“Sure,” Livvy said without even knowing what was on her calendar. But she didn’t want to prolong this chat.
“Great. We’ll see you then, and just remember—tell your technician if you don’t want to know the gender of the baby.”
“All right. Thanks,” she blurted. Her tone must have conveyed to the nurse that this wasn’t a good time for a chat because Delia said a friendly goodbye and ended the call.
“You don’t have to go with me,” Livvy offered.
“I’ll go,” he snapped.
Speaking of tones, his conveyed what she’d thought it would. Ethan wasn’t happy about this appointment, but he would absolutely go just as he’d done with all her other ones. And his gruff voice and expression had nothing to do with his feelings for their baby. He loved this child. Livvy knew that. But with love came guilt, and Ethan was practically drowning in it.
It was the same for Livvy.
Isabel had been her friend, too, and it felt like a betrayal to have slept with Ethan. At least now it did. At the time, with theheat and need dictating, well, everything…being with him had felt like a necessity.
Thankfully, Ethan and she didn’t have to discuss the appointment or anything else because Livvy took the turn to New Hope. The place wasn’t visible from the main road, but once she got past massive groves of pecan and oak trees, she spotted the house.
It wasn’t a modern-looking clinic but rather a sprawling Victorian house. It had obviously been well maintained with its yellow exterior and white shutters. That applied to the yard, too, which looked like something right out of an English gardening magazine.
Even though it was practically winter, there were clay pots filled with colorful flowers on the wraparound porch. Plenty of seating, too, with carefully arranged wicker rocking chairs. It looked welcoming and peaceful, which was no doubt a necessity to appeal to the wealthy clients who might end up staying here.
Livvy studied the house and grounds to see if anything felt familiar. It didn’t. Not like that feeling she’d gotten at the abandoned house where they’d found Zadie. She had that sickening déjà vu there.
“No vehicles in sight,” Ethan commented, drawing her attention back to him.
Yes, and that added to the picture-perfect look of the place. Livvy spotted a large barn, also well kept, at the back of the house and figured that it might be used as a garage.
Still glancing around, they got out and made their way to the door, but before they could ring the bell, it opened. A tall woman with silver-gray hair stared at them. She wasn’t wearing scrubs or a white medical coat but was instead in loose navy pants and a matching top. Like the house and the grounds, she didn’t look familiar to Livvy.
The woman’s eyes were red, and she was dabbing at tears with a wadded-up tissue. She forced a smile that faltered completely when her gaze landed on Livvy’s baby bump.
“Oh,” she said. “I was expecting a new client who’s trying to conceive, but it’s obvious you’re not her. Congratulations.” She thrust out her hand before Livvy could respond. “I’m Chloe Voss, the director of New Hope. I’m afraid you’ve come at a bad time. We’ve just gotten some horrible news.”
So, she knew about Zadie. Either that or something else bad had happened to bring on those tears.
“I’m Deputy Ethan Oakley, and this is my partner, Deputy Livvy Walsh, from Renegade Canyon Sheriff’s Office,” he explained. “We’re here to talk to you about Zadie Covington.”
Chloe gave a resigned nod and stepped back so they could enter. “Her mother just called me. Apparently a cop came to her door and told her, and she didn’t want to believe it. She wanted me to tell her that Zadie was here. Alive and safe.” Her bottom lip trembled. “But instead I had to explain that I hadn’t seen Zadie since the end of her shift yesterday.”
“When was that?” Livvy asked.
“At five p.m.” Chloe motioned for them to follow her, and she led them out the impressive foyer and just up a hall into a sitting room or maybe a library. “Most of the staff lives here on the third floor,” she explained, tipping her head in the direction of the stairs, “and I assumed Zadie was in her quarters since she wasn’t due to come back on duty until noon today. It’s her half day,” she added.
“Any idea when Zadie left New Hope?” Ethan pressed.
“None.” She paused, blinked back more tears, and her gaze shifted to a heavily pregnant woman in a coat who was strolling through the side garden. “There’s no curfew or anything, and since Zadie’s car is still in the barn, I assume someone picked her up. And no, I don’t have any idea who would have done that—”She stopped, and her forehead bunched up. “That’s not true. I do have an idea. It’s possible that Anthony came and got her.”
“Anthony?” Livvy took out her phone to make note of the name.
“Anthony Carter.” Now some irritation or even anger flashed in her dark brown eyes. “Zadie’s ex-boyfriend. They had a bad breakup last week, and I thought she was done with him. Maybe not though. He could have possibly sweet-talked her into going with him and arranged to pick her up at the end of the road.”
Or he could have used some kind of force to make her go with him. Yes, they’d be looking into this Anthony Carter, and Livvy got started on that by texting Grace to let her know about him. The sheriff would get him in for an interview right away.
Another pregnant woman walked by the window, moving toward the one already in the garden. “How many people live here?” Livvy wanted to know. “And we’ll need names.”
Chloe nodded. “We have five clients.” She tipped her head to the two outside. “The brunette is Hannah Brooks, and Leah Parker is the redhead. They’re surrogates. Hannah is carrying a baby for Charlotte Winslow, and Leah for Sienna Carrington. Sienna’s husband, David, lives here as well, but he’s away on a business trip.”
She continued listing clients, and Livvy wrote them all down. “And the staff? How many?”
