Chapter
Seven

“Denying it won’t work.”

We sat alone at the dining room table. Reuben had already left, asking me to call him later. Esther had excused herself to clean the kitchen so Zac and I could be alone.

“You can’t prove—”

“Stop it. It had to be you. I have no choice but to send you back to the station.”

He glowered at me. “But then Ed will find out the truth. That you went to Sanctuary after he told you not to. We seem to have a standoff here.”

I sighed and put my head in my hands, thinking. There was no way I could leave yet. But how could I stay and still keep my job? I had no choice. There was only one thing left to do.

“Okay, Zac. I’m going to tell you the truth. Why I’m really here. After I’m done, I want you to explain why you felt the need to take those pictures and try to sabotage this story.”

He shrugged. “Whatever.”

I took a deep breath, praying I wasn’t making a mistake I couldn’t rectify. “When I was thirteen years old, my seven-year-old brother disappeared. At first, my parents thought he’d been kidnapped and was being held for ransom. We were rather wealthy back then. My father owned a large mortgage banking company. So they waited for a phone call. It never came. Then the bodies of young boys stared popping up about fifty miles away from where we lived in Chicago. The police were convinced the same serial killer took Ryan, even though his body was never recovered. My father believes he’s dead. That was almost ten years ago. For years after he went missing, I woke up with nightmares. Terrible dreams where he was calling to me, and I was trying to find him.”

“No one ever mentioned this at work,” Zac said, his voice heavy with skepticism. “Seems something like that would be common knowledge at a news station.”

“Ed knows. I told him when I first came to work at KDSM. He’s never revealed the truth to anyone. When I got out of college, I changed my name from Emily Erwin to Wynter Evans. I got a new name because . . . well, I needed a fresh start. A new identity. I didn’t want to be known as the girl whose brother was kidnapped. Can you understand that?”

“I guess. But what does that have to do with Sanctuary?”

“I . . . I saw a picture, Zac. Of a young man who looks a lot like Ryan. He’s here. In Sanctuary.” I held my hands up as a sign of surrender. “It’s very possible I’m deluding myself. Everyone else gave up on Ryan years ago. But I . . . I just can’t. I still have those dreams. I still hear him calling me. How can I ignore that?”

“Wow.” Zac’s normally insolent expression softened. “You said your father gave up on your brother. What about your mother?”

“We don’t talk to her about Ryan. She had a breakdown after he went missing. My father couldn’t deal with it, and they split up. Losing Ryan destroyed my family. My father and I rarely speak, and my mother . . . well, we’re close, but it’s not the same. She’s better now, but when we’re together, it feels like someone’s missing. We remind each other of Ryan, I guess.”

“I-I’m sorry, Wynter. I had no idea.”

“I appreciate that. But now I need the truth from you. Why did you take those pictures and send them to the station?”

He sighed. “Because I’m a selfish idiot.” He stood up and walked over to the window behind us. “Missy Spencer told me that if I ruined this story for you, she’d make sure I got all the plush assignments at the station. I took those pictures yesterday, sent them to the station and then called and asked them to copy the library so we’d know they received them.”

“I can’t believe you’d actually do something like that.”

He turned back toward me. “Well, believe it. Missy knows you’re being considered for the anchor chair. She wanted to knock you out of the running. She figured if you blew this story, she’d become Ed’s first choice.”

“I knew she hated me, but I had no idea she’d go to these lengths.”

Zac came over and sat down again. “I should have told her to take a hike, but it seemed like a smart career move. Somehow, I lost sight of the fact that you’re a human being with feelings and . . . problems.” He shook his head. “You may not believe this, but I was raised to care about people. My mother . . .” He cleared his throat and looked away for a moment. After a deep sigh he said, “My mother is a Christian. She tried to teach me to put other people first. Guess I didn’t listen.”

“But you said you hated being around religious people.”

“It’s a long story, and this isn’t the time for it. The important thing is that we’re finally being honest with each other. And I’d like to help you, Wynter. Really. No more tricks, I promise. I’m sorry for being such a jerk. It’s not who I really am.”

“I don’t know if what you did can be fixed, Zac.”

“I sent the pictures to a friend of mine, Amy, another photog. After she sent the e-mail, I called her and asked her to dump the pictures and delete the e-mails. I didn’t want this thing to be traced back to me. That’s when I found out we weren’t even supposed to be here.”

“What if she tells Ed?”

He shook his head. “She won’t. We keep each other’s secrets.”

“I hope you’re right,” I said. “I won’t leave Sanctuary until I know for certain that young man isn’t my brother.”

Zac stared silently at me for a moment. “Wynter,” he said finally, “if Ed knows the truth about your past, wouldn’t he understand why you need to be here?”

“When he hired me, I promised to put the past behind me. Ed made it clear he wasn’t looking for someone who was so wrapped up in her own story that she couldn’t be trusted to put the interests of the station first. You know Ed.” I lowered my voice. “‘The story comes first. It’s all about the story.’”

My attempt at sounding like Ed made Zac smile. “But you have a real lead. That should make a difference.”

“No, I don’t. I’ve found a boy who looks somewhat like my brother. That’s it. I have no reason to believe he’s Ryan. This is probably an exercise in futility. It’s just . . .” I bit my lip, unwilling to continue.

“That you have to know.”

I nodded. “I intend to proceed very carefully. I’m not looking to destroy my career. Nor do I want to cause these nice people any trouble. I need to do some digging. Some investigative reporting. I’ve done it before for a story. Now I’m doing it for myself. If I find out this teenager, this Elijah, isn’t Ryan, we’ll finish the story, head out of here, and get back to the station. No harm, no foul.”

“But how long can we remain in Sanctuary before Ed gets suspicious?”

“I don’t know. We’ll probably have to take a few quick trips to some of the other towns on our list while we’re here.” I lowered my voice so I wouldn’t be overheard. “I’ve seen Elijah only once. Somehow I’ve got to get some time with him—or with someone who knows him.”

Zac’s eyes darted toward the closed door to the dining room. “Seems to me Esther would be the best source for your questions. She’s lived here forever. She’d know when Elijah came to Sanctuary.”

“You’re right. But I’ve got to be careful. I’m afraid if I show my hand . . . let anyone know why I’m really here . . . they’ll kick us out.”

“What about calling the police?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. Not until I’m sure he’s Ryan. You heard Reuben. There are people here who value their anonymity. I don’t want to endanger them for no reason.”

Zac forced back a yawn. “Sorry. Didn’t sleep too well last night.”

“Guilty conscience?”

“Yes. And believe it or not, I do have a conscience. Just haven’t listened to it much lately. By the way, have you wondered why people are hiding out here? I mean, this town doesn’t look like the kind of place where hit men and Mafia bosses would retire.”

“Yeah, I’ve thought about it. My guess is the name Sanctuary means something. Maybe some folks are here for their own safety. If I’ve actually found Ryan, I wonder what will happen to this town. The truth could cause a media firestorm. Who would I be putting in danger?”

“I see your point. So what’s our next move?”

I smiled at his use of the word our. “Zac, you need to think about this carefully. If Ed finds out I didn’t follow orders, we could lose our jobs. Maybe you should head home. Tell Ed you’re sick or something.”

He shook his head. “No. I want to stay. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m doing something that matters.” He cocked his head to the side and gave me a lopsided grin. “You and me, Wynter. Sherlock and Watson. Nick and Nora Charles. Castle and Beckett.”

I chuckled. “We may be more like Laurel and Hardy, but I appreciate it, Zac. Really. I’ll be careful. Try to protect both our jobs.”

“That’s good enough for me.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Is there anyone else who could help us? Someone who might know something about Ryan’s abduction?”

“Just one person, but I dread calling him.”

Zac raised his eyebrows. “Who is that?”

“My dad. He knows everything about the case, and his memories of Ryan are much clearer than mine. But I really don’t want to contact him unless I have to.”

“Okay. Whatever you say.”

Zac reached for his coffee cup and took a quick sip. Then he set his cup down on the table. “So, Sherlock. The game is afoot?”

I smiled at him and nodded, but doubts filled my heart. Had I just made a serious mistake? Could I really count on Zac? For a woman who didn’t trust many people, I’d just delivered myself into the hands of a man who had tried to betray me once already.

My hand shook slightly as I took a sip of cold coffee. I’d made myself vulnerable, and I didn’t like it. Not one bit.