The Family Gathering (Sullivan's Crossing #3)(61)

On the downside, it was found fifteen miles away, on the other side of the city, and only served to broaden the search.

Maggie, Cal and Elizabeth drove up from Timberlake to go door-to-door with Dakota. Maggie was able to confirm that the purse looked like the one Sedona carried.

The next day Sierra, Connie and little Sam were there for several hours.

Over the week a couple of people said she looked somewhat familiar but they couldn’t say where they might have seen her or even whether it was Sedona or someone who looked like her.

All that week while Dakota and others were canvassing, Ben Cousins and his assistants were making dozens if not hundreds of phone calls, sharing information with the police. They checked bus, plane and train passengers, outlying hotels and motels, called businesses, texted pictures and stayed in close touch with Bob, who continually checked bank balances and ATM withdrawals.

On Saturday, Sid came to Denver. She arrived early in the morning and brought an overnight bag. Just the sight of her at the door to Maggie’s house took Dakota by such sweet surprise he grabbed her in his arms and held her so tightly she squeaked. He put her down and kissed her passionately, the kind of kiss he usually reserved for when they were alone.

She pushed him away with a small laugh. “Cody,” she said.

“Why are you here?” he asked her.

“I’m here to work. I’ll help you today and tomorrow. I’ll stay over, if you’re okay with that.”

“I wish it wasn’t this kind of work,” he said, pulling her close again. “It’s really discouraging.”

“Then we’ll get through it together, okay?”

They started with coffee and a phone update from Ben Cousins. Dakota put it on speaker so Sid could listen. Today they would visit service stations and convenience stores in the area where Sedona’s purse was found. They covered a lot of ground even though there were many stops for phone calls from Bob, Cal, Sierra and others. They ate lunch on the run and got back on their route. Dinner was a quick stop for pizza, and after that, they hit a couple of crowded pubs and talked to the people there, both the waitstaff and customers.

Finally, too late to knock on doors or pester businesses, they went back to Maggie’s house, where Dakota had been staying. Exhausted, Sid begged for a shower. Afterward, snug in an extralong T-shirt and soft shorts, hair combed through and wet, she looked for Dakota and found him in the kitchen. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, swirling an amber liquid covering ice.

“I’m having a whiskey,” he said. “Maggie has a good selection of wine and there’s this. No soft drinks, I’m afraid.”

“I’d love a glass of wine,” she said. “Is there a white wine?”

He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a chardonnay, showing it to her.

“Perfect,” she said. “Maybe we can relax a little bit. Tomorrow’s another day.”

He opened the bottle, poured her a glass and touched her glass with his. “Thank you for coming,” he said. “Sid, this isn’t how I’d have planned a night away with you to be. I would have taken you to a nice restaurant, put on some soothing music, gotten in that shower with you, rolled around in the bed with you for hours... And I’m—”

“Exhausted, I know. Of course you are.”

“And distracted, when I’d like to give you all my attention.”

She leaned against him and he slid an arm around her waist. “I’m sorry for what you must be going through but I’m so proud of you,” she said. “I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about men and I sure haven’t been wondering what kind of man is right for me. I honestly didn’t think there was room in my life for a man after having chosen so badly once and paid such a high price. But, Dakota, you’re the right kind of man. A man who will do the right thing, the good thing, even at a personal sacrifice.”

“Don’t give me too much credit. I haven’t done much for my family in the past and I’m feeling a debt because of that. I’m not that good. I’m late, that’s what I am. I spent a lot of years waiting for my family to make it up to me because I had a rough adolescence and it never dawned on me that maybe I could grow up and get over it now and do something for them. Then I found out that poor Sedona is about as fucked up as I am.”

“You seem like the most normal man I know,” she said.

“There are things I should tell you,” he said. “Full disclosure—I hated my parents. I was ashamed of them. My father is sick, but I was angry because it embarrassed me. Because people laughed at us, made fun of us. It felt to me like Cal and Sedona were unaffected, though clearly they weren’t. I worried a lot about how hard I had it and didn’t pay any attention to what anyone else was going through.”

“You were just a boy,” she said.

“I haven’t been a boy in a long time, Sid.” He stroked her hair. “The truth is, I didn’t have much compassion for my own family until Sedona went off the rails. God, I hope she’s all right.”

“I hope so, too,” Sid said. “It’s very scary but just a little less so when families stick together. Friends and family. I’m in this with you. I want to be.”

“It’s okay. Cal and Maggie are coming back up. So are Sierra and Connie when he has a couple of days. Police have started looking in isolated places, Sid. I think they’re looking for any indication a body—”