you saw the open window then?”
She nodded. “Then I saw that Ruby wasn’t in her bed.” Tears trickled down her cheeks, and she brushed them away. “I called her name but she didn’t answer, and I panicked and flipped on the light. Then I saw the bear and the note.”
And sheer terror had ripped through her.
“The police questioned the staff and vendors at the fair, didn’t they?”
She nodded. “No one saw anything.”
And the feds hadn’t turned up anything suspicious on them. They speculated that a vacationer or someone traveling through might have seen her, followed her home and absconded with her in the night. Obviously, whoever had kidnapped her hadn’t drawn anyone’s attention.
“Did you have a gardener or any workers—repairmen, cable guys, anybody like that—in before the kidnapping?”
She massaged her temple. “No. I mow my own lawn, and I don’t remember any strange workers being in the neighborhood. I certainly hadn’t hired any.”
“I know the police already questioned the neighbors, but I’d like to do that myself.” He looked at her, hard. “But first, I have to ask you, Leah. Can you think of anyone else who’d kidnap Ruby? Her father—”
“Our father died before she was born,” Leah said, cutting him off. “You know that, Gage.”
He stared at her for so long that she started to fidget in her seat. “I just thought that maybe your mother had met someone else….”
“Heavens, no. My mother was always faithful to my dad.”
But Leah’s dad wasn’t Ruby’s. Had Gage somehow discovered their secret?
“HOW LONG HAVE YOU been back in Sanctuary?” Gage asked.
She fisted her hands in her lap. “Since my mother died three months ago.”
“Where did you live before that?”
“In a condo in Atlanta. I was teaching there, but decided to move back to my mom’s house. I thought that would make the transition easier for Ruby.”
“How did you feel about giving up your job and moving?”
Anger flared in her eyes. “What are you implying? That I didn’t want Ruby?”
“I’m just asking,” he said brusquely. “You were on a career path, a good-looking single woman, and now your plans are ruined, and you’re saddled with a child to raise.”
She lurched up, eyes blazing with rage. But anguish darkened the depths, as well. “I’m not ‘saddled with a child,’” she said vehemently. “I would do anything for Ruby. I love her with all my heart.”
He wanted to reach out and touch her, calm her. She was trembling so badly that tears spilled down her face again.
“Then come on, Leah.” His voice was razor sharp cutting through her, dredging up the guilt. “I know you’re hiding something. Do you have any enemies? Maybe an old boyfriend or lover who’d want to hurt you by kidnapping your sister?”
LEAH ALMOST LAUGHED out loud. She hadn’t had a boyfriend since high school. And she certainly hadn’t had a lover.
Too much guilt and shame from the past had haunted her. And trust didn’t come easy. Not after what had happened the night of that horrible party eight years ago.
The party she’d attended in hopes of being with Gage. Only he hadn’t shown.
But she didn’t intend to tell Gage about that night. It was the deepest, most painful, humiliating, well-guarded secret of her life. Besides, it had nothing to do with Ruby’s disappearance.
It was in the past and it had to stay there.
Ruby was all that mattered now. She had to get her back safely. And then she’d never let her out of her sight again.
“Leah?” His voice startled her back to the present. “Is there an old boyfriend or lover who might want to hurt you?”
“No, no one.”
“You know something, don’t you?”
She lifted her gaze to his. If she discovered a connection, something concrete to make her believe the past was related to Ruby’s disappearance, she’d break her promise and tell him. But she’d confronted Charlie when Ruby first went missing and he’d assured her no one would gamble with their futures when she’d kept her vow of silence.
“I told you everything I know,” she said, fear making her voice wobble.
A heartbeat of tension passed between them, and her insides churned with worry as he studied her. Then he gave a clipped nod. “The feds put a tap on your phone?”
“Yes, but the kidnapper never called.”
“I’m going to hook into your phone, too, just in case. Then I want to talk to your neighbors.” He hesitated. “Meanwhile, I want you to take a stab at making a list of anyone you can think of that might have a grudge against you. Anyone with a motive to hurt you or Ruby. Think about your school and the locals—maybe a parent or teacher who paid special attention to Ruby—and even people in Atlanta.”
Leah’s heart sank. “But I’ve already been through all this.”
“I know, but you might remember something new, even a small detail that might not have seemed significant at the time. How about a woman or man who’d lost a child recently?”
She felt a rush of adrenaline. “There is a woman who lost her daughter a few months ago, a runaway teen.” Her gaze swung to his, panicked but hopeful. If this woman had Ruby, she wouldn’t harm her. “She always said that Ruby reminded her of her little girl. I didn’t think of it before—I felt sorry for her.”
“Write down her contact information,” Gage said. “I’ll check her out along with that father you mentioned earlier.”
She nodded, anxious for him to take action. How strange, after all this time, that Gage would come to help her. If he brought Ruby back, she’d more than forgive him for abandoning her that night to her awful fate. She’d forgive everything if it meant having Ruby back, safe and sound.
Chapter Four
Gage looked at the names he’d written down. Dr. Donnie Burkham, the man whose son was bruised, and Carmel Foster, the woman whose daughter had run away.
He’d visit them after he canvassed the neighborhood and stopped by the police station to see just how hard Driscill had searched for Ruby. And to find out if there were any registered sex offenders in the area.
He had to consider all possibilities.
Since it was Saturday, he found most of the ten residents on Leah’s street at home. Many of the homeowners were older, empty nesters, and three of the houses were rentals.
