by Marci Bolden
“It’s seven.”
“You should have called first.”
“You wouldn’t have answered.”
His dad closed the door and scuffed the heels of his slippers as he crossed the living room to sit in his recliner. He hadn’t used to drag his feet, but the last few years had added too much weight around his center and had likely taken a toll on his knees.
As he skimmed the room, a sense of nostalgia washed over Dean. Just like the landscaping, the interior of the house hadn’t changed much.
“I haven’t been here in a while,” he said, more to himself than to his father.
“Because you are always too damn busy.”
Dean winced, stunned at the bitter accusation. No. It was because his father and stepmother had made it clear he and Mandy weren’t welcome. “Excuse me?”
With a harsh shake of his head, his dad dismissed the question. “What do you want?”
“I hired a private investigator to find Mandy since the police won’t help.”
“Leave the girl alone already, Dean. She’s out experiencing the world. That’s all.”
Staring down his father, he wondered if the man was really so out of touch with how the world was changing that he wasn’t at all concerned about his daughter disappearing without a trace. “Has she reached out to you?”
“No.”
“Has she called you or come by lately?”
“No. Damn it.” Clear agitation clipped his voice, and he exhaled harshly before pressing his lips together.
Dean and his father had always looked so similar, but seeing the way the man sagged and scowled made him silently vow to never let himself grow to look so angry and haggard. He’d add an extra set to his workout routine and toss the chocolate chip cookies that tempted him far too often. Anything to prevent himself from going down the road his father had taken. “Did she tell you she was leaving?”
Cutting his sharp gray eyes to Dean, his father said, “I answered the police when they asked these questions. And I gave them my opinion on the matter.”
“That Mandy just walked out on her life, dropped out of school, and vanished without a trace because that’s what kids do.”
“I did it.”
Dean pointed at his father, his own frustration starting to boil to the surface. “You backpacked across the Southwest with a buddy and constantly checked in. Grandma knew where you had been and where you were headed. I heard the stories, remember?”
Narrowing his angry eyes, his dad said, “If Mandy had a mother, I’m sure she’d check in with her. Lily is gone. Mandy is an adult. She doesn’t answer to you.”
“I am her brother. I’m worried about her.”
“Don’t be. She’s fine.”
“How do you know?”
He waved his hand as if to dismiss Dean’s concerns.
Swallowing the urge to lose his mind on the man, Dean tried for a calmer approach. “I just want to know that she’s safe. I want to know that she isn’t hurt. If you know that for certain, tell me.”
His dad stared at him for a long, drawn-out moment that made Dean’s heart start to race. “Mandy is fine. She’s not hurt.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s fine, Dean.” He nodded toward the door. “See yourself out. My show is about to start.”
His show was old reruns of Matlock. Some TV series from the goddamned 1980s was more important than discussing his daughter’s health, security, and whereabouts.
Putting his hands on his hips, Dean pushed a breath between his lips. “One more question.”
“What’s that?” his dad asked, as if daring Dean to push his very last button.
“What the hell did I do to you to make you hate me so much?”
As he held his gaze, his father’s eyes seemed to darken. His face hardened, and his scowl deepened. “I don’t hate you, Dean. I’m just so disappointed in you I can’t see straight.”
His answer shook Dean, though he shouldn’t have allowed it to. “Why? What did I do?”
“Get the hell out of my house.”
“Dad—”
“Get out,” he stated, emphasizing every word.
Dean hesitated, wanting to push him hard, but finally threw his hands up. “Whatever,” he spat under his breath. “What the hell ever.”
He stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him, and didn’t stop marching until he was inside his car. Staring up at the house, he shook his head, not understanding or believing what had just transpired.
He had no idea what his dad’s problem was. No clue. But he had far too much on his plate to worry about it now. His baby sister was out there somewhere. He was going to find her.
4
Alexa preferred to interview people in person, but Dean’s dad was being difficult. She suspected that was intentional. He didn’t seem concerned about his daughter, nor did he seem interested in his son’s concerns.
“Mr. Campbell,” she said calmly, “I need fifteen minutes of your time. I’m willing to come to you. You can’t tell me that you don’t have fifteen minutes to spare to help locate your daughter.”
“I am booked until the end of the week.”
“Your son is very concerned about Mandy.”
“Look, Alexia.”
She closed her eyes and bit back the urge to correct him on her name for a third time.
“Lily pushed that girl too hard, and when she died, Dean picked up where she left off. Mandy burned out. Now that she’s an adult and out from under his thumb, she ran off. That’s it. End of story.”
“I’m not doubting that, but it would ease Dean’s mind greatly if he could just confirm that.”
“I wish I could help you.”
“Is there a reason you can’t?” She tapped the tip of her pencil on her desk, waiting for his reply. “Was your ex-wife ever abusive toward Mandy?” She was confident she knew the answer to that. She had a fairly good instinct about people, and nothing about Dean’s behavior indicated that his mother ever hurt him or his sister. She didn’t even really believe that he or Lily had pushed Mandy too hard. Dean seemed concerned about the pressure she’d put on herself, not the other way around.
“No,” he answered flatly. “Not like fisticuffs abusive. But her expectations were unrealistic. Nobody could ever live up to the image Lily painted of her little princess. Dean had it easy, being a boy. Mandy’s the one Lily put on a pedestal.”
The anger in his tone set Alexa on edge. “What do you mean?”
“Ever since she was a kid, Lily pushed her to try harder, be better. From band all the way through basketball. Even when she was dying, Lily pushed and pushed. Mandy had enough pressure without trying to be the perfect angel. Then Dean came home to take care of Lily, and he wouldn’t lay off her. Mandy couldn’t handle the pressure.”
“Mandy told you this?”
“Yeah. She was home for Christmas last year and needed money. I asked why she didn’t tell her brother, and she broke down. She said she couldn’t handle asking him for help because he’d just tell her she needed to try harder.”
“Have you ever seen him act like that toward her?”
He was silent for so long, Alexa thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he said, “Look, I walked away from that mess a long time ago. Lily was crazy. Happy one day, depressed the next. We never knew what to expect from her. It got to be too much for me.”
“Was she ever diagnosed as manic depressive or bipolar?”
“Hell if I know. She went crazy one day and threatened to kill me. I stormed out and never looked back.”
Alexa closed her eyes. “Your wife was threatening to kill you, so you walked out and left her to care for your young children?”
“Lady, I don’t know what world you live in, but Lily would have had to put me in the hospital before a judge gave me custody of those kids. It’s a mother’s world; fathers just live in it.”
“But if you thought—”
“Are you calling to
judge me or ask about Mandy?” he snapped.
She bit her lip to stop any more accusations from flying. “I apologize. What makes you think Mandy reached her limit?”
“Because she said as much the last time she came by. She said she’d had a fight with Dean and needed gas money to get back to campus. I handed her a twenty and told her to just stay gone. To leave him alone. She said she planned to.”
Alexa tried to reconcile what the man was saying with the image of Dean she’d formed in her mind. “Maybe some of their stress was because Lily was ill?”
“Look, I know Dean loves his little sister. That’s not what I’m saying. But he’s a hardass. He always has been. With everybody. Just like Lily; no one ever lives up to his expectations. He has this way of looking at you like you’re the biggest letdown he’s ever known. I can’t imagine Mandy having to see it all the time. I’m not saying that I like what she’s done, disappearing like this. But I understand it. She needed a break from the pressure. That’s all.”
Alexa let his words roll through her head. “Do you know where Mandy is?”
“No.”
“Has she contacted you?”
His drawn silence was all the answer Alexa needed.
“Mr. Campbell, Dean is terrified for his sister. If you are in contact with her, you really need to let him know that she’s okay.”
“Listen, she’ll come back when she’s ready. He just needs to leave her alone for a while.”
Alexa wanted to push more, but the man hung up. She wasn’t going to get much more out of him unless she had a different approach, and she wasn’t about to betray Dean’s trust and spout off about Mandy’s drug use. She would, however, lean on Dean a bit harder. There was more to the story. If Lily really had been suffering from some kind of disorder that was bad enough to end her marriage, then it certainly impacted her children as well.
Mandy might be having some kind of breakdown, which could drastically change the way Alexa approached this case.
She didn’t doubt Dean’s sincerity in his concerns for his sister, and she had believed him when he said he thought Mandy pushed herself too hard, but she also needed to get to the bottom of his father’s accusations.
“Knock, knock,” came a voice from the door.
Alexa smiled at Rene. Before Holly had gotten shot working a case a few months prior, Rene had been the most paranoid on the team. She’d lost her partner in a shooting when she worked as a federal agent, making her more aware than some of how badly cases could go.
“How’s the case going?” Rene asked, walking in.
Rubbing her temple, Alexa growled out her frustration. “I get the impression her father knows where she is but isn’t willing to help me find her because he thinks Dean is too tough on her. But the father also told me Dean’s mother suffered from some kind of mood disorder that was bad enough for him to walk out on her. Which makes me wonder if his sister could have the same disorder. Whatever it was. And now I have to ask Dean about this.” She frowned as she shook her head. “I don’t think he’s going to appreciate that. The guy is so close to losing his mind with worry. I’m a little concerned what he’ll do if he thinks his dad is holding out on him.”
“You’re so much more human than the rest of us. How do you do that?”
Alexa chuckled as she used an elastic band to tie her long hair back. “My grandmother is my saving grace. Every night she reminds me how important it is to remember why I do this.”
“You’re lucky to have family.”
The sadness in Rene’s eyes caught Alexa off guard. Rene’s parents had died when she was in her twenties. As an only child, she’d been on her own most of her life. She said that was why she was so hardened, but everyone at HEARTS knew there was a darker story in Rene’s past. She was just so good at hiding it, no one had ever really pressed. They all had things in the past they only shared when they chose.
Holly’s mother had died years before—although not all of the HEARTS knew the specific circumstances, and they didn’t ask. Eva had faced years of sexual harassment from her superiors and peers before leaving the police force. Alexa’s sister had been kidnapped and never found. Rene…well, her real story was still to come. Tika had dropped out of law school after facing unexpected discrimination from not only her peers but her instructors as well. The offenders were never charged because the school had found her account of their threats and harassment “unreliable.” Sam was tired of not being taken seriously, but she was correcting her course and working on growing up and earning the respect of the team.
They all had pasts and secrets. That was part of what bound them so tightly together. Their scars and pain and stories of survival—even if they hadn’t all revealed those scars and pain and stories—made them stronger as a team.
“Hey,” Alexa said with firm tenderness. “We’re your family. Me and the rest of the HEARTS.”
“You know what I mean,” Rene said, letting her edgy New York accent come through.
Alexa’s concern continued to grow. Not only was it unlike Rene to show emotion of any kind, but she was always cognizant of her accent and did her best to keep her voice neutral. She said too many people stigmatized her natural inflection. They considered her either ignorant, or more often, a mobster, since her olive skin and dark brown hair were stereotypical of her Italian roots. Rarely did anyone see beyond her accent to the authority figure she tried to portray. Hearing her speak with the choppy tone took Alexa by surprise.
“What’s up, Rene?”
She shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit,” Alexa snapped.
The corner of Rene’s mouth lifted. “You’re adorable when you cuss.”
Alexa faked a wide smile. “Well, you’re adorable all the time, but don’t change the subject. What’s wrong?”
Stress played across Rene’s face, creasing her brow and turning her half smile into a deep frown. “I just wanted to check in. I know missing persons cases can stir some bad memories for you.”
Alexa felt the pain of the past stab through her heart. “The difference is that my sister didn’t get caught up in drugs and destroy her life. She was taken off the street.”
“I’m sorry to bring it up.”
“Don’t be. I think about her every day,” Alexa admitted, unable to stop her eyes from darting to the picture of her and Lanie.
Sam rushed into Alexa’s office with a small stack of papers, disrupting their conversation. “I got her credit report. Mandy Campbell has some serious debt. You can blame most of that on the high-interest credit cards.” She stopped, seemingly aware that she’d interrupted something. “Um, I can come back.”
Rene stood. “No. This is much more important.”
Alexa opened her mouth to debate that, but Rene was gone before she could. She decided she’d follow up on that later; for now, she wanted to see what Sam had found. Taking the papers, she let out a low whistle. “She is way too young to have a credit rating that trashed.”
Sinking into the chair Rene had just vacated, Sam sat forward. “Is she okay? She’s seemed off lately.”
Alexa loved Sam, adored her spunk, but she didn’t care for how blatantly nosy the woman was being at the moment. Her ability to search the Dark Web was constantly improving and making her invaluable to the team, which made Alexa happy because more than once she’d gone to bat for Sam with Holly. Holly didn’t think Sam fit, but Alexa knew she just needed time to find her place, which she had. She was just as much a part of the team as any of the investigators, but right now, her question felt like she was trying to shove her way into Alexa’s tight bond with Rene.
Alexa shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yeah. She’s fine,” Alexa said, but she suspected otherwise.
Sam sighed audibly. “You guys never tell me anything.”
Alexa tilted her head and said, “Because you hold secrets about as well as a strainer holds water.”
&nbs
p; Sam playfully glared before saying, “Not true. I haven’t told a single one of you that Jack is planning to propose to Holly tomorrow night.” Sam sank back in her chair, screwing her face up as she realized what she’d just said. “Damn it.”
Alexa’s mouth gaped, and her eyes widened. “Do not say another word until you close that door.”
Sam jumped up, eased the door shut, and then plopped back into her chair. “Okay, get this,” she said with the girlish excitement of a high schooler. “He called me yesterday and asked me to make sure everyone stays for the Friday dinner. I reminded him that now that Eva and Josh are back together, we always do because Josh brings in a big dinner. Friday dinner is like our little family tradition again, right? He’s like, ‘yes, I know, that’s why I want to make sure everyone is there.’”
Alexa giggled at the way Sam slipped back into her habit of gossiping like a hen. She’d been trying to watch herself. Holly didn’t care for gossip, since client confidentiality was crucial to their business, and the way Sam excitedly shared everyone else’s business hadn’t done her any favors when she’d started working with HEARTS. She had really restrained her tendency to gab about the latest breakups, marriages, and Hollywood affairs, but seeing her now was just like old times.
“Anyway,” Sam continued without seeming to take a breath, “I was like, ‘Jack, what’s the deal. Why are you so stressed out?’ And he said”—she drew out the last few words—“‘I’m going to surprise Holly with a present, and I just want to make sure everyone is there to see it.’ I knew right then, the way he said it. So I asked if that’s what he was going to do. He tried to deny it.” She sat a bit higher. “But I used some of the new interrogation skills I’ve learned to pry the truth out of him. Of course, he then threatened me with my life if I told anyone, so you damn well better act surprised.”
Alexa nearly exploded with excitement. “Oh my God. Holly is going to freak.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good thing.” Sam tapped her pink-painted lip with the tip of her manicured nail. “She’s so private, Lex. I don’t think she’s going to appreciate having everyone here to see her reaction.”