The Summit (25 page)

Autumn looked down at the photos. Again there was the blond hair and blue eyes, a slight difference in years, but still they looked a lot alike. She leaned closer. There was something about the photo second from the end….

Autumn picked it up. Her hand trembled as the features became clear in her mind. “This is Mary. This is the little girl I see in my dreams.”

“You're sure this is the one?”

“As sure as I can be. I've been dreaming about her for almost a week, but I don't get that long a look at her before I wake up.”

“But you think it's her?”

“I'm almost certain it is.”

Watkins let out a long-suffering sigh. “Her name is Ginny Purcell. She's seven years old. She went missing two months ago from her home in Sandpoint, Idaho. Disappeared right out of her own backyard. There's an alley behind the house. Best guess, the guy just drove up and somehow persuaded her to get in his car. No witnesses, no one heard anything. She just disappeared.”

“That sounds a lot like what happened to Molly,” Autumn said.

Watkins made no reply. “The rest of the photos are just pictures of kids we collected. We needed to give you an objective test. Unfortunately, you passed with flying colors.”

“Unfortunately?” Ben repeated.

“Yeah. I'm not exactly sure where to go with this information—if you know what I mean.”

Ben nodded. “I know exactly what you mean. But the fact remains, Autumn's ID fits in with the rest of the suppositions we've made so far. And Idaho and Washington aren't that far apart. We think the guy is some kind of sportsman. Autumn remembered seeing him shopping for camping gear, so he's probably into being outdoors. Idaho is a sportsman's paradise. He could have been there doing whatever it is he does and in the process come across little Ginny.”

“Sounds reasonable.” Watkins collected the second set of photos, all but the one of Ginny Purcell, and slid them back into the envelope. “Could be he lives in Idaho, maybe moved there after he abducted Molly—assuming any of this is real, of course.”

“I don't think he's there,” Autumn said. “I saw him in Burlington a couple of years after Molly disappeared. And I just have this feeling he's here in Washington. Somewhere up in those mountains.”

“Burlington is the gateway to the North Cascades,” Ben added. “Maybe the guy is a climber.”

Autumn bit her lip, the possibility running through her head as it had a number of times before. “I've never seen him among any of the climbing groups or on any of the trips I've taken. I don't think that's it.”

“Let's back up a step,” Watkins suggested. “Let's assume he's an outdoorsman, not necessarily a climber but maybe a fisherman or backpacker or maybe a hunter—an outdoor kind of guy. That would explain his presence in Idaho and also in Burlington. Right?”

“Right,” Ben said.

“Get me a copy of that sketch you had made. I'll have it sent out to all the sporting-goods stores in both Washington and Idaho. We'll see if anybody recognizes him.”

“Great,” Ben said. “We've been to the store in Burlington and asked around the area, but no one there remembered him.”

“Maybe we'll have better luck.”

“Maybe,” Ben said.

Autumn could see his hopes rising. They had the police working with them now. If they found Ginny Purcell, they would also find Molly. Or at least that's what Autumn hoped.

“I'd like to show this sketch to the Purcells,” Watkins said. “But to do that I'd have to bring in the Idaho police. That means telling them this is a guy you saw in a dream. That'll go over like a lead balloon. We've got to approach this very carefully if we're gonna get any results.”

“We'll talk to the Purcells ourselves,” Ben said. “I've had a daughter kidnapped. I imagine they'll be willing to speak to me. And like I said, Idaho isn't that far away.”

“Good idea. You have any trouble getting them to see you, call me. And let me know if you get anymore information—no matter how you get it. Okay?”

It was obvious the detective was referring to Autumn's dreams. Getting more information that way was both hopeful and at the same time scary.

“Will do,” Ben said. “Keep us posted, will you, Doug?”

“You know I will.” He extended his hand. “I hope this works out for you, Ben.”

“I hope it works out for all of us.”

“W
hen are we going to Sandpoint?”

Ben flicked a glance at Autumn, who sat in the passenger seat as he drove away from the police station. “I'm thinking we could head up there Friday after work. I'll call the Purcells to see if they'll agree to talk to us on Saturday morning.”

He caught her gaze in the mirror above the dash, saw the faint crease settle between her eyebrows.

“I read in the paper the Heart Association is having an important benefit Friday night,” she said. “The paper listed you as one of the people on the guest list.”

“I plan to give them a big donation and cancel. The money's all they really want and this is a lot more important.” He cast her a glance. “So leaving Friday works for you?”

She nodded.

He wove the Mercedes through the traffic, cutting neatly in and out, enjoying the automobile's performance and getting a secret kick out the high mileage that stuck it a little to the greedy bastards in the oil business.

“When's your next appointment?” he asked, his thoughts returning to Autumn, from whom lately they rarely strayed.

“I only had one private lesson this morning. I'm finished for the day.”

He smiled. “Isn't that a coincidence? I'm finished too.” He didn't turn onto Second Avenue toward her apartment as she probably expected him to, but kept driving toward the destination he had in mind.

“Where are we going?”

“My place. I've never taken you there. If you want to know the truth, I liked being at your house better.”

“Why?”

“I don't know exactly. It always just feels so cozy.”
And you're there,
Ben thought. He had slept poorly the last few nights without Autumn lying beside him. But he had needed time to consider, to work things out in his head.

Now he saw things clearly, saw that whatever happened, no matter how tough it was to handle, he wanted Autumn to be with him, wanted her to be part of his life.

He was risking a broken heart, he knew. Likely, she would run from him, push him away and never look back.

But Autumn was worth the risk.

Besides, he didn't intend to lose her. All was fair in love and war and he was willing to play dirty if he had to.

Ben pulled into his underground parking space, helped her out and escorted her over to his private elevator.

“Impressive,” she said as the heavy door rolled open to reveal an interior done in mirrors and polished dark wood.

“I guess it is. I like being able to go in and out on my own schedule.”

She was curious now, he could tell. He was a little afraid his expensive penthouse apartment would be slightly overwhelming but he wanted her to get used to it. He wanted her to accept the idea of sleeping in his bed.

He went hard as an image of the tiny butterfly tattoo on her tight little behind rose into his head. Inwardly, he cursed. All he had to do was think of that tattoo and the blood surged into his groin.

As the elevator made its ascent to the twentieth floor, Ben slid an arm around her waist and drew her against him. The single advantage he had was that little Ms. Autumn Sommers liked sex as much as he did—maybe more. And they were fantastic together.

His plan was to spoil her for any other man and he meant to start today. Ben smiled as he took her hand and led her out of the elevator into the marble-floored foyer of his condo. When she stopped and stood staring in awe at the beautiful view, he tugged on her hand.

“Come on. I'll show you around.” He would give her the tour, all right. And a whole lot more when they ended up in his bedroom.

They started in the living room. It was sleekly modern, with polished dark wood, a thick ivory carpet and matching sofas. A few of the objects on the tables were actually purchased by him but most of the artwork and expensive sculptures were just there for decoration.

“It's really beautiful, Ben.”

“Not exactly cozy, the way yours is. A decorator did it for me. Maybe someday I'll change it. Make it more livable.”

She glanced his way but didn't say anything. They toured the kitchen, which was state-of-the-art with stainless-steel appliances and dark wood cabinets. He could tell she liked it even though the design was modern, but then what woman wouldn't? The dining room was impressive, with mahogany furniture and more great views. The guest bedroom came next, nicely done with simple lines and a few Asian accents. Guest bathroom, powder room, his study and finally his bedroom.

“That's the biggest bed I've ever seen.”

“Oversized king. It's a pain in the neck to find sheets.” And damned lonely at times. His bedroom was a little more relaxed than the rest of the house, his closet neat but not ridiculously so, his shoes out of order and a pair of sweat pants folded but lying on the floor. He liked the warm down comforter on his bed and the overstuffed chair next to the window. He tugged her over to it. “Nice view, don't you think?”

“Fabulous.”

From the bedroom they could see out over Elliott Bay and on a clear day all the way to the islands. The view of a deep-blue sea stretched for miles today. The best part was that the way the building sat, even with the curtains open nobody could see in.

He turned Autumn around and very thoroughly kissed her.

Instead of kissing him back, she eased away. “If I ask you a question, will you tell me the truth?”

“I've never lied to you. I don't intend to start now.”

“Did you sleep with another woman during the time we were apart?”

It bothered him that she felt she had to ask. “No. I told you up at the lake I wasn't interested in anyone else. I just needed a little time to sort some things out. I probably should have told you.”

“What kind of things?”

“My feelings for you, to start with.”

“Oh,” she said and glanced away, looking as wary as he had ever seen her.

“Want to know what I figured out?”

She nervously bit her lip and he knew right then that telling her he was falling in love with her would be exactly the wrong thing to do.

He grinned. “I figured out that we're fantastic in bed and though we have a lot of extremely important things going on in our lives right now, we ought to take advantage of the attraction as often as possible.” He reached for her, caught her face between his hands and captured her lips in a deep, burning kiss.

This time Autumn didn't resist. She kissed him back as if she wanted to climb inside him, as if her body ached for his as much as his ached for hers. She was back on familiar ground. The sexual attraction they shared she could handle. She wouldn't let herself fall in love—or at least he thought that was her plan.

If the way to a man's heart was his stomach, the way to this woman's heart was good hard sex. And he was just the man to give it to her.

Ben kissed her and kissed her and had her out of her clothes before she seemed to realize what was going on. In a minute she was naked and so was he. More drugging kisses as he urged her up on the bed, onto her hands and knees.

“Ben, what are—”

“I've been aching to have you this way.” He came up behind her, smoothed his palm over her butterfly tattoo, caught her hips, positioned himself and filled her, heard her swift intake of breath, then a soft, throaty moan.

He wanted her and he let her know it, driving deep, taking her hard, pounding into her again and again. The tiny pink butterfly on her ass seemed to taunt him, forced him to fight for control. He tightened his hold and she arched her back and beads of perspiration broke out on his forehead.

It wasn't until Autumn reached a shuddering climax, her small body trembling and whimpering his name, that he finally let himself go. His muscles clenched in a powerful climax even more fierce than hers.

Easing her onto her side, his erection still inside her, he nestled her spoon-fashion against him and just lay there soaking up the feel of her in his arms. He smoothed damp auburn curls back from her temple and nuzzled the side of her neck.

They spiraled down together, luxuriating in the sweet afterglow. Then reality began to creep back in.

“I spoke to Pete Rossi this morning,” he said, still toying with a lock of her soft russet curls. “He's coming over a little later this afternoon. We're going to talk about what else we can do to find this guy.”

“Maybe he'll have some good ideas.”

“I thought about asking Rossi to drive up to Sandpoint to talk to the Purcells, but I think we'd have better luck going ourselves.” It occurred to him that in the past few weeks they had both begun using
we
instead of I. He wondered if Autumn had noticed.

She rolled onto her back. “The Purcells are more likely to be helpful if they talk to someone who has lost a child himself.”

“That's what I think, too.” He found her breast, cupped it, began to run his thumb over the end and felt it tighten. “We've got an hour or so before Pete gets here. I thought after our meeting, we'd go get something to eat.” He gently abraded her nipple and she squirmed. “We can spend the night here or at your place, whichever you want.”

He said it casually, as if it were a given. As if every night from now on he would be sleeping right beside her—which he fully intended to do.

Autumn ran her fingers through the hair on his chest and when he rose up over her, she guided him inside her. “I think my place would be better,” she said, nibbling the side of his neck.

Inwardly, he grinned. “If that's what you want, baby.” And then he kissed her and started to move.

 

Pete Rossi showed up for his appointment at four o'clock. He was a big man, as tall as Ben but heavier through the chest and shoulders. Autumn thought he looked like an ex-football player, without the usual mid-forties paunch. He was still fairly attractive, though he was beginning to lose his hair.

Introductions were made and they sat down at the round table in Ben's study.

“We're heading for Idaho on Friday,” Ben said, jump-starting the conversation. “Watkins came up with a missing girl who fit the description we gave him and Autumn identified her as the girl she'd seen in her dreams. Her name's Ginny Purcell and she was abducted in Sandpoint, Idaho.”

Rossi looked over at Autumn. “This whole thing has been quite a stretch for me,” he said. “But like I told Ben, if my daughter was missing, I'd do whatever it took to bring her home. Seems to me you've been pretty right-on so far. No reason not to keep going as long as we keep coming up with leads.”

“The cops are mailing the sketch to sporting-goods stores in Washington and Idaho,” Ben said. “Maybe someone will remember the guy. Maybe even know who he is. We're talking to the Purcells. Unfortunately, if that doesn't pan out, we're out of airspeed and altitude.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured. I spoke to a friend of mine…works for CBS News here locally. He's got a friend with a connection to that TV show,
Missing.
You know the one I mean?”

“I've seen it,” Ben said.

“So have I,” said Autumn.

“This friend—his name's Lloyd Grayson—thinks maybe we can get the sketch of the blond man on TV. He figures the producers might go for it, since it's such an interesting angle—the dream thing, I mean. We'd have to tell the whole story, though. You need to decide if you're ready to deal with that.”

Autumn looked at Ben, who was frowning. His family would find out he was searching for Molly, that Ben had come to believe she might still be alive. From what he had said, his wife was trying desperately to make a new life for herself. The last thing she wanted was to stir up old grief. And there was Katie to consider, as well as what the kids at school might do with a story about her father searching for a missing sister based on something as crazy as a dream.

To say nothing of the trauma they would all be forced to suffer again if Ben didn't find her.

“As much as I'd like to take advantage of the show,” he said, “I don't think it's time yet. Let me talk to the Purcells. If they recognize this guy, maybe we can get the producers to show the sketch based on the Purcells and Joanne both having seen him before the abductions took place. That should make him a person of interest at least. If that happens, I'll deal with Joanne and Katie and the rest of the family. Until then, let's hold off.”

Rossi nodded. “All right. We'll wait. You go to Idaho and I'll head north. The last place this guy was seen was Burlington, right? Even if it was a couple years ago, it's a place to start. I'll travel north as far as Bellingham then work some of the smaller towns in the surrounding areas. I'll take copies of the sketch and show them around to see if I can find anyone who knows who he is.”

Ben nodded. “Sounds good. Let's talk again on Monday.”

At the time, Monday seemed a long way away.