Sucked in another breath.
Ivy wasn’t surprised by the caller ID. The ring—beep, beep,pause,beep—was a dead giveaway.
Her students weren’t allowed phones in class—she confiscated them and put them in her desk drawer prior to the start of a lecture—and Ivy was extremely reluctant to use hers. She almost never did. It stayed on silent.
Except for one number.
Lecture, midnight, even in the middle of a meeting with the department head—it didn’t matter. If that number rang, Ivy answered.
Always.
“Is he okay? Please tell me my father’s okay.”
?Chapter 3
As a detectivewith the Princeton Police Department, Vaughn Ryan knew better than to enter a private residence without either just cause or a warrant.
He presently had neither.
Vaughn reached for the handle anyway.
It was unlocked, and he opened the door. Leaning inside, the first thing that struck him was the smell: a distinct musk, a combination of acrid sweat and sour alcohol.
Jesus.
Vaughn turned his head and took in a mouthful of outside air, holding it as he entered.
The place was a disaster. Fast food containers on the counter making friends with more empty and half-crushed beer cans than Vaughn could count.
Shaking his head, he moved deeper into the home, using the sound of thick, wet snores as his guide.
The bedroom door hung open a few inches, and Vaughn pushed it all the way with his foot.
The reek of sweat now overpowered the stink of alcohol. Surprising, considering that the number of opened beer cans in the room rivaled those in the kitchen.
They littered the bedside table where a black belt (complete with a gun holster, the weapon still safely tucked inside) dangled over the edge.
A man lay on the bed. Large belly, mostly white underwear. A bottle of Jack Daniels tucked under one arm.
The man snored, hiccupped—you can hiccup in your sleep?—then rolled over, showing Vaughn the crack of his ass.
“Hey, wake up,” Vaughn snapped.
No answer.
“Wake up.”
A snort.
Vaughn reached out and grasped the man by the shoulder, gave him a little shake. His skin was warm to the touch.
“Darnell, get your ass up.”
The man farted and flipped over once more.
“Darnell!”
The man’s eyes finally opened and he blinked rapidly.
