The Reckoning. Jana DeLeon

hall.

      “Back here,” Sarah answered, her voice weak.

      Alex ran the rest of the way down the hall and into the kitchen and ran straight into the last person in the world she expected or wanted to see.

      His shoulders were wider, his upper body harder and leaner than she’d ever seen him. And she’d seen every inch. “Holt,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “I didn’t know you were back.”

      Ten years ago, he’d run away to war—the one place he could be certain his past couldn’t follow him.

      His hands were still on her shoulders, and he stood so close she could feel the heat coming off his body. The smell of his aftershave tickled her nose, and instantly she remembered the last time his hands had been on her body. The last time she’d been completely absorbed with Holt—mind, body and soul.

      “Been back for a month now,” he said, and looked down at her with those sexy green eyes that had been the cause of many a weak moment on her part.

      But no more.

      She stepped back so that he was forced to drop his hands, and that was when she noticed the badge on his belt. “You’re working for your uncle?”

      “I’m just filling in until I figure out what I want to do next and until his broken leg heals.”

      “Is Sarah okay?”

      Holt moved to the side and motioned her into the breakfast nook where Sarah sat, staring out the back window. “You tell me.”

      Alex walked over to the table and slid onto the chair next to Sarah. Her cousin took one look at her, flung her arms around her neck and began sobbing. “They don’t believe me. My baby’s gone and they don’t believe me.” The volume of her voice increased with every word until she was shouting.

      Alex untangled Sarah’s arms from her neck and studied her cousin. Her skin was pale, but normal, given the situation. Her eyes were red from crying, but Alex didn’t see any disconnect from reality in them.

      “Who doesn’t believe you?”

      Sarah pointed to Holt. “The sheriff’s department. They think I’m crazy.”

      A flash of anger washed over Alex like a tidal wave and she turned to face Holt. “A six-year-old is missing from her own neighborhood in broad daylight. Exactly what does it take for the sheriff’s department to become concerned?”

      “My uncle said—”

      “Your uncle wouldn’t have a nice thing to say about Sarah even if it meant avoiding eternal damnation.” Alex turned her attention back to Sarah. “I need you to take a deep breath and tell me what happened.”

      Sarah nodded and took a deep breath, blowing it slowly out. “Right after lunch, Erika went to her friend’s house up the street to play. I stood outside and watched her until she went inside their house. She was supposed to be home by three.”

      “But she didn’t come home?”

      “No. At three-fifteen, I called her friend’s mother to remind Erika to leave, but the mother said Erika had left at five ‘til, just like she was supposed to.”

      “Did the friend’s mother watch her walk home?”

      “No. Erika walked with her friend all the way to the house and then her friend crossed the street to go to her music lesson.”

      “Did her friend see Erika go in the house?”

      Sarah shook her head. “She said when she was closing the door, she saw Erika checking the mail. But when I came outside to look for her, the mail was lying in the street.” Sarah began to cry again. “They think Bobby took her. He’s a lying, worthless, cheating waste-of-a-husband, but he’s a good father. Bobby would never take Erika away from me.”

      Alex blew out a breath, trying to make sense of everything Sarah had said. Her cousin’s story didn’t fill in all the gaps and she had a feeling those gaps were important. Unfortunately, the one person who could give her the answers she needed was the last person she wanted to talk to.

      She opened her purse and took out a prescription for antianxiety medication that she’d filled for Sarah the day before. Ever since Sarah’s split from Bobby, she’d had trouble sleeping and concentrating. The meds took the edge off and allowed her to act normal even though she didn’t feel normal. “I want you to take this,” she said, and placed a pill in Sarah’s hand. “I need to know everything you can think of. In order to be helpful, you need to be refreshed and calm. While the medicine is doing its job, I want you to take a hot shower.”

      Sarah opened her mouth to protest, but Alex held up a hand to stop her. “I’m saying this as your doctor. No arguments.”

      Sarah looked at Alex, her expression wavering between wanting to comply and wanting to argue, then she glanced over at Holt and sighed. “Fine.”

      Alex rose from the table and pushed a glass of water closer to Sarah. Sarah placed the pill in her mouth and took a big drink, her hand shaking a bit as she lowered the glass back to the table. Her cousin rose from the table and hugged Alex.

      “I feel better already because you’re here,” Sarah said. “You’re the smartest person I know. You’ll find Erika.” Sarah broke off the hug and trudged down the hall toward her bedroom.

      Alex stared after her, trying to keep her own heart from breaking over the situation. She and Sarah had been born only a month apart and were more like sisters than cousins. She and Erika were the only family Alex had left since her own parents had died in a car wreck twelve years before. The day Erika was born, Alex had been almost as proud as Sarah, and to think of that little girl, taken from her home, was beyond upsetting. But one of them had to remain calm and collected, and that role almost always fell to Alex.

      She looked over at Holt, who was leaning against the kitchen counter. “I need you to tell me exactly what is going on. No speculation or your uncle’s gossip. Cold, hard facts are all I’m interested in.”

      Holt smiled. “Cold was never in your vocabulary when I knew you. Hard … well, that’s a whole other story.”

      Alex felt a flush rise up her neck. “And one that will not be remembered or relived now or at any other time. A little girl is missing. Her mother is frantic. Surely, you can tell me something.”

      Holt’s expression changed from teasing to serious.

      “Sarah called the sheriff’s office this afternoon in a panic. I came out here to see what was up, then followed up on the leads. What she told you is correct. I talked to the friend’s mother and she verified the story. I checked with the other neighbors, but no one saw Erika.”

      “Then why haven’t you formed a search party? Do I have to remind you that not a hundred yards from the backyard of this house is the swamp?”

      “It rained the past couple of days. I walked a two-mile stretch of the tree line and never saw a single footprint. So unless Erika walked beyond that before entering the swamp, that’s not where she is.”

      Alex nodded, not wanting to admit that so far, everything Holt said made sense. “And this theory about Bobby taking Erika?”

      “Pretty much everyone knows about the split between Bobby and Sarah and what caused it, so the sheriff thought I better check with Bobby before sending out an alert and panicking the town.” He looked down the hallway for a second then back at Alex. “Is she all right … mentally, I mean?”

      “She was angry over Bobby’s cheating, and rightly so, and she’s clearly upset now and perhaps in a bit of shock. But given the circumstances, I don’t see anything wrong with her reactions.”

      “So she’s sane?”

      Alex bristled. “I can’t discuss a client’s medical condition with you. I’ve already said more than I should have.”

      “So