Morgan sat beside Rachel on the couch, his arm around her quivering body as she sobbed. His eyes weren’t dry either, but he couldn’t let her see that. He had to be strong for both her and himself, and he began by holding her tight and stroking her hair. It wasn’t much in the way of comfort, but if she could just feel like she wasn’t alone, he considered it a start.
Across the room, Gary operated as Detective Gary Lee, ordering officers around the house and keeping everything in order. Every now and then he would stop, nodding to Morgan in his own way of assuring him that he was handling it. Morgan nodded back his thanks and glanced over at the window, where Mason Black stood outside with his back to the glass, the smoke blending with the cold air to make it look like a burst of steam until it faded into the night. How had he dealt with it when this had happened to him, he wondered? Morgan had read the police reports: Amy Black had been taken, as had his sister and ex-wife. The reports said everything about the order of events but made no mention of how Mason had dealt with it as a man. As a father. He made a mental note to ask him if he got the chance.
But what about now?
The question circled his brain like vultures over a rotten carcass. Their shadows crawled over his conscience, reminding him that this was all his fault. Thank God Rachel didn’t see it that way, he thought, but that didn’t alleviate the blame he placed on himself. After all the discussions they’d had in recent months, it seemed his job had finally been the thing that destroyed them. If anything happened to Robin—if they never got him back in one piece—he would never forgive himself.
It was bad enough that Rachel had been hurt. In her report, she talked about how Erika had forced her way in through the front door and stormed through the house until she found Robin sleeping upstairs. Rachel had put up the fight of her life, she’d said, and Morgan had no trouble believing it. Hell, she was as protective a mother as one could find, and the blow to the head with a decorative ashtray was what it took to knock her down. Thankfully for them, it’d done no more damage than to render her unconscious for a long while. Since then, the paramedics had patched her up. Physically speaking, it was a lucky escape, but the gaping hole in their hearts was tremendous. It only grew stronger with each passing minute.
“Can I talk to you a minute?”
Morgan twisted his neck to look beside him, where Gary had made his way over and crouched beside him, speaking with a soft, soothing tone. “Here?”
“Outside.”
Gently moving Rachel to one side, he kissed her on the cheek and promised he’d return shortly. She nodded and mumbled something, but Morgan couldn’t make it out through her tears. He reached for the nearby box of tissues, yanked some out and handed them to her, then placed the box in her lap, covering her with the blanket. He hated to leave her, but with any luck this was about finding Erika, and there was no way he would miss out on that.
Outside, the brisk winter air assaulted his body with icy pricks. Morgan shivered and wrapped his arms around his chest, rubbing his ribs. Gary led the way and Morgan followed, passing by Mason and continuing until they were at the end of the driveway.
“How you holding up?” Gary asked, leaning his back against a police cruiser.
“My baby boy is missing. What do you think?”
Gary made a tutting sound. “You level-headed in this?”
“I always am. You know that.”
“Right. But Rachel needs you at her side. Are you there, or are you here?”
Morgan glanced back at the house, looking at the doorway where they’d once taken a picture of the two of them. They’d just moved in together, and the brand-new adventure had just begun. If he’d known then that he’d cause so much pain, he never would have put her in harm’s way. “This happened because of me. I’ll do anything to make it right.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Gary stood up straight, checked around him, and then lowered his tone. “The captain specifically requested that I keep you out of this, but that goes against my nature. If I let you in, you have to remain subtle. Can you do that?”
For just a moment, Morgan felt a faint flicker of hope. It lifted his heart as well as his spirits, but it also grabbed his curiosity. “Whatever it is—whatever little piece of information you have—I want it. Please, just… Please.”
“All right.” Gary scratched his cheek. “We just got a call from a lady three blocks from here. Says she saw a suspicious-looking woman struggling to hold a baby.”
Morgan’s heart felt like it was bleeding. “Does she match Erika’s description?”
“She does, yeah. She said it was dark, but the general description fits. And the Winnie the Pooh bag you reported missing was hanging from her shoulder.”
“Then why are we wasting time? Let’s go see her.” Morgan took two steps back toward his car before he felt a strong hand clamp around his arm. He turned to see Gary shaking his head, a frown creasing up his features.
“We’ve seen to all that.”
“And?”
“The woman—Erika—got into a company truck.”
“Did she get the name of the company?”
Gary nodded. “Heywood Logistics. We got in touch with them, and they’ve located the driver. He’s on his way back to the depot, so if we hurry we can meet him there in twenty minutes. But I’m not kidding: you have to play nice.”
“Always.”
Morgan felt fluttery as he followed Gary to the car. He rushed to the passenger side and opened the door, the slightest hint of faith seeping into the back of his mind. This could lead him to Robin, he realized. It wasn’t even about catching Erika now. He just wanted his boy back in his arms, safe and sound. Whatever happened to that woman was none of his concern.
“Wait.”
Morgan had one foot in the car when he heard the deep voice. He turned.
“Anything I can do?” Mason said, flicking a cigarette into the street where it rolled slowly toward the drain and finally fell in. “You’ve gone out of your way to help me, and whether or not you send the bill to my daughter, I still feel like I owe you big-time. Let me help.”
His breath caught in his throat, Morgan glanced over to Gary, who sat shrugging beside him. It couldn’t hurt, he thought, but there were sensible ways to take him up on the offer without dragging him right into the investigation. Morgan cleared his throat and set his foot back on solid ground, the engine roaring to life behind him. “Don’t you have your own family to go home to? I’m sure they’re missing you.”
“I’m not going anywhere without my car,” he said.
“That might take a while.”
“Then so be it.”
Morgan studied him: the pushed-out chest and stern gaze told him this man was serious. It would be useful to have a man of such experience on his side, but as he kept telling himself, allocation of troops was the best strategy. “Then I’d appreciate it if you could stay here and be with Rachel until we get back. She’s all alone in there with a missing son.”
“You want me to comfort a lady in distress?”
“Sort of.”
Mason bobbed his head and strolled back to the house. “Count on me.”
It was a strange placement of trust, but for some reason Morgan didn’t feel as though it was misplaced. Somewhere inside Mason Black—once you fought your way through his bullshit bravado—was a kind and considerate person. That was enough to let Morgan know his wife was in safe hands while he climbed into the car and buckled up.
“I’m ready,” he said to Gary in a thin wheeze of breath. “Let’s go find Erika.”