Page 108 of Is Anyone Listening?
"I'll call the Pinehaven Police Department," Finn said. "They can send someone out to check her house and be on the lookout for Tyler."
"And then we'll drive there," I said.
"No."
"Finn. I'm not staying here, counting on some nameless, faceless police officer to save my sister."
"I agree. You're not staying here, and neither am I. My friend flies helicopter tours. I'm going to see if he can get us to Pinehaven in the next twenty minutes. If we're lucky, we might just beat Tyler there."
As Finn moved into the kitchen to make his call, my grandmother and I exchanged a long look.
"You wanted to know me," she said finally. "The truth isn't always what you want to hear, is it?"
"No. It isn't. I'm going to need some time to sort all this out. But right now, all I want to do is find Jessica." I shook my head in amazement. "I can't believe I have a sibling."
"She's strong, too, just like you, Cassidy. She's the one who blew the whistle at the company she worked for. She risked her life to stop a wrong." Ellen paused. "That's why I don't understand what you said about Tyler wanting her to help his brother. I think the man awaiting jail is the one she's supposed to testify against."
My heart sank, because that made more sense than the story Tyler had told me. And hadn't I wondered at one point if Tyler was hiding something else? Hadn't I wondered if I was making a mistake helping him find Jessica? But I had been so desperate to have an ally, I'd pushed those misgivings aside.
On the other hand… "Tyler is an architect," I said. "I saw the blueprints he was working on at the house up the road. He's not a killer. Maybe he doesn't know that his brother is lying. Maybe his brother is using him to find Jessica."
"Maybe," Ellen said. "But we still don't know what his intentions are when he does find her."
"We've got a ride," Finn interrupted. "Are you sure you want to go, Cassidy? You're hurt. You might have a concussion."
"I can do this, and I want to do this," I said firmly. I might be running on nothing but adrenaline but I had to save my sister.
"Good luck," Ellen said as we left her apartment and headed to Finn's car.
I needed more than luck. I needed a fast helicopter and for Tyler to be stuck in traffic so he didn't get to Jessica before we did.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I'd never been in a helicopter before, but I didn't have time to be nervous. On the way to Pinehaven, I texted Morgan and Tessa, giving them the highlights. Their replies came fast and furious, filled with concern and questions and worry that the danger still wasn't over. It might not be, but I wasn't alone now. Finn was a trained soldier. He was also carrying a firearm, which he seemed to have picked up from the pilot. At any other moment in my life, that would have made me nervous, but I was afraid we might need the gun, especially if I was wrong about Tyler.
As I chatted with my friends, Finn was on his phone, too, his fingers flying through his text messages as fast as mine were.
When the helicopter landed, we got off and ran to a parking lot near the airfield, where our pilot had arranged for us to get a car.
It wasn't until we had fastened our seat belts and started our drive to Jessica's house that I had a chance to ask Finn who he'd been talking to.
"One of my former team members does private security now," Finn said. "I had him look up Tyler Pierce."
"Are you going to tell me he's not an architect?" I said warily. "Because Morgan looked into him, too, and she found the information on his brother, so that was true."
"He's an architect. But did you ever see a photo of him?"
"Why would I need a photo? I saw him in real life." At Finn's expression, my stomach twisted once more. "What?"
"I'm guessing when Morgan did her research, she didn't know what the man you were talking to looked like, did she?"
"I never sent her a photo."
He held out his phone. "This is the photo I just received."
I took his phone, shocked by the face of the man staring back at me. He had light brown hair that was thinning on the top, acne on his face, and thick-rimmed glasses. "This has to be a mistake."
"It's not, Cassidy. I think the man you met stole Tyler's identity and his life as a cover."
