Belinda, on the other hand, seemed oddly relieved by the revelation, even commenting to me, “If that’s true, then you must see that Austin was only trying to help. He—weare trying to give Chloe as much time as possible out of a nursing home. If she really is your mother, isn’t that what you’d do? And wouldn’t she want to help you do it? Relieve some of the financial burden if she could?”
“I—” I paused, so fucking confused I didn’t know what to say. Austin’s story was so damn believable, it could actually be true. And Belinda was right. It was just the sort of thing my mother would do, or at least the mother I’d known a lifetime ago. She’d always been generous to a fault but hated the idea of accepting any help herself. Was I really imagining everything? Seeing things that weren’t there only because I wanted to.
“Nick?” Mads tugged at my elbow.
When I turned to face him, Mads held my gaze. “Let’s just find Chloe and go from there. She’s the key to everything, right? She has the answers and time’s ticking.”
Much as I wanted to pull Austin’s argument to bits, Mads was right. I was already sounding like I was on some sort of grudge mission against the man, which wasn’t helping. I steeled myself and turned back to Wright. “If you’re done with us for the time being and still happy for us to help, I really want to get out there. Where do we start?”
Wright nodded. “The search is being coordinated from the riverside car park down the road. I’ll let them know you’re coming.” He switched his attention to Austin and Belinda. “Isuggest at least one of you stays here in case we find her. She’s gonna need some familiar faces around her.”
“We’ll both stay for now.” Austin took Belinda’s hand. “Belinda was supposed to work a shift this afternoon. They took her off the roster for today and tomorrow but I need to drive her to the hospital so she can negotiate a period of extended leave. She’s far too rattled to drive herself, and Chloe can’t be left alone, not after this.”
Belinda nodded; her gaze locked on her partner’s face. “Thank you.” She turned to Wright. “It shouldn’t take more than an hour, but we were thinking it might be helpful if we check some of Chloe’s favourite haunts around town on our way back. The ones not covered by the search area. Just in case she got a ride somewhere.”
Wright thought Belinda’s idea was a good one. “Just keep your phones close. We’ll call if we get any news.” He turned his attention to me. “Can you try the new phone you bought her again, please?”
Austin huffed in disgust. “You bought a new phone as well? My. My. My. You really have been busy little bees.”
I ignored him and called Chloe’s cell. The room remained silent, but a light flashed on one of the bookshelves. Crossing to investigate, I found the new phone plugged in and fully charged. I disconnected it, entered the passcode, and handed it over to Wright.
Austin moved to Wright’s side as the detective scrolled the contents.
“Nothing.” Wright put the phone down on the coffee table. “Just your unanswered calls this morning. Doesn’t look like Chloe used it at all.”
Disappointment cut through me. “In that case, we’ll leave and join the search. Call us if you find anything at all.” When Wright nodded, I grabbed Mads’ hand and headed for the door.
Austin’s protest came over my shoulder as we left. “You can’t just let them?—”
That was as much as I heard as we headed out the front door and began running for the rental car.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MADIGAN
The riverside carpark was jammed full of search and rescue vehicles and the various organisations that supported them. We headed for the biggest, busiest tent and gave our names to the constable at the entrance. The search coordinator—Glen something-or-other—had clearly been briefed about our arrival and sized us up with narrow-eyed scrutiny when the constable walked us over and provided our names.
“Don’t make me regret this.” He handed Nick a map with a whole lot of circles drawn. “If it was up to me, you two would still be sitting on your arses back at the townhouse. I don’t need the drama, and I don’t need anyone going off half-cocked thinking they can do this better than we can.”
Nick’s bewildered expression in the face of the man’s indictment almost made me laugh. Damn, he was good. “I have no idea what you me?—”
“Don’t give me that bullshit,” Glen scoffed. “My brother is a detective based out of Albany, north of Auckland. I know more about you two than you think.”
Oops.
Nick’s cheeks pinked and you could’ve cut the air with a knife.
Glen’s eyes narrowed. “Precisely. Now, just so we’re clear, I’ve led more missing person searches than you’ve had hot dinners.” He drilled Nick with a hard stare. “So, listen up. Don’t get in our way. Don’t mess with the dogs. And don’t touch any item of interest before you call it in. There’s one more thing. I understand you two don’t know the area, so a word to the wise. Stick to the paths. If you get yourselves lost, don’t expect us to come looking. We’ve got better things to do today. Got it?”
Nick’s nod was surprisingly meek. “Got it. We just want to help. It’s my mother you’re looking for.”
I blinked. It wasn’t the first time Nick had called Chloe his mother, but not in public in this way.
Glen’s eyebrows did a funny dance that seemed oddly menacing. “Your mother? Is that so?” He gave a thoughtful hum. “I guess Jono forgot to mention that part.” His expression softened. “All right then. Be careful. You can’t see for shit down there in all this fog so watch your feet. We’ve got most of the grid covered, so you can pretty much take your pick of where to start, although upriver would be good.”
I frowned. “Why upriver?”
Glen shrugged. “I’ve been doing this a long time. Long enough to know not to ignore my gut. And today my gut saysgo upriver, young man.”
