Betrayal by Fern Michaels

Gertie. Gertie was the first to speak. “Sara said she wasn’t feeling well and went back to the house.”
    â€œWe thought you knew,” Emily added.
    â€œI went to the house. She wasn’t there, or if she was, she must not have heard me calling.” Or , Kate thought, she just didn’t answer .
    Alex motioned to the couple still standing alongside their car. They walked over to where Kate stood. “We’re the Taylors. I’m Kathy, and this is my husband, Fred.” Kate shook Kathy’s hand and nodded to Fred.
    â€œYou all must think I’m crazy.” Kate laughed.
    â€œNot to worry. We all have ‘those’ days now and then. We got lost. I kept asking Fred to stop for directions.” Kathy offered Kate a conspiring smile. “You know men and directions. Before we wound up in Outer Mongolia, I called and asked Alex to meet us.”
    Kate smiled at the younger woman. “That seems reasonable to me. I bet you all would love to see the new addition to the family.”
    â€œYeah! C’mon, Mom, we want to meet Rosie.” All three girls bounced up and down, barely able to contain their excitement.
    â€œ Rosie? ” their parents asked in unison.
    â€œThat’s what they’ve decided to call the new puppy,” Kathy informed them.
    â€œI like that name,” Emily said.
    Kate motioned for Alex to step aside. “Where do you think Sara is? I’m sure she’s not at the house. I just hope to heavens she’s . . . Ohmygod! Alex!”
    â€œKate, what is it?”
    â€œWhat if whoever broke into the studio took Sara?” Kate’s heart was beating so fast, she was sure it would explode from her chest any minute.
    â€œCalm down. I’m sure there’s an explanation for all of this. Let’s wait and see what the police suggest. I’m going to take the Taylors to meet Rosie. Emily, wait here with Kate.”
    Emily nodded. The Taylor family got back into their car and followed Alex’s truck to the kennel.
    â€œAunt Kate, do you think Sara’s okay? I mean, I’m sure she is, but when she said she wasn’t feeling well, I thought she’d gone to the house to tell you.”
    Kate didn’t want to scare Emily any more than she was already. “As Alex said, there’s an explanation for her . . . disappearance.” Kate couldn’t stand to think further about Sara. One minute at a time , she told herself.
    The three police officers sauntered across the drive, all appearing as if they were on a casual call. A cat stuck in a tree, Kate thought.
    â€œMa’am,” Officer Furdell said, “there doesn’t seem to be any sign of forced entry. The bathroom is empty. We searched your house and the small cottage as well. The only thing we saw was a young girl sound asleep in one of the upstairs bedrooms.”
    â€œOh, thank God Sara’s safe! I don’t see how I could’ve missed her. But if she was sleeping, she must not’ve heard me call.”
    The two officers smiled and returned to their cruisers. Officer Furdell reached in his breast pocket and pulled out one of his cards. “If you have any more problems, just call. I’m at a loss as to what happened in your studio, ma’am. I’m going to write up a vandalism report. If I were you, I’d change all the locks just to be on the safe side. This could be the work of some bored teenagers. You know how they are.” He gestured toward Emily. Kate wanted to say unfortunately she hadn’t experienced the pleasure of raising a child, but decided it didn’t matter. She gave Emily a wan smile.
    â€œThanks. I’ll have Alex change the locks today.” She shook his offered hand, and, with a quick nod, he returned to his patrol car and headed down the drive.
    â€œI need to check on Sara.”
    â€œI’ll go with you. I can’t believe she didn’t hear you. She’s a light