Raven’s hands tremble where they grip the back of the chair.“The detective said they’d escalate their investigation if they found evidence of abduction.What else do they need?”
“Proof,” Vinnie says bitterly.“They need a witness or a body.”
I shut the laptop and stand.“Then we’ll find proof.”
They both look at me.Raven’s expression softens with something close to pity.“Dani…”
“I’m serious.”I cross my arms.“I’m not waiting around while they shuffle paperwork.”
Vinnie sighs.“And what exactly are you going to do?”
“Start where she ended,” I say.“Someone used that garden gate.Maybe there’s something out there the police missed—a footprint, a fiber, some kind of clue.I’ll check the flowerbeds, the trellis, anywhere she could’ve walked.”
Raven creases her brow.“It’s dark.You shouldn’t be out there alone.”
“I won’t be,” I say.“You’ll be watching me from the kitchen window.”
She doesn’t argue after that.She just nods once, sharp and resigned, like she knows there’s no stopping me.
I head for the back door.
Outside, the night hums with cicadas.The garden looks peaceful and ordinary.The lanterns are still glowing along the path, roses swaying gently in the breeze.But I know better now.Somewhere in this quiet is the echo of a knock that should never have happened.
And all so close to the entrance to my mother-in-law suite.
I crouch by the gate and trace the latch with my fingers.The metal is cool and smooth.Too smooth.Someone wiped it clean.
My heart pounds hard.
He was here.
He touched this gate.
And he took her.
I square my shoulders, pull out my phone, and switch on the flashlight.The beam cuts through the dark.I search for something—anything—that the others missed.
Belinda.
Hold on, Bee.
I’m coming for you.
