Standing in the middle of the airport, Howie glanced around. He didn’t even know where to begin looking, or who to talk to. He just knew that he had to find her, and fast. He turned to Brian standing next to him.

“What now? I mean, honestly, she wouldn’t have to talk to anyone here. She would just pick up her luggage and go. Plus, there has to be dozens of taxis making rounds out there, so the odds are not in our favor that we would find the one that gave her a ride if in fact she took a taxi at all.”

Brian nodded his head in agreement. They had to think of something fast. She had several hours on them, and the longer they stood there the farther away she could get. Then he had an idea.

“What about talking to security? There are cameras everywhere around here. Maybe they could check the footage of the American Airlines terminals and baggage claims to see if they see her. At least that might give us a little bit of help. You know, in case she was met by a friend… or something.”

Howie knew that Brian was trying to be diplomatic about it. What he was really trying to say was in case she met another man here, but Howie knew better than that. Noelle wasn’t that type, but she also wasn’t they type to jump a plane across the country either.

“Okay, lets start there. At least we would be doing something and not just standing here.”

As if on cue, Leighanne walked up with three steaming cups of coffee.

“Where to now, guys?”

Getting ready to lay down, Noelle glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Then she noticed the phone. Maybe she should call Howie. He was probably worried sick. She could at least call and tell him she was staying with a friend, minus a few details.

She reached over and picked up the receiver, but instead of a dial tone she heard the dialing of a number. She was just about to hang up when she heard it start ringing. Curiosity got the better of her, so she listened as the voicemail picked up.

She heard a guy’s voice that she didn’t recognize, and he didn’t identify himself just the number that had been reached. Then she heard the beep, and Jenn’s voice.

As soon as Jenn hung up Noelle placed the phone back into its cradle. Why was Jenn calling someone she didn’t know, and telling him to come immediately? Was Jenn on their side now? Her best friend was selling her out?

She had to get out of there and fast, but how? Then it came to her.

She opened the door and walked down the hall towards the kitchen. As she rounded the corner she saw Jenn leaning up against the counter sipping a cup of coffee. The sight of Noelle made Jenn jump.

“What are you doing up? I thought you were going to take a nap?”

“I was, but I realized that I forgot one of my medications back home. Do you think that you could possibly run to the drug store and pick up a refill for me? Oh, and some mint chocolate chip ice cream and a bag of crunchy cheetos?”

Jenn made a face and giggled.

“Boy, the cravings are already here huh? Sure, no problem. Um, this guy that I work with is suppose to come over, so if he comes could you just let him in?”

Noelle nodded. She had no intentions of being here that long, but she had to make it look like she did.

Jenn gathered her purse and keys and headed out the door. Noelle ran to the window, peaking from behind the curtain to make sure Jenn was gone. As soon as she was out of site Noelle grabbed her bag and headed out the door. She felt bad leaving the way she was, but she couldn’t encounter any problems now.

She watched for any sign of Jenn as she made her way out of the building. She knew that the closest drug store was a good 20 minutes away, and that she could be plenty far enough away by the time Jenn got back.

She headed across the street to a little shopping center. She should be able to get a cab rather quickly. Now all she needed was a destination.

Security was being completely unhelpful. The longer Howie stood there and argued with them, the farther away she got. He was about at his wits end when Brian came up with a suggestion.

“Look, I know you wanted to keep this to just us, but maybe you need to let management know. People are going to start spotting us, so it will be out there soon that we are here. Maybe they can use some of the legal guys to help pull some strings. If not then we’ll have to contact the police, and I know you don’t want to do that.”

Howie sighed. Brian was right. They needed reinforcements. They couldn’t do this on their own. They were getting nowhere. He’d worked to hard to protect her from Nick, and all the pain, to have her traipse around the country where anything could happen.

While the guys worried about security cameras and legal issues, Leighanne worried about Noelle, and the baby. Most of all she fought her conscience about telling Howie. He had a right to know, but she had no right to tell. It wasn’t her place.

Cradling a warm cup of coffee in her hands, she sat down and waited. There was nothing else she could do.

As soon as the cab pulled up, Noelle ducked out of the shadows and jumped in. She tossed her bag in the floorboard and glanced up at the rear view mirror, making eye contact with the driver.

“Take me to the closest mall please.”

Fifteen minutes later she paid the cab driver and made her way into the mall. She walked straight to the mall map and located the two stores she wanted to find.

After successfully finding everything she needed, and a few extra things, she headed back downstairs to a salon she passed on the way in. She was going to make it impossible to find her.

Two hours later they made their way into the security offices to view the tapes from that morning. Leighanne sat back and watched as they tirelessly poured over video after video, watching every person carefully. She was beginning to worry that they wouldn’t find anything when it happened.

“That’s her. There she is.” Brian jumped up out of his chair and pointed to the monitor. “See, there, coming out of that restroom. Now we need to find the tapes for that time and follow her movements.”

Howie sighed and turned to Brian. “You do realize how much time that’s going to take, right?”

“I know, but I don’t know any other way. If we can find footage of what cab or car she got into, we may have a viable lead. Other than that all it tells us is that she’s here, and we already knew that.”

Howie nodded, and they began to search through the tapes looking for the right time frame. This was going to take hours.

As Jenn rounded the corner, she noticed that the apartment door was slightly open. She walked quietly up to the door, slowly pushing it open. Nothing looked out of place. She made her way down the hall and into the bedroom. That’s where she saw him, standing at the window.

“Where is she?”

“I don’t know. She was here when I left. She must have sensed that something was up.”

He turned and looked at her. “How did you get her here in the first place? The plan was to wait a month or so more before convincing her to visit.”

“It wasn’t me. She came on her own. She called last night and said she was coming out. We have a problem though.”

“What’s that?”

“She’s pregnant.”

He looked at Jenn for a sign that it was a joke or something. When he realized it wasn’t, he sat down on the end of the bed and ran his hands through his hair. “That’s going to make this much harder. No one can know, okay? You keep this information to yourself.”

“I understand, but she’s already paranoid that she’s going to lose the baby. Any stress could cause serious problems.”

He chuckled slightly and looked up at her. “Believe me, stress is the least of her worries.”

Noelle paid the cab driver and stepped out of the car. An attendant rushed to help her with her bags.

“What airline Miss?”

“ATA please.”

“Yes ma’am. Do you already have your flight info?”

“No I need to book a seat”

“Yes ma’am. Ticket counter it is.”

She followed the young man into the building, doing her best to stifle a giggle. Funny, she didn’t remember anyone falling over themselves to help her this morning when she was here. Then again, this morning no one could tell she was pregnant.

While at the mall she had purchased plenty of maternity clothes, but she had also slipped one of the belly pillows they give you to use while trying on clothes into her bag. With it on now she could easily pass for seven or eight months along.

That wasn’t the only precaution took though. While at the salon she had her long locks cut shoulder length and dyed blond, all while the stylist begged her not to. She also stopped at an eyeglass store and purchased a frame with non-prescription lenses. The girl at the counter was a bit confused as to why she would want glasses if she didn’t need them, but Noelle convinced her it was for a play she was in.

Now she was playing a part, and rather convincingly too it seemed. After getting a seat on the next plane out, which the clerk had upgraded to business class so she would be more “comfortable”, the attendant helped get her checked through security and her carryon luggage to her terminal. All that was left was to wait for the flight.

Howie and Brian were still pouring over tapes, so Leighanne decided to get another cup of coffee and stretch her legs.

When she made it to the food court the smell of cinnamon got her attention. What could a snack hurt? They’d be there for a while it seemed.

The line at Cinnabon had been short, probably because it was the middle of the day, but she was grateful nonetheless. She grabbed her coffee and cinnamon buns and headed back to the security office. Maybe they’d have had some luck.

She never once noticed the pregnant blond watching her intently from the terminal across the way.

Noelle took a deep breath. Leighanne. So they knew she was there, but they’d never spot her like this. At least she hoped they wouldn’t.

She began to feel nervous. What if they found her? She wasn’t ready to face them yet. She needed more time. Just as her nerves were about to get the better of her she heard them call her flight.

“All business class passengers for flight 4626 to Honolulu may now begin boarding. Once again, all business class passengers for flight 4626 to Honolulu may begin boarding.”

Noelle stood and grabbed her bag. She made her way over to the line. Her hands were shaking when she reached out to hand her boarding past to the girl behind the counter. The girl watched Noelle carefully.

“Nervous flyer?”

“Very. I won’t be comfortable until I’m in the air.”

The girl just grinned at Noelle and handed her pass back to her. Noelle made her way down to the plane and settled herself in. She tried to hold her hands still, but it was impossible. She was afraid that if she didn’t calm down she’d find herself losing what little lunch she was able to keep down.

Twenty minutes later she glanced out the window as the plane was taking off and breathed a sigh of relief. She was free, at least for now.

He watched her closely. Why would she pick Hawaii? He would have to keep close tabs on her. This made things even worse. The secrets Hawaii held could potentially make this whole thing blow up in everyone’s faces, and she’d suffer the worst.