A minute or so later, we were perched on the sofa opposite Detective Jonothon Wright, a thin middle-aged man with shrewd brown eyes and a serious expression. In the chair next to him, a blond uniformed officer studied us intently. Attractive and in his twenties, his name had gone in one ear and out the other, forgotten the second Detective Wright explained the reason for their visit.
“What do you mean Chloe’s gone missing?” Nick shot me an alarmed look before turning back to the detective. “And why the hell would we know where she is?”
“Take it easy.” Detective Wright sat back in his chair, his expression carefully neutral. He stared at Nick like he wasweighing his worth. “We’re simply following up on information we’ve been given.”
I groaned. Of course he was. “Let me guess,” I grumbled. “Austin sent you?” The question earned me the same considering stare the detective had afforded Nick.
“We just want to find Chloe,” the detective reiterated. “Asfriendsof hers, I’d have thought you’d want to help.”
“Of course we do,” Nick snapped, his fingers tapping impatiently on his thigh. “But you’re wasting your time coming here. You should be out searching. We haven’t seen Chloe since we dropped her back at the townhouse around noon yesterday.” His voice rose. “When did she go missing?”
“Rest assured, wearelooking for Chloe,” the detective confirmed. “We have teams canvassing the streets, and an experienced search team with dogs working the length of Riverside Park.” He looked Nick over again and sighed, softening his tone as he answered. “She was last seen between three thirty and four in the afternoon. According to witnesses, she’d been quite muddled and confused after returning from your little... jaunt with her.”
Before Nick bit the man’s head off for the dismissive comment, I said, “It wasn’t a jaunt. She—” I snapped my mouth shut. The birthday card lie could easily come back to bite us in the butt. Nick caught my eye and I thought I saw approval there.
Wright gave me a measured look. “Chloe’s son disagrees.”
“He’s not her son,” Nick muttered.
The detective glanced Nick’s way before continuing. “Austin’s partner was concerned enough to drive over and check on Chloe around nine thirty last night when she didn’t answer her phone. When she got there, Chloe was gone. They combed the streets for about an hour and then called us. We’ve been searching ever since. The temperature dipped to minus one lastnight, so you can imagine how worried they are and why we need to locate Chloe as soon as possible.”
“Of course I bloody understand,” Nick finally snapped. “But we had nothing to do with Chloe’s disappearance. Right now, all I want to do is get the hell out of here and help find her.”
As Nick had been talking, I’d remembered something. “Chloe’s new phone. You should try it, Nick.”
As Nick reached for his phone, Wright’s gaze jerked back to mine. “What new phone?” he demanded.
I explained, “We purchased a new phone for her yesterday. Her old one had gone missing right after Austin walked in on our visit, as it happens.”
Wright’s eyes narrowed. “Are you implying he took her phone so you couldn’t call her?”
I shrugged. “It’s a convenient coincidence, that’s all.”
“No answer.” Nick dropped his phone in his lap and turned to Wright. “And just so we’re clear, Austinisn’tChloe’s son, so please don’t call him that.”
Wright raised a questioning brow. “Do enlighten us.”
“Austin is the son of Chloe’s deceased partner,” Nick explained. “He was an adult when they met, and Chloe and Brendon were never married.”
The detective gave a slow nod. “I’ll be sure to check on that. But whatever theformalrelationship is, I understand Austin’s been Chloe’s primary caregiver since she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.”
Nick snorted. “Self-appointed caregiver, more like. Chloe’s not nearly as bad as Austin makes out. She?—”
“What Nick means—” I interrupted, squeezing Nick’s knee hard. His belligerence wasn’t exactly going to endear us to the detective. “—is that Chloe told us she was diagnosed last year, and that she has good days and bad days. But in the short time we’ve spent with her, she’s been aware of her surroundings,oriented to time, date, and place, and able to participate in complicated conversations. A little tired and forgetful, sure, and a bit unsteady on her feet. But that’s it. We could be wrong, of course, but I’m telling you what we witnessed.”
Nick shot me a grateful look, but the detective’s expression remained impassive as he eyeballed Nick. “Unlike you, Austin sees Chloe most days, and he says she has become a lot more confused, especially since you two appeared.”
I shared a look with Nick and could tell he was liking the direction this was headed about as much as I was.
The detective continued. “This isn’t the first time Chloe has wandered, apparently. Something Austin said he mentioned to you. He also said he basically has no idea who you are or where you’ve come from. He’s concerned about your motives and worried you might take advantage of her.”
I bristled, trying to hold my temper. “Now, wait just a minute. Chloe knows exactly who Nick is, and what’s more, she told Austin.”
The detective looked between us. “Austin mentioned that. But he also said her mind isn’t reliable. She’s easily manipulated and could be tricked into believing whatever you told her.”
Nick huffed. “Jesus Christ. And why the hell would we do that?”
The detective left the question hanging a moment, the answer obvious. “If Chloe believed you were someone you weren’t, she might be inclined to hand over private information, maybe even passwords. Austin said she was extremely upset and out of sorts after you left. He believes that’s the reason behind why she wandered, if in fact that’s what she did, and there isn’t a more sinister reason for her disappearance. Where were you two yesterday afternoon and last night?”
