Her Silent Cry (Detective Josie Quinn Book 6)(15)

“We’ll find her,” Josie said with more authority than she actually felt.

“I believe you will,” Christian said. “You know, your sister will be blowing up your phone the minute she hears about this.”

Josie laughed. “She already has.”

They said their goodbyes and Josie put her phone back on to charge and laid back in her bed. Silence roared through the house, the loneliness cloying and creeping. She thought of the bottle of Wild Turkey she’d bought a month ago, just after Noah’s mother was murdered. It was still in her kitchen, at the very back of one of her cabinets. Just one shot and she would fall easily to sleep. But her stomach had been on edge for over a week now, and she didn’t want to make it worse. Besides that, she had learned the hard way that nothing good came of her consuming Wild Turkey in any quantity.

She heard a car pull into her driveway and sat bolt upright. A moment later she heard two car doors slam and then a knock on her door. It was dark outside, but the motion sensor light above her front door snapped on. Through the peephole, Josie saw Misty with a sleeping Harris in one arm and her tiny Chihuahua Weiner mix breed dog in the other. Josie threw the door open and herded them all inside, taking Harris from Misty’s arms. “Misty, it’s the middle of the night. Are you okay?”

“I am so sorry,” Misty said. “We’re fine. I just—I couldn’t—”

In the dim foyer, Josie saw tears glistening in Misty’s eyes. She locked the front door and waved Misty into the living room. Harris slept peacefully on Josie’s shoulder. Misty’s tiny dog searched its new surroundings warily. “What’s going on?” Josie said. “Did something happen?”

“Oh no,” Misty said. “My God, what happened to your face?”

“Oh, nothing,” Josie said. “I’m fine. What about you guys? What’s going on?”

“I’m so sorry. I know this is ridiculous. It’s just that I… I just—I can’t stop thinking about that little girl who went missing. I saw you on the news. I know that you said that ‘it is believed she wandered off’ but still, the thought of that little girl missing took me right back to when Harris was born. You know, when they took him from me.”

“Oh, Misty,” Josie said softly. With one hand, she reached out and squeezed Misty’s shoulder. Misty had given birth to Harris at home with the help of a woman who had turned out to be on the run from some very dangerous people. Misty had been beaten badly, and Harris had been kidnapped.

Misty said, “I know I don’t remember much of what actually happened, but…”

“You were still very traumatized,” Josie said. “I understand.”

“I just couldn’t stay in that house tonight. Every noise freaked me out. I hope you don’t mind. Harris and I feel safe here.”

Josie smiled. “I’m glad you came over. Come on upstairs. I have a king-size bed. We can all fit.”

“Thank you, Josie.”

She would never admit it to Misty, but Josie was grateful for the company. They settled Harris in between them, and Misty’s dog slept at the foot of the bed. The steady sounds of Misty, Harris and the dog breathing began to lull Josie to sleep almost instantly. As she was about to drift off, Misty whispered, “I keep thinking about that girl’s mom. What she must be feeling. I can’t even imagine if Harris—”

“Don’t,” Josie said. “Don’t imagine it. We’ll keep him safe. Always.”

“But how can we?” Misty asked. “How can we in this world where terrible, terrible things happen?”

“I don’t know how,” Josie answered honestly. “But I would die trying. That’s what I know.”

Her speech had slowed. She was so fatigued, and sleep grabbed at her, pulling her under. Misty was still speaking. The last words Josie heard before her consciousness fell away were, “How can we keep our kids safe when you can’t even tell the difference between someone who’s bad and wants to take your child away and someone who isn’t? Bad people are all around us, Josie. But they’re disguised as good people. Regular people.”

Something in the back of Josie’s mind shouted out. The voice told her to hold onto it for when she woke, and then she was out cold.





Eleven





Josie woke to the sound of Harris’s voice coming from somewhere downstairs, then Misty’s little dog, Pepper, yapping. She opened her eyes and looked to her left, but the bed was empty. Turning in the other direction she looked at her clock to see she had slept for three hours. The scent of coffee wafted up the stairs. Normally, it would be a salve to her exhausted and frayed nerves but today, as soon as the smell hit her, nausea took hold and her stomach bile rushed up into her throat. Throwing the blanket aside, she jumped up and raced to the bathroom. She dry-heaved into the toilet a few times but nothing came up. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead. As she sank to the floor and pressed her back against the cool bathroom tiles, she willed it to pass. She had to get back out to the park today and help look for Lucy.

She heard her front door open, the clunk of Noah’s crutches across the foyer floor and then his voice. “Hey, little buddy!”

Then Harris: “Noah, Noah! Hey, who’s that?”