LITMIR.BIZ

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as a happy bride to move to Pittsburgh with her new husband and had returned home two years later a different woman, not only divorced, but withdrawn and unwilling to talk about the failure of her marriage.

      It would take longer for the youngest of the sisters to arrive. Sheri lived farther up the mountain in a small cabin surrounded by thick woods.

      Roxy was in the process of tapping the leather right off her steering wheel when Marlene pulled up next to her. She got out of her car and slid into the passenger seat in Roxy’s.

      She met Roxy’s gaze, the frantic worry inside Roxy’s stomach reflected in her sister’s blue eyes. “What do you think happened to her?” Marlene asked.

      “I don’t have a clue, but I’m not leaving here until we have a full investigation under way to find out where she is,” Roxy said.

      The two sat silently as they waited for Sheri. “How’s business?” Roxy finally asked when she could take the silence no longer.

      Marlene and Sheri owned a roadside storefront closer to Hershey that specialized in Amish-made furniture, cheeses and fresh-grown fruits and vegetables.

      “Getting better every day now that the weather is warming up,” she replied. “Abe and Jennifer are working this evening. Sheri called them in to take over after we found out Aunt Liz was missing.”

      Missing.

      The word hung in the air, horrifying...heartbreaking. At that moment Sheri’s black pickup pulled into a parking space nearby. The youngest of the three got out and approached them, her shoulder-length chestnut hair shimmering in the sunshine.

      When the three women stood side by side, few people realized they were sisters. While they all shared the same mother, they each had different fathers.

      Roxy was short and compact, with dark hair and dark eyes. Marlene was a tall blonde with ice-blue eyes, and Sheri liked to refer to herself as an ordinary mutt, with brown hair and whiskey-colored eyes.

      Roxy and Marlene got out of Roxy’s car and greeted Sheri, who looked younger than usual with worry darkening her large eyes.

      Roxy knew she would be the one to take the lead here. She’d always been the strong one, the big sister who would take care of her younger siblings at any cost.

      “Okay, let’s do this,” Roxy said. She wouldn’t be turned away. She refused to be dismissed like she had been that morning by Steve. She wanted boots on the ground and search parties beating the bushes. More than anything, she wanted Aunt Liz to be found safe and sound.

      With a deep breath and her sisters following just behind her, Roxy stepped into the police station, where plastic chairs lined a wall and a uniformed officer she didn’t know sat at a desk. A door to his right led to the room that she knew all the other members of law enforcement called home away from home.

      “We’re here to file a missing-persons report,” Roxy said, relieved that her voice sounded strong and confident, even though she wanted to melt into a puddle of worried goo.

      “Then you need to speak to one of our detectives.” There was a sound of a buzzer, and he gestured toward the door. “They’re at the desks on the right side of the room.”

      Roxy nodded and pushed through the door. Her gaze automatically went to the three desks on the right, and her heart sank to her toes as she saw that the only one occupied was by her shaggy-haired nemesis.

      An attractive long-legged blonde in the traditional blue police officer uniform leaned over his desk, and they were laughing as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

      Roxy was vaguely aware of other people in the room as she cleared her throat with the force of a snorting bull. The smile on Steve’s face fell as he turned partway in his chair to see the three of them standing there.

      He said something to the blonde, who sauntered away with a sexy swing of her hips. Roxy marched toward him, trying to balance temper and fear.

      She wasn’t sure why it irritated her that he’d obviously been enjoying the company of the blonde bombshell, but it did. “We hate to mess with your social life, but we want to file a missing-persons report,” she said as he got up from his desk.

      He frowned. “You still haven’t heard anything from your aunt?”

      “Not a word, and I don’t care that it hasn’t been twenty-four hours. She’s in trouble, and you need to put out an Amber Alert.”

      “That’s for kids. A Silver Alert is for adults and is usually put into effect when an elderly or disoriented person goes missing.”

      “She’s disoriented,” Roxy exclaimed. “She has a touch of early onset dementia.” Sheri gasped at the blatant lie, while Marlene merely released a small groan.

      Roxy would do whatever it took to get somebody to look for her aunt, even if it meant telling a little white lie, even if it meant Aunt Liz would kill her if she ever heard what Roxy had said about her.

      Roxy raised her chin as Steve’s eyes narrowed in obvious disbelief. “Early onset dementia. Well then, if that’s the case I guess we’d better file a report,” he finally said. He pulled up two more chairs to join the one that sat before his desk and gestured for the three to have a seat.

      “I don’t just want to file a report,” Roxy said as she sat down in the chair directly opposite him. She leaned toward him. “I want a search party started. I want a full investigation going. I want...I need...” To her horror, tears burned at her eyes.

      “How about we start with some paperwork,” Steve replied with a hint of kindness in his voice.

      “Fine, and then we’ll start a search party,” Roxy exclaimed as she quickly reined in her emotions. The last thing she wanted to do was show weakness in front of her sisters. Still, Sheri placed a gentling hand on Roxy’s arm, and Roxy drew a deep breath and leaned back in the chair.

      For the next hour and a half Roxy held on to her patience as Steve asked question after question about the missing woman. Even though she was screaming inside for some kind of action to be taken, she knew that each and every question he asked and the answers they could all provide might hold a clue as to where Aunt Liz might be.

      Twilight had fallen when Steve finally asked for a picture. As Roxy pulled a photo of her aunt out of her wallet, the encroaching darkness of night crept deep into her soul.

      “So what happens now?” Marlene asked.

      “You all go home,” he said.

      Roxy stared at him in stunned surprise. “Go home? How can we just go home? We haven’t found her yet.”

      “I suggest you go home and continue to contact friends and acquaintances, and let me know if you hear any information that might help me in the investigation.” He stood, and it was obviously a dismissal.

      “Are you sure you’re going to be able to fit an investigation into your busy social life?” Roxy asked as she noticed the blonde pointedly looking at her watch and then at him from across the room.

      Marlene shot her an elbow in the side. Roxy’s cheeks warmed as she realized she was insulting the very man she needed to help her, to help them.

      * * *

      It had been the most frustrating hour and a half Steve had spent in recent years. While he’d found Marlene and Sheri to be simmering with anxiety, yet calm and cooperative, Roxy had been like a bomb on the verge of explosion.

      She’d bitten her nails, snarled out answers and insulted his work ethic, but looking into the depths of her beautiful dark eyes, with lashes that were sinfully long, he could tell a panic screamed inside her and he knew that feeling intimately.

      When the three of them left, it was as if Roxy sucked all the energy out of the room with her. He leaned back in his chair and only looked up from the notes he’d taken when Officer Chelsea Loren sidled up to the side of his desk once again.

      “I

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