Around three in the afternoon, a vibrating sound caught my attention in the otherwise still space. Sybil and I froze mid-conversation, our eyes meeting, puzzle pieces pinched in our fingers as the sound repeated once, then twice—like a vibrating phone.
Slowly rising from the chair, Sybil mirroring my movement, we traced the sound to its source, but then it stopped. We both stood stock-still, staring at Gray’s mysterious, locked cabinet.
She eyed me, and I eyed her back, looking like two kids about to discover their parents’hidden stash of adult toys.
“Is it locked?” Sybil whispered conspiratorially.
I frowned, looking at the built-in keyhole, leveling my gaze on it.“Usually, it is.”
“Try it. See if it’s still locked,” she urged.
We took a unified, sharp breath and held it. I reached out a hesitant hand toward the latch. The moment my fingers brushed the brass knob, the vibrating started again, making us both jump and yelp.
With a nervous chuckle, I pushed onward and tried the knob. It was… unlocked.
A little thrill went through me, partly because I was finally about to see what was inside, and partly because Gray had left it unlocked—he trusted me.
The buzzing continued, shaking me out of my thoughts long enough to swing the door open and find its source.
Inside, resting on a shelf next to a few handguns and passports, was a bulky satellite phone. The name“Ethan” was scrolling across its old-fashioned digital screen.
“Who’s Ethan?” Sybil asked.
I picked up the phone.“Gray’s FBI contact.”
Sybil’s eyes went wide and gleamed at that. She’d been into spy stuff lately and loved the novelty.
“Should I answer it?” I asked.“He’s called twice. What if it’s important?”
Sybil was chewing on her sleeve, only pausing her nervous tic to say,“Do it.”
I nodded, hitting the call button before it stopped buzzing. I put the phone to my ear.
“Gray, we have a problem...” a man’s voice began.
I blinked a few times, stunned silent before I stammered a rusty,“Problem?”
The line went quiet for a moment before Ethan asked,“Betty?”
“Yeah,” I confirmed.“This is Betty. Gray is outside.”
I heard him sigh, sounding exasperated and a little distracted by the noise on his end of the line. He was somewhere busy, with phones ringing and people talking in loud voices.“Betty. Okay, listen, darling. Your dad has gone missing; we think he was taken.”
My heart squeezed the breath out of me.“What?” My eyes shot to Sybil’s, feeling the world fall away.
Her face screwed up with concern, and she mouthed a silent“What?”
“Dad,” I whispered.“Ethan says he’s missing or, like, someone took him.”
Ethan kept talking,“They left a note for you and Gray. It was straight to the point: Come home, or Jeffrey dies.”
My heart hammered in my chest, my hand trembling as I passed the phone to Sybil. I couldn’t do it; I couldn’t answer him.
As Sybil took the phone, I collapsed to my knees, palms flat on the floor as I panted for breath. My deepest fears were now a reality. Sybil’s small voice sounded filtered through cotton as she continued speaking with Ethan. She paced in circles around me.
Bill, Sybil’s dog, trotted over to my side, nudging my face and licking my hand before yipping, first at me, then at Sybil. He was an anxiety service dog, and was sensing my emotional collapse. He sat before me, placing a paw on my knee.
Sybil arched around me to the door,“Bill, come here. Go get Nash, okay?”
