“Gwen Bennett?” he asked. “How did you get this number?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Your sisterNina had a premonition?”
“How do you know about Nina? You know what, never mind. That conversation can wait. I have a situation, and I could use your help. It’s a matter of life and death.”
“Your life? Or one of your sisters?”
“Petunia Pierce,” I answered. “She’s been abducted, and I think I know where she is.”
“Why call me? Why not the FDG agents?”
“They were poisoned.”
“Okay, you got my interest.”
“I have reason to believe that Petunia was taken to Lake Tremor, and if I had to guess, Carter Pierce’s chef, Robin, has her.”
“I can have a team there in twenty minutes.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen. Make sure they don’t shoot the kid or me.”
“You got it. Oh and, Gwen…”
“Yeah?”
“I look forward to working with you.”
The line went silent, and I tossed the car into gear and drove like I was a racecar driver heading toward the checkered flag. Another mission and training that came in handy in times like these.
I didn’t have to call to get the address. I’d memorized all of the Pierces’ holdings in the event we moved locations. The lake house would have made them sitting ducks, and I would have advised against it. Even with the surrounding woods, there wouldn’t be many places to run and not enough security cameras to show that a threat was on the property. Lucky for me.
I made it to the lake in less than fifteen minutes, parking down the road from the Pierce property so if Robin was there, she’d never hear me coming.
I grabbed my gun, shoved it into my ankle holster, and grabbed a backup weapon to stick into my waistband. I fired off a text to Ms. Delany as an update and left my phone in the car.
Trekking through the woods in the direction of the lake, I spotted the two-story log cabin, though I didn’t see Robin’s car. I jogged up to the cabin and pressed my back against the logs as I inched around the home, taking my time to peek in each window as I passed. When I got to the kitchen, I almost screamed.
Petunia was sitting at the table with a glass of water and cookies. The window above the sink was open.
“Eat some cookies, Pet. So you and I can both go visit Sabrina.”
“Where’s Ms. Cassandra?” Petunia asked.
“Cassandra had to leave. She wasn’t a good watcher, but she was better than your mom and Johnny.”
“I want my mommy.” Petunia’s voice was so low I almost didn’t hear her.
“I’m your mom now,” Robin yelled and slammed a glass of milk down in front of Petunia.
“You’re scaring me,” Petunia said, getting out of the chair. “I want to go home.”
Robin sighed and plastered a smile on her face. “I don’t mean to scare you, Pet. I just want the best for you. Your momma doesn’t love you anymore, but I do. You can go play in your room while I get the boat ready. Would you like that?”
Petunia nodded.
Robin wrapped a cookie in a napkin and handed it to her. “Eat your snack like a good girl. I’ll be back in a few minutes, but I won’t be gone long. Go play in your room.”
