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She glanced to Nate and felt a flutter in her belly that had nothing to do with her sister. “Rita used to hide her emergency money in a book. She said it was the last place a burglar would look for it.” Hopefully, in this case, her sister was right.

“Any particular one?” Nate asked.

“I have no idea.” She picked up the one at the end of the top shelf. “I guess we’ll just have to check each one until we get lucky.”

Half an hour later, they’d flipped through almost every book in the case and had only found a handful of twenties.

Dorcas closed a paperback with a heavily creased spine and placed it back on the shelf. “Sorry. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Don’t be sorry. It was worth a shot.” Sitting crossed-legged on the floor, Nate picked up the last book in his stack and started thumbing through the pages. “Besides, you were right; she had stuff hidden in there. It’s just not what we’re looking for.”

“Yeah, but it kept us from doing something productive that might have led us to Rita.”

“Like what? We’ve spoken to the police. Twice. We’ve gone through her things with a fine-toothed comb. Hell, we even grilled the nosy neighbor.” His voice softened with understanding. “I get it; you’re worried. You want to find your sister. I want to find her too. But most of the time investigative work doesn’t move as fast as you see on television. It can be tedious, and you run into a lot of dead ends. The best thing to do is explore every lead, no matter how insignificant it seems. And don’t lose hope.”

“I know. I’m just—it’s been a long day, and I didn’t sleep well, and I’m worried about my sister.” Dorcas blew out an unsteady breath, her mind a mash of emotions. Frustration. Anger. Concern. And above all that, a growing sense of panic that she might never see her sister again.

Nate got up, crossed to where she stood, and wrapped his arms around her. There wasn’t anything sexual about the gesture; it was clearly meant to comfort, and yet it stirred feelings inside her that were totally inappropriate. Closing her eyes, she leaned into his strength, and the feel of his arms, the scent of his skin, soothed her frazzled nerves.

“We’ll find her, Dorcas,” he said, and she believed him.

“I just hope we find her alive. If we don’t...oh, God, it’ll kill my mother.” It would kill her too, but it was easier to think in terms of someone else. It added a layer of emotional distance that helped her keep it together.

“You’ve got to stay positive, babe. I put Nina on the case this morning. She’s like a bloodhound when it comes to sniffing out electronic footprints—credit card purchases; ATM withdrawals; email activity. Stuff like that. You’d be amazed what she and Larissa can find when they set their minds to it.”

The prospect gave Dorcas a glimmer of hope. She pulled back far enough to look up at him. “You really think she can find Rita?”

“If there’s been any activity on your sister’s accounts, she’ll find it. Guaranteed.”

From what Dorcas had heard, Nina was a badass with computers, but it was the unwavering conviction in Nate’s voice that put her mind at ease.

Her gaze flicked up, meeting his, and her heart fluttered as she stared into those dark, compelling eyes. She felt mesmerized, unable to look away, like a deer caught in the headlights. The moment stretched between them, her spine tingling, blood heating, with each beat of her pulse. It took every last ounce of her willpower to break the spell and lower her gaze.

Nate stepped back from their embrace, and she immediately missed the feel of him. “It’s late. We better get going. If you want, we can come back in the morning and finish cleaning up.”

“Yeah, I’d like that. Thanks.”

She should probably take care of the carpet tonight, but she’d already taken so much of Nate’s time and she didn’t want to keep him here any longer. She’d stop by the store and pick up the supplies, and hopefully, the carpet wouldn’t be too disgusting tomorrow morning.

Nate crossed to the kitchen to turn off the light, but then he froze, his hand on the switch. A frown pulled his eyebrows together as he stared down at the counter.

“What’s wrong?”

“Phone book.”

“What about it?”

“I can’t remember the last time I saw one. It’s not something people use much anymore.” He glanced up at her, and she could practically hear the gears shifting in his head. “All of your sister’s electronics are state-of-the-art. She doesn’t even own a landline. And yet she keeps a copy of the Yellow Pages on her kitchen counter. Kind of odd, don’t you think?”

Now that he mentioned it, it was kind of weird. Try as she might, Dorcas couldn’t remember ever seeing her sister use it. Like most people her age, if she needed a number, she just looked it up on her phone or her laptop, whichever was more readily available. “You don’t think—”

“It’s worth a shot.”

Nate flipped through the pages so fast that the names and numbers were a blur. But then Dorcas saw something as he neared the end of the book.

“Wait, go back.”

Slowly, he turned back the pages until he reached what she’d spotted.