Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
“Don’t feel bad honey. None of us knows anybody’s number these days. Are you hungry? How about I fix you up a plate of food while you remember?”
I nodded, unsure if my stomach was strong enough for food, but if I went back out on the street, Poe would be there. That much, I knew.
“Sure, that would be great Ronda.”
She was right about one thing; I didn’t know any number but Bonnie’s and hers rang and rang. A quick online search and I found one of the phone numbers for Virgil’s house. A man answered.
“Virgil?”
“No. Virgil isn’t here at the moment.”
Shit. “Uhm, can you give me his cell phone number?” The man was silent but he hadn’t ended the call so I sucked in a deep breath and explained.
“My name is Maisie and I lost my phone—”
“Maisie? Tell me where you are and Oliver will you retrieve you right away.”
A smart woman would have taken the lifeline, but a wiser woman would be cautious.
“Thanks, but do I know you?”
“Thomas, Sadie’s right hand man.”
Ah, his snooty, no nonsense behavior made a lot more sense now. I rattled off where I was and heard beeps, texting maybe, then Thomas said Oliver was already on his way.
“Thank you, Thomas.” I breathed.
“You’re welcome, Maisie.” There was amusement in his tone as the call ended, and I sank against the small table beside the walk-in freezer.
“Thanks, Ronda. My friend is coming for me.”
I wished it were Virgil coming, but Oliver was a nice man, and I knew I’d be safe with him.
At least I hoped so.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Virgil
“You’ll find her, won’t you?” Maisie’s friend Bonnie stared up at me with giant, guileless eyes that were, once again, on the fucking verge of tears.
I looked over the hood of my car at the woman Maisie described as her best friend, the one who introduced her to church.
“I’ll burn this fucking city to the ground to find her if I have to, Bonnie.”
Her eyes widened and for a moment, I thought my intensity scared her, but her lips quirked into the first grin I’d seen from her since I picked her up.
“Oh wow, you like her. Like really like her.” She surprised the hell out of me by laughing. “I can’t wait to see this play out.” The laughter slowly died as if she suddenly remembered everything.
“Thank you, Virgil.”
“No problem,” I grunted her and grabbed her bag from the back seat.
“Let’s get you settled.” She nodded and said nothing as we walked the stone path that led to our front door.
“Ashby Manor,” she said on an awestruck sigh. “It’s so beautiful.”
“It’s home,” I told her with a shrug.
“No, this is a piece of architectural perfection. It’s even more gorgeous at night.” Shaking her head morosely as if realizing once again, why she was here, Bonnie looked up at me. “Sorry. I ramble when I’m nervous.”
“Don’t worry about it. You hungry?”
“I don’t even know.”
Bonnie had the shell-shocked look of a woman thrown into the deep end, a fact that comforted me because it meant she realized how serious this shit was.
“Thanks.”
“You already said that.”
She laughed again. “Nerves.”
Inside the house, Jasper, Sadie and Kat were in the living room waiting for us, with Thomas hovering in the background.
“This is Bonnie,” I grunted at them.
I could tell she was overwhelmed, by everything, the murder, Maisie’s disappearance, the house, my family. So, I eased Bonnie into the room with my hand lightly on her shoulder.
“Bonnie, this is my mom, Sadie. My brother, Jasper, and my sister, Kat. Calvin is around here somewhere.”
“And what about me?” I recognized that voice as well as any of my own siblings because he was as good as a brother, to me and certainly to Jasper. Terry waved from inside the foyer just beyond and smiled at Bonnie.
She gasped and hid behind me, which made Kat groan.
“It’s all right Bonnie, he’s one of us.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“Thomas,” Sadie called out impatiently. “Can you get our guest settled into her room? Kat, go with them.”
She nodded in the direction where Thomas had already escorted Bonnie off, toward the main staircase and under her breath said, “See if you can find out anything else, Kat.”
I shook my head, my gaze settled on Ma’s.
“No. Just keep her calm. I got everything out of her she could remember, but between the death of her priest and listening to the kidnapping of her best friend, the girl is barely hanging on.”
I couldn’t imagine how civilians shook this shit off because I knew I never could.
Sadie sighed again, having little patience for uncontrollable emotions.
“Give her a Xanax if you have to, since the goody two shoes probably never smoked weed in her life.”
Ma shook her head and turned back to Jasper and me. And Terry.
“Where’s Cal?” He was supposed to be digging up any and everything we could find that would help us locate Maisie.