“Where else would he go?” Dad spoke first. “I’ve called in every officer, and Jake’s got the state police on the way, too.”
Jake nodded. “Everyone’s here or on their way here.”
“He wouldn’t go anywhere, but here or the cemetery.” I spoke with a confidence I didn’t have. “Nox isn’t stupid, Dad. He never ran away that first time either. He was a sad kid, who just wanted to talk to his dead dad. Nox wouldn’t run away in the middle of the night.”
“No,” Parker added as we got to her. “He wouldn’t.”
“I’m going to go to Rose’s house and have Daisy track Nox from there,” I told Parker, ignoring everyone else except for her. “You know you have to stay here, right? In case he’s out wandering in the woods.”
I’d known Parker almost her entire life. I knew when she was trying to be strong for someone else. I knew what each and every expression on her face meant. I’d spent my life learning everything there was to know about her. I’d spent every night overseas hoping for the chance to make things right, even if I fought it. So when Parker’s eyes narrowed slightly and her nostrils flared, I realized that she knew I was lying.
Her stalker.
There was a reason every law enforcement agency in the county, and more, were all descending on her house.
Nox had been kidnapped. There wasn’t a doubt in any of our minds, but I had to keep Parker as calm as possible.
“I’ve got her,” Linc said suddenly, appearing at Parker’s side. “Go, Remy. I’ve got her.”
His eyes, intense and blue, shadowed with regret, darted to Parker and then back to me.
“Daisy.”
She immediately tensed at my side, and we started around the side of the house toward the backyard. Since Rose only lived three houses down, we’d go through the back and try to pick up Nox’s scent. With one last look at Parker, I walked away.
Nox’s jacket was clutched in my hand still, and I didn’t even remember taking it from my cruiser.
Daisy ignored everything, all the noise and chaos happening behind us, and got to work. She dug her nose into Nox’s jacket and stayed there, breathing deeply for longer than a minute. Honestly, though, Daisy knew Nox. Daisy loved him. There was no doubt in my mind that she could find him anywhere, as long as there was a scent to pick up.
“Ready, girl?”
She huffed, shaking her head slightly, and then jerked her head toward the woods. For about thirty seconds she sniffed the air, then started trotting away.
I followed on her heels, keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of Nox’s blond hair sticking out against the grass or trees.
Daisy stopped, on the edge of the woods, and started to growl ferociously. I came to a halt right next to her, thinking we must already be at Rose’s house. But we weren’t. We were standing on the edge of Parker’s property, right up against the tree line.
“What is it?” She knelt down, her nose pointing into the grass. I saw it, the small piece of metal sticking straight up, reflecting the early morning light just enough to be barely noticeable. “Fuck.” If Daisy hadn’t been with me, I’d have missed it.
“Is there anything else?”
She got up, rooting around in the grass and then sniffed the air and sneezed.
“Shit.”
Daisy lost his scent.
We were still close enough to the house that they’d hear me, so I didn’t bother using my radio or phone. Instead, I turned around, cupped my hands over my mouth, and shouted at the top of my lungs. “I found something!”
Then I crouched down and used one of the gloves I’d grabbed in my cruiser to pick up Danny’s Purple Heart medal.
Turning it over and over in my hand, I tried to remember the last time I’d seen it. After the winter concert, Parker had given him the medal… and Nox slept with it every single night.
“What the fuck happened?”
I turned to stare up at the house behind me, ignoring Dom’s question as he ran over, and my eyes caught on Artie’s back door.
“Son of a bitch.”
26
Parker
Remy paced in front of me, refusing to let me leave the interview room at Birch Police Department, and his rage was palpable.
“I’m gonna fuckin’ murder Artie Sims.” He ran a hand through his short hair, tugging at the ends before turning to face me with misery in his eyes. “If he hurt Nox, I will destroy him.” The violence lying there caught me by surprise, but it shouldn’t have.
Remy was already pissed that he couldn’t be in on the interrogation of Artie. However, both Chief Townsend and Jake were adamant that he couldn’t interfere with the investigation. That left Dom performing the interrogation alone while we were banished to the interview room to wait for an update.
Artie hadn’t even complained when they took him into custody. If anything, he looked happy to be escorted out of his house, and nothing was making sense to me anymore.
“If I thought for a second that Artie was capable of hurting him, I’d be right there with you.” I reached out and put a calming hand on Remy’s chest. “But it’s not him, Remy. If someone were out to get me, to hurt me, I think it’s more likely that it’s that nurse. Mallory, whatever her last name is. The one who tried to give me a catheter.”
Yes, I was completely and utterly panicking. I was grasping at straws, because if I were honest with myself, I had absolutely no idea who would want to hurt me or Nox. Compartmentalizing it was the only way I wouldn’t end up as a sobbing mess on the floor, unable to do anything or help anyone. Unable to get Nox back.
“The Purple Heart was on the edge of his property, Parker.” Remy scratched his ear and sighed deeply, staring at the wall above my head.
He didn’t need to explain any more; he’d already done it on the way to the police station. We both knew that Nox slept with that damned medal. He kept it as a way to stay close to his father even though we were all moving on. The fact that it was not only outside, but on the edge of Artie’s property was suspicious.
“I don’t think he did it,” I insisted. “He lives with his girlfriend. Where would he hide Nox?”
Remy stared at me, his eyes flat and withdrawn.
“No.” I shook my head, denying what I could see written on his face. “No. Remy. We’ve known Artie since elementary school. He’s not that kind of person. He would not hurt Nox.”
He opened his mouth, and I prepared to argue with whatever he said. No matter what it was, I knew Artie. He’d been there for me when I needed help with Nox in the middle of the night and couldn’t reach my in-laws. He, and later Taylor when they got together, would come over for game night and movies, always there when I needed company.
The door behind Remy shook suddenly, and the glass shattered as something black hit the window. Remy stepped away from the debris.
“What the shit?” Remy raised an eyebrow at my incorrect phrase and I flipped him off. “You know what I mean. What was that?”
He leaned forward through the broken glass and stuck his head out, only to retreat back into the room a second later. “Looks like some chick’s goin’ batshit crazy in the bullpen.”