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Bent pulled out his own cell and called the hospital. He identified himself and then said, “I need whoever’s in charge in the ER.” Half a minute later he had the doctor in charge on the line. “I need an update on a patient just brought in, Fisher Owens.” A few seconds were required for the doctor to get the information. Bent then thanked him and ended the call.

“Owens is conscious but in psychosis. They had to sedate him. We can’t talk to him until he’s on the other side.”

Vee bit her lip. “Which could take a few hours or a few days. Maybe weeks.”

“Meanwhile, we’ll search the entire property and the surrounding area.”

“Just one thing.” She cleared her throat. “There may be photos on the phone.”

Bent’s eyebrows went up. “I’m guessing so. Most folks have photos on their cell phones.”

“No.” Vee shook her head. “I mean photos with LR. Photos that could damage his career, as well as Nolan’s.”

Bent got it now. He looked at the phone. “We need a passcode. His mother may know it.”

“Is it all right if I check with the boyfriend first?”

Bent was stunned. Was she asking for his permission? Wow. This was a first. “Why not?”

Vee stared at him kind of funny. “Okay. I’ll give him a call.” She stepped away from the shed.

While she spoke quietly to the boyfriend, Bent spotted headlights bobbing through the trees. That would be Conover.

“It’s zero-zero-zero-zero,” Vee said, drawing Bent’s attention back to her.

He entered the passcode, and sure enough, that was it. He passed the phone to Vee. “You know what you’re looking for.” When she pulledon a glove and reached for the phone, he held on to it for a moment. “Just make sure you don’t delete anything we need.”

“Never,” she promised.

By the time she’d done a quick perusal, the forensic crew had parked and were climbing out of the vehicle.

“Nolan is smart,” she said, passing the phone back to Bent. “He has very few photos on there, and the ones he does have are related to stories he’s working on. FYI, he has a photo of the wall in that bedroom—exactly the way it is now.” She pointed to the shack Owens called home.

Which meant Nolan had been here since Bent’s visit.

Maybe the ambitious reporter was only following up on a lead. But then, Bent had already let both Nolan and Elizabeth know there was nothing to be concerned about with Owens. Evidently, someone wanted him to believe he was wrong.

Bent wasn’t particularly worried about that right now. Keeton had said in his statement that Baker had his phone with him last night when they’d arrived at the old hospital. Which would mean the device ended up at this locationafterhis abduction.

There was only one conclusion to be reached from there: someone was lying.

11

Boyett FarmGood Hollow Road, Fayetteville, 10:30 p.m.

Vera sat in her SUV. She’d been sitting here for a while now. The cold had overtaken the warmth and had her on the verge of shaking. She should go inside. She should eat. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since ... she frowned. She had no idea. Maybe breakfast. Had she eaten breakfast? Yes, at Bent’s.

Evidently her memory was failing now that she was so very near forty. The new treadmill she’d ordered for Christmas was turning into more of a clothes rack than a workout feature for her room. She was getting soft. Complacent.

And desperate.

It had been a really long time since she’d been physically intimate. Back in Memphis she’d had Eric Jones. He was a colleague in the department and a good friend, had been for years, before she moved back to Fayetteville. The couple thing hadn’t worked out, but being friends had suited them. They had been friends first, long before the other development. Until she moved to Fayetteville, she could rely on Eric at times like this—when she really needed a thorough,physicalworkout.

Bent’s image filled her head, and she closed her eyes. Going down that road with him would not be smart at all. There was too much history between them. They were better, sort of, at the friends thing.No matter that Bent was an incredibly good-looking man and had the sexiest voice she’d ever heard. God, and those blue eyes.

Vera closed her own and fought the wave of need.

The memories of their many secret rendezvous all those years ago rolled through her mind like a favorite old movie.