Whoever said that a picture was worth a thousand words had never met a formidable judge like Hudson Armstrong. Were there pictures in his house? Yes, including the ones I’d seen in his man cave. The vibrant and in your face pictures highlighted a man of adventure, someone willing to take risks. From hang gliding to rock climbing, he’d experienced the joys of the outdoors through the years.
Usually with buddies.
Guys of similar age, all damn good looking. They were smiling, perhaps joking and half of the photographs had every man holding a beer or a drink. All five seemed happy go lucky, as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
In my wicked little mind, I knew these were the men who’d played poker with Hudson only a few nights before. A few things about highlighting his outdoor excursions lingered in my mind.
There were no other pictures anywhere in the house.
Not in his bedroom.
Not in his den or office.
Certainly not in the living room.
Maybe all his favorite photos had been digitized, stored on a hard drive somewhere, but why not have even one in plain view?
The second and even more important aspect that I doubted the five men would admit or even acknowledge was that the pairs of eyes didn’t truly reflect the happiness their stances depicted. They were all haunted, bordering on despair as if they were living on the edge to try to fulfill some innate need.
That led that brain of mine to determine they had no one special in their lives. Not one photograph had a woman in it. Granted, maybe this was meant to be a guy’s only shrine, but even the most hardcore men usually preferred to have their woman by their side.
They were definitely close.
I backed away from the wall of… shame, smiling as I did. I’d left my sweet little girl for too long. Time for a snack and then a nap. After flicking out the light, I headed to the living room where I’d left her with her coloring book and crayons. Thankfully, with the number of satellite stations on his massive, big screen television, I’d found all her favorite cartoon shows. Keeping her occupied would help keep my nerves in check.
I was also thankful that he wasn’t a typical bachelor with an empty fridge and pantry. He had actual decent food, even juice for the little princess. “Hey, sweetie. How about a snack?” I asked the question as I walked into the room.
My daughter wasn’t hunkered down on the floor where I’d left her less than five minutes before. Panic struck me immediately. I spun around in the room. “Bella. Where are you?” She adored playing hide and seek. Her favorite game.
Right now, it was one I hated with every ounce of my being.
I checked behind every chair. She wasn’t in the room. While telling myself maybe she’d gone to the bathroom, I fought tears already forming.
The half bath was empty.
No. No. I tore through the house, checking every closet until realizing the door from Hudson’s office leading to the deck was open. Rushing outside, I gripped the railing, searching the mostly deserted beach. She wasn’t there. Oh, my God.
The cop was just outside. I’d seen him through one window seconds ago. Half stumbling over furniture, I made my way to the front door, realizing the security code wasn’t set. Had I been so foolish not to alarm the system after Hudson had left?
Or had someone gotten in?
Panic ripped at my throat until I was suffocating.
With my hand shaking, I jerked open the door. The young guy was several yards away, but as soon as he heard my strangled cry, he turned with his hand placed on his holster.
“Ms. Sciascia. What’s wrong?”
“My little girl is… missing.” I’d barely managed to spit the words from my mouth when he reacted.
“I’ll find her. Get back inside.”
“No. She’s my little girl.” I don’t know who ran faster. All I knew was that my legs were pumping, my heart thudding to the point the sound echoed in my ears. I had to find her. There was no way of stopping the tears. How had I been so stupid to turn my back on her for a single second?
“Ms. Sciascia!” His call went unheeded.
How had I been so distraught that I’d allowed her out of my sight?
I hit the beach running, spinning in a circle, searching.
