She was the first to break the connection and step away. “Guess I’m staying here for the long haul. I don’t know why I thought Elsie would be back in my arms by now.”
He swept his thumb over her hand, still placed on his arm. “I know there’s not much food in this house. Maybe after I get done today, we can get some groceries.”
“I’d love to cook you a nice meal as a way of saying thank you.”
Even in the middle of the biggest trial of her life, she was thinking of others. “I’d like that.”
She turned back toward the sink to rinse out her bowl. “I hate to be a bother, but I need more clothes. I don’t have a budget to keep buying them.”
“It’s not a bother. Maybe tonight, after I get back, I can take you to your place to grab a few more things.”
“I’ll call the fire department today and make sure it’s safe to go back in,” she said.
By the time River finished his chili, a female police officer was parked outside. He headed toward the door with Frankie beside him. This would be a long, lonely day for Lydia.
“Stay. Sit,” he commanded. “I’m leaving her here. She’ll keep you company and be an extra measure of protection.”
“I appreciate that.” Lydia walked over to touch Frankie’s head.
Feeling torn between two devastating situations, River stepped outside alone. He waved at the officer behind the wheel.
Lydia stood at the window with Frankie resting her paws on the sill so she could see out.
He prayed for her safety as he got into his patrol car and pulled away from the curb.
NINE
Headlights from a car woke Lydia from where she slept on the couch with Frankie curled around her feet. Though she understood why she needed to stay in the house, she had made phone calls in an attempt to bring her daughter home. She called the school to find out if anything might have happened with Elsie that she hadn’t known about. She called friends from church and the play group she and Elsie went to see if they had any ideas about who might have taken her little girl. All of it had led nowhere and left her exhausted.
She’d also called the fire department to get the okay to return to her house for clothes. The chief had said that it was safe for her to go back inside. He told her it looked like a gas leak but only an arson investigator would confirm if it had been accidental or on purpose.
She rose to her feet and walked over to the window. At well past eight, it was dark outside. She flicked on the porch light to see River was coming up the walkway holding a pizza box.
As she moved to unlock the door, the other officer pulled away from the curb. She opened the door.
River held up the pizza box. “I didn’t figure you’d want to be cooking dinner this late. Maybe after you have a full belly, we can grab some groceries.”
She smiled at him. “I see you prepared your specialty.”
Her stomach growled. She’d found only a can of peaches with a questionable expiration date to snack on while she’d waited for River’s return. He flipped open the box, allowing the scent of Italian spices and pepperoni to swirl around the room.
They sat down to eat after grabbing plates and napkins. “Did you learn anything from the interviews you did?”
“Mostly just confirmed stuff we already knew. That Gayle was alienated from her family, that she was a hard worker at the jobs she had. One of the people I talked to in the apartment where she lived said that she had also mentioned going to a clinic in Denver. He thought the clinic was affiliated with a major hospital, so that might help us narrow it down.”
“That’s something anyway.” She took a bite of the gooey pizza.
He nodded. “Maren and I drove out to a home for unwed mothers outside of town. The place seemed legit.” They finished their pizza.
After they cleaned up, River and Lydia got into his private car, leaving the patrol unit parked outside, so they could get groceries. He’d loaded Frankie in the back seat.
Lydia settled into the passenger seat just as her phone rang. It was not a number she recognized. “Hello?”
“I saw your daughter. The one who’s been on the news.”
Her heartbeat thrummed in her ears as she gripped the phone tighter.
River must have picked up on the intense shift in her emotional state. He leaned closer to her. She pressed the speaker button. Her throat had gone dry. “You know where my daughter is?”
