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“She would never do such a thing!” I snapped. “She’s kind and good. She would never let anything like this happen to him!”
Waev pressed a hand to my shoulder and eased me back down into the chair. I was so angry, I might throttle someone.
“It’s a potential line of questioning, sir,” he said. “I meant no disrespect.”
Appraising my reaction, the officer flipped his notepad open and made another note. He glanced at me twice as he did it. He was a detective. No doubt he could read my reactions far better than most. By my outburst, he must have understood how much I cared for the governess.
“You’re wasting your time investigating her,” I said with greater control. “You might as well investigate me and my business to see if I need the cash injection.”
The officer pursed his lips. I’d correctly intercepted his next line of questioning.
“If you want to investigate my business, you can,” I said. “I won’t stop you. I’ll even give you full access to my accounts. But I want you to give me your word you won’t spend more resources than necessary investigating the governess. Focus on identifying who the kidnapper really is.”
“We want to find your loved ones as quickly as possible,” the officer said.
“I have good relations with my neighbors,” I said. “They’ll allow us to search their land. I’ll call them now and get their permission and explain the situation.”
“I’m afraid that might be a little premature,” the officer said. “We don’t have the personnel to conduct such a massive search.”
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll ask my neighbors if their staff can be made available. Would that help?”
The officer bowed his head.
“That would be much appreciated,” he said.
“I suggest you concentrate your efforts on investigating this individual and all public spaces,” I said, feeling a little more relaxed now that I had taken some control over the situation. “The town, local housing, anyone who might be foolish enough to attempt such a despicable act.”
“We will,” the police officer said shortly. He didn’t like being told what to do by a member of the public.
He made eye contact with Waev and nodded toward the doorway.
“We’ll be in touch when we have more information,” he said.
The officer met Waev in the hallway and muttered something to him, gesturing in my direction twice before turning to leave. Waev immediately returned to my side.
“What was that about?” I said. “To ensure I stay here and don’t do anything too rash, I suppose.”
“Pretty much,” Waev said. “He suggested I give you a sedative to help you relax. I can’t say I disagree with him.”
I shook my head.
“I need my wits about me,” I said. “There will be something here, something I’m not seeing. It will point the way.”
Waev smiled at me reassuringly. It was all the sedative I needed. He covered my shoulders with the blanket again and placed my hand on my shoulder.
“Thank you,” I said. “You’re a good friend.”
Waev gently squeezed my shoulder, showing a level of warmth we both knew was always there but never expressed openly before.
Before Bianca and Cleb came along, he was my closest friend and ally. The one person I could rely on, no matter what happened. Beneath his strait-laced demeanor was a man with a heart of gold. And I knew for certain he would never leave my side.
I stood at the foot of Cleb’s bedroom. Everything had been left exactly as I found it earlier.
The police and their forensic team had conducted their investigation and left. Every surface had been checked. They found no sign of any hair follicles, no flakes of skin, no fingerprints, no DNA that didn’t belong to the servants, me, Cleb, or Bianca. It was like a ghost had abducted them.
And they had been abducted. It was the only thing that made sense. I refused to entertain the idea that Bianca was responsible for kidnapping Cleb.
With no evidence of the mysterious stranger, the police assumed Bianca had to be the kidnapper.
