“Oh, please don’t think I would try to stop you from visiting with one of our guests.” Leigh lightly touched Katrina’s arm. “It’s just that I don’t recognize that name. But let me check our records.”
She moved toward the reception desk. Katrina trailed in her footsteps, confusion clouding her thoughts. She had seen signs for about twenty guest rooms. Surely, the welcome manager should know the names of all the people who were staying at the center. There was always a possibility that Leigh wasn’t very good at her job. Or that Eliza had lied about where she was staying... It wouldn’t be the firs
t time her sister, under the guise of maintaining her independence, had misled Katrina about her whereabouts. In the past, once she needed money, or got into trouble, she’d eventually been forced to tell the truth.
After typing quickly on the keyboard of a desktop computer and then consulting the screen, Leigh looked up. Her smile remained in place, but her gaze shifted around instead of settling on Katrina’s face. “Let me just talk to my colleagues.”
Before Katrina could protest, the other woman had crossed the lobby and was talking to two men who were positioned close to the door. As Leigh spoke to them, they both turned to stare at Katrina. It was probably a natural reaction, but something about the way they looked her up and down left her with a crawling sensation along her spine.
Get a grip. Just because they look creepy, doesn’t mean they are creepy.
It didn’t matter what she told herself; the men gave off an unpleasant vibe. After a few minutes of deep conversation, the three AAG members approached Katrina.
“Hi, I’m Bart Akers.” In any other setting, Katrina would have figured Creep Number One was hired muscle. He was in his late twenties, big and brawny, with a blond crew cut. She sensed there wasn’t much going on behind those light hazel eyes. “This is my colleague, Randall Cook.”
Katrina briefly took in the older, taller man at his side.
“I don’t know what’s going on here, but I got messages from my sister saying this was where she was staying.” She still spoke directly to Leigh.
“Maybe she meant another AAG ranch?” Leigh gave a slight giggle, as though inviting Katrina to share the joke.
Clearly, like the fireflies that lived in the Mustang Valley Mountains, the welcome manager was good to look at but not very bright. Even so, Katrina’s instinct told her she was marginally more intelligent than the male AAG members.
“This is the place she came to,” Katrina said.
“Yes, of course. We’ve been so busy since the earthquake, it’s hard to keep track of everyone we’ve helped.” Leigh had regained her composure and her smile was back to hundred-watt capacity. “Your sister did stay with us for two nights back in April. I wanted to check with Bart and Randall in case they had any information about where she went after she left us.”
“We don’t.” Bart’s smile was considerably less attractive than Leigh’s. “She said she was going. Didn’t say where.”
For a moment, the solid tile floor beneath Katrina’s feet felt springy. Then she realized her knees had started to shake. It was June. If Eliza had left this place in April, she had been absent for two months. It wasn’t the first time her twin had gone missing. But it was the first time Katrina hadn’t known about it and been actively looking for her. If she’d known, she would have followed her usual routine and contacted Eliza’s friends, liaised with her counselors, and, if all else failed, reported her missing to the police.
“I’m sorry we can’t help you.” Leigh’s gaze flicked toward the door.
Fighting the fog of panic that was threatening to engulf her, Katrina sucked in a breath. “I don’t understand. Her apartment was destroyed. You offered her a safe place to stay. She had no money or belongings. Why would she leave? Where did she go?”
“We don’t hold that sort of information on our database,” Leigh said. “People who spend time with us are free to come and go as they choose.”
“But you were out and about in the town offering people your help after the earthquake. That means you had a responsibility to care for them.” Katrina wasn’t concerned that the volume of her voice was rising. “You must have known Eliza was homeless and vulnerable. How could you have let her walk out of here without making sure she was okay?”
“Hey.” Bart stepped closer. “You’re clearly worried about your sister, but Leigh has explained the situation. There’s nothing more we can do for you.”
If they thought she was letting this go, they were mistaken. Blank smiles and excuses weren’t going to work. Katrina would talk to every person in this place if that was what it took to find even a sliver of information about her sister. With no other family and addicted friends who drifted in and out when she was part of their dependent lifestyle, Katrina was all Eliza had.
Just as she was about to tell Bart to take a step out of her personal space, a high-pitched yelp and the sound of claws scrabbling on tile made her turn her head. In a practiced move, she squatted in time to catch a squirming bundle of fur in her arms.
“Dobby?”
As she petted the excited dog and dodged the face kisses, her mind was whirling. How could her sister’s pet be here if Eliza left in April? Because...
No. Just no.
Ever since Eliza had rescued the pup—whose face was not his prettiest end—when he was eight weeks old, the pair had been inseparable. Whatever else was going on in her life, Eliza made sure Dobby was fed, clean and healthy. The little guy’s bed was always positioned alongside Eliza’s, he ate ethically sourced food and he had access to the best training at Look Who’s Walking, where, until Eliza had stopped coming around several months before the earthquake, he’d also attended play dates and gotten regular grooming.
Tucking Dobby under her arm, Katrina got to her feet, her resolve hardening. “Since my sister left you two months ago, perhaps you’d care to explain why her dog is still here?”
Dobby looked from Katrina to the two men as though he, too, was interested in the answer. For the first time, Leigh’s pleasant mask slipped and she appeared nervous. It was a momentary lapse and she recovered quickly, but it was enough to fire up Katrina’s suspicions.
“I remember now.” The smile returned. “Your sister said she wouldn’t be able to keep a dog where she was going, so she left him with us. We’ve adopted him at the center. He’s become quite the AAG mascot, hasn’t he, guys?” She threw a help-me-out glance toward Bart and Randall.