Gone (Wolf Lake Thriller Book 9) Read online

  Gone

  A Wolf Lake Thriller

  Dan Padavona

  Contents

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  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

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  Support Indie Authors

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

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  I’m a pretty nice guy once you look past the grisly images in my head. Most of all, I love connecting with awesome readers like you.

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  1

  The crowded amusement park made Robyn Fournette feel claustrophobic.

  She twisted sideways to squeeze through the horde of people, never letting go of Dylan’s hand. Her son was six years old and too curious for his own good, prone to run off if Robyn turned her head. She’d brought the boy to Empire Coasters against her better judgment. The crowds thickened in late summer, when everyone wanted to enjoy the thrill rides and munch candy apples before the autumn chill arrived and the park closed its doors until next May. After Dylan’s birthday party last month, which had attracted only three children from the neighborhood—Robyn’s family lived in Illinois—she owed her son a fun evening in the park.

  Dylan tugged Robyn’s hand, leading her away from the gift shop and toward the merry-go-round.

  “We already rode the merry-go-round three times,” Robyn said, grimacing over the pleading tone of her voice. She really was becoming her mother.

  “Just one more time,” said Dylan.

  Robyn dug two tickets out of her pocket and stood in line. Ahead of her, a tank-topped man with a hairy back draped his arms around two young boys. Robyn turned her head so she wouldn’t gag. The man hadn’t used enough deodorant, and the temperature had risen to ninety degrees, steaming for early August in upstate New York.

  The teenager at the gate took their tickets, and Dylan scampered ahead of Robyn and raced toward a black horse with a lightning bolt across its side.

  “Not so fast, Dylan. Stay with me.”

  Robyn doubted Dylan heard her over the clamor. Children laughed and squealed as they climbed atop horses, parents hoisting their kids with grunts. She reached for Dylan and helped him onto the horse. The dark-haired boy was small for his age and couldn’t swing his leg high enough to reach the saddle. Once Robyn settled Dylan atop his favorite horse, the familiar Calliope music began, and the ride spun, working up to a brisk pace that caused Robyn’s eyes to cross. She wasn’t the type to get sick on theme park rides, especially on a child’s attraction like the merry-go-round. But the heat had taken its toll on Robyn, sapping her strength and dehydrating her body. She closed her eyes and chugged a water bottle.

  Dylan’s delighted screams and laughter made the trip worthwhile. The boy deserved a fun time at the park, free of worries. He would enter the first grade next month, and the full-on sprint toward high school graduation would commence. Time flew by too fast.

  After the merry-go-round, Robyn bought a bag of kettle corn and shared it with Dylan as they walked hand in hand down a mock old-time street lined with shops and restaurants. Here, the crowd thinned, with most people venturing toward the east end of the park and the looping coasters. Smiling down at her son, Robyn wished she could bottle this evening and save it forever.

  In the distance, a few miles beyond Empire Mountain and the haunted house, the sun descended over the lake, making the water appear on fire. The lights flickered on throughout the park. Soon it would be time to leave, and their day together would become a lost memory.

  Inside the souvenir shop, Robyn searched for an Ally the Alligator stuffed animal. Dylan loved Ally and watched the Empire Coasters promotional cartoon every Saturday morning. This evening, he wore his favorite T-shirt, with the grinning gator on the front.

  As Robyn reached for the top shelf to retrieve a stuffed animal, her skin prickled. She swung around to a shop packed with people. She swore someone was watching her, but nobody looked her way.

  “What’s wrong, Mommy?”

  “Nothing,” Robyn said, chewing her lip.

  Rising onto tiptoe, she snatched the alligator and handed it to Dylan, whose eyes widened. He hugged the stuffed animal against him, happier than she’d seen him in years.

  “This is the best. Ally is the coolest.”

  “If you say so,” Robyn said, with a snicker.

  She wondered why kids loved the silly alligator so much. Then again, her parents’ generation had grown up adoring a mouse. Who was she to judge?

  Setting a hand on Dylan’s shoulder, Robyn steered the boy through the throng of shoppers until she located the checkout counter. A harried woman with bifocals and gray hair struggled to keep up with customers, the line stretching halfway through the store. With a sigh, Robyn took her place in line, keeping Dylan at her side. At least the air-conditioned interior kept them out of the heat while they waited.

  The line moved quicker than Robyn expected, the woman behind the counter working with experienced efficiency. When Robyn and Dylan reached the checkout counter, the hair on the back of her neck rose. From the corner of her eye, a shadowed figure moved behind a rack of T-shirts.

  “Miss?”

  She turned back to the cashier, who waited for Robyn to place the stuffed animal on the counter.

  “Sorry,” said Robyn, drawing a confused look from Dylan.

  “Is everything all right?” the woman asked.

  “Yes, I . . . thought I saw someone I know.”

  The gray-haired woman bagged the alligator. “Anything else?”

  “No, just the stuffed animal.”

  “Very good. That will be twenty-nine dollars.”

  Robyn removed the credit card from her wallet, her eyes traveling around the store, worried someone was following her. She brushed the hair off her forehead, certain the heat and the long day were playing tricks on her. Her mind traveled back to six years ago, when the stalking began in Chicago—the phone calls with nobody speaking on the other end of the line, Robyn returning home from work to find open windows and items out of place, as though someone had crept inside and rearranged her belongings. She’d phoned the police after multiple break-ins. Because nothing had been stolen, the police wrote her fears off to an overactive imagination.

  But that didn’t explain the notes affixed to her bedroom headboard.

  You can’t leave me.

  The stalking ended after Robyn accepted a software engin
eering position in New York State and moved across the country. She’d been only twenty-one then, Dylan two months old and born out of wedlock, as Robyn’s mother loved to point out. Her parents never approved of Robyn leaving Illinois. Who would support Robyn? Why raise Dylan without an extended family? Shouldn’t she marry the boy she’d slept with?

  The cashier cleared her throat and kicked Robyn out of her daze. Behind them, the line of shoppers waiting to pay for their items glared. Robyn handed her credit card to the cashier. As soon as they exited the souvenir shop, Dylan removed the stuffed animal and tossed the bag in the trash.

  “Is that a good idea?” Robyn asked. “You don’t want to get Ally dirty before you get home.”

  “I’ll keep her safe.” Dylan cradled the alligator in his arms, bringing a smile to Robyn’s lips. “Thanks, Mommy. This has been the best day ever.”

  Robyn’s throat constricted. “Anything for my favorite son.”

  Dylan narrowed his eyebrows. “But I’m your only son.”

  “That’s right, and you’re still my favorite.”

  “Whatever. You’re weird.” Dylan pointed at the haunted house. “Can we go there next?”

  “That’s not a great idea, Dylan.”

  “Why not?”

  “That’s a big kids’ ride,” Robyn said, eyeing the steeples of the decrepit Victorian mansion looming over the park.

  A howling dog sound effect traveled from the upper floors of the haunted house.

  “I’m not scared.”

  “I’m sure you’re not, but I only have enough tickets for two more rides. Anyway, I thought you wanted to ride the flying swings.”

  “Yeah, the flying swings!”

  Robyn swallowed, thankful she’d changed Dylan’s mind. The thought of slinking around a gloomy haunted house, with costumed actors bearing fake weapons and following them through the dark, sent a shiver down her back. She swung her head around and studied the crowd. Everywhere she looked, teenagers laughed and sprinted toward thrill rides, while mothers and fathers held hands with their children or pushed them in strollers.

  Nobody is following me, Robyn said to herself. This crowd is making me paranoid.

  The howling dog pulled Robyn’s attention to the haunted house. When she turned around, Dylan had disappeared.

  Live-wire panic surged through her body. She swiveled and called his name. How had he slipped out of her grasp? All around Robyn, the crowd surged and towered over her, blocking her view.

  “Dylan?” Robyn pushed between two men carrying milkshakes. “Dylan?”

  Her voice drew concerned stares. A few people stopped what they were doing and turned in a circle, seeking the lost child. But he’d disappeared, as if a hand had reached out of the dusky sky and plucked the boy off the pavement.

  “Oh, my God.”

  “Did you lose your boy?” asked a woman in a Yankees baseball cap.

  “He was right here a second ago.”

  “Calm down,” the woman said, clutching a young girl by the shoulder. “Maria ran off on me last spring. They never get far. The worst thing you can do is panic and leave the area. Your son is probably searching for you right now.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Robyn said, her mouth dry.

  As the crowd cleared, she spotted a security guard. The mustached man’s belly protruded over his belt, and the sneer marked him as someone who didn’t enjoy his job. Still, he was Robyn’s only hope. The mother who’d attempted to calm Robyn down disappeared with her daughter, likely thankful she hadn’t lost her own child. Robyn hurried to the guard, whose badge read Faustin.

  “Can you help me, sir? I can’t find my son.”

  Faustin, who was busy accosting a group of teenagers for running, set his hands on his hips. “Lost your son, miss? How old is he?”

  “Six.”

  “And how long has he been missing?”

  “Less than a minute. He was right here,” Robyn said, motioning with her arms. “I turned around, and he was gone.”

  Faustin raised a walkie-talkie to his lips. “I’ve got a missing six-year-old boy near the haunted house.” He lifted his chin at Robyn. “Give me his name and a description.”

  As Robyn followed his orders, her gaze landed on a boy in a green T-shirt, giggling and wrapping his arms around a roaming Ally the Alligator a hundred feet away. Her heart jumped into her throat.

  “Dylan!”

  Behind Robyn, Faustin growled into his walkie-talkie. “False alarm. We found the boy.”

  Robyn ran to Dylan, who glanced up at his mother, not understanding why he’d scared her to death.

  “I told you to never run off. What if someone grabbed you and took you away?”

  “Mommy, it’s Ally! Isn’t she awesome?”

  Though Robyn couldn’t see the actor beneath the mask, she discerned the helpless look Ally returned. The character gave Dylan a gentle nudge, a signal to return to his mother. Dylan hugged Ally one last time. Robyn knelt before Dylan and grasped his arms, locking eyes with the boy.

  “You’re never to do that again, do you understand?”

  “But I only wanted to see her.”

  “If you want to come back to Empire Coasters, you’ll obey me from now on. I mean it, Dylan. The park is a dangerous place. Never, never run away from me again.”

  A tear trickled out of Dylan’s eye. Though Robyn wanted to get through to her son, she hadn’t intended to make him cry.

  “Do we have to leave now?”

  Robyn stood and blew out her frustration through her bottom lip. She surveyed the park, busy with people waiting for the nighttime fireworks display. “No, I suppose not. I promised you a fun day at the park, and your mommy always delivers.”

  “One more ride?”

  “Sure, kiddo. You choose.”

  Dylan pointed at the flying swings and hopped in place.

  “The flying swings it is. Let’s go.”

  The line thinned, and Robyn reached the ticket taker in short order. She handed a ticket to the woman guarding the turnstile and kissed Dylan on the forehead.

  Dylan lifted his head. “Aren’t you coming, too?”

  “I think I’ll sit this one out if you don’t mind.” Between the hot temperature and her frayed nerves, Robyn couldn’t stomach spinning around for the next five minutes. “Mommy will wait at the gate. When the swings stop, don’t climb down from your chair. I’ll come get you.”

  Dylan nodded.

  Robyn turned to the ticket taker. “Is it okay if I help my son into his seat? I’ll leave before the ride starts.”

  “No problem at all,” she said. “And you can enter through the exit gate and help him down when the ride stops.”

  “Thank you.”

  Holding Dylan by the hand, Robyn walked her son to an open chair and lifted him. After she ensured he was strapped in, she planted another kiss on his cheek and hurried for the gate, never taking her eyes off the boy.

  A metal barricade surrounded the flying swings. Robyn leaned against the barricade and snapped a picture of Dylan with her phone. Then the ride started spinning, slowly at first, before building in speed until the riders became a blur. During the first few rotations, Robyn photographed her son, who wore a permanent grin. The centrifugal force and wind whipped his hair back and jiggled his cheeks. Eventually, the chairs swung too quickly to make out faces. Robyn was no longer sure where Dylan was, only that he sat in one of the outermost chairs. She chewed the inside of her cheek, hoping the ride would stop soon.

  The ride seemed to last forever until the chairs slowed. Robyn searched for the boy, but he was on the opposite side of the ride now. She craned her head, seeking her son as the next riders brushed against her, forcing her against the barricade. In front of her, an overweight boy in his early teens stumbled down from the swings with a green face and vomited. The retching boy set off a repulsed chorus. The other riders gave him a wide berth. A maintenance worker in a gold Empire Coasters uniform rushed inside to clean the mess,
as looky-loos gawked and laughed at the sick boy.

  Where was Dylan?

  Robyn tried to squeeze through the exit, but there were too many people pushing in the opposite direction.

  A bearded man grumbled, “The entrance is over there, you idiot. Can’t you read the signs?”

  Ignoring the man, Robyn turned sideways and slipped past the crowd. The last riders climbed down from the swings. Dylan was gone.

  Robyn cupped her elbows with her hands and searched the crowd. This time, she refused to panic. After all the excitement, Dylan had forgotten to stay in his chair. Robyn turned in a circle.

  “Dylan? Where did you go?” She caught the ticket taker’s eye. “Have you seen my son?”

  The woman shook her head with concern. “Are you sure he didn’t slip by you?”

  “He probably did,” Robyn said, though she didn’t see Dylan anywhere.

  Faustin, the security guard who’d helped her earlier, waddled over. “What’s going on now?”

  “It’s Dylan. I told him to stay on the ride until I helped him out of the chair. Now I can’t find him.”

  “He’s probably with Ally again.” Faustin spoke into his walkie-talkie. “Anyone have eyes on Ally? I’m looking for the same boy that ran off a few minutes ago . . . yeah, some parents are too busy on their phones to bother with their kids . . . right, same description . . . you sure he’s not with the alligator?”