Abby patted her hand. “It’ll take time, sweetheart. Just let the emotions flow, and you’ll heal faster.”
Cady fixed her attention on Abby. “Sounds like you speak from experience.”
“Something like that.” She’d lost her mother less than a year ago, and all the teammates knew her wounds were still too fresh to open up, even with someone on the team.
“I don’t mean to pry.” Abby’s steady, lower-pitched voice signaled to everyone who knew her that a change of subject was coming. “Are you a woman of faith?”
Hayden watched Cady with interest to see how she handled Abby’s direct approach.
She angled her head. “I am. Why do you ask?”
“Would you mind if we prayed with you?” Abby asked, but it sounded as if it were a foregone conclusion.
“Mind?” Cady blinked a few times. “No. Of course not. I’d appreciate it.”
Abby reached out to clasp hands with Cady and each team member joined hands with their neighbor until they were all connected.
Abby offered a poignant prayer. Not only did she listen the most intently of anyone in the group and clarify vague things, but her clear understanding of what was going on around them allowed her to pray in a way that always seemed most effective.
When the prayer ended, Cady lifted her head. “Thank you. Your compassion and knowing that God heard your prayers help more than you can know.”
“Not to seem insensitive, because I agree prayer is important.” Nolan glanced around the group. “But Kai is out there waiting for us. Maybe depending on us to bring him home, and we need to move ahead on figuring out if he’s in trouble. As in any missing person’s investigation, time is of the essence.”
“Of course, I’m sorry for taking up so much time,” Cady said. “I’m in complete agreement with you. I know Kai isn’t married, so who reported him missing?”
“He was once married, but his wife passed away fifteen years ago,” Nolan said. “Their son, Rocco, is certain his dad’s in trouble. Kai didn’t tell Rocco he was taking time off, and according to Rocco, his dad hasn’t been gone for three days since his wife died. So the son’s freaked out.”
“Did he go to the sheriff?” Cady asked.
Nolan nodded. “But there’s not much Mina can do with it. Kai told his staff he wouldn’t be in and scheduled them accordingly, so no missing persons investigation can be filed at this point. It’ll be a different story if Kai doesn’t return to work as scheduled. Still, she did look into it as much as she could without an official investigation but concluded nothing untoward had happened to Kai. Rocco doesn’t agree.”
Cady pressed her hands flat out on the table. “I don’t suppose Sheriff Park was willing to share what she’d learned.”
“Hah!” Gabe shot Nolan a sideways look. “Nolan and Mina are dating, and he’s got an inside track.”
Nolan’s eyes flicked upward. “Not in this case, as there really wasn’t anything to tell. She did bring me up to speed on the steps she took, but she couldn’t determine any possible reason for his going missing and didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.”
“Did she rule out health issues or a mental health crisis?” Reece asked.
Nolan nodded. “No dementia or other issues, but as much as I trust Mina’s and her team’s investigative abilities, you know I’ll want us to follow up. And before one of you suggests it, I’ve already told her we’ll revisit everything she’s ruled out.”
“Good thinking.” Reece gave him her complete attention. “You wouldn’t want to throw a monkey wrench in your relationship this early in the game.”
“Something to consider for sure.” Nolan’s lips pressed together in a slight grimace, then he firmed his shoulders. “Mina’s involvement or not, I’ll do whatever I need to do to find Kai until I’m positive nothing bad has happened to him. You can be certain of that.”
No doubt Nolan believed his statement, but if push came to shove, Hayden couldn’t see his buddy risking his forever kind of relationship with Mina. It was up to the rest of the team to do their best to keep an eye out for any potential landmines he might step in with her and make sure it didn’t come to that.
“I’d be glad to get ahold of his doctor to see if Kai has any of these issues,” Abby offered, probably thinking along the same lines as Hayden.
“You got it.” Hayden went over to one of their large whiteboards near the head of the table and noted her assignment.
Cady cleared her throat. “What exactly do you know about Kai?”
“Not much.” Jude rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ve been in town less than a year, and most of that time we’ve had our noses to the grindstone. No time for fun and games or getting to know the locals.”
Abby nodded. “Basically the only information we have on him is he’s a former champion surfer. As you’re aware, he owns Ride the Tide Surf Shop, where he sells and rents surfing gear plus beach things like umbrellas and chairs. He also gives surfing lessons, as you mentioned. And everyone loves him and speaks highly of him.”
Gabe’s pinched expression fell on Cady. “Nothing on the surface would make you think someone abducted him, but a superficial look like Mina’s team did can often be wrong.”
