Chapter 67

sixty-seven

LIAM

I walked out of a meeting with my boss and looked around the office. Two other special agents were working at their desks. For a Tuesday, it was quieter than usual, which was more than okay with me. With only a couple of days left until I flew to Chicago, there was a lot of work I needed to finish. So far, I'd managed to debrief another agent about half of my cases, but I still had a long way to go.

Spending so long in Sunrise Bay had almost been a blessing. It had reduced the number of additional cases I was working on and would make leaving my job a lot easier. It had also left me wondering what I was doing with my life.

I missed Paul and Amy so much that it felt as though I'd left a piece of my heart in Sunrise Bay. I hadn't spoken to either of them since Alex's engagement party and, if I'd used my brain, I would have broken the news about my new job to Paul a little differently.

"I take it you haven't had breakfast?" Bill Adams, another special agent, asked me.

"How did you guess? "

Bill smiled. "You get a hungry dog look on your face. I'm about to head out, myself. Do you want to join me?"

I stood in front of my desk. The folders stacked in neat piles wouldn't go away unless I worked on them. "I can't. But if you're going to Debbie's Diner, can you get me a chicken burger."

"Do you want fries?"

I thought about all the takeout I'd been eating. For someone who usually lived on healthy food, my diet was looking decidedly grim. "No, thanks. The burger will be enough." I pulled twenty dollars out of my wallet and handed it to Bill. "Did you manage to track down the father of the missing teenager?"

Bill shook his head. "No one knows where he's gone. It could be a long search. I'll be back soon."

I sat at my desk. If I was lucky, by the time Bill got back, at least one folder would be ready for filing. With the clock ticking, I took the top folder off the pile, then remembered to turn on my cell phone. As usual, there were too many messages waiting for me. I scrolled through the list of recent calls and frowned. The last four were from Paul.

I opened my voice mail. Something must have happened.

Hearing the panic in his voice made my heart pound.

Amy was missing. I checked the time. Forty minutes had gone by since Paul had left the last message. I called his cell phone, hoping he answered straight away.

"Hi, Liam. It's Paul. We still haven't found her."

"Have you called the police?"

"The school called them as soon as they realized she was missing. The radio stations, TV channels, and community Facebook pages are all showing Amy's photo. But no one has seen her. "

Paul's voice shook so badly that I almost didn't understand what he was saying. "Take a deep breath. Sunrise Bay isn't Milwaukee. There are good people there. Everyone will be doing their best to find her."

"I don't know what to do next. I've been driving around Sunrise Bay looking for her."

"Is someone at your house in case she goes home?"

"A neighbor is there. Jonathon checked the library and the general store. Is there anywhere else you've taken her that she might have gone?"

I closed my eyes and focused on helping Paul. Thinking about all the things that could have happened to Amy was tearing me apart.

"We went to the pet store on Main Street. There's a llama farm a few miles out of town, but it's too far for her to have traveled on foot. Has someone searched the school grounds?"

"The police have been to the school. Can you wait a minute? Someone's trying to call me."

"I'll be right here." While I waited for Paul, I grabbed my keys and jacket and headed toward my boss's office.

"Are you there?" Paul's voice was even more fragile than before.

"I'm here."

"That was the police. They want me to go home and wait there."

I was thankful they hadn't asked him to go to the police station. "Ask your neighbor to stay with you. Call me if you hear anything else. I'm coming to Sunrise Bay."

"You don't need to. The police said?—"

"I don't care what they said. I'm coming. Call the police officer you've been speaking to and tell them about the other places Amy could have gone. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know." I took a deep, steadying breath. "I know it's hard, but try to remain positive. Amy will be somewhere in Sunrise Bay. We'll find her."

"She's been gone for nearly two hours."

"It will be all right," I repeated. "The police will call you as soon as they know anything."

"Okay. I'll go home and wait there."

"Try not to worry. I'll be in touch soon." I ended the call and knocked on my boss's door.

Even if Amy had found shelter, it was bitterly cold anywhere in Colorado. By now she'd have hypothermia or worse.

I hoped someone had found her and taken her inside. The alternative wasn't worth thinking about.