When Tabbi had eventually asked for a private chat, Sheila had agreed, but the minute Tabitha had put her concerns out there, one-on-one, things had gone to hell.
Someonehad shut things down and blocked Tabitha out.
Had it been Sheila? Had it been Ghillie?
There was no way to tell.
Now, they were back to having zilch. Except that Tex had notified the various police departments along the train route that they were looking for Sheila, if Sheila reallywason that conveyance. He’d also been monitoring all the surveillance cameras at each stop, looking for someone in a yellow hoodie and a pink wig to walk off.
So far, nothing.
Tabitha, however, couldn’t stop blaming herself.
“If Ghilliehasn’tbeen holding her, but had her in his crosshairs—physically and virtually—he’ll act now becauseIlet him know we’re on her trail,” she lamented.
“It wasn’t just you. It was all of us.” Spencer would easily shoulderallthe blame if she’d let him. “But what if Ghillie already has her stashed somewhere; that the young woman on the trainwasn’tyour sister. What if he’s letting her use her computer while he watches, to try and get an additional rise out of you?” Spencer glowered.
“Well, it’s working,” Tabitha clipped.
They took another lap around the property, this time circumnavigating the family lumber mill where his father worked. Dad didn’t have the luxury of taking the day off since he still jobs to accomplish, and a hand on the helm, keeping an eye on the tasks his workers were performing. But he’d been coming into the house every hour or so to see if there was any progress with the Sheila debacle.
Guy walked toward them now, where they had just paused before going back in.
“Any word?”
Spencer explained what had happened with the gaming text, and his father sighed. “That’s too bad.” He ran a hand over his face. “Listen. I didn’t want to ask this, but it might be time.Is there any reason you can think of, Tabitha, that your sister wouldn’t want to be found?”
Tabbi looked confused. “Like…?”
“Like was there anyone at the place she lived who was harassing her? Did she feel…endangered? Unseen, perhaps?”
Tabitha easily shook her head. “No. Not at all. As a matter of fact, that home is her comfortable place, and she kind of rules the roost.” Tabbi gave a wry chuckle. “It took her a few years to find her voice there, but once she did, she pretty much started getting her own way about everything, from everybody.”
“Okay then,” his father still perseverated, “here’s another thought.”
Once again, Spencer stopped andreallylistened. His father didn’t waste breath on nonsense.
“Tabitha, I feel in my gut she left home to be with you. I don’t think this started out as an abduction situation. I simply think she didn’t want to mess up your budding relationship with my son, and she told herself she needed to make a move to come north.”
It made sense.
“We already know she was on a bus,” his father continued. “And if what the woman who called said was accurate, she was subsequently on a train. She’s finding her way here, albeit in a very convoluted way because she’s not used to traveling.”
Spencer and Tabitha both nodded, with Tabbi exhibiting an expectant kind of optimism she hadn’t displayed much in the past forty-eight hours.
“When you put out your post,” Guy continued, “this man, Ghillie, saw it. Maybe it was dumb luck, but perhaps, and hear me out, it was because he’s been stalking you on-line for all these years. Maybe instead of letting the past go, he’s been fixated on you; growing more and more bitter about the way his military career ended.
“From what Tex found, it doesn’t look like the man has succeeded in life. A cheap apartment. No car. No wife and kids. He might have been biding his time, looking for a way to make you pay. He grabbed onto that post, seeing it as a way to finally get his revenge.”
What Guy Sothard was saying made a lot of sense, and followed along with Spencer’s previous assumption that Ghillie wanted to make Tabitha miserable.
“I don’t think this guydidfind Sheila. And if he somehowmanaged it, it was just dumb luck. But no matter which is true, I feel the real impetus here is about intimidation. He doesn’t want to hurt Sheila, Tabitha. He wants to hurtyou. So Sheila will be eventually be safe. But whatever you do moving forward, keep your eyes open for your own well-being. I think this guy’s end-game is to doyouharm in any way he can.”
“Nobody’s getting through me to reach Tabitha,” Spencer let his dad know with a growl.
“Mason and Kyle will back me up on that.”
CHAPTER 29
