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“Finn, the man who helped me rescue Cora,” Liam said through clenched teeth. Most days he was able to tamp down his growing dislike of Boyd, but it was getting harder and harder.
“Ah.” Boyd nodded absently, and began sifting through papers on his desk. “And what makes you think that?”
“He seems to be missing. He hasn’t returned any of my calls or texts within the last twenty-four hours,” Cora told him.
Boyd glanced up from one of the reports he was holding. “McLeod, when a man doesn’t return multiple phone calls and texts within twenty-four hours, that’s usually called avoidance.”
“Theman,” Liam said, glaring at Boyd, “is our friend Finn, an attorney who happens to work at the same law firm as Magnus Blackwell. Finn also represented Slice Biddlesworth when we brought him in for questioning. There’s enough of a connection with the case to give us cause for concern.”
“It’s not like him to go radio silent like this, Captain,” Cora added. “We stopped by his home earlier and he’s not there. Call it a hunch, but something just doesn’t feel right.”
Boyd rubbed the stubble on his jaw, focusing on the wall behind them. He had the same calculating look that Liam remembered from his past life—the look he got when they were working on a plan. “It seems too coincidental, if you ask me.”
“What do you mean, Captain?” Cora asked.
“This man Walsh goes missing the same time Magnus shows up dead,” Boyd said with a sudden burst of renewed energy. “Maybe they were rivals.”
“I don’t like where you’re going with this,” Liam said in a warning tone.
“Maybe he met Magnus at that park, planned to talk to him, and things got out of hand.” Boyd shrugged. “Maybe Finn killed Magnus, panicked, and went into hiding.”
“No,” Cora said, shocked. “I’ve known Finn for years, and he was a friend of my father’s. Captain, there’s no way he’d commit murder, no matter how he felt about Magnus Blackwell.”
Boyd looked a little too pleased with himself. “So, you’re confirming he has a problem with Magnus.”
“He doesn’t care for him, that’s true, but Finn is no more a murderer than we are,” Liam said with annoyance. “Finley Walsh is the only person I’ve ever met who mirrors Cora’s passion for justice and determination to help others. There’s no way in hell that man is guilty of murder. We’re concerned for his safety, Boyd, and that’s why we brought up his absence. That’s the only reason.” Liam didn’t miss the way Boyd’s mouth thinned at the use of his first name, but this time Boyd didn’t bother to correct him.
“Your concern has been noted.” Boyd turned back to the reports on his desk. “And now that we’re all concerned about Finley Walsh, I’d like you to find him and bring him in for questioning. That will be all.”
After leaving Boyd’s office, Liam followed Cora to her desk and sat on the edge with folded arms. “That went well.”
“Are you serious?” She looked at him like he was off his head. “The captain just put Finn on the list of murder suspects.”
“And nothing will stick because we know he’s innocent,” Liam said. “The important thing here is, we got what we wanted. Direct orders to search for Finn.”
She slumped into her chair with a sigh. “You’re right. At least now we can devote more time to it.”
“Exactly. We’ll find him, Cora. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for why he’s not around.”
Cora didn’t look convinced, and deep down, neither was he. For the rest of the day, he kept telling himself that there was still hope, that the other police officers would be on the lookout for Finn, too. But no matter how much Liam tried to stay positive, nothing could ease his growing sense of doom.
15
CORA STOOD IN the supermarket produce aisle, absently tossing apples into a plastic bag. It was Thursday night, and neither she nor Liam had found time to go grocery shopping all week. They’d been so focused on work and searching for Finn it seemed as if the days were beginning to blur together, and they’d barely had a chance to come up for air. After yet another evening of fast-food burgers and fries on the way home, Cora had decided to stock the fridge with something a little less artery-clogging.
She wandered over to the vegetables, tossing several prebagged salad kits, extra cucumbers, and a bag of baby carrots into the cart, then backtracked to the fruit aisle again to grab some oranges. Normally, she was a lot more efficient when she shopped, not zigzagging around in random directions like one of those robot floor vacuums, but her mind was too busy spinning on the same hamster wheel she’d been hung up on all week.Where is Finn?No one had been able to locate him. They’d checked his penthouse repeatedly, even calling the building manager to find out if Finn had been in contact. They’d gone to the gym to ask around, but Finn hadn’t made any recent appearances there, either. Cora even tracked down the number for his sister, Genevieve, in New York City, asking if she’d heard from Finn lately. She hadn’t. It was as if he’d just vanished into thin air, and with every day that passed, Cora’s fear and worry for him grew. She was beginning to lose sleep.
On top of all that, she’d been having increasingly vivid dreams of her and Liam again, always in those old-fashioned clothes and in the same rural setting. Sometimes they walked hand in hand along a forest path. Sometimes they sat in a field near an old stone wall. And sometimes they stood in a dark garden beneath a million stars, sharing kisses so filled with heat and passion the whole world could’ve fallen down around them, and they wouldn’t have noticed. Those were the dreams that made Cora wake gasping, her body thrumming with desire, limbs tingling with the loss of the man she’d been holding. It was often hard to go back to sleep afterward, especially knowing the star of her dreams—the modern-day version, anyway—was sleeping in the very next room.
Cora pushed her grocery cart toward the wine section of the supermarket, thinking about her impromptu make-out session in the kitchen last Saturday with Liam. They still hadn’t talked about it, but she didn’t mind. They’d been so busy, and most importantly, she wasn’t worried because she was no longer in the dark about Liam’s feelings for her. Sometimes she blushed just thinking about how heartfelt and sincere he’d been when he said all those wonderful things to her. She knew it was only a matter of time before everything clicked into place for them. They shared an undeniable attraction, and every day that passed seemed to bring them closer together. Just thinking about it made her smile as she rounded the grocery aisle and—
“Oh!” Cora’s cart smacked into a woman who was standing in front of the sparkling wine. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there. Are you all right?”
The woman snorted. “Usually, unless someone clips me with a shopping cart.” She appeared to be checking her white tennis shoes for smudges, then glared up at Cora in annoyance.
“Alice,” Cora said in surprise. “I didn’t recognize you.”
Captain Thompson’s wife pressed her lips into a thin line, patting her hair self-consciously. She was usually dressed like a celebrity, with matching bags and shoes and sleek, fashionable clothes. In all the years Cora had worked at the police station, she’d never seen her without heavy makeup, lash extensions, and a spray tan. But tonight, Alice was wearing a pair of joggers, an oversized T-shirt tied in a knot at her waist, and not a stitch of makeup. Her eyes were glossed over, and she looked like she’d been drinking.
