wondered what she was hiding, but he hadn’t pushed for answers.
He should have.
“We don’t know. We’re hoping that you might be able to help shed some light on that.”
“You don’t think my brother had something to do with it?!” Jenna exclaimed, her eyes flashing with irritation.
“Mr. Dougherty isn’t a suspect, but we’re hoping that he may have seen something—”
“What’s going on? Is Ms. Tennyson okay?” Eli peered out of the bedroom, his hair mussed. Barely four feet tall and probably less than fifty pounds, Eli looked younger than nine, but his eyes were old and filled with anxiety.
“She should be fine,” the deputy responded, smiling kindly at Eli. “We just wanted to ask your father a few questions.”
“But you said she was attacked. That means someone hurt her.” Eli stepped out of the room, his pajamas hanging loosely on his thin frame.
“Maybe you and the deputy should discuss this somewhere else,” Jenna suggested, shooting a look in Eli’s direction.
She was right, of course. Discussing what had happened to Eli’s favorite teacher while he was listening wasn’t a good idea, but leaving Eli seemed like an even worse one to Kane.
He knew it was irrational, knew that Eli would be fine with Jenna for however long it took to answer Deputy Lesnever’s questions, but knowing it in his head and believing it with his heart were two different things. “Why don’t you go back in the bedroom, Eli? I’ll come in after the deputy and I are done talking and let you know what’s going on.”
“She’s not okay. If she was okay, you wouldn’t make me go away while you talk.”
“Of course she’s okay. Deputy Lesnever wouldn’t lie, would you, Deputy?” Jenna said, moving close to Eli and putting an arm around his shoulders.
“No, I wouldn’t. She’s fine. The doctors are keeping her in the hospital overnight for observation, but she’ll probably be going home tomorrow.”
“She’s in the hospital? But you said she was all right!” Eli’s voice rose an octave, and he shrugged away from Jenna’s arm.
“She is, but—”
“I really think you should discuss this somewhere else,” Jenna said again, and this time Kane knew he had to listen. Eli had been through enough. He didn’t need to hear details about what had happened to Maggie.
“How about we step out in the hall?”
“I’d rather not stand in a public area. We can discuss things in my patrol car.”
Kane hesitated, then nodded. He couldn’t be near Eli 24/7 no matter how much he wanted to. Normalcy had to be established. Routine. If Kane hovered, he might do more damage to his already-damaged child.
“Will you go see Ms. Tennyson?” Eli asked.
“I don’t think—”
“Please, Daddy. I just want to know for sure that she’s all right.” Daddy?
The word brought Kane back five years to the morning of Eli’s disappearance. He’d kissed his son goodbye before heading to the office, smiling when his son shouted, “I love you, Daddy!” as Kane closed the apartment door and left him with the nanny.
He hadn’t heard the word again until now, and hearing it filled him with a bittersweet mixture of joy and sorrow.
“I can’t leave you here alone, Eli.”
“He won’t be alone, Kane. I’m here, and I promise this is where we’ll both stay. No going anywhere except to bed. Right, Eli?” Jenna offered, and Eli nodded his agreement. Kane hesitated, his thoughts going back to the old farmhouse and the woman who owned it. Maggie Tennyson had done what no one else had dared. She’d listened to Eli, dug for answer and found them. Now she was in the hospital, and Kane knew he couldn’t ignore the fact any more than he could ignore his son’s impassioned plea.
“Okay. I’ll go, but you have to mind your aunt while I’m gone. No wandering around outside. Okay?”
Eli nodded, his desire to communicate with Kane gone now that he’d achieved his goal.
Had he spent the past five years as silently as he’d spent the past day? Or had he formed a connection with his kidnapper, spent afternoons after school chatting and weekends hanging out and discussing plans for the new week?
Wondering how Eli had spent the past five years would torture Kane if he let it. He couldn’t let it. He stepped over and hugged Eli, his heart aching as Eli stiffened in his arms. “Goodnight, buddy. I love you.”
Eli didn’t respond, just turned and walked back into the bedroom.
Kane bit back a sigh, and met Jenna’s eyes. “I won’t be long.”
“Take your time. We’ll be fine while you’re gone.”
“Thanks. Get some sleep. Okay.” He dropped a kiss on Jenna’s cheek and followed the deputy out into the hall.
“Sorry to drag you away from your son like this, Mr. Dougherty.”
“Call me Kane, and don’t worry about it. I’m happy to help with the investigation any way I can, though I’m not sure there’s much I can tell you.”
“Whatever you remember from when you were out at the house will be just fine.”
They walked out into the icy storm, crossed the parking lot to the deputy’s cruiser and climbed in. If there were reporters hanging around, Kane didn’t see any, but, then, even the most diehard reporters were probably tucked away in their hotel rooms sleeping at this hour of the morning.
Kane waited impatiently as the deputy pulled out a notebook and tried two different pens before finally finding one that worked. “Okay, I’m set. Did you see anything or anyone while you were at Maggie’s place?”
“Just the tow truck driver.”
“Tow truck driver?”
“He was dropping off Maggie’s car. It had slid off the road and into a ditch.”
“Did you get the name of the driver?”
“Maggie mentioned the name Adam, but I’m not sure that was him.”
“Was he still there when you left?”
“No, and he never even spoke to Maggie. Just left the car and took off.”
“And you saw no one else?”
“No. There wasn’t a car on the road on my way back here. It’s not a good night to be out.”
“It isn’t, but that didn’t stop you and someone else from getting to Maggie’s place.”
“You
