LITMIR.BIZ

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this.”

      Rebecca reached deep inside the bag she had slung over her shoulder. Elise gasped when the blonde woman pulled out a hand-drawn image of an Amish teenager with brown hair. It was a profile picture, not a full image. But Elise recognized the subject instantly, which gave her hope that maybe it would be good enough for a stranger to recognize her. And if she had a toddler with her, it would make her all the more memorable.

      “That’s Leah! Did you just draw that, from memory?” Elise leaned forward, squinting as she took in the image on the paper.

      “Yes. I am not sure if I got the eyes right.”

      Elise beckoned with her left hand, the one not hampered by the IV. Rebecca moved in closer to the bed. Ryan edged away to let them have room.

      “I think the eyes are pretty close. At least it will give the police a good idea of who they are looking for.”

      Ryan peered at Elise. There was a faint flush in her cheeks, dispelling the sickly appearance she’d had at first. Her voice was livelier, too. He knew what he was seeing. Hope. A sudden dread clenched his heart. He did not want to fail this woman, to watch the hope fade into anguish. He’d disappointed far too many people in his life.

      Stop it! He mentally shook himself out of his morose thoughts, like a dog shaking off the water after a swim, sending his doubts flying. He had no room for them. Those insecurities—that was his father speaking. The father who never talked with him without expressing his disappointment that Ryan hadn’t followed both his parents and his older brother into the field of medicine.

      You could have made something of yourself, Ryan. That was his father’s favorite refrain.

      It didn’t matter, though. Medicine was not his calling. He had known since high school what he was meant to do with his life. And if God approved, well, his family was just going to have to learn to accept it.

      Which didn’t make his father’s disappointment any easier to bear. He shrugged his shoulders, mentally pulling himself back to the crisis at hand. Now wasn’t the time for nostalgia.

      Now was the time for action.

      “If the picture is accurate, then I will send it out. It will be easier to search if we know who we are searching for. I will also use the pictures you’ve given me of Mikey and circulate them. We have already put out an Amber Alert on him.” After pulling his phone from his pocket, he scanned the drawing with an app, then forwarded it. He thought of something. “I will also pull up your brother-in-law’s photo from the DMV and send that out.”

      She raised her eyebrows. “Okay. But I already told you, it won’t do you any good. He doesn’t look the same now. I wouldn’t have recognized him if I hadn’t heard him speak.”

      “So noted.”

      Ryan thought for a moment. She needed to speak with a photographic artist. Unfortunately, the woman the department normally hired was out of town for a few days. They didn’t have the time to wait. He excused himself from the room and went to call his chief.

      “Chief Kennedy here.” His deep drawl might have sounded casual, but that was deceptive. Ryan knew that the chief was solid and would give his all to see justice done.

      “It’s Parker, sir. I am at the hospital with Miss St. Clair. She says the man who attacked her is her brother-in-law. He was reported to have died in an accident a few years back, but no body was ever found. Apparently, he was changed by the accident, but his voice is the same—and he spoke about things only her brother-in-law would know. So if it’s not him, someone has worked very hard to put on a convincing act.”

      There was a pause. “Well, most people know their own relatives. Therefore, I will assume for the moment that the man in question is not dead, but is in fact here in LaMar Pond. What do you need, Sergeant?”

      “Sir, she says that his appearance has been altered drastically. I have Olsen and his wife here with me—”

      “And you’d like Rebecca to draw a current image since our sketch artist is unavailable, am I correct?”

      Ryan let out a breath. “Yes, sir.”

      “I don’t have a problem with that, Parker. If anyone says anything about it not being official, I’ll accept the blame.”

      “Thanks.”

      Ryan popped back into the room. Elise was exhausted, he could tell. This couldn’t wait, however. Besides, even if he left her alone to rest, he very much doubted that she’d be able to sleep. Not with her nephew and Leah missing.

      The moment he entered the room, the quiet conversation the others had been having ceased. Elise speared him with her hazel eyes so full of hope it caught him off guard. The weight of the trust she had in him pressed down on him. What if he failed her? Lord, let me be Your instrument. Help me to bring the child back to her and keep all of them safe.

      In a few quick words, he explained his plan. They all agreed. Ryan pulled up Langor’s image from the DMV database and sent it to Rebecca’s phone. Using that as a starting point, Rebecca began to gather the information about what changes needed to be made for an accurate sketch while Miles acted as her interpreter. Half an hour later, Rebecca handed him the updated image of Hudson Langor. Glancing between the two, he whistled. Elise was right. He would have walked right past him and not even known.

      A few minutes later, Miles and Rebecca left. Ryan took a few minutes to get the sketches sent out. Better get the search started now. Who knew how far away the girl was with the child. Or if the pyscho brother-in-law had made any progress in his quest. He hoped not. There wasn’t much more he could do tonight.

      His other concern was that the man seemed to feel Elise was a loose end that needed to be eradicated.

      Ah, well. At least she was in the hospital for the night. There were nurses and doctors coming to check on her throughout the night. He’d have a chat with security, before he left, to put them on alert. She should be safe. Maybe she’d be able to get enough rest so that she could remember something more, anything more, that might help them figure out where her nephew and the Amish girl had headed.

      * * *

      It had long since gone dark outside. The faint glow of the moon splashed over the floor now. Even though she knew it wasn’t, it looked warm, as if touching it would chase away some of the chill she was feeling in her heart. It was a comforting glow, reminding her that the Creator of everything was near. A twinge of guilt pricked her conscience. She hadn’t given God much attention lately.

      Elise sighed. She was stuck here, in this narrow, uncomfortable hospital bed with a needle in her arm. The doctor who’d checked her out had declared she was dehydrated from her illness earlier that week. Sergeant Parker had left. Was he coming back? He hadn’t really said. It surprised her to realize that she was kind of hoping the handsome officer would return.

      She needed something to distract her thoughts. Thinking about what could be happening out there with Mikey was driving her crazy. Even though she wasn’t his mother, he was her baby. Her whole world had revolved around the adorable boy with the dark brown eyes and curly brown hair for over two years. The ache inside her intensified as her imagination pictured him cold or sick or scared. Phantom whimpers filled her ears.

      Squeezing her eyes closed, she forced her thoughts to focus on something else.

      Sergeant Parker’s face flashed through her mind. The warmth in his chocolate-brown eyes. She especially liked his smile. It was unusual. Quirky. Kind of lopsided. He had a nice square jaw, too. When he had left, he had been sporting a slight five-o’clock shadow. She wondered what that roughness would feel like if she lifted her hand to his face. Her eyes popped open. That wasn’t helping. Frankly, she was surprised her mind had even gone there. After everything that had happened with Brady, she’d been against even the idea of entering a relationship. Besides, taking care of Mikey had been her priority—he was the only male she had time for her in her life.

      The door opened and the man himself entered

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