Hope moved into the kitchen, and just as she had earlier that morning, she put herself to work making coffee.
Carly slumped down into one of the chairs. “You have no idea at all where?”
Joy shook her head and sat next to her. She described the room overlooking the lush rose garden.
“Princess pink?” Carly asked, her brow furrowing.
“It was over the top, but high end. Wherever she is, there is money involved.”
Carly was silent for a long moment. Then she muttered, “Shit.”
Joy had the distinct impression that Carly had an idea of who might have snatched her niece. “I’m sorry I don’t have more information, but I thought you should know.” Hope placed a mug in front of Carly and raised an eyebrow at Joy, silently asking if she wanted anything. Joy shook her head. “We should probably go. I still need to swing by the police station and let them know about my vision.”
Carly grasped Joy’s wrist, stopping her from leaving the table. “No. You can’t do that.”
“What? Why?”
She carefully let go of Joy’s wrist and sat back with a concerned expression on her face. “I just don’t want you to get held up at the police station again. Last time it took me hours to get you sprung from their interrogation. And I don’t know how much this information will help them.”
“I certainly can’t get stuck there. I need to be on set this afternoon,” Joy said. Then she peered at Carly. “But don’t you think it’s better if the police know? I know it’s not a lot, but it could help.”
Carly shook her head. “No. I have a private detective looking into who might’ve done this. I’ll let him know these knew details. If he gets any leads, we’ll tell the investigator then.”
Private investigator? Joy didn’t know what to make of that. Did that mean Carly didn’t have any faith in the police investigators? Or was she just using every available resource to find her niece? Yes, that must’ve been it. Carly had resources Joy could only dream about. Joy was certain that if she were in the same position, if the person missing were one of her kids, she’d do the same. “Okay. That’s probably a good idea.”
“It is,” Carly said reassuringly. She stood and grabbed the phone that was lying on the counter. She turned it on and grimaced. “Mailbox full.”
Joy nodded. “Yep. I tried to call before we came over.”
She gritted her teeth, initiated her call, and then waited. Finally she said, “I have information that might help.”
Joy listened as Carly relayed the details of the room and the garden. Then Carly lowered her voice and exited the room.
Hope moved and sat next to Joy. “That was a little weird, don’t you think?”
“A little.” She looked at her friend. “Did you pick up anything from the brain waves?”
Chuckling, she shook her head. “No. Want me to try?”
“No,” Joy said. “I know it’s your new superpower, but I don’t really feel right about intentionally invading someone’s privacy.”
“Couldn’t agree more.”
When Carly returned to the kitchen, she said, “Thanks for the information. I’ll let you know if my guy finds anything.” Then she stuffed a picture frame into Joy’s hands. “It’s Harlow. I thought you should take it with you. Maybe if you could periodically try to see if you can access any other visions?”
Joy bit her bottom lip. If she never had another vision, it would be too soon for her. After passing out earlier, she wasn’t too keen to repeat the experience. Still, she accepted the photo and told Carly she’d try.
“Thank you,” the other actress said, her eyes glistening with tears. “Your help means the world to me.”
Joy stood and wrapped her in a hug. “There’s nothing to thank me for. I just want her home safe.”
Carly walked them to the front door. Before she could open it, Hope said, “Baldy is planning to sell a story to the newspapers.”
“What story?” Carly asked.
“I don’t know for sure. Something about the guy Harlow’s been dating. Quinton somebody.”
“Dammit, how did he know that?” Carly asked.
Hope shrugged. “No idea.”
Her back stiffened, and Carly narrowed her eyes and peered at Hope. “And how do you know he wants to sell that story?”
“Hope can sometimes read thoughts,” Joy said. “It’s not intentional. It just happens.”
“Seriously?” Carly glanced between them. “You two are like characters straight out of that television show Heroes. The only question is, do you use your powers for good or evil?”
Joy was certain she’d meant for her tone to be light and joking, but it came out strained, as if she were nervous or worried about something.
“Only good. I promise,” Hope said with an easy smile. Only her voice was a smidge too high and her smile a little too wide, and Joy could tell it was forced.
Carly didn’t seem to notice, though, because she just nodded absently and said, “That’s good.”
“I need to get to the set,” Joy said, suddenly anxious to get out of there. She could just feel it in her bones that Carly was hiding something from them, and Joy was too tired to deal with it anymore.
“Right.” Carly gave her a grateful smile. “They gave me until Monday. I just hope we find Harlow by them.”
Joy reached out and squeezed her hand. “So do I.”
Chapter Seven
“Are you all right?” Hope asked Joy as she stopped her SUV outside of the filming location.
Joy shook her head. “Not really. All I want to do is go home and watch over Kyle. But I’m here and have to film a scene with my least favorite person on the planet.”
“It’s only supposed to take a few hours, right?”
“Hopefully.” Joy sucked in a breath and let it out in a long sigh. “It depends on how the princess is behaving.”
“Don’t worry about a thing. I’m headed back to your house. I’ll make sure Kyle is doing all right. I’ll even cook your dinner. Just give me a text when you’re ready for me to come pick you up.”
Joy reached over and hugged her friend. “You’re the best.”
“I know.” Hope winked at her.
“Love you.”
“Love you, too, movie star.”
Joy rolled her eyes, but some of the ache in her chest had lessened, and she took a moment to send a thank you to the gods for blessing her with the best friends a girl could ever have.
“It’s about time you showed up,” Prissy said, scowling at Joy when she walked into the makeup tent.
Joy didn’t even bother acknowledging the younger actress. She really was well and truly over her.
Prissy sneered in her direction when she realized that Joy wasn’t going to play her game. Then she pasted on a soft smile and let worry seep into her eyes before speaking in an overly concerned tone. “What happened to your face? Poor Sam is going to have a hell of a time covering those unfortunate blemishes.”
“Oh, hell,” Joy muttered and couldn’t keep herself from glancing in the mirror of Sam’s makeup station. What she saw looking back at her honestly made her want to cry. She was a forty-eight-year-old woman who hadn’t had an acne problem since she was fifteen. And suddenly, when she was sure to be in the papers and had a movie to film, she had not just the two blemishes she’d had the day before, but two more had popped up as well.