She grabbed her purse and hurried into the house without bothering to knock. “Sarah,” she called, scanning the rooms as she rushed down the hall.
“Back here,” Sarah answered, her voice weak.
Alex ran the rest of the way down the hall and into the kitchen and ran straight into the last person in the world she expected or wanted to see.
His shoulders were wider, his upper body harder and leaner than she’d ever seen him. And she’d seen every inch. “Holt,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “I didn’t know you were back.”
Ten years ago, he’d run away to war—the one place he could be certain his past couldn’t follow him.
His hands were still on her shoulders, and he stood so close she could feel the heat coming off his body. The smell of his aftershave tickled her nose, and instantly she remembered the last time his hands had been on her body. The last time she’d been completely absorbed with Holt—mind, body and soul.
“Been back for a month now,” he said, and looked down at her with those sexy green eyes that had been the cause of many a weak moment on her part.
But no more.
She stepped back so that he was forced to drop his hands, and that was when she noticed the badge on his belt. “You’re working for your uncle?”
“I’m just filling in until I figure out what I want to do next and until his broken leg heals.”
“Is Sarah okay?”
Holt moved to the side and motioned her into the breakfast nook where Sarah sat, staring out the back window. “You tell me.”
Alex walked over to the table and slid onto the chair next to Sarah. Her cousin took one look at her, flung her arms around her neck and began sobbing. “They don’t believe me. My baby’s gone and they don’t believe me.” The volume of her voice increased with every word until she was shouting.
Alex untangled Sarah’s arms from her neck and studied her cousin. Her skin was pale, but normal, given the situation. Her eyes were red from crying, but Alex didn’t see any disconnect from reality in them.
“Who doesn’t believe you?”
Sarah pointed to Holt. “The sheriff’s department. They think I’m crazy.”
A flash of anger washed over Alex like a tidal wave and she turned to face Holt. “A six-year-old is missing from her own neighborhood in broad daylight. Exactly what does it take for the sheriff’s department to become concerned?”
“My uncle said—”
“Your uncle wouldn’t have a nice thing to say about Sarah even if it meant avoiding eternal damnation.” Alex turned her attention back to Sarah. “I need you to take a deep breath and tell me what happened.”
Sarah nodded and took a deep breath, blowing it slowly out. “Right after lunch, Erika went to her friend’s house up the street to play. I stood outside and watched her until she went inside their house. She was supposed to be home by three.”
“But she didn’t come home?”
“No. At three-fifteen, I called her friend’s mother to remind Erika to leave, but the mother said Erika had left at five ’til, just like she was supposed to.”
“Did the friend’s mother watch her walk home?”
“No. Erika walked with her friend all the way to the house and then her friend crossed the street to go to her music lesson.”
“Did her friend see Erika go in the house?”
Sarah shook her head. “She said when she was closing the door, she saw Erika checking the mail. But when I came outside to look for her, the mail was lying in the street.” Sarah began to cry again. “They think Bobby took her. He’s a lying, worthless, cheating waste-of-a-husband, but he’s a good father. Bobby would never take Erika away from me.”
Alex blew out a breath, trying to make sense of everything Sarah had said. Her cousin’s story didn’t fill in all the gaps and she had a feeling those gaps were important. Unfortunately, the one person who could give her the answers she needed was the last person she wanted to talk to.
She opened her purse and took out a prescription for antianxiety medication that she’d filled for Sarah the day before. Ever since Sarah’s split from Bobby, she’d had trouble sleeping and concentrating. The meds took the edge off and allowed her to act normal even though she didn’t feel normal. “I want you to take this,” she said, and placed a pill in Sarah’s hand. “I need to know everything you can think of. In order to be helpful, you need to be refreshed and calm. While the medicine is doing its job, I want you to take a hot shower.”
Sarah opened her mouth to protest, but Alex held up a hand to stop her. “I’m saying this as your doctor. No arguments.”
Sarah looked at Alex, her expression wavering between wanting to comply and wanting to argue, then she glanced over at Holt and sighed. “Fine.”
Alex rose from the table and pushed a glass of water closer to Sarah. Sarah placed the pill in her mouth and took a big drink, her hand shaking a bit as she lowered the glass back to the table. Her cousin rose from the table and hugged Alex.
“I feel better already because you’re here,” Sarah said. “You’re the smartest person I know. You’ll find Erika.” Sarah broke off the hug and trudged down the hall toward her bedroom.
Alex stared after her, trying to keep her own heart from breaking over the situation. She and Sarah had been born only a month apart and were more like sisters than cousins. She and Erika were the only family Alex had left since her own parents had died in a car wreck twelve years before. The day Erika was born, Alex had been almost as proud as Sarah, and to think of that little girl, taken from her home, was beyond upsetting. But one of them had to remain calm and collected, and that role almost always fell to Alex.
She looked over at Holt, who was leaning against the kitchen counter. “I need you to tell me exactly what is going on. No speculation or your uncle’s gossip. Cold, hard facts are all I’m interested in.”
Holt smiled. “
Cold
was never in your vocabulary when I knew you.
Hard
…well, that’s a whole other story.”
Alex felt a flush rise up her neck. “And one that will not be remembered or relived now or at any other time. A little girl is missing. Her mother is frantic. Surely, you can tell me something.”
Holt’s expression changed from teasing to serious.
“Sarah called the sheriff’s office this afternoon in a panic. I came out here to see what was up, then followed up on the leads. What she told you is correct. I talked to the friend’s mother and she verified the story. I checked with the other neighbors, but no one saw Erika.”
“Then why haven’t you formed a search party? Do I have to remind you that not a hundred yards from the backyard of this house is the swamp?”
“It rained the past couple of days. I walked a two-mile stretch of the tree line and never saw a single footprint. So unless Erika walked beyond that before entering the swamp, that’s not where she is.”
Alex nodded, not wanting to admit that so far, everything Holt said made sense. “And this theory about Bobby taking Erika?”
“Pretty much everyone knows about the split between Bobby and Sarah and what caused it, so the sheriff thought I better check with Bobby before sending out an alert and panicking the town.” He looked down the hallway for a second then back at Alex. “Is she all right…mentally, I mean?”
“She was angry over Bobby’s cheating, and rightly so, and she’s clearly upset now and perhaps in a bit of shock. But given the circumstances, I don’t see anything wrong with her reactions.”
“So she’s sane?”
Alex bristled. “I can’t discuss a client’s medical condition with you. I’ve already said more than I should have.”
“So even if there was something wrong, you wouldn’t tell me?”
“
Couldn’t
tell you. There’s a big difference. But as nothing is wrong, aside from the obvious, this is a pointless discussion. What happened when you talked to Bobby?”
“Nothing. His fourplex unit was stripped clean and so were his bank accounts.”
Alex stared, completely taken aback with what Holt had said. “His employer?”
“He gave notice two weeks ago and had already worked his last day. Said he’d gotten a better job in New Orleans.”
“And that…that woman?”
Holt grimaced. “Oh, she had plenty to say about Bobby, especially as the affair ended her marriage, too. Apparently, middle-aged, unemployed, uneducated women who sleep with their best friend’s husbands aren’t exactly desired by employers or anyone else.”
“My heart bleeds for her. So did she know where Bobby moved?”
“Yeah, see, that’s where it gets interesting. She says he was going back home to Brazil.”
Alex froze. “Permanently?”
Holt shrugged. “The New Orleans police haven’t turned up a new residence or employer so far.”
“You think he stole his child and fled to Brazil? Erika didn’t even have a passport.”
“Yes, she did. He filed for one a couple months ago.”
Alex took a couple of seconds to digest that. “Did Sarah know?”
“Yeah. She said he was planning to take Erika to visit his family in Brazil during summer vacation.”
“Sarah knows how to contact his relatives. What do they say?”
“Naturally, they all claim ignorance on the subject.”
Alex’s mind swam with all the implications of Holt’s theory, but no matter how much sense it made on the surface, it didn’t add up for Alex, either. “You’ve checked the airports.”
“Of course, and if we’d found anything, this would already be over.”
“So that means he didn’t take her out of the country.”
“No. It just means he didn’t fly. Given that he took all his belongings, it’s more logical that he’s driving.”
“So you’re going to do nothing?”
“I’ve notified Louisiana and Texas law enforcement that Erika was missing and sent them photos of her and Bobby and all the information on Bobby’s car. I contacted several news agencies here and in Texas, and they’ve agreed to show a picture and ask viewers to call a hotline if they’ve seen either of them.” Holt sighed. “What else would you like me to do?”
“Nothing,” Alex said. “You’re right. There’s nothing left to do but wait and pray.”
Holt nodded. “Then I’ll get going and let you take care of Sarah. If you need anything, call dispatch, and they’ll get in touch with me.”
Alex followed him down the hall to the front door. He stepped outside, then turned back to face her. “I’m really sorry about all of this,” he said. “I know my uncle and Sarah have their issues, but I promise you my uncle’s beliefs do not interfere with my investigation. I’m doing everything I can to find Erika.”
Alex nodded and he turned and walked to his truck. She watched as he drove down the block in the vanishing sunlight. She didn’t doubt Holt was doing everything he could. He wasn’t the kind of man who took failure lightly—she knew that better than anyone. But Holt didn’t know what she did—that Sarah was telling the truth.
There was no way Bobby would have taken Erika away from Sarah. She was as certain of that as she was of anything. And since it was unlikely Erika had gotten lost in the swamp, Alex knew something very bad had happened to the child.
It was up to her to find out what.
Chapter Two
Holt Chamberlain pulled away from Sarah’s house, a million thoughts running through his head. All but one had to do with Alexandria Bastin. He’d known Alex was on her way to Vodoun when he went to Sarah’s house, and he thought he’d mentally prepared himself for seeing her again. Now that he had, he realized how egotistical he’d been to think he was prepared.
Like holding up a trash can lid to stave off a tidal wave.
Ten years hadn’t taken a single thing away from her. Her face was more mature than the college girl he’d left behind, but still as beautiful as he remembered. Her thick blond hair, a gift from her German mother, had been pulled up on top of her head, but he had no doubt that when released, it would fall in thick waves down her shoulders. And even in her official hospital business suit, he could see her body wasn’t missing a trick. She was walking sexy and still as sharp as they came.
He’d been prepared for his body to react, for his heart to tug a bit when he laid eyes on his first love. But what he’d experienced was a total annihilation of senses. There was no preparation for that, short of death.
All that running and he’d landed back in Vodoun right smack in the middle of the same turmoil he’d been in when he’d made the decision to leave. Time and distance hadn’t changed anything except allowing him to temporarily forget.
And all of that took a backseat to the one thing that had nothing to do with his past with Alex—Sarah’s missing daughter. He couldn’t argue with the logic. Everything he’d found backed up his uncle’s idea that Bobby had kidnapped his daughter and fled to Brazil, but something didn’t feel right to Holt.
Things in Mystere Parish never did.
Something about the stretch of dense swamp that comprised most of the parish was unlike anywhere he’d ever been before, and he’d seen plenty of conflicted places during his military service. Not that Mystere was conflicted. In fact, it appeared to be comprised of small, peaceful towns filled with down-to-earth, law-abiding people. But under that surface of pleasant normalcy, Mystere hid secrets. Some of those secrets eventually rose to the surface.
It was the ones that hadn’t yet that concerned Holt.
Hoping his uncle was right for a change, Holt decided to take another look at Bobby and directed his truck toward the fourplex where Bobby had lived. Bobby taking Erica was the simple answer—the good answer. Holt didn’t want to think about the options until he’d eliminated the most obvious and the safest for the child.
The deputy had taken statements from the people occupying the two front units this afternoon, but the woman who lived directly across from Bobby in the other rear unit hadn’t been home. Maybe she was available now and could fill in some of the gaps.
He was about to pull up in back of the fourplex when his cell phone rang. He checked the display and frowned. His uncle.
Holt’s grandfather had married Lorraine after the death of his first wife, Holt’s paternal grandmother. After several miscarriages, Jasper Conroy had been a surprise baby for Lorraine. He was only two years older than Holt, but he wore the “Uncle” title as proudly as he did his sheriff’s badge. The man’s body might be restricted to bed rest, but it hadn’t stopped his mouth from traveling far and often.