He held up the cables.
“All right, let’s do this, shall we?”
Chapter 40
“Owen?”
I said his name like I believed he’d be able to answer. Panic had started to set in as I scanned the area around me, searching for the car seat carrier with Owen inside it.
It couldn’t just have vanished, could it? It had been right there, right there next to me. And now, it wasn’t. I didn’t understand. Melissa had put him there while I took care of Angel. I had only taken my eyes off of him for a few seconds.
Could Melissa have put him somewhere else? Or taken him? But how? She had left. I waved at her as she walked to her car. It was gone now; the car was gone from the spot where it had been.
Think, Eva Rae. Think!
“Owen?” I shrieked, then walked around the car. Inside, Angel had woken up and was fussing now. I was trying to keep the panic inside me at bay, but it was getting harder. My heart was beating so hard, it almost hurt, and I felt like screaming.
Could Melissa have taken him? I thought again. It made no sense; why would she? Yet I grabbed my phone and called her.
“Did you take Owen?”
“What do you mean?”
“The baby. The boy. Owen.”
“No. I put him right next to you. You saw me do it, and then I left.”
“But…but…”
“Do you mean to tell me he’s not with you?” Melissa said, her voice getting loud and pitchy.
“I…I don’t know,” I said and placed my other hand on my head while tears of desperation sprang to my eyes. I scanned the area repeatedly, but there was no sign of the baby or the carrier.
“What do you mean you don’t know, Eva Rae? Have you lost your mind?”
That was a good question. It felt like I had.
“Maybe. I don’t know where he is, and I can’t find him, Melissa. I can’t see him anywhere.”
“What are you talking about? A baby doesn’t just vanish?”
I felt like screaming. “I don’t know what to do, Melissa. Please, help.”
“I’m turning the car around. I’ll be right there. Just stay calm.”
“That’s easy for you to say. It’s a little hard when you’re missing a baby,” I yelled back at her, then hung up.
I turned around, scanning the area again. There wasn’t a soul in the parking lot, but a few cars were parked at the other end of it. I grabbed Angel in my arms, then walked toward them. As I did, I suddenly heard the sound of a child crying. I turned to look at the church next to the parking lot all the way to the far end.
“Owen?” I shrieked, then ran toward the building. The crying got louder, and now I recognized it as Owen’s. I came up to the stairs, and that’s when I saw him in his car seat, placed on the top step by the entrance to the church. His face was torn as he wailed his little heart out, but he seemed okay otherwise. I grabbed the car seat carrier just as Melissa drove up and stopped her car. She got out, and her face strained with distress.
“I found him,” I said while tears rolled down my cheeks—tears of relief.
“Oh, thank God,” Melissa said and clasped her chest.
She hurried up the stairs and grabbed Angel from my hands while I reached inside the carrier and got Owen out. I held him tight to my chest, rocking him back and forth to calm him.
“How did he end up all the way over here by the church?” Melissa asked and looked toward the parking lot where my car was still parked. “It’s not like he can walk on his own?”
I held his little body close to mine, then sniffed him. “I know that scent,” I mumbled. “I know it. It’s Amy’s. She was here. She was with him.”
Melissa looked up at me, eyes big and round. “Amy? The mother? You mean she was here? I thought she was missing?”
I exhaled while turning on my heel to look around me.
“I had a feeling she wasn’t far away. I guess missing him got too much for her, and she had to steal a moment with him. That’s the only explanation I can come up with.”
Chapter 41
THEN:
She hadn’t slept much the night before. Since the detectives had been to her office, Lynn had been constantly worried about Jeff. She couldn’t stop thinking about Joanna and her disappearance. How could the police think Jeff had anything to do with that?
She couldn’t wrap her mind around it. The Jeff she knew wouldn’t harm a fly. He was both charming and charismatic. And that smile…oh, my, it was…well…to die for.
Now, she was waiting for him to enter her office, fiddling nervously with her pen. She had left the door ajar and told the secretary to tell him that he could walk straight in. She had his file ready and was staring at what she had written down the last time he was in her office.
“Hi, Doc.”
She looked up, and her gaze met his. Then, her heart dropped. He was even more handsome than she remembered him. And he was wearing what looked like a brand new suit—an expensive one, it seemed.
Don’t let his good looks dazzle you and blur your judgment.
“Hello, Jeffrey,” she said, trying to keep the tone professional.
He sat down on the couch in front of her. He tilted his head, smiling. “You okay there, Doc?”
She tried to ease up. He wasn’t supposed to sense that she had her guard up. “I’m fine, thank you. And you? How are you today? Take your time to answer.”
“I’m actually doing pretty well, Doc,” he said, grinning. “It’s been a great week at work. A big deal went through, and I got a huge bonus. I bought myself a new Dolce & Gabbana, as you can see.”
“I see that. You look very nice.”
“I have to get back to work after this, and I figured you wouldn’t mind me looking sharp,” he said.
Oh, that smile. She couldn’t liberate herself from staring at it intensely, and now he noticed. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and she felt such a deep warmth spread inside of her. She closed her eyes to try and shake it.
“I’m glad you’re doing well. And you have accepted the break-up?”
“Yes, yes, I have. I found out Alice wasn’t for me anyway.”
Lynn noted this on her pad. “That’s good. Does this mean you’re not sad about it anymore?”
“Of course, I’m still sad,” he said. “I mean, I really liked her, but I found out she was just a substitute for the real deal. I was just with her because she reminded me of someone else.”
Lynn looked up and blushed. His latest girlfriend had been her spitting image. Was he talking about her?
“Really?”
He nodded, rubbing his hands together. “Yes, really.”
She pondered for a few seconds if she should ask more but then stopped herself. She wasn’t sure she could deal with the answer.
“And Joanna?”
He grew serious. “What do you mean?”
She didn’t look at him but down at her pad. “Have you managed to let her go? I remember we talked about you following her still. Have you seen her since then?”
Jeff grew silent. Lynn lifted her eyes to look at him, hoping she’d be able to read the truth on his face. He stared at her, biting his lip like he was contemplating what to say next, unsure if he could be honest.