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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
REED TAPPED A finger on the front counter. It was mid-morning, and the Sarge was coming in to the police station to meet him in half an hour, then they were going to have a debrief with all of the mainland officers. Jessica had been missing for four days now. Hope was fading quickly of finding her alive. The media were becoming downright nasty in their growing condemnation of police handling of the case. They needed a breakthrough soon, and Don hoped that by going over everything again, they might find something they’d missed.
The problem was, Reed’s mind was no longer on the case. He spent most of his time worrying about Sierra. And those thoughts had him oscillating between anxious agitation and outright anger. Worse, he couldn’t decide which one to settle on. She wasn’t answering her phone. What if the stalker had re-appeared? What if he’d managed to finish the job he’d started? Sierra could be in imminent danger. And Reed was more than partly to blame.
He began pacing back and forth across the small reception area.
Where had she gone yesterday morning? He’d gone in search of her. Thrown his police uniform on, jumped into his car, and driven up and down the nearby streets. The town wasn’t that big, how had she just disappeared? She must’ve run far and fast on those long legs of hers. But then the Sarge had phoned, asking where the hell he was, he was already half an hour late. They’d been completely inundated all day by the media, and Don asked him to help him with another press conference to try and keep the wolves at bay. It hadn’t worked, the media kept demanding more answers, calling Don out, asking him if he thought he was fit to head this investigation. It was exhausting, and a tiny part of Reed wished Sierra had been there to help.
Any spare second he got, he would send her a text, pleading with her to let him know she was okay. There was no way he had time to drive out to her house, to see if she’d somehow managed to get home, so he’d called her next-door neighbors—the ones he’d met at the fire station the other day, Sam and Debbie—and asked them to check on her for him. They told him that apart from a phone call from her asking them to feed her two cats last night, they hadn’t seen Sierra. At least they confirmed she stayed with a friend, which allayed some of his fears.
More and more people were joining the search for the missing girl, and Reed helped Eric coordinate with the SES. The coroner had removed the human bones they’d found on Saturday, but he had many questions that still needed answering. Reed had been out to the burial site twice in the past two days. A hotline had also been set up for the hundreds of leads pouring in, people claiming to have seen the missing girl, Jessica, or to have a pertinent piece of information. Reed had worked late into the night, combing through some of the more promising leads, with no result. Then he’d stumbled home a little after midnight to try and grab a couple of hours’ sleep. But sleep eluded him as the scene with Sierra that morning played over and over in his head.
But the longer it went without any contact from Sierra, the angrier Reed became. At first, he thought it was built on his fear for her safety. But in the end, he knew it was a lot more than that.
He was angry at her because she blamed him for the accident.
When he’d first made the admission, he’d wholeheartedly agreed with her. Wasn’t that the exact reason he’d been wracked with guilt for the past ten years, because deep down inside, he still believed he could’ve done something to stop it?
But she hadn’t wanted to listen to him, to hear his side of the story. He needed to explain himself, to get her to understand, try and ease the burden of guilt, even just a little. But she’d looked at him like he was the devil incarnate. And that hurt.
He’d wanted to shout at her then, that everyone else had heard his sirens, knew there was a police car coming, and stopped to let him through. Why hadn’t she? Wasn’t she also partly to blame for the accident? The idea was irrational and perverse, but nonetheless, he couldn’t shake the anger boiling up from deep inside at the way she’d treated him.
His cell vibrated on the counter and he reached for it. Was it Sierra, finally replying to his numerous texts? He hesitated when he saw the caller ID. It was his father. It probably wasn’t the right time to talk to Nikau, but on instinct, he took the call.
“Hi, Reed.”
“Hi, Dad.” It was good to hear his father’s voice. “Sorry I haven’t called you. It’s been a little hectic over here.” In different circumstances, Reed would’ve enjoyed talking to his father. They had a solid relationship, built on trust and respect. His father’s relaxed demeanor and unfailing faith in his son’s ability might help to calm the growing fear gnawing through Reed’s guts right now.
“So, things aren’t as quiet as you thought they’d be on your sleepy little island?” chuckled his father.
“No,” Reed agreed. “As soon as I can get some leave, I’ll come home to see you all.” His parents had hoped he might be able to go home for a week or two before he started his new job, but it hadn’t been possible, Don had needed him to start ASAP. He would’ve liked to go home and spend some time with his family, see his grandparents, as well. Both sets of grandparents were still alive and going strong. When this was all over, when this mess had finally died down, he’d ask for a much-needed break.
“That’d be great. We’d love to see you. Your mum especially, you know she worries about you.”
Yes, he did. But he knew Shelly’s worrying about him was her way of showing how much she loved him. Reed wondered how Sierra and his mother, Shelly, would get on. Both were very strong, opinionated personalities. He mentally drew himself up short. Why was he even considering such a meeting? That would never happen, not now, not after what they’d discovered about each other.
And he couldn’t blame her.
Whatever the fledgling hope that’d built in his chest the other night, as she lay in his arms—the soft sound of her inhaling and exhaling as she slept tugging at the very core of him—it was no use anymore. If he’d thought there might have been a future for him and Sierra, it’d been destroyed by one terrible mistake ten years ago.
“It’s hectic over there, you say. I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t handle, though. You’re a damn good cop, Reed, and don’t you ever forget it.” There was a note of curiosity in Nikau’s voice. “I did hear something on the news the other night about a missing girl. Is that in your neck of the woods?”
Wow, it must be big if it was making it onto the nightly news in Auckland. Reed stifled a sigh. The media were certainly pointing a spotlight onto the small island, at the moment. But he probably shouldn’t expect anything less of them. They all wanted the girl found.
“Yes, Dad. I’m involved in that case.” It was all he was prepared to say, even to his father.
Nikau gave a low whistle. “I can see why you’re busy, then,” he muttered. “But I have no doubt you will find her. It’s what you do, Reed.”
“Thanks, Dad.” It was stupid how a few words of praise raised a lump at the back of his throat. He wasn’t a gangly teenager anymore, needing his father’s admiration. But it still felt good, even as a grown man, to know his father had faith in him. “I’ve gotta go. The boss is due in a few minutes.”
“Sure. Oh, Reed, before you hang up. Have you met anyone nice over there? I’m only asking because your mother has been nagging me for the past week to ring and find out. She would kill me if I didn’t ask now.”
Reed laughed. It was so true, and he could hear the fear in his father’s voice at the thought of what Shelly would do to him if he hung up with nothing to report. What to say, though? On the spur of the moment, he decided to go with the truth.
“I’m not sure, Dad. Maybe. I’ll let you know as soon as I do. She’s a very interesting woman. But also very complicated.” Sierra was all that and much more, but he wasn’t about to go into the nitty-gritty details with his dad right now.
“Bah, all women are complicated, son. Haven’t you learned that by now?”
