Tony drew his weapon. “You’re going to remain here, by the door. I’ll check out the place and come back to find you standing exactly in this spot.”
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “You see if she’s okay. Her name is Patience, and she’s eighty-four.”
Tony nodded. “We know.” He disappeared into the apartment and less than a minute later returned to the door. “She isn’t here. Maybe she went out.”
Eliana pushed her way into the apartment and looked around for herself, but the whole place was empty. She turned and found Tony in the entryway.
He lifted his chin. “Like I said, she’s gone.”
A hundred questions rushed through her mind, but none tumbled from her lips. She just stood there, staring at him with those burning tears spilling down her face. “What is going on?”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
More people than she would’ve thought could fit into the Shrine conference room had managed to wedge themselves in here for an update briefing. Eliana drank sweet coffee from a paper cup, trying to get something in her stomach.
On her way into work this morning, she’d instructed the driver to go by Carlos’s house so she could look around. But wandering through his empty place before the sun even came up didn’t make her feel better about where he was. Not any more than standing in Patience’s foyer gave her any ideas where the older woman might be.
She had found Carlos’s police shield on a chain on his nightstand and brought it with her, tucked in her pocket for safekeeping. Even if wanting part of him close to her wasn’t something she was going to dwell on, she would still do it. And she’d focus on finding him, not wishing for what she didn’t have.
“Okay. If I could have all of your attention…” Director Caughton moved to the front of the room. “Today is going to be a busy day for us at the Shrine, so we need to move along with this update meeting.” She looked at the older Indian man in the corner wearing a Chicago PD uniform. “Chief DeepakChaudhary will go first, and then FBI Special Agent Laramee Fox.”
Tony shifted in the chair beside Eliana, the seat to her right creaking under him. Her persistent shadow since she’d returned to her job yesterday…for who knew how long.
She bit her lip and tried to ignore him.
According to Tony, there would be no more walking away from him. He’d even gone so far as to force her to promise him she wouldn’t leave without telling him where she was going.
If she was going to be honest, she didn’t mind having a bodyguard, given everything currently going on. The problem was that it seemed like everyoneelsewas in danger of being kidnapped, not her.
She couldn’t figure out what was happening.
“Thank you, Director.” Chief Chaudhary was shorter than Sylvia, but in his full uniform and wearing his police officer hat, he still managed to look imposing.
“Officer Ryson has been missing for ten hours now, along with the two detectives believed to be the ones who took him,” he explained. “Since then, an elderly woman, Patience Atherton, has also gone missing. We are also aware that Carolena Diaz, who works here at this museum, is unaccounted for. I can assure all of you that the department is doing everything at our disposal to account for their whereabouts.”
He continued, “Given the Shrine will be hosting this gathering of religious leaders today, I suggest that you leave it in the hands of law enforcement to find these people.”
Eliana took another sip of her coffee because the alternative would be to jump up and say something she regretted. All she had right now was a hair trigger attitude and a distinct lack of the skills needed to actually resolve the situation. Not to mention the sneaking suspicion that she was the focus of most of this.
Special Agent Laramee Fox moved to the front of the room. “Ladies and gentlemen, the FBI’s focus is the Reverence Sisters and their connection to these disappearances. But I can assure you that we will be actively looking for all three of the missing people.”
One of the doctors who worked at the Shrine in research, sitting across the table, said, “Do we have any idea why they might have been taken?”
“The matter is complex.” Chaudhary glanced at Eliana, then back at the scientist. “But the reason behind their disappearance is unlikely to aid us in discovering their whereabouts.”
Tony directed his question at the front of the room. “What about evidence collected from the house where Luci Ryson was discovered? The FBI had it under surveillance for some time. Was anything learned that will help the investigation?”
Eliana drank another sip of coffee, ignoring the tone in his voice. Tony and Special Agent Fox were never going to get to the point where they might be friends. The FBI agent and her partner didn’t look happy to be here, but Eliana had thought that was because they felt guilty over the fact Carlos had been targeted.
Special Agent Glor glanced at his partner, then said, “Physical evidence from the house all connects back to Officer Ryson’s sister, who I believe is in the hospital currently.”
Eliana said, “Even if she wakes up, she likely won’t ever be the same.”
Special Agent Fox looked at her. “Have you considered the fact that it may have been done in order to make a statement to you?”
Eliana fired back, “Have you considered the fact I was up all night staring at the ceiling, wondering if all of this is happening because of me?”
She didn’t wait long enough for anyone to answer her question. She didn’t really need an answer, anyway so she continued, “My best friend, Carolena Diaz. The guy I’m closest to. My neighbor that I take care of. Taking one would be enough, but all three? Maybe the whole point is to put me on edge. That, or sooner or later, I’ll hear from them, and all three of their lives will be threatened to get me to do something.”
