’d told her that story, she’d enjoyed teasing him about it.

  “Okay, no giraffes then. But you really should get over your fear.”

  Rick chuckled.

  It had been a year since she and Rick had tied the knot, and they still hadn’t made it to Sedona for their honeymoon. They’d been on their way just after the wedding when Officer Tanner called her in a panic, stating one of the local girls had been attacked, for the second time, by an estranged psychopath they’d assumed was dead. They’d rushed back only to find out that the man had been killed by the young girl, and the altercation was over. Still, she hadn’t the heart to leave. The young girl, Ava, had been her daughter’s best friend, and she was not prepared to leave her daughter, grown or not, home alone to deal with the situation.

  But with her daughter, Desiree, off to the police academy, she and Rick had finally planned their getaway. The cabin was paid for, and Rick had taken his two weeks off from the Sheriff’s department and planned out each and every detail. A day at the Grand Canyon, another in Jerome — the ghost city on a hill, and to end with a ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad.

  Erika just couldn’t seem to bring herself to leave with the unsolved case of the missing seventeen-year-old.

  Go figure. Not a thing had happened all year. At least not anything that Tanner and the rest of her guys couldn’t handle. And of course, as soon as she made plans, the entire town decided to fall apart.

  “Let me get back to work, babe,” she said. “Maybe I can find this girl by the end of the month, and we can still make our plans on time.”

  “Alright, honey. Get on it. Lemme know if you need any help.”

  Erika said her goodbyes and hung up the phone. Life with Rick had been so different than anything she’d ever known. After years of dealing with her cheating ex-husband, she had not expected it to be so stress-free and . . . fun. And with her baby girl off to the academy, Rick helped to ease her maternal worries.

  Yes, things were definitely going well. At least up until about three months ago when one of the local teenagers had gone missing. Rick was right about one thing. She couldn’t save the world. But wasn’t it her job to try? Maybe not the world as a whole but at least her small slice of it?

  “Chief,” Officer Tanner peeked his head in her doorway, and she glanced up. “Linda Ferris is here to see you.”

  Erika sighed. What was she going to tell the lady? She had nothing. Not a single clue.

  “Send her in."

  Chapter 3 - Rachel

  Rachel paced her father’s barn as she waited to see if Jacob would show. Her instincts told her to run. But she had nowhere to go. An empty feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Would he show? She eyed the barn door as her heart thumped in her chest.

  She’d spoken to him earlier in the day. It hadn’t been easy, but she’d managed to convey to him the urgency of her need to speak to him in private. He hadn’t confirmed he would come, but she hoped he would. If he didn’t, she wasn’t sure what she would do.

  As she stared around the barn, she thought about how many times she’d met him in that exact place. This time it would not be the romantic encounter they’d had on numerous occasions before. No, this time she had news to give him, and he wasn’t going to like it.

  At thirteen years of age, Rachel had managed to complicate her life more than ever. And there was no way to rectify the situation.

  She stared at the place she and Jacob had last lain. The two of them, alone. It had been months ago, but she remembered. She would never forget. Up until that day, they had only
kissed. But she loved him. And he’d said he loved her too. One thing had led to another, and before she knew it, they were pawing all over each other. And now . . .

  Barely audible footsteps sounded behind the barn. A horse whinnied.

  “Is that you?” she whispered, not willing to say his name aloud.

  If it wasn’t him, she’d be in big trouble. She held her breath and waited.

  A shadow appeared in the doorway, and then a figure. She released her breath with a whoosh. It was him.

  “Oh, Jacob. I am so pleased you came.” She rushed to him, but as she reached him, his body tensed.

  “We should not be here right now,” he hissed into the darkness as he stepped further inside the outbuilding. “It is too dangerous. Someone might catch us out here alone.”

  “We need to speak,” Rachel whispered back as she held up the dim, almost fully spent candle she’d brought with her. “You have been disregarding me for months. Ever since—” She stopped, not willing to speak their indiscretion out loud.

  “I have not been disregarding you.” Jacob glanced around. “At least not on purpose. My Father has been asking questions. I think he suspects . . . If he finds out I am here—”

  “Jacob, I think I am . . . with child.”

  “What are you saying?” He stared at her as if she were speaking a foreign language.

  “My cycle . . . it is late.” Rachel swallowed the thick lump that formed in her throat. “Three months.”

  “What does that mean? Your cycle?” One eyebrow raised so high it almost disappeared into his hat.

  Of course, he wouldn’t know. Girls didn’t dare speak of female issues in mixed company. It was hardly spoken of at all. The older girls were expected to teach the younger ones when that time of the month came. Never was it to be mentioned in front of boys.

  “Jacob, it means ―” She didn’t want to say it. Why did she have to say it? “I do not . . . my cycle . . . I am . . . with child.” She couldn’t bear to speak about something so personal as a menstrual cycle with him. “It is what happens when a girl is with child . . . she stops . . . having her cycle.”

  “I do not understand. How could you be . . . Rachel, how?”

  Rachel struggled to keep the tears from falling. She’d never thought she’d be discussing this subject with Jacob . . . or any boy, for that matter. But the truth could be avoided no longer. Her stomach had already hardened, and a small bump protruded from her abdomen. “That is what can happen when you . . . are intimate.”

  She leaned against the rail as a horse whinnied. Had he really not known where babies came from? What did they teach them at that school they attended?

  “Are you certain?" Jacob's voice became shaky. He rubbed the back of his neck. "What are we going to do?”

  “I am certain. It has been three months. And I—”

  Absently, she placed a hand to her stomach. Her dress hid the small protrusion, but it wouldn’t be long before she was as big as Mama Anna, who was due any day now.

  “What are we going to do?” he repeated.

  “I do not know. What will they do when they find out? I will not be able to hide it for much longer.”

  As if to prove her assertion, a small wave fluttered from inside. It couldn’t be the baby. It was too soon.

  The barn door creaked. Jacob jerked around to see what it was. A shadow shifted in the slight triangle of light emitted by the moon. A chill crossed over Rachel. Someone was there. Who was it, and how much had they heard? As quick as it was there, it disappeared.

  Jacob turned back to her. An all-consuming fear flooded his face. “I must go. If anyone knows I am here, we shall both surely be in danger.”

  “Jacob, we already are,” she pleaded. “You have to tell me what to do.”

  “I shall return.” He gave her a peck on the cheek. “I must leave for now, before we are discovered together.”

  Tears rushed to her eyes as her only hope turned away and walked out of the barn. Nothing would ever be the same again. It wouldn’t be long now before everyone would know.

  Chapter 4 – Linda

  “It’s been three months! And you are telling me you have not one single lead?” Linda Ferris said as she stood in the office of Chief of Police, Erika Collins.

  Though offered, she refused to take a seat. Her body trembled with the idea of what could be happening to her daughter at that moment.

  “Mrs. Ferris, I understand your frustration.” Chief Collins leaned forward in her chair and folded her hands on the desk. “Believe me, I do.”

  “Frustration? Frustration?” Linda’s emotions whirled at the sheer audacity of the woman sitting in front of her. “Does this look like the face of someone who is merely frustrated? My daughter has disappeared into thin air, and no one seems to know where she is. Believe me, frustrated doesn’t begin to describe what I am feeling right now.”

  “I understand.” The woman leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest.

  Chief Collins didn’t seem affected in the least that Linda’s daughter was missing and that only served to anger her more. It didn’t matter one bit, that she was standing before the Chief of Police.

  “I don’t want your understanding. I want my daughter back.” Linda placed her hands on the woman’s desk and leaned in. “What are you doing to find her?”

  Chief Collins leaned in also, as if proving she had no intention of backing down. “Look, Mrs. Ferris, we’ve been searching for months. No one has seen her. Your daughter seems to have fallen off the grid. I’ve had every officer I can spare looking into it.” She sighed and leaned back. “It would have been much easier if you’d have reported your daughter missing right away.”

  Linda fell back into the seat behind her. All the fight drained out of her like an untied balloon. Why hadn’t she contacted them sooner? Why had she waited a whole week to call the police?

  “I know. I should have. But I—” She rocked slightly in her chair, as the weight of her pain pulsated through every ounce of her body. She’d made a huge mistake. “I thought she would come home. She’s done this so many times before. She’d stomp away angry, stay at a friend’s for a couple of days, and then come home.” Linda let out a deep sigh. “She always came home.”

  But this time . . . She didn’t.

  Where is she? She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.

  “I know.” The chief reached across the desk and patted her hand. “And believe me, I do understand. I barely made it through the teenage years of raising my own daughter. It’s a tough time. For them and us.” She drew her hand away gently and leaned back in her chair. “I want to assure you that we are not letting this go. Right now, things are quiet, and we have the manpower to devote some extra time into finding your daughter.”

  And what happens when something else comes up? Will you still devote time to my daughter?

  She was irrational. Chief Collins was doing the best she could, with what little information they had. Linda was just so worried. All of the anger inside of her exploded into a gush of trembling nausea. Would she ever see her daughter again?

  “She’s never been gone this long.” She sobbed uncontrollably. “Never.”

  Her shoulders trembled with the weight of the world. What if her child was hurt, or . . . she didn’t dare think about it.

  “I know. I’m sorry. I assure you we’re doing everything we can to bring your daughter home.”

  As considerate as Chief Collins was, her assurances fell on deaf ears. The truth was, they had not one clue where to find Linda's daughter. No one had reported seeing a girl fitting Luna’s description anywhere. Not even her friends had seen her. She’d literally fallen off the face of the earth.

  “Thank you, chief.” She rose from her seat, shook the woman’s hand, and walked out of the office.

  The weight of the woman’s stare followed her to the door. Linda glanced back and imparted a partial smile to the Chief of Police. It wasn’t her fault Luna was missing. She wa
s doing her best. Linda just didn’t know if her best would be good enough.

  Heading out to the parking lot, for the first time since the birth of her daughter, Linda contemplated calling Luna’s father, Blake. She wavered as she recalled their last conversation.

  “If you don’t want to be a father, fine. But I refuse to kill my child!”

  “How are you going to take care of a baby? You’re just a child yourself!” he spat back. “We both are. We can’t raise a kid.”

  It was true, she’d only been eighteen when she gave birth to her daughter. She just couldn’t imagine the thought of aborting her child.

  “I don’t care. I won’t do it.”

  “You don’t even get it, do you? I am in no position to raise a child. And you know—”

  “Yeah, I know, Blake. You’re going to law school. You don’t have time for a kid. I get it. If you don’t want to be a father, you don’t have to. But I’m going to be a mother.”

  They’d been high school sweethearts. She’d been so young and thought she was in love. After that conversation, she’d only seen him one other time — the day their daughter was born. He’d shown up at the hospital and held his baby in his arms.

  As he’d cradled his daughter so lovingly, Linda had been sure he’d changed his mind, but he hadn’t. She hadn’t seen him since. No calls, no emails, no nothing. And she’d resolved herself to being okay with it. She’d promised him he didn’t have to be a father and she’d meant it. And after all these years, Linda still couldn’t shake the love she’d felt for him back then.

  But now, he was a lawyer. And a prominent one at that. Maybe he could be of use to her. After all, Luna was now seventeen, and Linda had not once called the man to ask for his assistance. Not a single dime. Would he even care that his daughter was missing?

  As she climbed into her old gray Pontiac, she toyed with the idea of giving him a call. His number had long since been stored in her cell phone. After all this time, she’d kept track of him. He was a partner for a firm out in San Diego and married with three kids.