FORTY-FOUR
Breathless, Nathan rushed up to the crime scene tape surrounding Erin’s home. He’d had to park several houses down since law enforcement had the entire neighborhood blocked off. Emergency lights still flashed, though sirens had been shut off. Darkness had fallen, leaving street and porch lights to illuminate the crime scene.
While he’d been jawing with Trevor, Erin and her mother had been attacked, coming under gunfire. He didn’t have the full story yet and wasn’t sure he was brave enough to hear it. Each breath he took felt like a knife to his heart.
He stared at the bullet hole–laden front of the house. A leaden ball of shock crushed him.
Oh, Lord. What happened here?
Terra and Jack both stood on the other side of the crime scene tape but kept their distance from the house, their features grim. Nathan ducked under the tape. Before he made it far, Officer Flannery with the local Big Rapids PD thrust a clipboard at him. “Gotta keep on top of the scene, Campbell.”
Nathan quickly signed it and made a beeline for Jack and Terra. Neither of them said anything as he approached, because there were no words. He got that. Instead, they shared looks of shock and grief. From here, he got a much better look at the destruction, and gulped for air.
How could Erin have survived? Nathan couldn’t form words to even ask the question. His limbs quaked with fear. He had to find her. Wanting to see the inside of the house, Nathan rushed forward, but Jack stood in his path and gripped his arms.
“Get ahold of yourself, man,” Jack said.
“Where is she?” Nathan demanded.
His detective counterpart and friend tightened his hold. “She’s not in the house. I’ve already walked through once and will go back in after the bodies are removed.”
“Bodies?” Nathan braced himself for the rest.
“Yes. Two unidentified men were found inside the house. The gunmen, I presume. We learned some of what happened from Celia’s neighbor Delmar Wilson. By the way, Deputy Atkins, who had just relieved Deputy Blaine, is in critical condition in the hospital. He’s fortunate to be alive.”
A team of evidence techs arrived along with Emmett Hildebrand, the county coroner. Each donned the required sterile attire before entering. Nathan watched as if in a daze. Jack tugged both Nathan and Terra over to the side, farther away from the house.
“And what exactly did you learn?” Grief swelled in his gut as he stared at the hole blown through the front door. “What happened here? Where are they?”
Jack leaned closer. “The neighbors heard gunfire. Saw some men descend on the house.”
“What about Celia? Had she come home yet? Do we know if she’s missing too?”
“Mr. Wilson next door said Celia had come home. He saw the men approaching, and it all happened fast. He called 911. He also claims Erin and Celia didn’t leave with the men when they left. Apparently, there were five in total. Two are dead and three left.”
“Then where are the women? What if the men took them and Delmar somehow missed that?”
“I don’t have the answer. I just know we have to find them.” Jack stared at the house.
“Oh, Nathan.” Terra’s eyes welled with tears—the professional façade slipping away—as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Nathan. Jack squeezed his shoulder.
He held Terra and closed his eyes, sending up a silent prayer begging for Erin’s safety.
Terra stepped away and swiped at her tears. “We’re going to find her, Nathan. Don’t worry.”
Nathan struggled to comprehend Terra’s reaction. She and Jack were as close to Erin, closer even, than Nathan, yet they seemed to be reassuring him. But then again, Terra and Jack probably recognized that Nathan still loved Erin. He was coming to that realization much too late or, rather, finally admitting the truth to himself. He had no control over his heart, and none of it mattered at this moment. He had to find Erin, no matter his feelings for her.
Terra’s eyes brightened as she glanced beyond Nathan. She rushed over to the yellow tape, where she met up with Alex Knight. He ducked under the tape and signed in. Terra dragged him over to join their huddle. Nathan had overheard Erin’s conversation with Terra earlier today that Alex had come back to town.
Hands in his pockets, Alex lifted his chin in acknowledgment. “Nathan.”
Nathan easily recognized the anger that burned in the man’s gaze. Supposedly Alex had been like an older brother to both Terra and Erin. And wasn’t he some sort of special agent? Jack was former FBI. Maybe with their added efforts, they could pull out all the stops and find Erin.
“What can I do to help?” Alex asked.
“We have to find Erin and her mother.” And Nathan was just about done standing here. “Even if what Wilson said is true, and the men after them—let’s just call them what they are, mob gangsters—left without the women, they’re still out there somewhere searching for them.”
Just like they had been for years. Much longer than either Erin or Nathan had realized until today.