Tender Is The Night (34 page)
Her stomach turned over. She had a tag just like this in her jewelry box at home, the tag that had belonged to her father.
But it wasn't her father's name on this tag; it was a woman's name: Liliana Valdez, United States Navy, blood type O positive, religion Catholic. Her birth date indicated that she was twenty-eight.
The name didn’t mean anything to Alicia, but she still felt an odd connection to the woman who'd lost it. Had it been the woman she'd seen fighting for her life? Had that woman been wearing a uniform?
She couldn't remember. She had the sense that the woman had worn a long, dark coat, but the details escaped her. Maybe she'd caught them on film. That thought took her to her feet.
She needed to get home and develop the photographs. She walked quickly back to the parking lot, pausing for just a moment to get a few more shots of the lightning now streaking across the Miami skyline.
Then she got into her car and sped toward the causeway, hoping she hadn't waited too long to cross before the storm surge made the bridge impassable.
When she reached the bridge, water was splashing over the rail, but she made it back to Miami without incident. She felt relieved to be in the city, but the pain in her temple reminded her of what she'd seen by the carousel. Who were those people? Had something terrible happened? Had she been a witness to…what?
Alicia's gaze dropped to the ID tag sitting on her console—to the name Liliana Valdez. She needed to find Liliana; not just to return her tag but also to make sure she was all right, that she was still alive.
* * *
Alicia lived in the Wynwood Art District, a neighborhood just north of downtown Miami and known for its art galleries, boutiques and charming cafés. She lived on the second floor of a two-story building, and the bottom floor housed the art gallery where she displayed her storm photographs.
The owner of Peterman Art Gallery, Eileen Peterman, had leased her the apartment a year earlier, and Alicia was happy to be close to the gallery and in a neighborhood filled with artists and designers. She'd always been more comfortable among creative people who thought outside of the box, colored beyond the lines, and who put their emotions on display, whether it be in a sculpture or a painting or a photograph. She'd never been able to trust anyone who hid their emotions. It always made her wonder what else they were hiding.
After entering her apartment, Alicia dropped her backpack on the floor, set her keys and the ID tag on the side table, and then took off her wet raincoat and hung it on a hook by the door. She kicked off her boots and walked into the bathroom to grab a towel.
After drying her face, she pulled out the band from her hair and ran the blow-dryer through the damp dark tangles of her unruly mass of dark brown waves. Her hair was thick and long, drifting past her shoulder blades, and it was a constant battle to straighten the rebellious curls, which had gotten more out of hand in the wind and the rain.
As she stared at her face in the mirror, she was a little surprised at the size of the bump on her throbbing forehead. It was turning a lovely shade of purple and black and definitely stood out against her unusually pale skin. A dark-eyed brunette with olive skin, she usually had a vibrant, exotic look about her, but today was not one of those days. What little makeup she'd put on earlier that day had washed away in the rain, and the pain of her aching head injury had put strained lines around her eyes.
She set down the dryer, grabbed some ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet, took two capsules, and told herself she'd feel a lot better in about thirty minutes. Then she walked back to the living room.
She picked up Liliana's ID tag and took it over to the kitchen table. Opening her laptop computer, she typed in Liliana's name, age, and birth date. The Valdez surname would be common in Miami, a city made up of thousands of Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants, so she was expecting her search to be complicated and long.
Surprisingly, it was neither.
The headline of the first article jumped off the page:
JAG attorney missing in Miami
.
As she read through the news story, she discovered that Liliana Valdez, a Navy lieutenant and attorney with the Judge Advocate General, had gone missing while visiting Miami in late July for the wedding of her sister. She'd last been seen in the parking lot outside of Paladar, a popular Cuban restaurant in Little Havana. The vehicle she'd been driving had been recovered from the parking lot, but there was no sign of a struggle or any other clues to her whereabouts.
Alicia let out a breath and sat back on the couch, staring out the window where rain now streamed against the panes.
Liliana Valdez had disappeared two months ago, and no one had seen her since.
Alicia picked up the ID tag, still a little damp and gritty with dirt, and ran her fingers over Liliana's name, feeling the same sense of connection she'd felt earlier.
She had a clue to a missing woman. She needed to take it to the police.
Jumping to her feet, she paused, struck by the thought that she might have more than one clue. Retrieving her camera, she took it into the walk-in closet off her bedroom that she'd turned into her personal darkroom.
Unfortunately, as the pictures developed, Alicia's enthusiasm began to fade.
The couple she'd seen by the carousel did not appear in any of the shots. The lightning was spectacular, but it was so close, so bright, it was impossible to see anything but shadows beyond the light, certainly nothing that clearly defined a person, which meant she had no other clue besides the military tag. Still, it was something. Hopefully, it would be enough to help find the missing woman.
Book List
The Callaway Family Series
Nobody But You
(A Callaway Wedding Novella)
#11 Closer To You,
Coming Soon!
The Callaways Boxed Set - Books 1-3
Lightning Strikes Trilogy
#3 Summer Rain,
Coming Soon!
Bachelors & Bridesmaids
#6 Forever Starts Tonight,
Coming Soon!
The Wish Series
Contemporary Romance Novels
Romantic Suspense Novels
The Sanders Brothers Romanic Suspense Duo
The Deception Romantic Suspense Duo
#1
Taken
#2
Played
The Angel's Bay Series
#1 Suddenly One Summer
#2 On Shadow Beach
#3 In Shelter Cove
#4 At Hidden Falls
#5 Garden of Secrets
About The Author
Barbara Freethy is a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of 50 novels ranging from contemporary romance to romantic suspense and women's fiction. Traditionally published for many years, Barbara opened her own publishing company in 2011 and has since sold over 6 million books! Twenty of her titles have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Lists.
Known for her emotional and compelling stories of love, family, mystery and romance, Barbara enjoys writing about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary adventures. She is currently writing a connected family series, The Callaways. If you love series with romance, suspense and a little adventure, you'll love the Callaways.
Barbara is also launching a new romantic mystery trilogy in with
BEAUTIFUL STORM
and
LIGHTNING LINGERS
, the first two books in the Lightning Strikes trilogy.
If you like lighthearted fun romance, check out Barbara's ongoing Bachelors & Bridesmaids Series featuring seven women who start out as bridesmaids and end up as brides.
For information:
[email protected]
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