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“If it’s not a bother, I accept,” she acquiesced, walking beside him toward his squad car.
A feeling of triumph roared through him. There was something about this woman that made him want to be in her orbit. At the same time, he couldn’t get rid of the sinking feeling she was being a bit standoffish. Or perhaps he was simply jaded based on his past. It wasn’t fair to view her through a cracked lens.
He opened the door for Sage, then waited as she slid into the seat. Once he got behind the wheel, Hank started the engine and backed out of his spot and onto Main Street.
He looked over at her. “Have you ever gotten a ride in a squad car?”
“I can’t say I have,” she answered. “I’ve always been a rule follower. When I was a kid, I always colored inside the lines.”
Hank wasn’t sure whether Sage realized it or not, but her statement told him a lot about her. “I had my first ride in a squad car when I was six years old.” Hank chuckled at the memory. “I stole a candy bar from the local market. Trudy insisted the store owner call the sheriff’s office to report me. The sheriff arrived and put me in the back of the squad car and lectured me about how stealing was a crime and a sin. I had just learned the Ten Commandments so I was shaking in my boots.”
“That’s a bit harsh for a six-year-old,” Sage said, making a tutting sound. “You must have been terrified.”
“Not really.” He cast her a glance. “You see, the sheriff was my father. And what I learned on that particular day has stuck with me ever since.” Hank looked away from her and kept his eyes on the road. “On the way home he made a few stops to different townsfolk who needed his help. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the way they looked at him and how grateful they were for his assistance. On that very day I decided to be just like him so I could be the type of man he was.”
“So you decided to become a sheriff like your dad. Have you managed to live up to his image?”
“Not even close,” he said, letting out a ragged sigh. “But I’ll keep trying.”
As they rounded the block, Hank pointed out the side street he was cutting down from Main Street. “So from where you were standing in front of the post office, you head down Spruce Street, then make the left onto Forrest, then you continue straight and it’ll be coming up on the left.” A few moments later, Hank turned into the lot for the North Star Chocolate Factory. “And here we are,” he announced. “The place where the chocolate goodness happens.”
Sage was peering out the window with her face almost pressed against the glass. “What’s going on here? Why is there such a large crowd? Perhaps they really are giving away free chocolate.”
As he drove closer to the entrance, Hank noticed a swarm of journalists buzzing around the building. He recognized the two men who were staying at his mother’s inn along with a host of others he’d seen around town over the last week. Releasing a groan, he parked his vehicle in front of the entrance. “Those are the muckrakers Trudy was talking about.”
Sage looked at him with wide eyes. “Why are they all standing around?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” he said, getting out of the squad car. Just for good measure, Hank flipped the blue-and-red flashing lights on. He prayed the situation didn’t get ugly, but he needed to make sure order was maintained in his town.
By the time he went around to open Sage’s door, she’d already stepped out of the squad car. She was looking at the mayhem as if she’d rather be anywhere else but here. He couldn’t say he blamed her.
“These journalists are walking a fine line between freedom of the press and harassment,” Hank muttered.
“Something tells me I won’t be touring the chocolate factory today,” Sage said, her expression radiating disappointment.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get a tour soon.” Hank reassured her.
Suddenly Hank spotted Connor’s parents, who were standing on the top step of the entrance to the factory. The journalists were at the bottom of the stairs, jockeying for position as they clicked their cameras and held out their microphones. Nate and Willa North had their arms joined and appeared to be preparing to make a statement. Nate held a piece of paper in his other hand.
Confusion swept over him. Connor hadn’t mentioned anything about his parents having a press conference. Clearly he hadn’t known anything about it.
Nate cleared his throat and effectively commanded everyone’s attention. The crowd stilled and hushed. “Hello, everyone. Because the press is here in Owl Creek, we would like to do something we have contemplated doing for twenty-five years.” He reached for his wife’s hand. “We are humbly offering a sum of one million dollars to anyone who can lead us to our missing daughter, Lily, and to the person or persons who abducted her.”
Bedlam ensued with the journalists screaming questions at the couple until Nate raised his fingers to his mouth and let out a deafening whistle. “Recent developments in the case have given us reassurance that Lily is out there.” He looked over at his wife who nodded at him.
Nate continued to speak. “We’ve received a letter from the person who we believe stole our precious girl. It states that Lily is alive and well. And it’s given us our best lead yet in finding our daughter and bringing her abductors to justice. We’re hoping a monetary offering will be a huge incentive in aiding this investigation.”
As town sheriff, Hank had known about the letter for weeks now. He, along with the Norths’ legal team and the FBI, had encouraged the family to keep a lid on it. Now the cat was out of the bag and the journalists would have a field day with the information. He wasn’t sure what Nate and Willa were thinking in making the information public, although he knew they were probably feeling desperate and running on fumes. Twenty-five years was a long time to be in limbo.
Hank ran a hand through his hair and drew in a deep breath. He turned to Sage to suggest she reschedule her visit to the factory for another day, only to find her gone. He whirled around and surveyed the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of her hot-pink beret. Coming up empty, Hank walked over to his squad car just to make sure Sage hadn’t sought refuge inside the vehicle. The passenger seat was empty.
Sage had vanished into thin air without a single word of goodbye.
Chapter Four
By the time Sage raced back to Main Street and away from the North Star Chocolate Factory, she felt out of breath and a bit light-headed. It had been a surreal feeling to find herself standing mere feet away from Nate and Willa North, the people she believed to be her biological parents. She had walked straight into a chaotic press conference and now her heart was full of so many conflicting emotions.
Our precious girl. Hearing those words had caused a tightening sensation to spread through her chest. Her feelings were all over the place after hearing the longing in Nate North’s voice. It brought to the surface emotions she’d been stuffing down her entire life. There had always been a part of her that didn’t feel as if she’d belonged. In truth, she hadn’t. She had been living Sage Duncan’s life when in reality she’d been Lily North the whole time.
