7 Cope
Cope sat at Ten and Ronan’s kitchen table while activity swirled around him. Ronan had been calling all the local hospitals to see if any dark haired John Doe patients had been brought into the emergency room that day. Fitzgibbon was on the phone with Cisco Jackson, explaining the situation, and Tennyson was going through his phone calling any and every one, including parents of Everly’s classmates, in hopes they’d seen Jude or his Thunderbird out and about in Salem.
Fitz hung the phone up and offered Cope a worried smile. He stayed silent until Ronan and Tennyson finished their calls. “Anything, Ronan?”
The detective shook his head. “I called all the hospitals and urgent care clinics from here to Southern New Hampshire and as far south as the Cape. No one had Jude or a nameless patient fitting his description.”
Cope sank his head into his hands. He didn’t want Jude to be hurt or hospitalized, but at least they would have known where he was and could rush to his husband’s side. Now, they were back at square one. “Ten, has anyone you called seen Jude?”
Ten shook his head. “Today is sort of the perfect storm for finding him, no pun intended. Everyone I spoke to said they were out and about, trying to get all the supplies they’ll need for the blizzard. A couple of people reported seeing Cope at the grocery store a few hours ago, but no one’s seen Jude or the T-Bird. Everyone knows that car and that there’s not another one like it around. They all agreed to keep their eyes open for Jude.”
“What about Cisco?”
Cope asked Fitzgibbon. “Do we have the full weight of the Salem Police behind us?”
Fitz shook his head. “Not yet. We can’t file a missing person’s report until he’s been gone for twenty-four hours, however, Cisco’s sending out a BOLO with Jude’s name, physical description, type of car and the license plate number.”
“BOLO?”
Cope asked. He had no idea what Fitzgibbon was talking about.
“Be on the lookout,”
Ronan said. “If anyone from the SPD sees Jude or the car, they’ll let Cisco know.”
Cope’s eyes widened. “Wait! You mean be on the lookout like in cop shows, when the suspect is chased down and held at gunpoint or is shot?”
“Take a breath,”
Tennyson set his hand on top of Cope’s. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Cope was comforted by Ten’s hand, but his heart was still pounding like a jackhammer. “I’m going out to look for him. I can’t sit here and wait until tomorrow morning for the police to find my husband, especially with bad weather closing in.”
“We’re coming too,”
Ronan said, pointing between himself and Fitz. “But before we go, are you getting any information from your gift about Jude?”
“No,”
Cope said quietly. “Between me being angry earlier and being scared now, I’m not getting anything.”
“What about you?”
Ronan turned his attention to Ten.
Taking a deep breath, Ten gave a short nod. “I’m feeling that Jude is in danger, but I don’t know what from or where he is.”
“I hate to do this.”
Ronan stood up from his seat and walked into the living room. He came back into the kitchen moments later with Everly.
The last thing Cope wanted was for Everly to be involved in searching for Jude, but he wasn’t about to turn down the use of his niece’s gifts. She was more powerful than him and Ten combined.
“We need your help, honey,”
Ronan said, settling his daughter on his knee.
“Because of Uncle Jude?”
she asked, looking scared.
“Yeah, we can’t seem to find him. Do you know where he is?”
Ronan asked gently.
“I’ll look.”
Everly took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Seconds later, they popped open again and were terror-filled. Everly slammed her eyes shut and put her hands over her ears, as if the sounds in the room were causing her pain. “It’s too much. Too much!”
The first grader started to cry.
All Cope could think was that his husband was dead and his six year old niece had gotten a front row seat to his death. What the hell was he going to do without Jude? How was he going to tell the kids? Would they blame him for what happened, like Cope was blaming himself?”
“Not dead,”
Everly said, with halting breaths. She wrapped her arms around Ronan’s neck and held on for a few minutes.
Cope could wait to hear what Everly had to say, even if it took all day. His heart broke for Everly and what she was seeing.
Everly sat back and used Ronan’s shirt to wipe her eyes. “It’s a lot of information. Like a movie rushing toward me on super fast-forward. I can hear voices and see images, but they’re too blurry to understand.”
“I’ve had that happen before,”
Ten said. “Remember Justin Wilson?”
Cope had heard the name a time or two in the past. The young man had been a victim of a vicious serial killer that was targeting gay, homeless men in Boston. Ronan and Fitz had helped bring the killer to justice. They’d almost lost Fitz, Greeley, and Ronan in the process.
“Justin couldn’t use dead speak,”
Ten said quickly. “His only means of communication was to show me a series of images, like Everly described. They came at me too fast to make sense of at first.”
“But you were able to sort it out?”
Cope asked.
“I was, but keep in mind that I was an adult man at the time this happened. There were things Justin showed me that Everly wouldn’t have understood, references from movies and pop culture. If that’s the case, it might take us a little longer to muddle through what she saw.”
Cope reached a hand out to his niece. “Thank you so much for your help, honey. Is there anything at all you can tell me about Jude?”
Everly nodded. “He’s sorry for the argument. All he wants to do is come home. I don’t know where he is or if he’s hurt, but I know he’s scared and lost.”
“Lost as in he doesn’t know where he is?”
Ronan asked. “Or lost as in he can’t live without Cope and the kids?”
“Doesn’t know where he is,”
Everly said. “I’ll let you know if I get more information. I reached out to Mimi Bertha, but I haven’t heard back from her.”
“Jude can sometimes see Bertha,”
Ten said. “That was very smart thinking. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
Everly looked even sadder now than when she’d walked into the kitchen, almost as if Ten’s words of praise hurt rather than helped his daughter. She walked to the fridge and grabbed juice pouches and headed back into the living room.
“Okay,”
Fitz said, sounding every inch of the captain he was. “Everyone make a list of all of Jude’s favorite places. Where he likes to eat, or drink, or pick up men.”
Fitz paused. “Sorry, Cope, but we can’t afford to leave any stone unturned.”
Cope nodded. He understood where Fitz was coming from. “We don’t have room for hurt feelings at the moment. That’s what got us here in the first place. We’ll go wherever you think Jude might be.”
“Saddle up, we’re leaving in five minutes.”
Fitz got up from the table and headed toward the bathroom.
Anxiety roiled through Cope’s body, making him feel almost sea sick. “I’ll find you, Jude. I promise.”