Alex shook the cobwebs from her mind and glanced at the clock. It was already after eight in the morning. She’d overslept, fallen asleep right in that chair by the window after she’d seen Lori and her sister drive away.
Lori’s sister. Trying to call Lori in her room? Alex grasped at the threads of conversation that seemed to make no sense.
“Lori’s sister?” she repeated.
There was silence on the other end. “Yeah. I came by late last night, so you didn’t see me. Lori told me all about what you’d done to get her and Kevin out of Falkirk.” A pause. “I wanted to talk to her again before she goes back with you, but she’s not answering her room phone. Finally figured I’d try your room. I want to tell her that Kevin’s fine, and—”
Alex sat down on the bed, rubbing her eyes. “Lori said… she was going somewhere with me?”
There was an impatient sigh on the other end. “She told me her asshole of a boss wasn’t willing to mail her last paycheck to my place in Calgary, so she had to go back today and pick it up. I guess she wasn’t thinking too clearly when she left the other day, but she’s pretty damned broke and needs that money. She just wanted to make sure Kevin was out of town first, so Jerry couldn’t do anything.” There was the sound of distant traffic through the line. “I couldn’t take her to Falkirk—I couldn’t miss any more work—but she said you’d give her a lift back. You know, she was acting pretty freaky last night, pretty weird. I just wanted to make sure she’s okay.”
Alex stared at the receiver. Lori hadn’t gone with her sister last night? She’d stayed behind, and told her sister Alex was giving her a ride back to Falkirk? After what Lori had seen of Kieran, there wasn’t much chance she’d ask any favors of Alex.
“I haven’t spoken to Lori this morning,” Alex said warily. “Let me go check her room. Maybe she’s still asleep. Can you give me a number where you can be reached?”
She jotted the information down on the dogeared hotel stationery and dressed quickly, alarm spreading through her. It was well after sunrise, and Kieran wasn’t back. And now this, with Lori God only knew where.
She hurried next door, pulling out the duplicate key. Inside, the room was silent, dark and empty. Nothing left in the bathroom or any of the drawers or the closets.
Gone. Lori had gone, but not with her sister. Alex went back to her room, staring out the window. That Lori hadn’t been thinking clearly was a given. Had she tried to hitch a ride back to Falkirk, and told her sister otherwise to reassure her? Or maybe there was a bus somewhere.
If Lori chose to go back to pick up a paycheck, that was her business and her decision to make. But she could just as easily go to the police with stories about Kieran, and even if they didn’t believe her, they might get enough of his description, and Alex’s, to do plenty of damage.
Alex pushed her worries to the back of her mind and finished dressing and packing. At the last minute she pulled a knitted cap down over her forehead and wrapped a muffler around her neck so that it covered the lower part of her face. Sunglasses completed the camouflage.
She went outside and scanned the horizon in every direction. Kieran must be on his way back. He had promised to return-before dawn. And now, with Lori disappeared…
Hunching her shoulders, she walked across the parking lot to the motel’s greasy spoon. Someone there might know if Lori had been seen early that morning, or at least if there was a bus running into Falkirk from here. If Alex had to go chase Lori down, she’d be leaving Kieran behind. And even if she caught up to Lori, what would she do then?
She shivered as she heard the distant wail of sirens.
* * *
Kieran stood across the road from the motel where Alexandra waited, and knew that something was very wrong.