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SERAPHINA
My mother was still awake when I arrived at her house. I hadn’t mentioned my plan to ask Noah Ridge for help locating my sister, because I didn’t want to get her hopes up.
“Where were you?” she asked.
“I had an errand to run.”
“At this hour?”
“I was at the Wicked Winemakers’ Ball.”
She raised a brow. “You didn’t mention you were going.”
“It was a last-minute thing. Anyway, I’ve found someone who is going to help us find Luisa.”
Her eyes scrunched. “Who?”
“He’s kind of a private investigator who works with other PIs.”
“Did you go there to talk to him?”
“Yes. His name is Noah Ridge, and he has experience with this kind of thing.”
My mother’s face blanched.
“What’s wrong?”
“You know the Ridge family purchased the winery.”
“Of course I do.”
She stood, walked over to the window, and crossed her arms.
“My understanding is the offer he made Dad was very generous.”
My mother walked toward the stairs. “Maybe not so generous.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m very tired, Seraphina. We’ll talk more in the morning.”
If I weren’t exhausted myself, I would’ve insisted she tell me what she meant. However, I could barely keep my eyes open after three almost sleepless nights. I went into Luisa’s bedroom and lay down. The apartment she and my mom lived in was small, with only two bedrooms. However, it was bigger than the one I lived in, which was a studio. If Luisa were to come home in the middle of the night, I’d be so overjoyed to see her that I wouldn’t mind sleeping on the sofa or even driving home.
I crawled into bed and shut my eyes. Maybe I’d sleep easier tonight, knowing tomorrow I could begin my search for her in earnest.
When I opened my eyes,I was stunned to see it was daylight. More so when I checked the time and saw it was after nine.
I used the bathroom, then went downstairs in search of my mother. While I hadn’t let it keep me awake, my mother’s statement, “Maybe not so generous,” was puzzling. Made more so by her reaction when I’d mentioned Noah’s name. She’d gone so pale. On the other hand, could an atypical reaction to anything right now be considered unusual? I had no doubt my responses to Noah were abnormal.
“Mom?” I called out a couple of times, then returned upstairs to see if she was in her room. When I didn’t find her there, I went back down the stairs and into the kitchen. I walked over to make a cup of coffee and found a note on the counter near it.
“I’ve gone to my book-club meeting,” the note read.
My mother was in a book club? That wasn’t a huge surprise in itself, but my mom told me everything, including which books she was currently reading. Why was I first hearing about a book club now? Not to mention, my sister was missing. It was out of character for her to be so nonchalant. I tried to call her, but it went straight to voicemail.
I went out to the porch and was sipping my coffee when my cell rang. I was about to ask my mother where she really was when I saw the call was from Noah Ridge.
“Good morning,” I croaked.
