Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
PRESENT DAY
Nora knew something was wrong before she even turned off the engine.
Shelby’s front door stood open, and one of the pumpkins had been knocked sideways on the porch. A sheriff’s cruiser sat crooked at the edge of the yard, its driver’s door open.
Nora grabbed her nursing bag and climbed out.
“Preston!” Shelby’s voice carried from somewhere behind the house. “Preston!”
Nora’s stomach dropped. She left the bag in the car and hurried toward the door.
A deputy came around the side of the house just as Shelby appeared from the backyard wearing leggings, a sweatshirt, and no shoes. Her hair was pulled into a messy knot, and her face was blotchy from crying.
“Nora!” She darted toward her. “He’s gone. Preston’s gone!”
Nora caught Shelby by the arms before she could stumble. “What do you mean, gone?”
“I can’t find him. I’ve looked everywhere.”
“Okay.” Nora forced her voice to stay calm even though her insides had already begun to quiver. “Tell me what happened.”
Shelby squeezed her eyes shut and pressed both hands to her temples. “I don’t know! I put Preston to bed last night. He was there—I checked on him before I went to sleep. This morning, his room was empty.”
The deputy stepped closer. He looked to be in his late twenties, lean and clean-cut, with short brown hair. The nameplate above his pocket read CROSS.
“Ma’am, we’re still searching the property.”
“I know.” Shelby turned toward him, fire in her gaze. “But he’s not here. I already told you that.”
Nora kept one hand on Shelby’s arm. “What time did you last see him?”
She sniffled. “Around eleven. Maybe a little before.”
“And what time did you realize he was missing?”
“Seven-thirty.” Shelby pressed both hands to her face. “His bed was empty. The back door was unlocked.”
Nora glanced at the house. Her thoughts immediately went to the conversation she and Shelby had yesterday about Preston’s dad.
Shelby seemed to read her mind. “Mikey took him. I just know it!”
Nora narrowed her eyes, trying to remain even-keeled. “You know that?”
“Who else would do this?”
The deputy’s expression tightened slightly, but he didn’t interrupt.
Shelby swiped at her cheeks with the sleeves of her shirt. “He’s been threatening this for a while. He’s finally carried through with it!”
“Have you called Mikey?” Nora continued to squeeze Shelby’s arm, trying to keep her steady.
“Over and over. He won’t answer.”
Deputy Cross finally spoke. “We’ve sent a deputy to his residence. We’re also checking the garage where he works.”
Shelby turned toward Deputy Cross. “He won’t be there.”
“You don’t know that yet.” Cross’s voice remained professional and calm—just as it should.
“I do!”
Nora understood Shelby’s certainty. Yesterday, she’d told Shelby that fear could turn possibilities into facts. But fear felt different when a child was actually missing.
Too different.
Bad memories crowded in before Nora could stop them. Christian at seven. Christian gone. Her mother crying until she could barely breathe.
Search parties. Police cars. People coming and going through the house at all hours while Nora kept waiting for someone to tell them there had been a mistake.
That he’d just wandered off. That they’d found her brother playing in the woods.
Her stomach tightened. They’d waited ten years for answers. Ten agonizing years.
Nora glanced at the house, her thoughts churning and old memories trying desperately to surface. “I know this is going to sound weird, but would it be okay if I saw Preston’s room?”
Deputy Cross studied her. “I’ve already looked through everything.”
“I’d like to see for myself. If that’s okay.”
After a moment he nodded. “Just don’t touch anything.”
“I won’t.”
Shelby blinked at Nora. “Why do you want to see it?”
“I . . . I don’t know yet.” That was the truth. Something inside Nora had started tugging at her thoughts, and she wasn’t sure whether it was instinct, memories of Christian, or simply everything Jacob had done to her.
But her gut told her something was seriously wrong.
When Shelby headed inside, Nora followed.
Nora stopped in the living room, and her mind flashed back to yesterday. To Preston playing with his Matchbox car.
She prayed the boy was okay. Please, Lord . . . protect him.
Her chest tightened. She’d prayed that same prayer so many times over the years about Christian, and she’d tried to keep her faith strong despite the unanswered prayers. That was what faith was—believing in things you couldn’t see. Trusting God in impossible situations.
But she wouldn’t wish this on anyone.
“His room’s this way.” Shelby led Nora down the hall.
Preston’s bedroom door stood open. The bedspread had been pushed back, and a pillow lay on the floor.
Nora slowly stepped inside.
The room was decorated in dark blue and mustard yellow and accented with . . . cars, of course. A pile of clothes sat beside a small dresser. Sneakers were tucked beneath the desk.
She glanced around. “Is anything missing?”
Shelby frowned. “What?”
“If Preston left willingly—or if his dad picked him up—did he take anything with him?”
“I . . . I don’t know.”
Nora opened the closet and saw a small backpack hanging from a hook. “Would Preston usually take this if he stayed with his dad?”
Shelby stared at the backpack. “Probably.”
“Is there anything else he’d take?”
Shelby looked around the room as if she’d never seen it before. “His tablet. But it’s still here.”
Nora glanced at the nightstand. Sure enough, a blue tablet sat plugged into a charger.
“And his shoes,” Shelby whispered, nodding at the sneakers beneath the desk. Her breathing started to quicken again. “Nora, what are you saying?”
The last thing she wanted was to make Shelby panic. “I’m not saying anything yet. I’m just asking questions.”
Nora looked around Preston’s room again. Nothing proved his father hadn’t taken him. Nothing proved anything.
Still, the uneasiness inside her sharpened.
“You said you’ve tried to call, but Mikey isn’t answering, right?” Nora asked Shelby.
“That’s right.”
“I assume that means he didn’t call you this morning.”
A wrinkle of confusion formed between her eyes. “No, he didn’t. Why is that important?”
Nora frowned. “You said yesterday he’d been calling constantly. But he hasn’t called today.”
Maybe that meant nothing.
Or maybe . . . maybe it meant Preston’s father had finally stopped calling because he’d taken his son.
Yesterday, she would have trusted the obvious answer.
Today, Nora couldn’t tell which was more dangerous—trusting an instinct that might be wrong or ignoring one that might be right.
Nora stepped onto Shelby’s porch just as a dark sedan pulled in behind the cruisers—two more officers had just shown up.
She recognized the car before the door opened. It had sat in her own driveway more than once.
Special Agent Prine climbed out. She wore a gray blazer, and her hair was pulled back the same way it had been every time Nora had seen her. The woman didn’t look at the deputies—or at Shelby, who’d followed Nora as far as the doorway.
She stared instead at Nora.
Her steps slowed when she reached the bottom of the porch. “Ms. Loveless.”
“You got here fast.”
“I was already in the county.” Prine’s attention moved past her to Shelby, then returned. “Why are you here?”
“Shelby was expecting me this morning,” Nora said.
“I had surgery last week,” Shelby added. “Nora’s my home health nurse. She’s been coming every morning.”
“Good to know,” Prine said.
Shelby stepped out farther onto the porch, both arms wrapped around herself. “Are you—?” Her voice cracked. “Are you here because of Preston?”
“I am, ma’am.” Prine’s tone shifted into a slower, warmer tone. “I’m Special Agent Prudence Prine. I’d like to sit down with you as soon as you’re able.”
Shelby nodded quickly. “Of course. I . . . I just want my son back.”
Another vehicle turned into the driveway before Prine could respond. Nora watched as Pastor Whitfield parked behind the agent’s sedan and hurried up the walk.
“Shelby, I just happened to be at the station when the call came in. I decided to come right over.” He climbed the porch steps and took both her hands. “You’re not facing this alone. The church will pray, search—whatever you need until Preston comes home.”
Shelby’s face crumpled. “Thank you, Pastor. I really appreciate that.”
Introductions were quickly made.
Then Prine said, “Deputy Cross is going to take you inside. Pastor Whitfield can stay with you until we’re ready to talk.”
Pastor Whitfield placed a steadying hand beneath Shelby’s elbow as Cross reached the steps. Prine waited until the three of them had gone inside. Then she looked at Nora again.
“Not you. You and I are going to talk out here first.”
“I already told the deputy everything.”
Prine pulled a notebook from her jacket. “I just have a few more questions.”
“Whatever you need.”
“Deputy Cross says they’re focused on Preston’s father right now.” Prine’s attention drifted past the house, toward where the yard ended and the woods began. “Does that fit what you know?”
“Yes. Mikey has been calling her. From what I heard, he was trying to take Preston from her.” Nora curled her fingers into her sleeves. “Shelby is scared that her ex took their son.”
“I’m sure she is.” Prine clicked her pen. “But as you and I both know, someone abducted another child in this town three weeks ago. I don’t have the luxury of assuming this is a custody dispute.”
The words sent a chill through Nora.