Debra Webb - Missing

Now she was missing. After five days Melissa feared the worst.

A lump rose, tightening her throat. Please, God, don’t let that sweet baby be hurt.

As if her agony had summoned him, William came up beside her. “The chief sent me home.”

Melissa turned to her brother. He looked beyond exhausted. She knew full well the agony she felt was nothing compared to what he suffered. Polly was his first and only child. He loved her more than life itself. He’d done everything in his power to give her a good life—in spite of the difficulties he and his wife had in their marriage.

The whole town despised Presley. Whispered ugly things behind William’s back when he’d announced that he and Presley were to be married. Melissa wasn’t blind or stupid. She knew full well the stories, some all too true, that traveled the gossip circuit on a regular basis about her sister-in-law. But Melissa chose to give Presley the benefit of the doubt. Everyone deserved a second chance and Presley’d had a rough go of it as a kid. William loved her. That was enough for Melissa.

“Presley was sleeping,” William said, his voice weak with fatigue and fierce worry. “I didn’t want to bother her so I came here.”

Melissa’s chest tightened. Whatever anyone thought of Presley, she worshipped Polly. As much of a nightmare as this was for her, Melissa couldn’t begin to fathom how Presley felt. “You need sleep, too.” She brushed the back of her hand across his shadowed jaw. He felt cold despite the unseasonably warm weather. “You can’t help Polly if you’re too worn out to think straight.”

William shook his head. “I can’t bear to sleep.” Emotion glistened in his bloodshot eyes. “Who would do this?” His lips trembled. “Who would take my baby?” He dropped his head.

The sheer agony in his voice tore at Melissa’s heart. Just looking at him brought images of Polly to mind. The little girl had her daddy’s blond hair and blue eyes. She was a little duplicate of him and she’d brought so much joy to their lives.

The loud chime of the doorbell echoed through the too-quiet house.

Melissa’s and William’s gazes locked.

What if they’d found Polly or…Melissa swallowed tightly…her body?

Dear God, no, no, no. Don’t let that be.

Melissa pulled her bravado up off the floor and wrapped it around her. “They would’ve called,” she said aloud. That was right. She let the air seep back into her lungs. “If they’d found her, they would’ve called.” The courage she’d dredged up and the words she’d spoken for her brother’s benefit did nothing to slow the thundering in her chest.

William nodded. “Guess so.”

The chime echoed a second time. “Stay here.” Melissa squeezed his arm. “I’ll see who it is.”

She turned from her brother, her heart somehow rising into her throat while it continued to pound frantically, and started toward the living room. The dishes she’d intended to wash when she’d come into the kitchen still waited, but she didn’t care. It was difficult to keep her mind on anything except Polly.

Chief Talbot, the town’s chief of police since Melissa was a kid, had ordered Melissa back home this morning, too. He didn’t want her or William out there. Maybe because of what he feared finding or maybe just because they both looked like death warmed over.

At least the chief had allowed their Uncle Harry to continue helping with the search. Harry would call the instant he knew anything. He was practically a second father to her and William. He’d stepped in when their father was killed, taking over for the younger brother he’d adored. Melissa felt certain that was why he’d never married and had a family of his own. He’d been too busy taking care of his younger brother’s.

Holding her breath, Melissa opened the front door.

She’d braced for the appearance of one of Bay Minette’s finest or a family friend bearing bad news.

But not this. She wasn’t prepared for this.

Jonathan Foley.

The breath she’d been holding whispered past her lips, his name forming there without conscious thought. “Jonathan.”

“Melissa.”

The sound of his voice echoed through her being, made her soul ache with the need to reach out to him. He looked exactly the same. Tall with shoulders that filled the doorway. Thick black hair still military short. Chiseled jaw that gave the impression of unyielding stone. But it was the eyes that made her already pounding heart stumble drunkenly.

They were ice blue, so pale they were almost gray. She’d always been certain that he could see right through her. That he could read her every thought.

“I’ve been waiting for you to call.” She managed to keep her voice steady, which was an outright miracle.

“May I come in?”

Shaking off the shock and confusion, Melissa stepped back. “Of course.” Get your head together, girl.

Jonathan Foley stepped across the threshold and into her family home. Melissa’s breath deserted her once more. He was here. After nearly three years without a word, he was here.

He waited patiently, his eyes searching hers.

She summoned the courage that had apparently run for parts unknown. “I’m glad you came.” It was the truth. She’d expected nothing more than a phone call but she was damned glad he was here. The urge to fall into his arms consumed her again.

“Has there been any word on your niece?”

Melissa moved her head side to side. The movement felt stiff and jerky with the tension ruthlessly gripping her neck.

Silence pressed against her, filled the room for half a dozen beats of her aching heart.

She gave herself a mental kick. “Please sit.” She gestured to the sofa and chairs. Wherever he lived now, whatever his job or personal status, he’d come to Alabama to help her family. For that she felt immensely grateful.

He waited for her to take a seat first, then he settled in the chair directly across from her position on the sofa. Old, well-worn, the sofa had been around since she was a kid. The upholstery had changed a couple of times, ending up a wild mix of pink and red flowers against a green and white background. Her mother had picked it out and Melissa didn’t have the heart to change it.

Jonathan considered her a moment, his posture straight and rigid as if he expected a general to enter the room at any moment and he might have to jump to his feet and salute. His forearms rested along the length of the chair arms, his hands palms down, his long fingers extended as if that were the only part of him fully relaxed. Then he finally spoke. “She’s been missing for five days?”

“Yes.” That sinking feeling that bottomed out in her stomach each time Melissa thought about sweet little Polly out there alone or worse dropped like a stone deep into her belly now. “They’re continuing to search for her.” She shook her head. “But they haven’t found anything yet.”

His gaze narrowed so very slightly that she might have missed the change if she hadn’t been staring so intently at him. “No suspects? No evidence discovered?”

“Nothing at all.” She clenched her fingers together and pressed her fists into her lap to prevent them from shaking.

“Has the FBI been called in to assist?”

Melissa had to really concentrate to pull the answer from the mass of painful and confusing information she’d attempted to process the past few days. “There was talk of someone coming from Montgomery.” What had the chief said? Her mind was a total blank! What was wrong with her? Taking a deep breath, she finally pieced it together. “I think a consult was done by phone.”

She waited for a response, physical or verbal, but he said nothing. Sat utterly still. Analyzing her answer, she supposed.