Suddenly, the ideas of an assailant and a threat became very real.Oh shit! What happened?Did somebody grab Kizzy and Ruth? Or did Kizzy just drop her phone without realizing it? He would’ve thought there would be a ruckus of some kind if the girls had been taken against their will. Or maybe his smart girl managed to hide herself somewhere else. Realizing that, he tamped down his temporary wave of panic and tried to think rationally.
Noah scanned the area, tapping into his paranormal senses, where he could smell and see farther and clearer than most humans. There was no sweet scent or anyone that resembled Kizzy or Ruth as far as he could see.
What the heck could he do now? He had her phone, but he didn’t know the password. He had his own phone, but he didn’t know Ruth’s phone number or even her last name. Wait. Her last name would be Samuels if she wasn’t married yet. Right? Maybe?
He quickly connected to the internet and looked up Ruth Samuels in the Boston white pages. If she had a landline, he could probably leave a voicemail.No listings.He could go town by town, hoping he’d happen upon some names to call and one of them was her. That would take way too long and was far too inefficient.
He was fighting with himself over the idea of going to her father’s home. It would likely be an unwelcome visit, especially since the elder Dr. Samuels had already told her to break up with him. But if something had happened to his kids, he’d want to know immediately.
It was an easy walk to the nearest subway station, but before alarming their dad, he should at least fly overhead and see if he could catch sight of the telltale white van used for kidnapping victims, or, more likely, Ruth’s Prius. He jogged toward a parking lot that seemed deserted. Behind a car covered with dust, he was able to shed his clothes, shift, roll around in the dirt to hide his red and yellow tail feathers, then take to the sky.
He scanned the entire area, gliding on the wind, until he saw a couple of dark-haired girls walking. He flew over the two young women, landing in a tree before them as they were walking toward it. Nope. They weren’t Kizzy and Ruth. He’d know their similar sweet faces anywhere.
Flying again, he fanned out in gradually widening circles. He began looking at cars and pedestrians who might be the troublesome men he’d seen at the Samuels residence. There were plenty of white sedans but nothing that looked exactly like the vehicle he’d seen in Brookline.
He tried to remember any identifying details about the men and their car. The men were different ages. One was in his late forties or fifties with dirty-blond hair edged with gray temples, and the other was maybe in his twenties. His hair was a light brown. He never saw their eyes up close, but he thought they might be light-colored, like blue or green rather than brown. The car didn’t have any identifying marks or bumper stickers. It was probably a rental.
Flying around and racking his brain for some kind of clearer identifying information was just wasting time. He needed to get to their father, who knew more about the women than he did. Together, they might figure out where the girls were. He’d feel completely stupid if he showed up at her dad’s house and found out she was having coffee with her sister and had just dropped her phone. But if something was wrong…
He headed back to the parking lot where he’d left his clothing. Thankfully, the car hiding his stuff hadn’t moved. Shifting again, he quickly dressed. He was relieved to see both his and Kizzy’s phones were still there under the pile of clothes. He tucked them into his pants pockets, then he raced for the subway.
About forty minutes later, he was walking up to the Samuels’ stately home in Brookline. He rang the doorbell and waited. And waited. And waited…
At last, a stout woman with gray hair opened the door.
“May I help you?”
“I’m Noah Fierro, a friend of Kizzy’s. Is her father here?”
“Yes, I’ll go get him. Would you like to come in and wait in the parlor?”
Noah wasn’t sure how much the patriarch would appreciate his coming into his home, but he certainly didn’t want to refuse hospitality, so he stepped inside.
The woman ushered him into a separate formal living room and told him to have a seat. He was too antsy to sit still, so he wandered around the room, scanning the built-in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. It looked like their taste in literature was eclectic. There was everything from how-to books, to biographies, to World War II stories, to—Fifty Shades? Oh wow. He wondered who was reading that…and what they thought of it. Something to file away for another day.
When Dr. Samuels entered the room, Noah put on a pleasant expression and stuck out his hand. “Hello, Dr. Samuels. You’re Kizzy’s father, right?”
The gentleman shook his hand. “Yes, and you are?”
“I’m Noah Fierro. A friend of Kizzy’s.”
“I don’t remember hearing your name. What can I do for you?”
“Forgive me. I don’t want to alarm you, but I found Kizzy’s phone on the ground outside Government Center.” Noah produced Kizzy’s phone, handing it to her father. “I was participating in a charity event, and I saw her there before it started. After it was over, all I found was her phone.”
“And where is my daughter?”
“Last time I saw her, she was with her sister. I don’t know her sister’s phone number, or I would’ve called her.”
Dr. Samuels took his own phone out of his pocket, touched the screen a couple of times, and waited. After several rings, he was listening to a message. “Ruth, this is Dad. Call me back. Right away. And if Kizzy is there with you, tell her I have her phone.” He touched the screen once more to end the call. “Thank you for bringing this to me.” He laid the phones on an entry table. Stroking his beard, he said, “I guess Kizzy must’ve told you where she lived. She doesn’t usually do that. You must be a good friend.”
Something like that.“If I may, sir, I overheard her and Ruth saying something about a possible threat. I don’t know any of the details, but if you can tell me anything, I’ll do whatever I can to protect her. I only want to help.”
Dr. Samuels didn’t speak for several moments. When he finally did, Noah could see the man struggling to make up something plausible, since he spoke slowly and deliberately.
“It’s probably nothing. Just a rumor. And although I appreciate the offer, I don’t expect there’s much you can do. Unless you see her and then tell her to come home immediately. Please.”
“Of course. You must be worried. I know I am.”
