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“Such as?”
“I don’t know!” Lacey threw her hands up in frustration.
“But I think there was someone else with Kayla that night. I think her friend Georgia Boyles and—” she swallowed hard “—Bethany were in that car that night.”
Mason’s brows shot up. “Why do you say that?”
“Because Georgia’s mother came to my house to ask Bethany if Georgia had been with Kayla that night.”
“Why did she suspect that?”
“Because Georgia came home around three in morning, scratched up and with bruises she couldn’t explain. The police also found her cell phone in the car. When they returned it to her she said she’d left it in there earlier that day.”
“Could be.” Mason shrugged with his good shoulder. “Is that it?”
Frustrated at his apparent lack of concern, she clenched her fists. “Yes! That’s basically it! But come on, Mason, there’s got to be more. Bethany wouldn’t just disappear like this. I’m really afraid she’s in trouble, hurt…or worse.” Just saying the words nearly brought her to her knees. “And then, there was the thing taped to my door last night,” she whispered.
His eyes sharpened. “What thing?”
Rummaging in her purse, she pulled out the yearbook page. “This.”
He took it from her and his brows shot up as he studied it. “And it was taped to your door?”
She nodded. “I was up pacing and praying and just… I couldn’t sleep. Mom and Dad were upstairs sleeping and I didn’t want to disturb them so I went downstairs. I heard something at the door and thought it was Bethany. When I opened it, that was there.”
“This is a picture of us.”
“Along with twenty other students who were involved in building the homecoming float.”
“Still, you’re right. It’s kind of weird that someone would tape this to your door. I wish you hadn’t touched it. I doubt we’d be able to get any prints off of it now. We’ll take it in and see what the lab can find—after we convince someone to do some serious investigating.” He left for a minute and came back with the page in a brown paper bag.
“Might as well protect it as much as possible from here on out. They’ll need to take your prints to rule them out.”
“Fine. Whatever it takes. I just want todosomething, havesomebodydoing something. Now.”
Mason studied her and sighed. “All right. I can see why you’re concerned, but I still want to know why you’ve come to me. Why ask me for help now after all these years with no contact?” He held up his hands, and for the first time since entering his house she thought she saw pain in his light blue eyes.
She had to tell him.
“Because, not only are you in that picture that was left on my door, Mason, you’re the man I promised Bethany she could meet. You’re her father.”
CHAPTER TWO
Mason’s knees nearly gave out. He fumbled for the chair behind him and sank onto it. Staring, he searched his mind for a response and came up blank.
A daughter? Him?
When she’d said she had a fifteen-year-old daughter, he’d immediately assumed his best friend from high school, Daniel Ackerman, was the father. But to hear her say that he was the father was almost more than he could process. In fact, the ringing in his ears made him wonder if he’d heard her right.
The expression on her face said he had.
“She’s my…” He couldn’t say the word.
Lacey blinked against the tears, but he noticed they just kept coming. He couldn’t even think to offer her another tissue. “Yeah, Mason. She’s your daughter.”
“And you’re just telling me this now?” he whispered. Did he even believe her? Searching her face, he could find no hint of deception or guile. Just desperation. And shame.
Then those emotions disappeared and anger made her voice hard as she ground out, “I tried to tell you sixteen years ago, but you wouldn’t listen to a word I had to say, remember?”
