“Absolutely.” Sanchez tugged on latex gloves, poured the liquid into two different containers, then slid the mugs into separate baggies. “I’ll put a rush on these,” she said and hurried out.
Get it together. Calm down and think.But she couldn’t stop the panic churning in her guts. “Where would he take them?” She paced in the living room while Jacoby jumped on his laptop.
“He’s not at his place,” Jacoby replied, tapping away.
Evangeline pulled out her phone. “I’ll text him.”
“If he’s got your sister and the baby, why would he reply to you?” Jacoby asked. “From what Sin told me, he’s a smart guy.”
“I’ve got to try something.”
She typed, “Hey, I haven’t seen you in a few. Wanna meet up at Mac’s?” Then, she hit send and stared at the phone. “C’mon, reply.”
No dots appeared.
Pacing, she scraped her fingers through her hair. On impulse, she called Birdie.
“Hello?”
“It’s Evangeline. Did you swing by and see Hannah and the baby tonight?”
“I was going to give her a day or two to settle in before I stopped by. Everything okay?”
“All good. Gotta run.” She hung up and started pacing again, her heart beating out of her chest. “Let me try Charlene.” She dialed.
Charlene answered, “Hello.”
“It’s Evangeline. Did you visit Hannah and the baby?”
“Yes. I saw them at the hospital. Don’t you remember?”
“Afterthat.” Exasperation hardened her words. “Did you swing by her place?”
“No, I was planning to bring the gifts by later. What’s the matter?”
“Hannah and Robert are missing?”
“What do you meanmissing?”
“They aren’t at home.”
“Aren’t you being a little dramatic, Evangeline? Perhaps she ran to the store. Could she have gone to Betty’s?”
As Evangeline’s thoughts darted from possibility to possibility, she eliminated each of them. “So, you didn’t swing by and visit her?”
“Didn’t we just have this conversation? Yes, I dropped by the hospital. I’m sure Hannah will turn up. I think her nervousness has rubbed off on you. Look, I’ve got another call.” And with that, Charlene hung up.
Evangeline grunted out her frustration while her heart galloped in her chest. “I can’t do nothing. I’m calling Monty.” With trembling fingers, she dialed. The phone rang numerous times before a computerized voice message explained that the phone wasn’t equipped to take messages. “He’s deactivated his voicemail.”
Over the next ten minutes, Evangeline burned a path on the carpet. Each second felt like an hour. Jacoby continued searching traffic cams for Monty’s whereabouts, but found nothing.
“I’m going to Mac’s,” she said, breaking the tense silence. “Maybe he’ll show.”
Jacoby shut the laptop and stood. “Let’s do it.”
Bing!
“I’ll meet you in thirty,” Monty texted back.
