6
Drew strode into his quiet house, wondering where everyone had gone. Noel’s SUV hadn’t been parked out front and the living room was cast in long shadows from the setting sun.
“Anyone home?” he called out as he walked into the kitchen, flipping on the lights.
“We’re here,” Daisy said, standing in the kitchen doorway, holding Poppy’s hand.
“Hey. Where’s your mom?” Drew reached for the coffee pot, desperately needing a hit of caffeine after his long day at the station. It’d been one of those days where everything that could go wrong had. His deputy had been in a fender bender in the cruiser, the computers were down, and there was an altercation down by the river that had resulted in Drew getting an elbow to the eye. If he didn’t get ice on it, he’d for sure look like a raccoon in the morning.
“She, um, went to town, I think?” Daisy offered, her voice so tentative that Drew frowned.
“You seem unsure. Didn’t she tell you where she was going?” Drew took down a mug, impatient for his coffee to brew.
“No,” Poppy said, shaking her head. “She just left.”
Unease curled in his gut, and his muscles tensed. That unease he often felt on the job when something wasn’t right washed over him, making the hair stand up on his arms. If there was one thing he knew about Noel, it was that she would never just leave her children without so much as a word.
Something was wrong.
Seriously wrong.
He pulled out his phone and tapped her number. It rang four times before her voice mail kicked in. He immediately checked her location and furrowed his brow when her phone didn’t show up at all. Maybe her battery had died? When was the last time his wife had let that happen? Never, as far as he knew, not when she had a business to run and two daughters to care for. Drew met Daisy’s worried gaze. “How long ago did she leave?”
“About an hour.” Daisy bit down on her lower lip as she glanced down at her sister and then back at Drew. After repeating that cycle a few times, Drew got the message that she wanted to tell him something but didn’t want to say it in front of Poppy.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, holding his hand out to Poppy. “Can you do me a favor? Can you go put a sweater on Buffy? It’s supposed to be cooler tonight, and I don’t want her to be cold when I take her out.” The sweater wasn’t necessary, but it would keep Poppy occupied long enough for Drew to find out what was on Daisy’s mind.
“Okay.” Poppy disappeared down the hallway, calling, “Come on Buffy. It’s time to play dress up!”
Drew turned his attention to Daisy. “What’s going on?”
She hurried to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. With her head buried in his chest, she said, “I’m worried. Mom was acting weird before she left.”
“Weird how?”
“She brought Poppy to my room and asked us to stay inside because she was going to do some gardening and didn’t want Poppy outside in case she cast some spells.”
Drew frowned. “Gardening?” Because they’d just moved into the farmhouse, they hadn’t had time to get the planter boxes installed that Noel wanted. That was the next project he’d planned to tackle after the chicken coop. “Doing what?”
Daisy shrugged. “She didn’t say, but why would she be gardening when it was starting to get dark? And why would she be using spells?”
“Her air magic comes in handy. Maybe she wanted to rip something out,” Drew guessed. “She hates that thorny holly bush near the water spigot. She’s threatened to rip it out a few times.”
“I don’t know, Dad.” Daisy looked up at him, worry in her young face. “She just seemed off. I can’t explain it.”
Drew pulled Daisy in for one more hug and said, “Don’t worry. I’m sure she’s fine.” But as soon as he said the words, dread settled in his gut, and he knew right then something was seriously wrong.
“Buffy’s dressed and ready for her walk,” Poppy said as she bounded into the room with the small dog in her arms. Buffy was wearing a black sweater with little pink hearts all over it, and she had a bow in her hair.
Drew couldn’t help but smile at Poppy. The way she doted on the shih tzu was really sweet. But his smile quickly faded as he clipped on Buffy’s leash and told his girls, “I’m going to take Buffy out and then we’ll figure out what to do about dinner. I’m sure your mom is going to be hungry when she turns up.”
His forced optimism didn’t seem to move Daisy, but Poppy glanced at the kitchen counter and then back at Drew and asked, “Can we have cookies while we wait?”
“Sure, pumpkin,” Drew said absently.
“Thanks, Daddy.” She ran to the jar and pulled out two cookies.
Daisy gave her father a flat stare. “You know you’ve been had, right? Mom already let her have some.”
Drew ruffled Daisy’s hair and said, “It’s fine. And you don’t need to tattle on your sister all the time. Siblings should have each other’s backs,” he said with a wink.
“You’re going to change your mind when she’s bouncing off the walls in ten minutes.” Daisy walked out of the kitchen, shaking her head, and Drew had to admit that she likely had a point. But so did he.
The sound of the television blared from the other room and with Buffy’s leash in hand, he stepped outside. A shiver of dread washed over him, and in that moment, nothing mattered except finding his wife. “Come on, Buffy. Help me find Noel.”
The air was still and silent. There weren’t any critters chirping or the rustling sounds of wildlife. Just nothingness, and it unnerved him. Buffy stuck to his side, forgoing her usual sniffing around as she kept her ears back on high alert.
“What is it, Buffy?” Drew asked her. But the dog just pressed in closer to him, and he took it as a sign that she didn’t know what was making them both uneasy either.
After checking the holly tree and finding that it hadn’t, in fact, been ripped out of the ground, Drew did a cursory glance at the rest of the vegetation and decided that Noel hadn’t done any gardening. At least not outside. It was possible she’d been getting some starts ready in the barn for the spring garden, though they hadn’t purchased any seeds yet, and he didn’t know why she’d need spells for that.
When he pulled the barn door open, Buffy stopped in her tracks. Drew glanced down at her. “What is it?”
She glanced up at him and then back at the darkened barn. Then she jumped up, putting her front paws on his leg. He reached down and picked her up, letting her snuggle into his chest. After stuffing the leash in his pocket, he placed his hand on the stun gun that he carried for work that was still strapped to his belt and cautiously peered into the building.
He scanned carefully, peering through the darkness. Nothing appeared to be out of place. But the space beckoned to him, telling him that something had happened there. He reached in and flipped the switch on the wall, flooding the barn with light. The temperature dropped a good twenty degrees the moment he stepped into the building.
Standing completely still, he studied the entire barn, looking for anything out of place.
Nothing.
Everything was exactly as it was supposed to be.
Frustrated, knowing that he never went wrong when he trusted his gut, he moved toward the loft and climbed the ladder, dreading what he might find.
But there was nothing except a half-empty bag of grass seed up there.
“Noel,” he said quietly, “what in the world went on here tonight?” When he looked down at the floor to the right of the barn door, he spotted the light reflecting off something silver.
With Buffy still plastered to his side, he scrambled down the ladder and over to the door. One glance at the shimmering device gave him his first clue.
It was Noel’s phone.
She’d definitely been in the barn earlier. He reached down for the phone, and when he turned it over, he let out a growl of frustration. The screen was cracked, and the phone appeared to be dead. There was no telling what had gone on earlier that evening, but the one thing he knew for sure was that his wife would never leave her kids without a word and no way to contact her. Wherever she was, something was seriously wrong. He had to go out and look for her. Waiting wasn’t an option.
Drew glanced down at the dog, who looked up at him with big, worried eyes. “Looks like it’s going to be a long night, Buff. We’d better call in reinforcements.”