The Love I Found: Contemporary Romance Mystery (Ariadne Silver Romance Mystery #3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Book Samples

  Thank You

  Booklist

  The Love I Found

  (Contemporary Romance Mystery)

  Book 3 of the Ariadne Silver Romance Mystery Series

  Morris Fenris

  Love Romance Publications House

  The Love I Found

  Book 3 of the Ariadne Silver Romance Mystery Series

  Copyright 2015 Morris Fenris

  Love Romance Publications House

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Chapter 1

  I

  It was not long before Ariadne Silver was on the road to recovery. The trials and tribulations she had gone through in early childhood had given her a mental toughness that could not be broken by a mild heart attack. Her resolve helped her and her conditions improved dramatically. Moreover, the fact that she had finally learnt about the whereabouts of her step-daughter gave her a new lease of life. The doctors were quite happy with the progress she was making and decided to release her after only a week in medical care. However, she would have to maintain a number of restrictions in life and avoid stressing herself in any situation.

  Lucien had been close by Ariadne’s side ever since returning to the States. He was pleased to learn of her release and that she would be able to return to her normal life. On the morning when she was slated to return home, Lucien reached the hospital early so that there was no unnecessary delay with the paper work and Ariadne could be let off without any delay. The doctor called him in to his office and gave clear instructions on what he must do to care for his wife. She had to be kept away from any unnecessary excitement; else she risked a lapse of another potentially dangerous attack.

  The couple returned home and Lucien gave Ariadne enough time to settle down back into her regular schedule. They were still worried about Eugenia since there was no news of her whereabouts. However, her letter had brought with it a renewed hope for Eugenia’s parents who clung on to hopes of finding her alive and well. The fact that she had finally made contact after a gap of three years was like an indication of their missing daughter being happy and well.

  Lucien kept his promise of looking after Ariadne while she slowly made her way towards total recovery. He kept reassuring her that their Eugenia was fine and would soon be back with them. There had been a profound emptiness in their lives ever since Eugenia went missing but they had become accustomed to it. Now, fate had conspired to bring them back together and there was no way either Lucien or Ariadne wanted to let go off that small piece of happiness.

  At that moment, Lucien and Ariadne had very little to do but wait for some more news to come through. The original photograph, as well as the envelope in which it had been delivered, were in the possession of the forensic team working in the city. They believed they could get some kind of information out of it, possibly a finger print or two that could help them track down the newly married couple. This was a major challenge and the forensic team seemed to relish the opportunity.

  Eugenia’s kidnapping had been an unsolved mystery due to the lack of clues or any points on the basis of which the police could progress. The file had been gathering dust in the police archives and many had altogether forgotten about the case. Now, with a new piece of information having shown up after three years, there was a renewed sense of excitement surrounding Eugenia’s case. Detective Larry Hatfield had been working on the case back then; the new piece of information had been passed on to him in the police department. So it only made sense that he should be the one leading the team once again as they went all out in search of the unbeknownst location of Eugenia and her husband.

  II

  It was just as Larry had expected – the photograph that Ariadne had received by post was not enough to give the police a lead on locating Eugenia. Nevertheless, it had enough clues to fill in some of the pieces that had so far been missing from the whole mystery puzzle.

  The reopening of the case was once more giving Detective Hatfield some sleepless nights. The forensic team with Phoenix Police had been working tirelessly to establish some worthwhile data from the photograph but had not been able to make much headway. The postcard had passes around too many hands so finding a clear fingerprint from it seemed an improbable task. However, the identity of the man in the picture – Eugenia’s lawfully wedded husband – had been established.

  The young groom went by the name of Damien Garvin. He was on the police records for being a petty thief and street hustler in Phoenix. Damien had been convicted on numerous occasions for the illegal possession of drugs and stolen goods, and had even served few months behind bars. Though the police always kept tabs on him, he never proved to be a headache for the force and seemed to have a way around with the law enforcers. He had gone off the radar around three years ago at exactly the same time that Eugenia was kidnapped but no one could have ever imagined that the two disappearances were linked – while she was from a well to do family in the city, Damien was a typical gutter-rat!

  Larry stayed up at night. His hunch that Eugenia had staged her own kidnapping had been confirmed long back, now it was reinforced a little more. What remained to be established was how the two of them had possibly met and hatched the plan that they did. A number of theories formed in his mind but one of these struck him as the only possible reasoning.

  “First thing in the morning,” he told himself, “There are certain things I need to know from Ariadne and Lucien to tie up the loose ends in my theory.”

  ***

  “We have identified Eugenia’s husband,” Larry said, addressing Ariadne and her husband as they sat down in the latter’s drawing room for a discussion. Then he revealed his identity.

  The couple could hardly believe their ears. Eugenia their bright, well-educated, and highly-talented daughter running off with a petty thief? Lucien had a good mind of having another go at the detective but held himself back. Ariadne spoke, “Are you sure of that Larry?”

  Larry put on a grim look on his face. “I know this will be difficult for you to accept but the truth cannot be altered. Besides, the face recognition software does not lie. Nevertheless, the question is how the two of them came to be acquainted in the first place.”

  Lucien and Ariadne exchanged glances. None of them had any clue on this subject. The detective spoke again, “Tell me, was Eugenia behaving a little strangely just before she was kidnapped?”

  Both parents remembered how Eugenia had been regularly returning late from her classes and how she seemed to be slowly distancing herself from them. Ariadne mentioned this to Larry, “I would often rebuke her for returning late, but she insisted the delay was because she was spending more time in the library doing her lessons. We thought something was fishy but before we could find out more this whole thing with her disappearance came about.”

  “Hmm…,” the detective said thoughtfully.
This, he felt, was an important piece of information. He decided to share his theory with the couple.

  Larry was well aware that Eugenia, having had successful treatment in the United States, was able to move freely with the help of her prosthetic. She would go to school and return home on her own for, at fourteen years of age, she was obviously old enough for that. Damien could have met her on one such occasion. It was hard to tell how the events might have played out since all of this was a mere hunch, but the obvious thing is that the two of them became friends. Also, Eugenia may have told Damien that she was the only child in an affluent family who lived in Phoenix. This could have further cemented their relation and it is easy to believe that Damien may have insisted on that. She was also having issues back at home with her parents over coming late, and this could have created a feeling of anger and mistrust in her mind. Damien, upon hearing of this, may have insisted that they run away and settle down elsewhere to lead a happy life. The issue of finances must have come up and that’s where Eugenia probably agreed to stage her own kidnapping. While she was not mature enough to recognize true love, her anger towards Ariadne and Lucien could have forced her into taking such a drastic action.

  Larry finished talking and then sat quietly. The two people in front of him did not move. Lucien looked like he was in some kind of daze, still unable to comprehend the true motive behind his daughter’s actions. As for Ariadne, she could very well make sense of what Eugenia had done. Desperation, she realized, could drive a person to do really crazy things and this she had learnt from her own life!

  III

  The whole idea of getting a formal education never really appealed to Eugenia. She despised having to read a whole lot of text that was taught in school. Though she never fared badly, her heart was never totally into studies. It was music that she considered to be her soul-mate. All that Eugenia wanted to do in life was have a thorough knowledge of music; this was once instance when she did not mind putting in the long hours of studies. And then there was the piano! If Eugenia could have her way, she would spend the rest of her life harping on the keys of a grand piano.

  At a crossroad near her school, Eugenia often found a young man selling some stuff out of a handcart. Whenever, he showed up there would be a large crowd near his store and he would sell out all his goods in a few hours. She would often wonder about what the man could possibly sell that would make his business in such high demand. One evening as she approached the crossing, she found the young man standing by his cart. There weren’t many customers about that day and Eugenia though it would be a nice opportunity to check out the things that were being sold on the cart. She was about to head over when all of a sudden four men appeared on a couple of motorcycles. They were armed with sticks and rods. The young man seemed a little startled to see them but before he could react, the men were all over him. They beat him mercilessly with their weapons and ransacked his cart. Then they left on their motorcycles and left the young man to die on the streets. The few customers who were around had run away as soon as the four men pounced on the salesman. Now, the street was pretty empty except for Eugenia and the bruised young man.

  Though she was young, Eugenia had a good presence of mind. She realized the man was in need of medical attention. She located a public telephone booth nearby and called up 911. When her call was answered, she narrated everything that had happened. The operator asked her for the location and thanked her for the call. Eugenia walked back to where the man was lying on the road and knelt down beside him. He was breathing heavily and bleeding from a deep gash on his forehead. For a brief period he opened his eyes and looked up at Eugenia, trying to smile through his broken teeth. Soon the paramedics and police arrived. They took down a statement from the girl and left with the man. Eugenia prayed for his speedy recovery. That would be the day when she reached home late for the first time!

  Over the next few days, Eugenia often wondered how the man was doing. She felt a little uneasy so when one evening she found the man back in his usual place, a feeling of joy swept up in her heart. She went up to the man with a look of glee on her face. The man noticed her and gave her a smile. The signs of that ugly fight were not visible on him. Eugenia smiled back at him and started looking through what he was selling. She could not find anything attractive save for a pair of silver bracelets that caught her attention. However, she was sure that she would not have the money to buy it. Nevertheless, she decided to ask the price.

  “How much for those?” she asked, pointing at the bracelets.

  “Sixty dollars,” the man said, picking them up and handing the pair over to Eugenia. She felt a little shy. “No thank you, I don’t have the money.”

  “Take it, for you it’s free,” he said, putting on a wide smile. Before she could say anything, he continued, “Consider this to be a sign of my appreciation for what you did the other day.”

  Eugenia blushed. Never before had any man treated her with such love and respect except her father. She held out hand and accepted the bracelets. She was at a loss for words and simply left for home. The bracelets remained hidden among her books. Eugenia did not want her parents to find out anything about what had passed over the past few days.

  Slowly but surely, the two of them would develop a good friendship and understanding. She found out that he was called Damien and was a small businessman by trade. Damien, on his part, came to know that Eugenia was from one of the well-to-do families in Phoenix. He realized that she was starting to fall for him and decided to make full use of her simplicity. Damien would show up in front of her school every evening, sometimes even without his cart just so that he could spend some time with her, or so he would have her believe. Initially, they would just have a brief chat every before Eugenia returned home. However, the disbelieving nature of Ariadne and Lucien brought out the rebellious monster inside her. She started crossing all limits and would spend even more time with Damien, hanging out in malls and coffee shops around town. This extended to weekends when Eugenia would simply leave home without informing her parents and return home late at night. One evening, unable to bear the chidings of her parents, she proposed to Damien that she would love to disappear. For him, this was like music to his ears. Damien always took more interest in her wealth rather in the girl herself. They hatched the whole plan of Eugenia’s kidnapping and decided that a ransom of two million dollars would be good enough to fulfill their dreams and make them happy in life. Eugenia had just one condition to throw in – she would agree to the whole plan of staging her own abduction only if Damien would let her keep part of the money for paying for her tuition at Julliard. He readily agreed to it, though his true intentions lay elsewhere. However, he was not stupid to reveal his true intentions to his prey. Over time, though, Damien would realize that Eugenia offered more than just a short-term solution to his financial woes. She was a rare talent in the art of playing the piano. Soon, Eugenia started looking less like a dollar symbol to Damien; he could see her becoming a star and that meant more fame and bigger sums of money to roll around in. He decided he needed a change of plans!

  ***

  As soon as the two million dollar ransom came into their hands, Eugenia and Damien went wild with joy. They did everything that one would expect a young couple with loads of money to do. Though Eugenia was from a well-off family, never before had she understood the meaning of material pleasure. Now, with all the money at her disposal, she went around buying expensive jewelry for herself. Her wardrobe underwent a total makeover, cheap clothing now replaced by high-end global brands – Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Caprese. As for Damien, it was a story of going from rags-to-riches. He started living the life of a king. A man who had never managed to ride anything beyond a decades old Fiat was suddenly the owner of a Cadillac ATS Coupe and a Lincoln MKZ, cars that were signature possessions of the richest in America. They had some excellent luxuriant holidays in the posh settings of Florida and California. Their little pot of gold bought them all the happiness that money could possi
bly buy. Before long, however, the gold was gone and the young couple was left behind with an empty worthless pot.

  IV

  Eugenia was fifteen when she had staged her kidnapping and disappeared. She never realized how time flew around her as she slowly matured into a woman, pampered in the laps of luxury by her parent’s two million dollars. Damien, meanwhile, had done his bit to ensure that his star lady would never want to be reunited with her parents. Eugenia was just few months away from turning eighteen when he proposed marriage to her. She could not believe her ears and was delighted with the proposal. Life had turned for the better with Damien by her side and she was sure this was the man who would ultimately lead her to stardom. She immediately agreed to exchange marriage vows. However, they decided to wait till Eugenia was eighteen years old. Then she would be able to get married without the consent of her parents.

  On the day of her eighteenth birthday, Eugenia and Damien bid farewell to life in Arizona and eloped to Reno, Nevada. Here, they visited a marriage counselor’s office and registered themselves as a newly married couple. Damien Garvin was now officially and legally married to Eugenia Valier who would henceforth be known as Alicia Garvin. Alicia was her second name and she decided to take up Damien’s surname to complete her new identity. Then they visited a local parish church and completed the religious formalities of marriage. When it came to the matter of marriage, neither the bride nor the groom held any expectations so exchanging their marriage vows in front of an audience that comprised of an old man and a drunken wreck was more than they could have possibly asked for. However, Eugenia felt the absence of her parents all of a sudden on this special day. She insisted that they send them a postcard with the information of their wedding, just to let them know that she was happy and well. Damien did not see any harm in this for he had already bagged the big prize he was after – Alicia Garvin! So they went to a studio and had their photo taken which was then posted in the name of Ariadne and Lucien to her home address in Phoenix.