LITMIR.BIZ

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welcomed, but familiar. She leaned into him, absorbing the strength she instinctively knew he possessed.

      If she could just get through this night, then surely Lilly would come home. All she had to do was get through the agonizing long, dark night.

      It was four in the morning when Peyton finally fell into an exhausted sleep in a chair in the living room. Tom considered moving her to her bedroom but was afraid in rousing her she would never go back to sleep, and she needed to sleep.

      So did he.

      When he was sure she was down for the count, he called Benjamin to come and sit with her so Tom could head home for a couple hours of sleep.

      As he waited for Benjamin to arrive, he thought of everything that had been done so far in an effort to find Kathy Simon and the missing baby. Throughout the evening there had been a steady influx of deputies checking in to tell him what had been accomplished.

      The sketch and picture of Lilly had gone over the wire services, the AMBER Alert was in effect and everything that could be done was being done. Now it was just a matter of time.

      He met Benjamin at the front door and motioned him into the kitchen. “Hopefully she’ll sleep for a couple of hours.”

      Benjamin nodded. “And hopefully in the next couple of hours we’ll start getting some phone calls that will lead us to the baby.”

      “I’m going to catch an hour or two of sleep then head into the office and coordinate things. I’ll try to be back here by noon.”

      “You okay?” Benjamin asked, his brow furrowed with concern. “I know this one must be tough for you.”

      “No tougher than any other,” Tom replied curtly. There was no way he’d admit to his brother that for just a moment, as he’d looked at the photograph of Lilly, he’d remembered another little girl and an unexpected knife had pierced through his heart.

      He shoved this thought away as he left Peyton’s house and got into his patrol car. A deep weariness gripped him as he drove the short drive home.

      He hoped Peyton was right and this Kathy character wouldn’t harm the baby, and he hoped that when morning dawned phone calls would start flooding into the office, tips from people who either knew or had seen the woman calling herself Kathy Simon.

      Tom’s house was a white two-story with a wrap-around porch and hunter green shutters at the windows. It was the second house he’d owned. The first had been sold five years ago after his divorce, when he realized the memories that resided there were too painful to avoid.

      He’d bought this particular house for a song because of all the work it needed. He’d thought it would be a terrific project in his spare time, a hobby to keep painful thoughts at bay.

      As always when he entered the foyer a faint sense of satisfaction swept over him. The wooden floor gleamed beneath his feet and the throw rug in shades of copper and brown emphasized the beauty of the wood beneath.

      He tossed his keys on the small table in the hallway and went directly up the stairs to the master bedroom. He’d give himself a couple of hours of sleep and then head into the office to see if anything had popped.

      It took him only minutes to place his gun and holster on the nightstand and undress and get into bed. Even though he was exhausted, his mind refused to turn off as it replayed the events of the day. He believed Peyton’s story of what had happened, but he’d still instructed Sam to run background checks on both Peyton and Rick. The last thing he wanted was for something unexpected to jump up and bite him on the butt.

      Every base needed to be covered, and he was certain as he closed his eyes that he’d covered them all. They were a small town, with a small force of law enforcement officers, but Tom was confident in his team. They were all smart and committed to their work.

      As sleep began to edge in, his thoughts turned to Peyton. She’d touched him on levels nobody had reached in a very long time. She had to be strong in order to have survived her childhood, and yet there was that frailty about her that made him want to take care of her.

      If he were completely honest with himself, he had to acknowledge that as he’d held her in his arms he’d been stunned to realize that although his intent had been to comfort, there had been a part of him, a strictly male part, that had enjoyed the feel of her in his arms.

      In fact, he had more than enjoyed it. A quick fire of desire had swept through him as he’d felt the press of her soft breasts against his chest, as he’d smelled the fresh scent of her hair. It had stunned him, first because it was so unexpected and second because it was inappropriate, considering the circumstances.

      He drifted asleep with thoughts of her in his head and awoke to his alarm clock ringing two hours later. He rolled over and punched it off, then bounded out of bed, eager to get to the office and find out how things had gone while he’d been sleeping. A sense of urgency chased him. Somewhere out there was a baby who needed to be brought home.

      He was in the office by seven-thirty, and Sam greeted him as he walked through the door. Sam McCain was a big, burly black man who had come to Black Rock after working as a policeman in Chicago. He and his wife had moved there for the slower pace and a safer place to raise their kids.

      Every day Tom was thankful that Sam had landed here working for him. “Hey, Sam. Please tell me the phone has been ringing off the wall with tips on Lilly Wilkerson’s whereabouts.”

      Sam frowned and shook his head. “We’ve only had two calls so far this morning, and if you think real hard you’ll be able to tell me who they were from.”

      “Sally Bernard called threatening to kill her husband, and Walt Toliver called to report that Lilly was probably taken into the spaceship that landed in his field last night,” Tom replied.

      “And the kewpie doll goes to the big fella with the gun on his hip,” Sam exclaimed.

      Tom grinned. “It wouldn’t be a normal day without the two of them calling in.” His grin flattened into a frown. “I was really hoping somebody would have seen this Kathy Simon.”

      “It’s early yet, boss. It’s possible she’s holed up somewhere for the night, but eventually she’ll have to get out and around, and somebody will see her.”

      “Where’s Brittany?”

      “She hasn’t shown up yet,” Sam replied.

      Tom looked at his watch. She should have been in a half an hour ago. “Has she called in?” Sam shook his head. Tom sighed. “This is the third time in the last couple of weeks that she’s been late. Guess I’m going to have to kick some sister butt.”

      Sam grinned. “Benjamin called earlier to tell you that everything is under control at the Wilkerson house and Caleb is waiting for you in your office.”

      “As soon as I check a few things here I’ll be heading back over there,” Tom said as he walked to his office.

      Caleb sat in the chair in front of Tom’s desk, his big feet propped up on the polished oak. Tom slapped Caleb’s legs as he passed by and frowned in disapproval. His younger brother hurriedly straightened up.

      “You heard from Brittany this morning?” he asked Caleb as he eased down into the chair at his desk.

      “Why would I hear from her?” Caleb asked.

      “She’s late … again.”

      “She’s probably hung over. She’s spending way too much time down at Harley’s bar. I think she has a crush on the new bartender there.”

      “I don’t care what she does in her time off, but I can’t have her ambling into work whenever she feels like it.” Tom definitely needed to have a stern conversation with his baby sister. “But in the meantime, I’m headed back over to the Wilkerson place to check on Peyton.”

      Caleb frowned. “Don’t you find it odd that nobody saw this woman who supposedly stole her baby? She

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