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As he touched his pen to the paper, the inner office door opened and McHenry strode out. He stopped in front of Eric’s desk.

“Heard anything yet on the missing kid?”

Eric straightened and set his pen aside, glad he hadn’t written anything yet regarding the mayor. “No. I’ve followed up with his friends and teachers. They all insist they haven’t seen him since before his mom OD’d. And no one has called in any tips. He seemsto have vanished.” How was he staying hidden so well? He had to eat. Had to have somewhere to sleep. Did he have a friend covering for him?

The chief shook his head. “The whole situation’s unfortunate. At least we know he’s alive and missing of his own volition—or was as of Sunday night.”

Eric suppressed a grimace. McHenry’s tone didn’t imply he blamed him for Dion’s second disappearance, but it didn’t have to. He blamed himself. If he’d been more attuned to the situation or taken better precautions, Dion might be safe right now.

McHenry tapped the desk. “Keep me posted on the situation.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, the chief headed for the door, leaving Eric alone in the building.

Since Dion’s situation was fresh in his mind, he jotted his thoughts and questions on that subject before turning his attention back to Mayor Jennings. To be safe, he headed the pageMJ. Not wildly imaginative, but if someone happened to glimpse his notes, it wouldn’t garner as much attention as it would if he used the man’s name.

After transcribing a shorthand version of his questions, he sighed. There wasn’t much to go on. What he really needed was to dig into the mayor’s background, associates, and financials, but he could only go so far without a warrant. And there was the risk of tipping him off—or tipping the chief off, which might have the same result.

A buzzing from his personal phone interrupted that line of thought. He tugged it from his belt and checked the screen. Bryce. He was surprised his friend was still talking to him. Blowing out a breath, he swiped the screen to answer.

“Hello.”

Bryce cut right to the chase. “I need to know what you know about Allye’s situation. She gave us the basics, but I want to hear it from you. How much danger is she in?”

“To be honest, I don’t know.” He glanced at his notebook. “At the very least, she’s on the bad side of a man who has no qualms about murder. But this whole situation is bizarre. He could have killed her multiple times over and didn’t.”

“And yet he’s resorted to threats against the family.”

“Yes.”

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“Not at all. We’re missing something—probably several somethings—and I don’t know what they are.”

“Now that we know, Corina and I will both be keeping an eye on our surroundings. I don’t like leaving Allye alone, but she’s stubbornly refusing to stay with us or let us stay with her. If the threat hadn’t included Corina, I think I could have talked her into letting me camp at her place for a few nights, but that’s a no-go now.”

He could see that. It fit Allye’s desire to protect everyone else, even if it meant putting herself in greater danger. And leaving Corina alone could be just as dangerous a scenario as what they were currently facing. At least Corina was armed. As far as he knew, Allye wasn’t.

“I’ll see if whoever’s on nights will make a point to drive by, and I’ll swing by there as often as I can. I know I’m the last person she wants to see right now, but perhaps the frequent police presence will be a deterrent to anyone watching.” It was the least he could do.

“I’d appreciate it.” A pause stretched across the line. When Bryce cleared his throat, Eric braced himself for the redirection. “By the way, Allye isn’t your parents. They chose their path and defied anyone who tried to help them off it. Allye didn’t choose to get sick, and I can guarantee you she’s going to fight whatever it is with all she has.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I know.”

“Then tell her that.”

“It’d be a lot easier if she’d answer my calls.”

Bryce huffed a humorless laugh. “If that’s what you’re waiting for, you’re going to be waiting awhile. You hurt her, and she’s probably afraid that either you’re going to bite her head off again or that she’s going to takeyourhead off if she picks up.”

He shifted the phone to his other ear. “So are you telling me to back off and let her cool down?”

“No. You deserve to have your head bitten off.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime. Seriously, you need to apologize before she makes up her mind you aren’t trustworthy. Once Allye gets that in her head, it’s game over for any chance of a relationship between you two. But you’re going to have to get her to listen, and it probably isn’t going to happen by phone.”