“This is a police matter.”

He raced from the room, his mind looping with Lacey’s first three words—“I was attacked”—and realized with some surprise that he wanted to hurt the person who’d hurt her.

Forty-five seconds later, when he saw her sitting against the side of the building with an ice pack on her cheek, the rage inside him tripled and he knew without a doubt that past or no past, betrayal or no betrayal, he was going to fall for Lacey Gibson once again.

And wondered how he was going to keep his heart from being ripped in two when it happened.

LYNETTE EASON

grew up in Greenville, SC. Her home church, Northgate Baptist, had a tremendous influence on her during her early years. She credits Christian parents and dedicated Sunday school teachers for her acceptance of Christ at the tender age of eight. Even as a young girl, she knew she wanted her life to reflect the love of Jesus.

Lynette attended the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, then moved to Spartanburg, SC, to attend Converse College, where she obtained her master’s degree in education. During that time, she met the boy next door, Jack Eason, and married him. Jack is the executive director of the Sound of Light Ministries. Lynette and Jack have two precious children—Lauryn, eight years old, and Will, who is six. She and Jack are members of New Life Baptist Fellowship Church in Boiling Springs, SC, where Jack serves as the worship leader and Lynette teaches Sunday school to the four- and five-year-olds.

Missing
Lynette Eason

“My son” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

—Luke 15:31–32

To my family. I love you all!

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

LETTER TO READER

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

ONE

“My daughter’s missing and I need your help.”

Mason stared down at the distraught redheaded woman standing on his front porch, tears swimming in her eyes, fists clenched at her side.

Shock immobilized him for a brief moment, then with an effort, he found his voice.

“Lacey Gibson.” Just saying her name transported him to the past. His first love. His first romantic heartbreak. She hadn’t changed a bit.

At least on the outside.

If her heart was as traitorous as he remembered, he was in deep trouble.

The fact that his own heart did its best to leap from his chest in joyous welcome surprised him so much he almost swallowed his tongue.

What was she doing here? And what had she said? His brain had ceased to function the minute he realized who’d knocked on his door.

Stepping toward him, she placed her hands on his chest, tears threatening to spill from those green eyes that had captivated him at first glance. She pleaded, “I need your help. Bethany’s missing and no one seems to know why, or who she may have disappeared with—and no one seems to even care or want to listen to what I have to say or—”

A finger over her lips effectively cut off her monologue—and sent fire shooting along his nerve endings. He remembered covering those sweet lips with his, kissing her until they were both breathless and…

First things first. “What are you doing here and who is Bethany?”

She seemed oblivious to the fact that she still had her hands on his chest. He wasn’t in any hurry for her to remove them.

Much to his disgust.

Was he still so besotted with her that he’d forgotten what she’d done to him sixteen years ago?

No way. He’d gotten over her a long time ago.

Or so he tried to convince himself.

And yet somehow he found himself standing in his foyer with Lacey Gibson practically wrapped in his arms—and liking it.

Clearing his throat, he stepped back, took her hand—a soft hand, he noted—and pulled her into the den. There, he deposited her on the couch and asked, “Do you need a drink of water? Some coffee?” He looked at the tears that had now spilled over to track their way down her pale cheeks. “A tissue?”

“Yes to the tissue, no to the drink.”

Mason reached around her and, with only a twinge of pain in his left shoulder, snatched a tissue from the end table and handed it to her. The only reason Lacey had found him at home at ten-thirty on a Tuesday morning was because he’d been forbidden to go back to work for another two weeks.

Being shot in the line of duty had been a real pain. Both physically and mentally. As a Deputy U.S. Marshal, he was used to action and staying busy. Being out on medical leave was definitely not on his top-one-hundred-favorite-things-to-do list. But he was almost finished with that.

And he had a feeling his days of boredom had just come to an end. She had a daughter? His gut tightened. “Why do you think she’s missing, and what do you think I can do to find her?” What he wanted to ask was why she’d chosen to come to him about it. Instead, he leaned back against the couch and studied the woman before him.

Her fiery red curls were pulled up into some kind of scrunchy thing women seemed to like. Her normally sparkling green eyes were set in an oval-shaped face that looked pale and drawn, stressed and tired. Light gray bags under her eyes attested to some lost sleep.

But she was still beautiful, and his heart warmed.

Which meant she could still be dangerous, his head argued.

His heart agreed, but from the way it threatened to beat out of his chest, Mason didn’t think it cared.

She raised the tissue and swiped a few tears then took a deep breath. “Bethany is my fifteen-year-old daughter. She’s been gone for two days now.” She looked at the ceiling. “Today’s Tuesday. I last saw her Sunday morning when I went to wake her up for church. She mumbled that she didn’t feel good so I let her sleep. When I got home, she wasn’t there. I called her cell phone and she didn’t answer.”

“Does she usually answer when you call?”

Lacey blinked and took another swipe at the tears. “Yes, usually. So, I waited awhile, then tried again. And kept trying. When I still didn’t hear anything, I called a few of her friends. The ones that I managed to get on the line didn’t know where she was. When she wasn’t home and hadn’t called by dark, I went looking for her. I couldn’t find her, so I started calling all of her friends again. Not one of them knew…” Her breath hitched and more tears leaked. She turned wet emerald-green eyes on him, pleading. “She’s not answering her cell phone and she missed school yesterday….” She lifted her hands and swallowed. “I went to the police and they’re treating her as a runaway. No one else will do anything and I just don’t know what else to do. Please help me, Mason.”

Lacey bit her lip and stared up at the man as if he were her last hope. He still wore his reddish-blond hair in a military buzz cut. A hysterical laugh bubbled in her throat. Why had she even noticed that?

Focusing on his startling blue eyes, the same eyes she’d looked into every day for the past fifteen years, she decided that while she hated to come begging for his help, she’d do it for Bethany.

Where Bethany was concerned, the only thing that mattered was finding her. And if working with the man who’d broken her heart sixteen years ago meant she could bring her daughter home safely, she’d do it without a second thought.

What she hadn’t told Mason was that it wasn’t just Bethany that she needed help with. Since her daughter’s disappearance, she had felt watched. Like eyes followed her wherever she went. It was creepy and unsettling.

But nothing else had happened. So she’d started to wonder if it was all her imagination.

Bethany’s disappearance confirmed it wasn’t.

Even as she walked up the steps to Mason’s front porch, she had to resist looking back over her shoulder. She shuddered.

And just last night, she’d paced the house, praying, calling out to God and thought she heard someone at the door. Thinking it was Bethany, she’d flung it open and found a page from her old high school yearbook tacked to her door.

Confused, she’d pulled it down and stared out into the night. The hair on the nape of her neck had prickled, and a sense of foreboding had nearly overcome her.

One thing she knew for sure: someone was watching her. But who? Bethany’s possible kidnapper?

“Give me back my daughter!” she’d screamed. “Where is she?”

No one had answered.

But she’d felt the lingering eyes on her, watching from beyond, the malice, the—evil? Gulping, she’d shut the door and leaned against it, a hand to her throat. What was she going to do?

The answer had come to her—and not one she’d liked. She knew without a doubt that she had to go to Mason Stone. A man she’d vowed never to see again.

The man who’d broken her heart sixteen years ago.

Now looking into Mason’s expressionless face, she realized she might have made a mistake. She was surprised he’d let her in the door. How she found herself on his couch was anyone’s guess. But that didn’t matter. Her main focus was Bethany. She had to save her child.

No matter what their past contained. They’d simply have to deal with that later.

Mason stood, shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and paced to the other end of the room, then back. “Why should I help you, Lacey?”

The question, while asked in a voice so low she had to strain to hear it, seemed to echo off the walls of the house and ricochet inside her brain.

“Because…because…”

“Because of our past? Just because we once meant something to each other doesn’t mean anything. When you decided to cheat on me with my best friend, you made it clear what you thought of our relationship.”

Shock bolted Lacey to her feet. “How dare you? How dare you? I never cheated on you! But just like now, you wouldn’t stop throwing around accusations long enough to listen!” She snatched another tissue from the box and headed for the door. “Well, I’m not the scared, intimidated little girl I was at eighteen years old. So, never mind. I was wrong. I can’t believe how wrong I was.”

“I saw you—Daniel said…” Mason sucked in a deep breath and turned away from her as she stomped for the exit. His low “Stop. Don’t go yet” froze her in her tracks.

Without facing him, she asked, “Why shouldn’t I?”

“Because you came to me for a reason,” he said, then sighed. “It seems the past isn’t as dead as I thought it was. I didn’t mean to…”

Keeping her voice frigid, she muttered, “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is finding Bethany. Will you help me or not?”

Fingers wrapped around her upper arm and he swung her around to face him. “I don’t know yet. Sit back down. Please. Tell me about Bethany and why you think I can help you.”

Clamping down on the desire to hurtle her own accusations, she seated herself on the couch once more and took a deep breath. For Bethany, remember? You can do this for Bethany.

So, how much should she tell him?

All of it.

“I thought you could help me because being a marshal…isn’t that what you do for a living? Find people?”

He nodded. “Fugitives mostly.”

“But you have connections, you can—” She stopped, closed her eyes and sucked in a calming breath. She needed to keep her cool. “Bethany is a good kid.” Should she show him the picture? No, as soon as she did, he would know…. “She’s had an emotional and rocky couple of years as all teens do, but things had been getting better since we moved back here.”

He nodded, listening.

“Bethany wouldn’t just disappear like this. Not at this point in our lives. Not at all.” Her daughter might do a lot of things, but running away from home was definitely not one of them. “And not when I’ve just promised…” She bit her lip and looked away.

“Promised what?”

She straightened her shoulders. “Since I’ve promised to let her meet her father.”

His lips tightened and suspicion narrowed his eyes. “And who is her father?”

“He’s…” She sucked in a deep breath. She couldn’t just blurt it out. “I’ll get to that in a minute.” Oh Lord, I need your help and guidance on this. Right now, please.

Twisting the tissue between her fingers, she drew in another breath and looked him in the eye. “Some strange things have been happening lately. To Bethany. And I think they’re related to the car wreck that happened a couple of months ago.”

“What wreck?”

“It was during spring break back in April. Bethany’s best friend, Kayla Mahoney, was driving and she ran off the road, hit a tree and—” she pressed shaking fingers to her lips “—died.”

Mason’s sharply indrawn breath stabilized her. “Wait a minute, I think I heard about that.”

Lacey swiped a tear away. “Anyway, after the accident, Bethany was having trouble dealing with it. So, I looked into getting her some help. She started counseling with our pastor and seemed to be improving. And now this.” Through clenched teeth she gritted, “But no one seems to be interested in helping me!”

She fought the wave of tears as she looked at Mason.

He rubbed a hand over his face then caught her eye. “And you said weird things started happening after the wreck?”

“Yes.”

“Like what?”

“Bethany started acting very strange. She jumped at the slightest noise, refused to go out by herself, became my shadow if we went out together. It seemed she was constantly watching her back, but she adamantly refused to talk about it. She started losing weight, having nightmares. I thought she might be suffering from depression after everything that happened.”

“It would certainly be understandable.”

Lacey nodded. “Then someone tried to break into our house one night. Bethany came screaming into my room in the middle of the night that someone was climbing in her window. I called the police and they came out, but found nothing that indicated someone tried to get in. But there are bushes and mulch and—” She waved a hand. “It would be impossible to say if there was or wasn’t someone out there. The police blamed it on youthful pranks.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“What else?” he probed.

“About a week later, she said she thought someone had followed her home from school. We live near the high school, so she walks to and from school. Only in the last few weeks I’ve had to start taking her and picking her up. She’s gotten so frightened that she’s refused to go to school unless I drive her.”

Mason started pacing again. “Did you report it?”

“Yes.”

He frowned. “And that’s it?”

Exasperated, Lacey stood and paced to the fireplace then back to her seat. “Yes—and no.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning I think there’s more to it.”

“Such as?”

“I don’t know!” Lacey threw her hands up in frustration.

“But I think there was someone else with Kayla that night. I think her friend Georgia Boyles and—” she swallowed hard “—Bethany were in that car that night.”

Mason’s brows shot up. “Why do you say that?”

“Because Georgia’s mother came to my house to ask Bethany if Georgia had been with Kayla that night.”

“Why did she suspect that?”

“Because Georgia came home around three in morning, scratched up and with bruises she couldn’t explain. The police also found her cell phone in the car. When they returned it to her she said she’d left it in there earlier that day.”

“Could be.” Mason shrugged with his good shoulder. “Is that it?”

Frustrated at his apparent lack of concern, she clenched her fists. “Yes! That’s basically it! But come on, Mason, there’s got to be more. Bethany wouldn’t just disappear like this. I’m really afraid she’s in trouble, hurt…or worse.” Just saying the words nearly brought her to her knees. “And then, there was the thing taped to my door last night,” she whispered.

His eyes sharpened. “What thing?”

Rummaging in her purse, she pulled out the yearbook page. “This.”

He took it from her and his brows shot up as he studied it. “And it was taped to your door?”

She nodded. “I was up pacing and praying and just… I couldn’t sleep. Mom and Dad were upstairs sleeping and I didn’t want to disturb them so I went downstairs. I heard something at the door and thought it was Bethany. When I opened it, that was there.”

“This is a picture of us.”

“Along with twenty other students who were involved in building the homecoming float.”

“Still, you’re right. It’s kind of weird that someone would tape this to your door. I wish you hadn’t touched it. I doubt we’d be able to get any prints off of it now. We’ll take it in and see what the lab can find—after we convince someone to do some serious investigating.” He left for a minute and came back with the page in a brown paper bag.

“Might as well protect it as much as possible from here on out. They’ll need to take your prints to rule them out.”

“Fine. Whatever it takes. I just want to do something, have somebody doing something. Now.”

Mason studied her and sighed. “All right. I can see why you’re concerned, but I still want to know why you’ve come to me. Why ask me for help now after all these years with no contact?” He held up his hands, and for the first time since entering his house she thought she saw pain in his light blue eyes.

She had to tell him.

“Because, not only are you in that picture that was left on my door, Mason, you’re the man I promised Bethany she could meet. You’re her father.”

TWO

Mason’s knees nearly gave out. He fumbled for the chair behind him and sank onto it. Staring, he searched his mind for a response and came up blank.

A daughter? Him?

When she’d said she had a fifteen-year-old daughter, he’d immediately assumed his best friend from high school, Daniel Ackerman, was the father. But to hear her say that he was the father was almost more than he could process. In fact, the ringing in his ears made him wonder if he’d heard her right.

The expression on her face said he had.

“She’s my…” He couldn’t say the word.

Lacey blinked against the tears, but he noticed they just kept coming. He couldn’t even think to offer her another tissue. “Yeah, Mason. She’s your daughter.”

“And you’re just telling me this now?” he whispered. Did he even believe her? Searching her face, he could find no hint of deception or guile. Just desperation. And shame.

Then those emotions disappeared and anger made her voice hard as she ground out, “I tried to tell you sixteen years ago, but you wouldn’t listen to a word I had to say, remember?”

Mason clenched his fists as he remembered their final confrontation. Her tears, Daniel’s guilty flush. Mason’s unwillingness to look at her, much less listen to anything she had to say. Because she’d done what he’d expected all along. Betrayed him. Just like his mother had betrayed his father and her entire family.

“All right, look.” His brain struggled to adjust to all the information it had just been bombarded with. Life-changing information. “You said Bethany is missing. Let’s put the past aside and focus on her.”

A daughter, his mind echoed. He had a daughter.

Maybe.

If she was really his.

But what if she was?

He couldn’t help wondering what she looked like. What did she think about him? Why would Lacey tell him he was the father, if he wasn’t? Then again, this was the girl he’d caught in his best friend’s arms and she’d denied what was before his very eyes. He didn’t know what to believe, but if the possibility that their one-time intimate prom night encounter resulted in a child…

He had to know.

“I agree,” she said, interrupting the endless questions he suddenly had. Relief written clearly on her strained features, she also looked grateful. “Please.”

“But this issue is far from resolved.”

“I know,” she whispered and looked away.

Mason stood, rotated his healing shoulder, wincing at the pinch and slight stiffness, then realized his resolve to do whatever it took to get it back into tip-top shape before he returned to work just fell to second place on his priority list.

Finding his daughter had just careened its way to the top spot.

Running a hand through the hair he’d just washed before finding Lacey on his doorstep, he said, “All right, first things first. We need find out who saw her last. And if you think her disappearance has something to do with the car accident, then we need to revisit that, too.”

Lacey rubbed her nose. “I’m sure Georgia knows something. I’ve called her several times and she swears she doesn’t know where Bethany is, but I think she’s hiding something.” She clenched a fist and smacked her thigh. “I just can’t get her to tell me anything. And the police refuse—” She broke off again and Mason could tell she was having a hard time keeping it together. She was obviously exhausted.

He had a feeling a few sleepless nights were in his immediate future, too. “Grab your stuff. Let’s go talk to Georgia.”

Gathering her bag and the picture, she stood. “She’s probably in school.”

“Then let’s get her out of class.”

“What do we do after that?”

“Visit the police station and see what we can find out about the wreck.”

Stepping outside his home, headed for the car, Lacey did her best to shove the hurt down. Old memories threatened to overwhelm her. The fear of finding out she was pregnant. Mason’s rejection…

As Mason circled the car to open the passenger door, he paused.

The sudden tense set of his shoulders set off her internal alarms. “What is it?”

His arm reached across the windshield to pull something out from under the wiper blade. “This.” He held it by the very edge of one corner.

Stepping around him to look at the object in his hand, she gasped. “Another picture? Of us? That’s from the yearbook, too! What’s going on? How did someone know I’d be coming here?”

“Get in the car.”

Eyes peeled behind him for any movement or suspicious person, he opened the door and practically shoved her in. Then he bolted around to the driver’s side. He set the picture on the dash and got on the phone as he pulled out of the driveway.

Lacey listened to him bark orders and ask questions of an unidentified person as she watched the familiar scenery whiz by, but her brain didn’t process it. She was too busy begging God for her daughter’s life. And thanking Him that Mason had agreed to help her.

And he’d agreed before he’d found the picture on his car. Who was doing this? Was the person following them even now?

She looked in the side mirror, but saw no cars behind them. The fact didn’t comfort her. She had a feeling things had just gotten started with Bethany’s disappearance and whoever had left the pictures. The thought made her stomach roll.

He hung up and looked at her. “I’ve called Detective Catelyn Santino. She’s a homicide detective…” At her gasp, he broke off then rushed to reassure her. “No, it’s okay. She also investigates other stuff, too, depending on her caseload. She said she could help out with this one.”

He made another phone call and Lacey heard him trying to arrange with his boss to be officially on the case. Finding fugitives was only one part of a marshal’s duties. Would the powers that be let him search for a missing teen who hadn’t done anything wrong and had possibly been kidnapped? Would they let him search for the person who’d left the pictures?

He hung up.

“Well?” The word popped from her mouth. She noticed he didn’t tell his boss it was his own child he wanted to look for. Interesting. He was probably still in shock.

Frustration chiseled his features into a block of stone. “My boss won’t officially assign me the case, although he can’t dictate what I do with my time off the clock. Technically, I’m not cleared to go back to work for another couple of weeks, but that doesn’t matter. Bethany will have my full attention until we get her home. And in spite of the fact that you didn’t think the cops took you seriously, they did their job and filed her as a missing person.”

“They did?” Tears clogged her throat and she cleared it. “I really didn’t think they’d do anything. I thought they probably just stuck her information on a desk somewhere and figured she was a runaway who’d come home later.”

A grim smile crossed his lips. “They may have thought about it, but they’re taking it a little more seriously now. Especially when I explained about the two pictures. We’ll turn them over to the investigating detectives as soon as we get there.”

“How did you get them to do that? To listen to you?”

He slanted her a glance. “I’m a marshal, Lacey, I do have some pull in law enforcement, you know.” He sighed.

“Catelyn’s going to ask to be assigned to Bethany’s disappearance and doesn’t think it’ll be a problem. Her husband, Joseph, is FBI and an expert in finding missing people. She’s contacting him, too. Before we go to the high school, she wants to talk to you.”

He paused and Lacey looked at him suspiciously. “That’s great. Finally, we’re getting some attention. So, what’s wrong?”

His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “Catelyn has a new partner.”

At the brooding look on his face, she knew. Swallowing the sudden surge of nausea, she asked, “Daniel Ackerman?”

“Yes,” he clipped out, then blurted, “Is Bethany why you left town?”

She froze. Did she want to get into this now?

“Lacey?”

His tight tone warned her this wasn’t going to be easy. She sighed and looked at him. At his strong hands curled around the steering wheel. What was easy was remembering how much she’d loved him.

How it felt to have those fingers curled around hers, pulling her along behind him down by the lake where they used to sneak off to trade sweet kisses.

How cherished she felt when he cupped her chin to bring her lips to his….

She blinked against the rush of tears. “Yes. Mostly.” But also because she’d been forced into it by parents who were ashamed their only child had gotten pregnant, that she had become a statistic her father preached against with alarming regularity.

So, yes, she’d left because of Bethany and Daniel and what Mason had believed her capable of. She’d also been devastated, crushed.

And so lonely, she’d wanted to die. She’d missed him so much, especially in the first few years of Bethany’s life. But the fact that he’d dismissed her love so easily, had believed lies about her so readily, had nearly destroyed her.

She clamped her lips together and looked out the window. Since being back in town, she’d managed to avoid running into Daniel. She’d had a couple of close calls, but each time had spotted him before he’d spotted her and she’d escaped undetected.

Now, none of that mattered. None of it. Bethany was all that mattered and finding her was where she’d keep her focus.

He simply grunted and much to her relief said nothing more.

The drive to the station ended a tense silence. Lacey looked up at the building and prayed the people inside had the ability to find Bethany…alive.

As she walked into the building, Lacey felt hope tremble inside her. Please, God, she silently prayed. Please use these people to lead us to Bethany.

The air-conditioning was a blessed relief from the June heat, and she relished the coolness blowing across her skin.

Then she felt guilty. Was Bethany hot? Sweating and dreaming of a glass of water? Was she in pain? Did she need a doctor?

Was she even alive?

Once again tears sprang to the surface and she quickly shoved those thoughts aside.

“Come in here. It’s an interrogation room, but we can use it,” Mason said as he motioned her in. “Catelyn said she and Joseph would meet us here.”

“So they’re officially investigating everything, right?”

“Yes. And so is Daniel, of course.”

“Of course,” she murmured. She prayed she could keep her cool when Daniel appeared in front of her. Prayed she wouldn’t say anything she shouldn’t.

Mason pulled out the chair for her and she slid into it. The spicy scent of his aftershave tugged at her. Just breathing it in brought back memories that caused both joy and pain.

A light tingling at the nape of her neck caused her to turn and look up at him. The flush on his cheeks gave him away. He’d reverted to an old gesture he’d had when they were dating. Pulling her hair up from her collar, brushing his fingers against her neck.

Her breathing hitched and she almost couldn’t look away from him. Then he broke eye contact as the door opened and Catelyn stepped into the room.

She smiled at Mason. “Glad to see you’ve recovered.”

“For all intents and purposes.” He gestured to Lacey. “This is Lacey Gibson.”

Catelyn smiled a sympathetic welcome and shook Lacey’s hand. “Joseph and Daniel will be here soon.” She sat opposite Mason and Lacey.

No sooner had she taken a seat when the door opened again and the man she assumed to be Joseph entered. Dark hair and dark eyes set off his Italian features. Lacey thought she could understand why Catelyn had fallen for the good-looking FBI agent and married him.

Then they were asking her for her story once again. She repeated exactly what she’d told Mason, leaving nothing out and then added the information about the note that had appeared on his car.

Mason took over from there. “I want to be in on this.”

Joseph studied him then nodded. “Sure. How much time do you have before you have to be back at work?”

“Long enough to help y’all find Bethany.”

Lacey wondered why he hadn’t told them Bethany was his daughter. Should she mention it?

Immediately, she decided not to say anything. That would be Mason’s call.

Catelyn leaned forward. “Daniel Ackerman is my partner now and he’ll be helping, too. He got called away right before you arrived so I’ll fill him in later. Do you have a recent picture?”

Lacey nodded and reached into her purse. She’d hoped she wouldn’t need the five-by-seven print. The one she’d chosen just in case she needed to have flyers printed up. Chilled, she shivered. Never in a million years would she have imagined she’d be in this situation.

Just looking at the photo choked her throat and brought an overwhelming longing to wrap her arms around her girl.

Catelyn took the picture out and she felt Mason shift so he could see it. His gasp sent her heart thudding.

THREE

Mason felt the breath leave him.

He no longer wondered if Bethany was his. A feminine version of himself smiled back at him. A full-body shot, the picture showed a girl who was tall and lanky, with reddish-blond hair and vivid blue eyes. She was beautiful. He could see some of her mother in her, too, like the light dusting of freckles across her nose and the shape of her face, but there was no doubt she was his.

Somehow having that confirmed made it all the more real.

He had a daughter. He wondered if she liked the same things as he did. What kind of talents did she have? What were her hobbies? What…

“Do I need to get flyers printed?” Lacey’s shaky voice dropped him into the present with a thud.

Joseph nodded. “It would probably be best. You’re new in town—or at least Bethany is—so it would help to have her face plastered on as many surfaces as possible.”

Mason saw Lacey swallow hard. Her hand trembled as she took the picture back. Her eyes lingered on the photo before returning it to her purse.

“All right,” Catelyn said. “Here’s the game plan. Lacey, you said the last person to see Bethany was probably Georgia Boyles. She’s who we need to start with.”

Mason glanced at the wall clock. “Summer school’s almost over. If we get over there within the next thirty minutes, we can catch her.” He looked at Lacey. “Does she walk, drive or ride the bus?”

“She drives. A blue Mustang, I think.”

Joseph blew out a breath. “All right. I’ll work on things from this end.” He looked at Mason. “You and Catelyn can work the field if you’re willing.”

“Oh, I’m willing.” He was more than willing. In fact, no one had better try to stop him.

And if the look on Lacey’s face was any indication, she wasn’t going to be left behind, either. Her arguments with Catelyn proved him right. “I’m going.” Her jaw jutted and she narrowed her eyes. “I’ll just follow you, if you won’t let me go.”

Catelyn sighed. “I could have you arrested for obstruction.”

At this, Lacey’s throat bobbed. “Then I’ll post bail and keep going.” She sighed. “Look, I promise I won’t be in the way. I just have to do this.”

“Don’t you have a job?”

“Yes, but I’ve already called and requested some time off. Finding Bethany is all that matters. I have my cell phone. If she calls, she’ll call that.”

Catelyn finally gave in, albeit grudgingly, and the three of them headed for their cars. Mason didn’t want to leave his vehicle behind so Catelyn drove separately. Lacey rode with him. Interesting—he’d have thought she’d have taken the opportunity to put some space between them and climbed in with Catelyn.

Then again, she had come to him for help. To find her daughter. His daughter. He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact, but the picture cinched it for him. Bethany was his.

Mason followed Catelyn to the high school. As it came into view, memories he thought he’d buried hit him. Hard.

He pulled into the office parking lot and turned off the engine. Lacey bolted from the vehicle as though she couldn’t get out fast enough. She must have been flooded with the same memories.

Then she paused, her eyes locked on something in the distance.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Across the street, there’s a photo shop. If I hurry, I could get some flyers printed and get back to hang them around the high school before the bell rings.”

“That might be a good idea.”

She fixed him with a determined stare. “But you’ll tell me everything Georgia tells you?”

“Everything. I promise.”

She nodded. “All right. I’ll try to be back within thirty minutes.”

“I’ve got my cell phone. Just call and I’ll tell you where we are. You want a ride?”

“No, it’s not that far.”

He shrugged. “All right. If we get done before you’re ready, I’ll pick you up at the shop.”

She nodded and her gaze softened as she opened her mouth to say something else. She must have thought twice about it because she snapped her lips together, turned on her heel and headed across the street for the photo shop.

Lacey wanted to hurry. She wanted to get back and find out what Georgia had to say about Bethany. But she knew the faster she got these flyers printed, the faster she’d have Bethany’s face plastered around the city. And beyond if necessary.

She pushed open the glass door that had enough flyers taped on it to wallpaper her bathroom and entered the store. She jumped when the bell rang to announce her presence. A clerk who looked to be in his mid-fifties and needing a shave came to the counter. “Can I help you?”

“I need to print some flyers. My daughter is missing and I need to get the flyers put up as soon as possible.” She pulled the picture out and handed it to him.

He frowned down at Bethany’s picture. “I’m sure sorry to hear that. I’ll be glad to get these printed. You want to add her name and a contact phone number on here?”

Of course, why hadn’t she thought of that? She was so frazzled! “Um, yes. That would be great.”

Get it together, Lacey, Bethany’s counting on you.

“Won’t take me a minute to scan it into the computer, add the information and then get everything printed up. I’ll do it as a rush job for you.”

Lacey felt tears mist her eyes. “Thanks, I appreciate that.”

She gave him the information to add to the flyers and while the clerk went to work in the back room, she paced back and forth in front of the counter, thinking of the different locations she could put the flyers. Locations that offered the best traffic where the most people would see it.

A shadow passed by the door and she turned, expecting to see someone enter.

No one did.

She went back to her pacing.

Again, movement by the glass door caught her attention. Strange movement, like someone bobbing up and down.

Thinking someone needed help opening the heavy door, she walked over to it, and pulled it open. No one was there.

Huh, that’s odd.

Just to make sure, she stepped outside to look to the right.

Nothing.

As she looked to the left, something slammed into her lower back propelling her against the wall. The breath left her so fast, she couldn’t even scream. In shock, she felt her face scrape the side of the building.

Before she could gather her stunned wits, a voice whispered in her ear, “She’s mine now and you’ll never find her.”

Fear careened through her and she struggled to turn around on legs that felt like jelly. Her face burned and her back felt bruised.

The blue sky turned dark and for a moment she was afraid she would pass out.

Running footsteps echoed back to her, mocking her, letting her know she was helpless. With a frustrated and angry cry, she slid down the wall to sit on the ground and weep for her lost child.

Mason ground his teeth in frustration at Georgia’s refusal to cooperate. The fact that she even had to attend the summer session due to a flunking grade in English had already spiked her attitude. Being questioned about a wreck she claimed to have nothing to do with sent it skyrocketing.

Her wide gray eyes flicked back and forth between the three adults staring at her. Her lips clamped together in a tight snarl. Mason thought they might need a blowtorch to pry them apart.

The principal had asked to stay in the room. Since Georgia was over fourteen, they didn’t need parental permission to question the girl although they had given her mother a courtesy call.

She was on the way.

He briefly wondered how Lacey was doing, then focused his attention back to Bethany’s stubborn friend. Her body language and uncomfortable shifting when questioned about the wreck all suggested she was lying about not being there.

He leaned forward. “Look, Bethany’s missing. From all appearances, she wouldn’t run away. In fact, from what her mother says, she was scared of something, nervous all the time. She felt like her life might be in danger. That, coupled with her disappearance, sends up a big red flag. She might be counting on you to help find her.”

Georgia licked her lips. Some of the attitude faded as she finally looked him straight in the eye. “I don’t know where she is, I promise!”

Deflated, he realized he believed her. She didn’t know where Bethany was. But she sure knew something. “What are you afraid to tell me? To tell us?”

Georgia jumped to her feet. “Nothing! There’s nothing to tell!” Tears leaked down her cheeks and she palmed them away leaving black streaks of mascara behind. “If I could help you find Bethany, I would. But you’re right about one thing. She was scared of someone.”

“Who?”

The girl slumped back into the chair and slapped a hand on the table. “I don’t know! I wish I did, but I just don’t. But she can take care of herself. She’s got a first-degree black belt in karate, you know?”

Mason started. Lacey hadn’t mentioned that. “What?”

“Yeah, she’s like addicted. Does all kinds of competitions—and wins. So she can handle whatever comes along.” Frustration slid over her face. “But I don’t know where she’s hiding out. I promise.”

“Hiding out?” Mason jumped on those two words. “So she left on her own?”

Georgia groaned. “No! I don’t know! I don’t know what she’s doing or where she is. She didn’t say anything about leaving before she disappeared. That much I do know.”

Catelyn blew out a sigh and looked over at Mason. He shook his head. They weren’t going to get anything from Georgia. However, he had to ask, “Were you with Kayla the night of the accident?”

“No! Why do people keep asking me that? No! I wasn’t there, all right?” Her breath came in pants and sweat broke across her upper lip.

She was lying. But he wasn’t going to get her to admit it. Yet. “All right, thanks for meeting with us.” He slipped her his card. “But if you think of anything at all, will you please call me?”

“Sure.” She slipped the card into her back pocket.

Mason stopped her. “Do you feel like you’re in any danger, Georgia? Because I can help, if you do.”

“No,” she mumbled. “I’m not in any danger. Now I gotta go.” She escaped the room as fast as she could. Her mother hadn’t even arrived yet.

Mason looked at Catelyn. “She’s definitely scared.”

“But of what? Of who?”

“I don’t know, but I think Lacey may have been on to something when she said that Bethany’s disappearance had something to do with the car accident. Georgia was involved in it—no matter how adamantly she denies it—and she’s scared to death about something. Bethany was probably with the two girls, too, and now she’s missing.”

“Kayla is dead, Bethany’s missing and Georgia’s scared. I think I’m going to have an officer keep an eye on her for her own safety.”

Mason tapped his chin and watched Georgia disappear into the throng of students ready to get out of the building and go do something fun. “I think that’s a good idea. I also think we need to revisit that accident. Who was the lead investigator in it?”

“My partner. Daniel Ackerman.”

Mason felt his gut clench. He hadn’t spoken more than three sentences to Daniel since the day he’d caught Lacey kissing his friend. Even though it wasn’t Daniel’s fault that Lacey had come on to him, the man was a reminder of one of the most painful times of his life.

And even though Daniel had married and moved on, Mason couldn’t get the betrayal out of his mind.

“Fine,” he muttered. “Then let’s find Daniel and get all of the evidence about the accident back out. I want everything sent back to the lab. Since it was ruled an accident, the forensics people probably didn’t go over everything quite as thoroughly as they would a murder.”

“If that car wreck wasn’t an accident, then it was murder.”

“Yeah.” His phone rang and he saw Lacey’s number pop up. His heart squeezed. “Hello?”

“Mason?” Her shaky voice put him on instant alert.

“What is it, Lacey?”

“I was attacked.” She sobbed. He heard her trying to catch her breath. “But I think I have something to add to the investigation. Can you come?”

Heart in his throat, he promised to be there in less than a minute. He looked at Catelyn. “Come on, this is a police matter.”

He raced from the room, Catelyn following along behind him, his mind looping with Lacey’s first three words, I was attacked… and realized with some surprise that he wanted to hurt the person who’d hurt her.

Forty-five seconds later, when he saw her sitting against the side of the building with an ice pack on her cheek, the rage inside him tripled and he knew without a doubt that past or no past, betrayal or no betrayal, he was going to fall for Lacey Gibson once again.

And wondered how he was going to keep his heart from being ripped in two when it happened.

FOUR

Lacey pressed the ice pack to her head and stood. The feel of Mason’s solid grip on her upper arm scrambled her brain more than the knock against the side of the building.

He and Catelyn had arrived almost immediately, the poor store owner having time only to offer his help and fix the ice pack, which she insisted she didn’t need.

He insisted she did.

The print shop owner stood with the pictures of Bethany clutched in his left hand as he attempted to answer Catelyn’s questions. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see anything. I don’t usually have any problems around here.”

Lacey shook her head and winced. “It wasn’t your fault. Whoever it was knew exactly who they were attacking.”

“Why do you say that?” Mason frowned.

“Because he specifically said, ‘She’s mine now.’ Who else would he be referring to except Bethany?”

His frown deepened. “Did you see him? What was the voice like?”

Squinting against the throbbing in her head, she replayed the scene in her mind. With a shudder, she swallowed. “No, I didn’t see him. Just a glimpse. And his voice was low, raspy, like someone with a bad cold….” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m sure the person disguised his voice.”

Mason sighed and guided her over to the car. “We need to get your head checked out.”

She waved him away. “It’s fine. Just a bump and a scrape.” It hurt, but she didn’t have time to deal with it now. She scrambled back out of the car. “I forgot the flyers.”

Before he could stop her, Lacey made her way back up the store owner. He handed the package to her. “Take them.”

Lacey reached for her wallet—another indication the attack had had a specific purpose. He’d left her purse when he could have easily snatched it.

A hand on her arm brought her gaze up and she looked into the man’s kind eyes. “No, ma’am. This is my gift, my part to help you find your daughter.”

Tears choked her once again and she stared at him through the blur. “Thank you.”

Mason placed an arm around her shoulders and steered her back toward the car. “Now, let’s get you checked out.”

Weariness tugged at her now that the adrenaline had faded. However, Bethany came first. “I’m not going to a doctor.” She shivered. “Somehow, deep down in my bones, I feel like time is running out for Bethany. We need to find her now.”

A frown creased his brows. “All right, but if you start feeling sick, I want you to tell me. Promise?”

His concern set off all kinds of warm sensations in the depths of her being. She swallowed hard and steeled herself against the longing just being around him stirred up. “Promise.”

Catelyn joined them at the car. “All right. I think we’ve done all we can do here. I’m going to see if any of the security cameras around here picked up anything.”

Mason nodded. “I want to look at the investigation file from the wreck.”

“You’ll have to talk to Daniel. He was the lead investigator on that one and will be able to help you out there.”

Lacey bit her lip and shot Mason a look even as she thought that Daniel might be able to help them, but would he?

Mason cleared his throat. “I’ll talk to him.”

A ringing phone made her jump. Then she realized it was hers. Bethany? Yanking it from her pocket, she glanced at the caller ID and bit her lip as a wave of grief nearly knocked her over. Not Bethany. “Hi, Mom.”

“Have you heard anything?”

Her parents had accepted both of them back into their lives with open arms. As always, guilt pierced her. She’d been so wrong to keep Bethany from people who would have loved her. And yet, they’d been the ones to send her off in the beginning and it had taken her a long time to get past that.

When they’d started begging for reconciliation by Bethany’s sixth birthday, Lacey had enough bitterness and resentment flowing that she’d repeatedly refused.

Until God got ahold of her three years ago, after her landlady led her to know Christ.

Clearing her throat, she turned from Mason and Catelyn and faced the car. “Not yet, Mom, but Mason agreed to help me.”

A pause. “Did you tell him?”

“Yes.”

“How did he take it?”

“Um…better than I expected, I think. Actually, I’m not really sure yet. Can I get back to you on that one?”

A sigh filtered through the line. “Of course.” Lacey thought she heard her mother stifle a sob, then she cleared her throat and reported, “Your boss called. He wants to know exactly how long you plan to be gone.”

Anger at the man rose up inside her and she turned to see Mason and Catelyn deep in discussion. Louder than she wanted, she blurted, “I’m not sure, Mom. As long as it takes, all right?” Mason’s head lifted at her tone and he lifted a brow at her.

She closed her eyes and dropped her head. She’d just started a new job as a graphic artist. A big project sat on her desk and she knew her boss was concerned about getting it done by the deadline.

In a quieter voice, she said, “If he calls back, tell him I’ll try to get to it as soon as I know I can’t do anything else for Bethany here—or we have her back. I need to go. I’ll call you if I find anything out.”

“Will you be here for supper?”

Lacey met Mason’s gaze and her heart thudded. “I don’t know. I’ll let you know a little later this afternoon, all right?”

“Fine. Keep me posted, darling.”

“I will.”

Lacey hung up and leaned against the open door of the vehicle. Mason and Catelyn walked over. Catelyn held out a hand. “If you’ll give me the flyers, I’ll ask some of Bethany’s classmates if they’ll hang them up around the school and town.”

“Sure.” Bethany peeled off half the papers and gave them to Catelyn. “Thank you so much.”

The detective smiled. “No problem.” Then she looked at Mason. “I’ll be in touch.”

Mason nodded then leaned over and placed a hand on the roof next to Lacey’s head. “Who was on the phone?”

“My mother. She’s worried, but I can tell she’s not quite sure Bethany didn’t just take off. I know she didn’t but Mom’s not convinced.”

“Why’s that?”

Lacey blew out a sigh and shook her head, wincing at the sting incited by her hair moving across the scraped area on her cheek. Gentle fingers reached out and removed the strands. The breath left her lungs and she just stared at the man before her.

He blinked and curled his fingers into a fist at his side. Sorrow for what might have been pained her. “Bethany’s threatened it more than once. Said she was tired of waiting around on me to—” she sucked in a deep breath and let it out slow “—to get up the guts to tell you about her and she wasn’t sticking around if I wasn’t going to come through.”

Mason turned his back on her and placed his hands on his hips. She’d seen the flash of fury before he’d hidden his eyes. The fact that she probably deserved it didn’t lessen the hurt. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know now I was wrong.”

“Why were you so hesitant to tell her about me? What did you think I would do?”

“I didn’t know what you would or wouldn’t do! When you believed the lies Daniel told you, all of a sudden you weren’t who I thought you were. How did I know you wouldn’t accuse Bethany of lying to you? How did I know you wouldn’t break her heart and send her home permanently damaged because of your rejection?”

He whirled back to her, the agonizing hurt in his eyes nearly undoing her. But she held her ground. He’d wanted the truth. Now he had it.

His lips moved but nothing came out. The tense set of his jaw said he was biting his tongue. Then he simply whispered, “How could you think that of me?”

She sighed. “After what you put me through, how could I think anything else?” When he closed his eyes, she decided to change the subject. “All that aside, Mason, she wouldn’t willingly leave home. Bethany would never do that.”

“How do you know, Lacey?” He opened his eyes, but narrowed them at her. His soft tone couldn’t hide the steel undercurrent in his words.

“Because I know Bethany. She was full of empty threats, but she would never go off on her own.” Biting her lower lip, she wondered if she should tell him exactly why. Bethany would be mortified if she ever found out Lacey shared one of her deepest, darkest secrets with him.

But she would if it meant convincing him. Even her parents didn’t know Bethany’s secret.

Without another word, he simply motioned for her to get in the car.

Once they were buckled and heading away from the school, she asked, “Where are we going?”

“To the station. I want to talk to Daniel.”

She gulped and looked out the window.

“Tell me something about her,” he said suddenly.

She knew what he meant. He wanted her to tell him something that would help him get to know his daughter a little better.

“She’s always comparing herself to a missing puzzle piece.” Lacey wasn’t sure why she picked that particular fact to share, but it seemed right. “What?”

Lacey breathed a little laugh, wishing she could inject some humor in it. “She says that sometimes her life feels like a puzzle, but there’s a piece missing.”

“Me?”

“I asked her that, and she said that was part of it, but she said she just never seems to be able to find her niche. Where she fits.”

“She found friends here.” He looked confused.

“She did. From the time Bethany turned seven, we had to move around a lot in North Carolina.” She shrugged.

“I didn’t like it, but I had to go where I could find a job. Several times my job only lasted a year or two and we’d move again. Then finally we moved here.” She shrugged.

“I guess she’s just missing some roots maybe.”

“Maybe.”

“The one good thing that came from moving here is she finally found friends in Kayla and Georgia. And while she and Georgia are great buddies, she just really seemed to connect with Kayla from the moment they met.” Lacey gave a sad smile. “She said they got along so well because they were like two pieces missing from their completed puzzle and until they found where they fit or where they belonged, they would love and support each other. BFFs.”

“They sound like a couple of great kids.”

“They are. I mean, Bethany is and Kayla was.” She bit her lip. “I still can’t believe she’s dead some days. And poor Bethany. She was just devastated. She started spending all of her free time at the karate school.”

“Georgia mentioned something about that. How long has she been studying martial arts?”

“From the time she was three. We were at a spring festival one afternoon and a karate school had a demonstration. She was riveted and begged to take lessons. Finally, I gave in and signed her up. That was one thing I made sure of before we moved. That wherever we wound up had to have a dojo, or marital arts school. Fortunately, I never had to move too far from where we started out and she was able to go to the same karate school for a long time. It was worth the drive to keep some consistency in her life.” Lacey rubbed her eyes. “I think her being able to focus on the martial arts helped her get through a lot of emotional stuff. When Kayla died, Bethany spent even more time at the dojo.”

Mason raised a brow and said, “Then we need to talk to all of the kids at the school. The ones she had class with or hung out with.”

Lacey flushed. “I don’t know if it would do any good. She wasn’t close to any of them. She said most of the students there weren’t serious about the sport and played too much.”

Lifting his phone to his ear, he spoke into it. “Catelyn, we need to question Bethany’s instructor and classmates at the karate school on Brownstock Road. Lacey said Bethany spent a lot of time there.”

He must have gotten an affirmative response because he hung up. When he spoke again, he changed the subject. “Sounds like she’s been through a lot lately. Honestly, if it wasn’t for those weird pictures showing up at each of our respective houses and the fact that you were just attacked, I might be inclined to agree with your mother.”

“But you don’t.”

A tense hand curled around the steering wheel. She watched the color fade from his knuckles. A muscle jumped in his cheek. “No, I don’t. It all seems too weird to be coincidental. And the attacker basically confirmed that Bethany met with foul play by what he said to you.”

“Yeah.” She swallowed hard and felt the tears gather. Foul play. She sure didn’t like the sound of that. Especially not when it was used in conjunction with her missing daughter.

Mason pulled into the police station parking lot. Lacey climbed out and felt dread cramp her stomach. Daniel Ackerman was inside. He was the last man on the planet she wanted to face.

But for Bethany, she’d do it.

FIVE

Mason kept the smile in place as Daniel walked toward them. With one hand on Lacey’s upper arm, he could feel her muscles tense.

A fine tremor shook her, but she held her head high and met Daniel’s gaze with a classiness Mason grudgingly admired.

He wished the memories of the last time the three of them had been in the same area would quit bombarding him. Renewed anger flooded him as old feelings of betrayal and soul-searing hurt came back with a vengeance.

With superhuman effort, he pushed aside his emotions and watched the approaching man.

When Daniel caught sight of Lacey and recognized her, shock flashed and he gave a slight stumble.

Interesting.

“Lacey Gibson?”

“Hello, Daniel.” Her voice was low. If he hadn’t been listening for it, Mason would have missed the slight wobble.

Daniel paused to offer a hand to Mason. Mason shook it then felt like excusing himself to find some soap and water. Instead, he got right to the point. “Lacey’s daughter is missing.”

“Bethany Gibson is your daughter?” Daniel had gathered his usual cool demeanor back and his face now showed no expression other than professional concern. He looked at Lacey. “You’ve heard nothing from her?”

“Nothing.” The clipped, one-word answer told Mason Lacey was on shaky ground. However it didn’t stop her from pulling a folded piece of paper from her purse and handing it over to the man.

Daniel took it and Mason nodded toward Daniel’s office. “Can we talk?”

Daniel hesitated, looked Lacey up and down as though trying to convince himself she was really standing there, then said, “Sure, come on back.”

Once in the office, Lacey seated herself on the edge of the brown couch, shoulders held stiff, fingers pinched around the strap of her small purse.

Daniel cleared his throat and looked like he might say something of a personal nature then focused on the flyer in front of him. “We have a missing persons report filed and we have officers keeping an eye out for her based on the picture you provided when you filed the report. I don’t really know what else you want us to do.”

Mason laid a hand on Lacey’s arm before she could come out of her seat and tell the man exactly what she wanted him to do. She shifted but stayed quiet. Mason looked at his former friend. “We want you to reopen the case of the car accident that happened back at the beginning of April.”

“The one where Kayla Mahoney was killed,” Lacey blurted.

Daniel sat back and raised his brows. They’d managed to surprise him. “Why?”

Mason took over. “Because she was friends with Bethany. We talked to Georgia, the girl who Lacey thinks was in the car that night with Kayla, but she denies it vehemently.”

“And she says they weren’t with Kayla that night,” Lacey offered.

Mason glanced at Lacey. “But Lacey thinks they were, even though Bethany denied it when confronted a few weeks ago.”

The detective shrugged. “Then what makes you think Bethany and Georgia are lying?”

“Because they’re scared.”

“Of what?”

This time Lacey did jump up. “If we knew that, my daughter might not be missing!”

Daniel didn’t react, simply leaned forward, keeping his eyes on Mason. “That wreck was ruled an accident. Catelyn and I both investigated it. A simple one-car accident caused by a reckless teen.”

“And you proved that without a doubt? You had the crime-scene guys go over the car with a fine-tooth comb?”

A flush climbed up the man’s neck to settle on his cheeks. “Look, that wreck was two months ago. Yes, we checked everything. Kayla lost control of the car and what happened, happened. Unfortunately, even our city isn’t immune from teen-driver deaths.”

“I’m not saying that, Daniel, I’m saying something’s going on and Bethany’s involved somehow.” He repeated what Lacey had told him earlier at his house. “She was scared. Someone seemed to be after her.”

Daniel stood. “That’s all hearsay. I need proof.”

Forcing himself to unclench his teeth, Mason held his temper. “And I’m telling you that the proof might have been in that car.” A thought occurred to him. “Do you mind if we look at the report?”

“And I’m telling you there’s no need. It was an accident.”

Frustration lanced him. Why was the man fighting him so hard on this? Mason narrowed his eyes.

“Let him see the file, Daniel.”

Mason and Lacey turned as one to see Catelyn standing in the door of the office.

Daniel let out a low sound of disgust and stomped to the file cabinet in the corner of the room. Tugging open a drawer, he searched until he found what he was looking for.

Turning, he slapped the file in front of Mason. “There.” Fury glittered in his gaze. “I don’t appreciate the insinuation that I missed something.”

Ah, so that was the issue. “I’m not saying you missed something because you didn’t do your job, I’m just saying a fresh set of eyes might not be a bad thing.”

“Whatever. I’m going to get some coffee.”

Catelyn stepped into the room as Daniel brushed past her. She said, “I worked the wreck with him. I don’t know what you think you’ll find, but have at it.”

With Daniel’s departure, Lacey felt as if she could breathe again. At least until Mason leaned in close to look at the file with her. His unique scent filled her senses, and she pulled it in as though clinging to that, she could have a piece of him to call her own once again.

She appreciated his support even though she knew he still wanted to discuss the past—and Bethany. However, his priority—finding Bethany—matched hers at the moment and she was grateful.

Mason pulled pictures of the wreck from the file and spread them on Daniel’s desk. Lacey stood to get a better view.

When he unveiled pictures of the dead teen still seated behind the wheel, Lacey gasped and turned away from the photo, nausea swirling in her gut.

“Sorry,” Mason offered. “Let me sort through them. Don’t look until I tell you to.”

Gathering her emotions and clamping them under control, she turned back. “No, I need to see them all.”

“Lacey…”

“Just show me.”

With a heavy sigh, Mason did as she asked and placed them in the order they’d been shot. Gulping a fortifying breath, Lacey studied each photo, throwing up mental blocks that this was a girl she’d had in her home, taken to eat pizza and was Bethany’s best friend. She forced herself to go over every detail even as her heart broke for the precious life cut short.

Oh, Bethany, where are you? Please, God, don’t let Bethany be dead. Keep her in Your care wherever she is.

She studied the interior of the car, the exterior, the shadows behind the vehicle.

And then she saw it.

Another gasp slipped from her as she grabbed Mason’s arm without thinking. “There. Isn’t that a gold necklace on the ground beside the back door?”

Mason moved in for a closer look. The warmth of his bare forearm burned her hand and she snatched it back, curling her fingers into a fist. Before, she would have rubbed her hand up and down his arm in a soothing, affectionate motion, then end with entwining his fingers with hers.

Now she didn’t have that right.

“It looks like it.”

Catelyn and Daniel returned to the office just as Mason picked up the picture. He looked at Daniel. “Do you have a magnifying glass?”

Without comment, the man rounded his desk and pulled open his top drawer. “Here.”

“Thanks.” Mason held the glass over the area of the picture Lacey had pointed out to him. “Yeah, that’s a gold chain all right.” He looked at Daniel. “Can we get this blown up?”

“Why?”

“Because,” Lacey answered, “Bethany had a gold chain she wore all the time. She never took it off. I noticed shortly after the wreck it was gone. When I asked her what happened to it, she said the clasp had broken at school and she’d lost it.”

Daniel shrugged. “Sounds reasonable to me.”

Frustration filled her. “Yes, I thought so too and didn’t think anything more about it, but the more I look at that chain, the more I think it might be hers.”

“How would you identify it? There must be a zillion gold chains out there.”

“But not with a puzzle piece attached to it. She had one half and Kayla had the other half. They each had their names engraved on it along with BFF.”

“Meaning Best Friends Forever,” Mason murmured.

“Right.” She reached for the pictures still laid out on the desk, sorted through them, then pulled one from the pile. “Look, you can see Kayla’s wearing hers here.”

Catelyn took the other picture containing the shot of the gold necklace from the desk. “Follow me.”

Hope making her heart pound like crazy, Lacey didn’t hesitate, but hurried after the woman. She felt Mason’s presence right behind her. And Daniel’s.

She shuddered. When she’d first caught sight of the man walking toward her, she’d wanted to demand that he tell Mason the truth about what had really happened sixteen years ago, but had nearly bitten her tongue off to keep the words from flying from her mouth.

Now wasn’t the time.

This wasn’t about her and Mason—or even Daniel. This was about Bethany. She knew a confrontation with Daniel was coming at some point, though.

And soon.

Catelyn led them into another room that looked like a small lab. “Normally, we use the big lab downtown or send stuff off to Columbia, but this little area was funded by an anonymous donor. One tool we have is a highly efficient microscope that will enable us to get a good look at this chain.”

She maneuvered her way to the device and slid the picture under the glass. After flipping a few switches, the image appeared on the oversize computer screen in front of them.

Within seconds, Catelyn had adjusted the focus and Lacey stared at her daughter’s necklace. “It’s hers.”

Even Mason had to admit it.

A dainty golden puzzle piece dangled from the end of a gold chain. The words Kayla and Bethany—BFF filled the screen.

SIX

Lacey felt the air leave her lungs. How she’d hoped she’d be wrong. But she wasn’t. She felt no satisfaction in being right. “What do we do now?” She looked up at Mason. “She was there. Something happened that night other than Kayla just dying in a car accident. Something that instilled a fear in Bethany that she felt she couldn’t share with me.”

Mason scrubbed a hand down his cheek and sighed. He looked at Catelyn. “All right, I think this is enough evidence to prove that Lacey may be on to something, don’t you?”

The detective nodded. “It’s possible.”

Standing, Lacey twisted her fingers together. “You have to get Georgia to tell you what they were doing that night.”

“Daniel?”

They all turned at the voice in the doorway. Lacey gasped and jumped up. “Janice?”

The tall, regal-looking woman paused, her attention swinging from Daniel to Lacey. A hand fluttered to her chest. “Lacey, darling, how are you?”

Feeling a tremulous smile hover on her lips, Lacey gave a low humorless laugh. “I’ve been better. My daughter is missing.”

A perfectly arched brow lifted. “I’d heard you were back with a child in tow.”

Unsure how to take that comment, Lacey just stared at Daniel’s wife, the woman who’d once been her closest friend. Then all of the pretense seemed to slough off of Janice and her expression softened. She moved forward and clasped Lacey in a hug. “I’ve been terribly angry with you.”

Lacey pulled back. “For what?”

“You left without a word sixteen years ago, didn’t call, didn’t send the first Christmas card and then came back to town without calling. What is that all about?”

How could she explain without making everyone in the room more uncomfortable? She couldn’t. “I’m sorry. You’re absolutely right. As soon as we get Bethany home, we’ll get together, all right?” She squeezed her friend’s hand. “I’ve missed you and thought about you often.” That wasn’t a lie. Upon her move back to town, she’d thought about calling Janice but when she’d found out the woman was married to Daniel Ackerman, she just couldn’t bring herself to dial the number.

“Sure.” Janice smoothed a nonexistent stray hair and tugged at the scarf tied in a fashionably loose knot around her neck.

Mason and Catelyn exchanged a look, and Lacey knew exactly what they were thinking. They had an investigation going on and needed to get back to it.

Daniel frowned at his wife, irritation stamped on his features. “What are you doing here? I thought you were working in the shop today? Or volunteering at the hospital or something.”

“I was at the shop until the air conditioner died on me.” She looked at Lacey. “I own the Christmas Every Day Shop.” She grinned. “My father bought it for me.”

Lacey gave a tight smile. Nothing had changed in that area. Janice was still a daddy’s girl who loved to spend the man’s money. And he obviously still let her.

Janice said, “I’m only open six months out of the year and I’m just three days from opening up for this year. Now this.” She pursed her lips in disgust and turned back to her husband. “And you know I volunteer at the hospital on Fridays, not Tuesdays.”

Daniel took a deep breath. “Right, sorry.”

“Well, no matter, I’ll just have to delay opening the shop a few weeks. I don’t suppose it will make that much of a difference.” She looked at Daniel. “I did promise to help out at the clothes closet at the church. Martha called and said they had a new batch to sort.”

Crossing his arms, Mason shifted and shot Daniel a pointed look. Daniel caught the unspoken message. To Janice, he said, “Look, hon, we’re kind of in the middle of something. Call me in a couple of hours and I’ll see what I can do about finding someone to fix the air conditioner. Or call Jack Durant.”

Janice waved a hand in dismissal. “I’ll handle it, but turn on your phone, would you? I wouldn’t have to track you down if you’d answer.”

With a flush, Daniel did as requested then escorted his wife from the office. When he returned, he glanced around and cleared his throat. “She could’ve called my office line,” he muttered. “Sorry about that. The shop is sort of like her child since we can’t…” He broke off and shook his head. “Never mind. Okay, so where were we?”

Lacey pulled in a deep breath. Seeing Janice and Daniel together sent pangs of unexpected—and unwanted—jealousy through her. Why did the man who’d cost her a lifetime of love and happiness get to have it? It wasn’t fair.

But God never promised fair, she reminded herself, He just promised to be there with her through whatever life threw at her.

Like finding her missing daughter.

“I wish we still had that car,” Mason muttered.

Catelyn lifted her head with a snap. “We do.”

“What?” Mason and Lacey asked simultaneously.

“While there was only one beer bottle found at the scene, it’s been ruled an alcohol-related wreck. The car’s at the high school.”

“Was Kayla drinking?” Mason asked, jaw tight.

Daniel shook his head. “There was no alcohol in her blood. She wasn’t drinking and driving.”

Lacey felt some relief flood her. But if Kayla wasn’t drinking, who was? Surely not Bethany. She realized the irony of her thinking. Her own parents never would have believed she’d come home with the news she was pregnant before it had happened. So…had Bethany been drinking that night? Where did the beer bottle come from?

She may never know, she realized.

Catelyn was saying, “In spite of their grief, Kayla’s parents wanted to make sure Kayla’s death wasn’t for nothing and donated the car for the MADD cause.”

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