Holiday Homecoming Secrets

“If Frank told him,” Bryce muttered.

Heather scowled. “Why would he not tell him? His boss is the one who approves the stories that he works on.”

“I’m not sure he was working just one story.”

“Then his boss can tell us that.” Heather dialed the man’s number and waited. “Hi, Larry, it’s Heather.” She tapped the screen to put him on speakerphone. “I’m so sorry to wake you, but I have reason to believe that Frank’s in trouble. Can you tell me if he had to go out of town suddenly?”

“Ah, no, not on the paper’s dime.” He cleared his throat. “What makes you think he’s in trouble?”

Heather explained. “What was he working on?”

“A couple of things. Nothing I can discuss with you. I’m sorry.”

“Larry—”

“No, I’m not budging on that. Frank’s probably just looking into something. And truthfully, he didn’t tell me a lot of details, just that he was on to something big and hoped to have the full story on my desk sometime next week. Seriously, Heather, he’ll most likely turn up when he’s good and ready. Now, go back to sleep and quit worrying.”

Click.

Heather slumped, frustration stamped on her drawn features. “Okay, that was a dead end. Hold on a second.” She left and returned with her laptop. “Coworkers would be the next step, right? Let’s see who we can find that might be able to tell us something useful.”

Thirty minutes later, they were no closer to having an answer about Frank’s whereabouts, and Heather’s emotional state had quickly gone south. She turned to Bryce. “What was he working on?”

“I’m not at liberty to say. He asked me not to.”

“Well, he’s not here, so...”

“I can’t. I gave him my word that I’d keep his confidence.”

“Is it something that could land him in trouble? At least tell me that.”

Bryce sighed. “Yeah. If certain people discovered he was doing some snooping into their business, then they wouldn’t be happy about it. But I don’t see how they could know.”

She snapped her lips shut. “He never said he was doing anything dangerous.”

“He was protecting you,” Jade said softly. “He didn’t want you to know he was putting himself in that kind of situation because it would have distracted you.”

“So, you know what he was working on?” Heather asked.

“No. I just know if it was something dangerous, he would have kept it from you. You and I walk into potentially dangerous situations every day. He wouldn’t want you worried about him, too.”

Heather shook her head and lasered Bryce with a hard look. “It’s up to you to help us find him.”

“Heather—”

Her friend lifted her chin and gave Jade a stony glare. Jade sighed and snapped her lips shut. There wasn’t any sense in telling Heather there would be no “us.” Heather wouldn’t be working the case. If there even was a case.

In her mind, there was. All evidence pointed toward Frank being missing. Or worse.

“I’ve already said more than I should have,” Bryce said, “but I’m worried.”

“So am I.” Heather rose. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Where are you going?” Jade asked.

“To get dressed, then I’m going to find my fiancé.” She paused. “Stay in here, will you? Like I said, the den’s a mess.” She blew out a breath. “And I know that’s just not important right now, but it’s a stressor.”

Jade held up a hand. “We’ll stay here.”

“Thanks. I’ll be right back.”

True to her word, Heather returned to the kitchen in record time, dressed to face the day. After several more unproductive phone calls, she dropped into the nearest chair and raked a hand through her still mussed hair. “What are we going to do? We’ve called everyone. His sister hasn’t heard from him since he stayed over at her house last weekend. His parents talked to him yesterday, and he didn’t say anything about going on a trip. Where could he be?”

Jade stood. “I think it’s time to put a BOLO out on him and get help.”

“I agree,” Heather said with a slow nod. “I’ll do it.”

While Heather made the call, Jade walked over to stand in front of Bryce, who leaned against the sink, sipping his second cup of coffee. “What was he working on, Bryce?” she asked softly. “We need to know so we have some direction.”

Bryce set his coffee down and pursed his lips. “He made me promise not to say anything. I don’t want to betray that confidence.”

“Not even if it means helping us figure out if he’s in trouble or not?”

He closed his eyes, obviously torn. “What if I tell you and he’s fine?”

She planted her hands on her hips. “What if you don’t tell me and he’s in trouble?”

More than anything, Bryce wanted to tell her, because not for a moment did he think she would be involved in what had Frank investigating the local police department. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jade. Rather, it was a matter of confidentiality.

But she was right.

What if by keeping his promise, he was putting Frank in further danger? He couldn’t think how that might be, but...what if?

Before he had a chance to decide what he should do, Heather returned to the kitchen. “The BOLO is out and my brain is so scrambled, I can’t for the life of me think what we should do next. How’s that for being a detective for you? I’ll never judge family members of a missing person ever again.”

“You should stay here,” Jade said, “in case Frank shows up. Bryce and I will call you if we find him. And you call us if you hear from him.”

“Just sit here and worry?” Heather scoffed. “Not happening.”

“Come on, Heather, you know you need to stay. Just in case he shows up.”

“He’s not going to show up here, I don’t think. He’d go home.”

“Well, you can’t go there. If he’s truly missing, his house will be treated like a crime scene. Bryce and I were careful, but even our searching may have disturbed something. Don’t add to it.” She knew she sounded bossy, but she also knew Heather might be tempted to throw caution to the wind in her desperation to find Frank.

Heather pursed her lips and looked like she wanted to argue, but finally nodded. “If I decide to go over there, I won’t go inside. I may just sit and watch the house.”

Jade nodded. “If you feel like you have to be there, then yeah...okay. I don’t think we’re going to be doing much of anything else tonight.”

Heather hesitated, then gave a groan and a nod. “Fine. But please stay in touch.”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay, so, tomorrow...we need to what?” Heather gave a short laugh. “See? I told you I couldn’t think.”

“We need to find out where he was last seen.”

Heather rubbed her forehead. “No one seemed to be able to tell us that,” she muttered.

“I talked to him on the phone around ten o’clock this morning,” Bryce said. He glanced at the clock. “Or, rather, yesterday morning. So we just need to find anyone who saw him after that.”

“Heather,” Jade said, “why would Frank have Tony Swift’s name written down? Was he meeting with him for something?”

“At the shooting range?” Heather shook her head. “I don’t know. He didn’t say anything to me if he was. He could have just been practicing.”

“True.” Jade looked at her watch. “All right. I need to grab a couple of hours of sleep before we get started looking for him again—assuming he doesn’t show up in the next little bit.”

Heather nodded. “I won’t be able to sleep, but I can make a list of more people and places to check with.”

“Do you want me to stay here?” Jade asked. “I can crash on your couch.”

“No. It’s not that comfortable. We’re getting a new one, but not until after the wedding. Just go home. You have to help your mom in the morning with the kids anyway, don’t you?”

“Kids?” Bryce asked. “Are your parents still taking in foster children?”

Her face blanked for an instant. Then she nodded. “They are.” She rubbed her eyes, then narrowed them at her friend. “Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”

“Yes. Go and help your mom. I think we should get some sleep if we can. None of us will be any good if we’re so tired we get sloppy and miss something. Besides, there’s probably some logical explanation for where he is. Missing sleep isn’t going to help finding out what that is.”

She had a point, but Bryce was itching to keep looking. The only lead they had was the shooting range. He glanced at his watch. Three o’clock in the morning. It had been seventeen hours since he’d talked to Frank, and he needed to know his friend was okay. Even if he went back to his sister’s and tried to sleep, he knew he’d be tossing and turning.

He kept his mouth shut until they were back in her vehicle, but once he clipped his seat belt, he said, “I want to go find Tony Swift, ASAP.”

She gave a slow nod. “I was thinking the same thing. Let me see if I can call him and give him a heads up. No need to wake the whole family.” Using the laptop mounted on the dash to her right, she pulled up Tony’s license and noted the address. Next, she dialed his number.

“Hello?”

The groggy Southern voice came through the squad car’s Bluetooth. “Tony, this is Detective Jade Hollis with the Cedar Canyon PD. I’m so sorry to be calling this late, but we’re looking for Frank Shipman. Can you tell us the last time you saw him?”

Click.

She frowned and lifted a brow. “Well, okay, then.”

“Call him back.”

She did and it went straight to a busy signal. She tried his cell phone and got voice mail. Bryce locked his gaze on hers. “I don’t like the implications of that.”

“I don’t, either. I think we should head over to his house.” She cranked the car and backed out of Heather’s drive.

“You think Frank’s alive?” Bryce asked softly.

“I don’t know, Bryce. You saw what I saw.”

“Two bullet holes and all that blood doesn’t give me much hope.”

“It might not have been him wearing it,” she said. “That’s what I’m holding on to—and feeling guilty for doing so. I don’t want Frank to be hurt or dead, but I don’t want anyone else to be, either.”

“And yet, it’s highly likely someone is.”

“Yeah. Someone is.”

But who?

Jade slipped her weapon into her holster and rubbed her bleary eyes. Last night she and Bryce had found Tony Swift’s wife home alone. “I don’t know where he went,” she’d said. “Just bolted out of here like his tail was on fire. Didn’t even take his cell phone.”

So now, Jade planned to show up at the range and hope he had the good sense to be there. As much as he loved his business, he wouldn’t just leave the place unopened. She hoped. She’d already talked to her supervisor and he’d given her his approval for her plan for the day—after making sure she didn’t need to take the day off. As if she could. Heather had texted that Frank hadn’t shown up and she still couldn’t get him to answer his phone.

Little arms wrapped around her legs and her heart lifted. She turned and scooped her five-year-old daughter into a gentle hug, and she breathed in her sweet scent. “Good morning, little bear.”

“Morning,” Mia said. “I want eggs and bacon.”

“I think that can be arranged since that’s what I smell cooking all the way over here.”

Mia sniffed. “I don’t smell it.” She smacked her lips. “But I can almost taste it. And pancakes.”

“Wonderful.”

“And I want to decorate for Christmas. When can we do that?”

Jade smothered a small groan. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to decorate. It was just the energy decorating required. Energy she was lacking right now thanks to a still twinging head. It wasn’t pounding, but it didn’t feel great, either. “We need to do that, don’t we?”

“So, when?”

“How about tonight?”

“We can go tree shopping?” Mia asked, her eyes widening, her joy practically tangible.

“Well, as long as you bundle up really good.”

Mia frowned and wrinkled her nose. “Oh, right. It’s very cold outside, isn’t it?”

Her daughter had no use for cold weather. “Well, yes,” Jade said, “it is. What about if I just come home with the tree and you and the twins can help decorate. Is that okay?” Her heart ached for Jessica and Gage, the ten-year-old twins who’d been removed from their home and placed with her parents a little over four months ago due to neglect.

Mia nodded. “It’s okay with me. I don’t really care about getting the tree, I just want to make it pretty. I’ll ask Gage and Jessica. If they want to go, you can take them. Can we string popcorn?”

“If you can manage not to eat it all.” She tickled the little girl’s ribs, and Mia’s giggles soothed her worried heart. “Are Jessica and Gage ready to eat?”

“They’re always ready to eat.”

That was true. Jade gave thanks that they were good-natured children in spite of everything they’d been through and had adjusted well to the routine of the home—managing to steal all of their hearts in the process.

Last week she’d learned the twins’ parents had finally released them for adoption. Her parents had talked to Jade about plans to adopt them, and Jade thought it was a fabulous idea. She just hoped the twins did, too. They were happy here and made no secret of that.

Of course, the fact that there were horses on the property didn’t hurt. Jessica had already attached herself to Belle, one of the horses her parents used to teach the kids to ride. “Tell Lolly, I’ll be there in just a few minutes.” Jade’s mother was named Adelaide. When Mia started talking, all the child could manage to wrap her tongue around was Lolly. Her mom had been fine with that.

“Okay.” Mia ran down the hallway toward the stairs, her long, dark hair flying around her head. She’d go down the steps and out the bottom door that led to an enclosed walkway. At the end of that was her parents’ kitchen. Her father had closed in the area about six months ago so Mia could travel between the houses without having to go outside—and ease Jade’s mind about keeping a constant eye on her when she wanted to see her grandparents. “All by myself. I can do it, Mommy.”

Her little girl was growing up.

Jade’s throat tightened as she thought about telling Bryce he had a child. It was obvious he had no clue about Mia. Which was the way she’d originally wanted it. But then she’d felt so guilty about keeping that secret, she’d done her best to get in touch with him. Her only source had been Frank. She’d asked him to let Bryce know she really needed him to call her. Frank had said he’d told him. Obviously, Bryce hadn’t deemed it important to do so. Which really hurt. And made her mad. Maybe she should just ask him and give him a chance to explain before giving up on him. Maybe.

But first things first.

She’d wolf down the food, then head over to the shooting range and hope Tony had come to his senses. If not, she was going to have to sit down with her chief and other investigators and figure out a plan of action.

For now, she’d have breakfast with Mia, Jessica and Gage. She made her way to the kitchen and found everyone gathered around the table.

“Jessica and Gage said you could get the tree and bring it home. They don’t want to get cold, either.”

Jade smiled. “All right. Sounds like a plan.”

“Glad you could join us this morning,” her mother said.

“There’s no way I’d miss this spread.” Eggs, bacon, sausage, grits and biscuits. Her mother’s heritage might be Korean, but she cooked straight Southern when she was in the mood. “Unfortunately, I’m going to have to rush through it, though.” She took Mia’s small hand in her right and Jessica’s in her left. “I’ll bless it.” She said a short prayer and, after a round of amens, looked back to her mother. “Where’s Dad?”

“He’s already eaten. He had to go move the horses to the south pasture so they could start clearing the land for the new barn.”

In addition to raising foster children, her parents boarded and raised thoroughbred horses. Each week seemed to bring one or two new clients. A good problem to have, but a lot of work as well. “I’m sorry I can’t help him.”

“He’s got help. Eat your food, then go do that job you’re so good at.” She paused. “I thought today was your day off.”

“It is. Was. I’ve got some things I need to take care of that won’t wait. But I’m hoping it will be a short day.” Somehow she doubted it. Not with Frank still missing. But she could hope—and she had to bring a Christmas tree home. She winked and turned to the children. “Eat up, little people. The bus will be here in thirty minutes. And don’t forget, we’re pulling out Christmas decorations. You can start when you get home from school. It’s the last day before break and you don’t want to miss all the candy that will be passed around. And cake at the party.”

“And Christmas games,” Jessica said with a shy smile.

“Sounds like a perfect day to me.” Jade brushed the bangs from the girl’s eyes and tapped her nose. “It’s going to be fun.”

The children cheered, and Jade’s mother grinned at the happiness at her table.

Jade hadn’t told her parents about Frank. It had been so late when she’d finally slipped into bed that she hadn’t had a chance. And no time this morning. Not in front of the kids. They adored Frank—especially Mia.

“Lolly?” Jessica’s hesitant voice caught Jade’s attention as well as her mother’s.

“What is it, darling?” Her mom paused to give the child her full attention.

“Are we going to be here for Christmas?”

“Well, now, that’s a really good question.” She sighed. “I wish I could say a one hundred percent yes, but you know how this system works as well—or better—than I do.”

“Oh.” Jessica looked back at her plate, her shoulders slumping.

“But we sure hope you will be,” Mia said.

“Me too,” Jessica mumbled around a mouthful of bacon.

Gage’s bright gaze bounced from one person to the next. “I’m staying here. I don’t care what anyone else says.”

“We’ll see,” Jade said. “Just know that we all want you here more than anything.”

“Absolutely.” Her mother gave a firm nod.

“Thanks,” he whispered.

Jade’s heart stuttered with love for the little boy and his sister. She caught her mother’s eye and saw a sheen of tears hovering there just before she looked away. Bless her. Such a tenderhearted woman. All she wanted was to make the world right for kids who didn’t know what it was like to have that happen. And so did Jade. “I’m going to stop by my office first, then pay a visit to someone I need to question about a case.”

Fifteen minutes later, with her mind on Frank and Bryce and trying to keep all of her emotions under control, Jade kissed her mother and daughter goodbye, gave hugs to Jessica and Gage, and took off for the station, praying she could dig up something that would tell her where Frank was.

FOUR

Bryce opened the door to his sister Kristy’s kitchen, and his dog, Sasha, darted around him to shake the snow from her coat. “Sasha, stop!” The dog did, but it was too late. She’d splattered melted snow everywhere. He grabbed the hand towel from the rack and made a futile effort to wipe her down.

Kristy entered with eighteen-month-old Liam on her hip. When the child’s gaze landed on Sasha, he squealed. “Doggy!”

“Shh. You’ll wake up your brother.”

“My doggy!”

Kristy rolled her eyes. “Wet doggy.” She walked into the laundry room, returned with two bath towels and shoved them at Bryce. “Messy doggy.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Sasha, sit.” The dog obeyed, and Bryce draped the first towel over her and rubbed. “She decided it would be fun to roll in the snow.”

“Of course she did. Which means she brings in a gallon of water just on her fur. You couldn’t get something like a schnauzer or a Chihuahua, could you?”

He raised a brow. “Really? You can see me with one of those?” He finished with Sasha and turned to the walls and pantry door.

“I guess not. What are your plans today?”

When everything was dry, he tossed the towels into the laundry room and told her about finding a lead into Frank’s disappearance. “So I’m going to rinse off, change and head over to the shooting range.”

Her gaze dropped to his prosthetic, the curved one that allowed him to run without falling over. “I forget you have that most of the time.”

“That’s one of the nicest things you’ve ever said to me.”

“Well...that’s kind of sad. I’ll work on it. There’s a ham biscuit in the fridge if you want to warm it up.”

“I’d love it, thanks.”

Her expression softened and she hugged him. “Go change your leg—you do realize how weird that sounds—and I’ll pour you some coffee. You can warm up the biscuit when you get done.”

“Thanks, sis.” He kissed her cheek and blew a raspberry on the baby’s, then headed to his room.

Once showered and changed, he returned to the kitchen to find Liam in his high chair and Kristy feeding him ham, eggs and little pieces of biscuit. Sasha lifted her head and watched him, tongue lolling from the side of her mouth.

Bryce shook his head, grabbed the biscuit from the fridge and popped it in the microwave. “She’s such a slug.”

“She’s a monster.”

“A monster in body, but she’s pure love in that big heart of hers. I don’t know what I’d do without her.” The microwave dinged and he grabbed the food. “I appreciate you letting us stay here. I know it’s not convenient.”

Kristy sighed. “We’re happy to have you here. We’ve missed you.”

Liam tossed a piece of ham straight at the dog. Sasha snagged and gulped it, then turned pleading eyes on the child as though begging him to do it again. “Hey, Sash, you already had your breakfast.” He chucked the baby on the chin. “You need to eat yours.”

“Doggy eat it.”

“You eat it.”

“No no.”

“Yes yes.”

Liam giggled, his little teeth glinting. “Doggy.”

Bryce raised a brow at his sister. “I’m not going to win this one, am I?”

“Nope.”

“Right.” He glanced at the clock. “I need to get going.”

Kristy set the baby on his feet, and he went to Sasha and climbed on her back. “Horsey. Go.”

Sasha settled her head between her paws and Bryce thought the dog almost smiled. She loved kids. His sister loved kids. Her kids. A pang hit him. Ever since moving into his sister’s home, his vow to never have children kept slapping him in the face, making him wonder why he and Kristy had turned out to have such different views on their ability to raise children. “Hey, sis, could I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“How come you didn’t have any reservations about getting married and having kids?”

She frowned. “What do you mean?” She wiped the tray down while Bryce tried to think of a way to explain it. “I mean, motherhood comes so naturally to you. You’re nothing like our mother, and I don’t understand how that can be when you had no example of what being a good mother was supposed to look like.”

Kristy blew out a low breath. “But I did have examples.”

“Who?”

“Ladies in the church, people I worked with, friends.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just knew that our parents were the outliers, not the norms. I knew most people loved their kids and wanted the best for them—and I vowed if I ever had kids, I’d be the complete opposite of our parents and I couldn’t go wrong.”

He snorted. “Do the opposite? I suppose that makes sense in some weird way.”

“Of course it does.” She walked over to rescue Sasha’s fur from Liam’s mouth. “And if you ever have kids, you’ll be a great dad.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve watched you come to love my two. And you love your dog.”

“Dogs are easy to love. They don’t talk back.”

“True, but I still don’t think you have anything to worry about when it comes to fatherhood.”