Missing (Everyday Heroes Book 6)

by Margaret Daley

  “Does he live here?”

  “No. Kurt lives across town on Sooner Place.” Amber frowned.

  An upscale area of Cimarron City. “What’s Kurt’s last name.”

  Amber opened the back door. “Brown. His dad is the DA, and I don’t think his parents approved of Piper as his girlfriend.”

  “So, Kurt called it off?” The tightness in Emma’s stomach hardened even more.

  “Yes. Piper was upset for weeks.” Amber shoved the door wide open and started to leave.

  “Thanks.” Emma hurried to say.” If you remember anything concerning Maria’s and Piper’s disappearances, please call me.” She took two business cards out of her purse and handed one to each girl.

  Emma watched the girls go into the first building before she backed out of her parking lot and headed toward the hospital. When she arrived at her destination, she called Brody to let him know what Amber and Melody told her about Piper’s last sighting and about Kurt Brown.

  “I just brought the last group home with Stan’s assistance. Nick is already at the apartment. I’ll let you know if we find anything.”

  “I’ll do the same. I’m going inside to see how Ada’s doing.”

  After she disconnected her call with Brody, Emma hurried into the ER entrance. The first person she saw was Sarah Collins, Nick’s fiancée. She stood as Emma hurried toward her. “Have they told you anything about Ada’s condition?”

  “Not yet but they assured me they would as soon as possible.”

  Emma took a seat next to Sarah. “Nick and Brody are at the apartment,” she said in a low voice. “I’m really concerned something’s happened to Ada’s daughter, Piper. I’m hoping Ada will be able to tell us where Piper is.”

  “Ada might not remember what happened before she passed out.”

  “I agree. But I’m hoping she does.” Emma closed her eyes and prayed. She needed all the help she could solicit to find the missing girls.

  * * *

  Brody followed Detective Nick Davidson as he walked through the small apartment, taking photos of the scene.

  “Do you think Ada Nelson took drugs while she was drinking?” Nick asked as he paused and knelt next to an empty liquor bottle on the floor next to the couch. He checked under the sofa and pulled a small plastic bottle from under it. An empty container. “This is a recent prescription, only two weeks old, for sleeping pills. There were thirty prescribed.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of. According to Emma, Piper recently found her mother passed out after combining the sleeping pills with the alcohol. It scared Piper, but she’d been able to wake her up.” The thought of what Piper had to deal with concerning her mother broke Brody’s heart. The parent-child relationship had been reversed. Piper, only fourteen years old, had become the caretaker of her mother.

  “Do you think that might have caused Piper to run away? It’s hard to watch a love one try to kill themselves by doing something reckless.”

  “I don’t know. I’m not that familiar with Piper. She began coming to Emma’s group two months ago with some of the other girls from the apartment complex. Talk with Emma. She’ll have better insight on Piper than I do.”

  “I will. Emma’s great when she works with Candy. She doesn’t see Candy as much as she did a couple of months ago, but Sarah’s adopted daughter sees Emma every other week now.”

  “Are you still planning to adopt Candy, too, when you and Sarah get married?”

  Nick grinned. “Yes. The day Sarah adopted Candy, Anna, her daughter, was so excited that she now had a sister. When my fiancée was dealing with what happened to Candy’s mother being murdered, Emma really helped all of us with what Candy was going through. In fact, Emma’s been talking with Sarah about connecting my ranch with Pals. I have a barn full of abandoned animals. The population has grown in the past few months, especially with all the press coverage concerning the ranch and Mary’s murderer being brought to justice, partially because of Bella’s tracking skills.”

  “I’m sure we can work something out. I think taking some of the teens out to the ranch to help take care of the animals would be good for them and the kids. We could begin in the next week or so. Start with a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. I’d like to visit and check it out, so I could tell them what they would be doing. I’ll be buying a couple of vans that I’ll use to transport them to your ranch.”

  “Good. I know that Anna and Candy would be thrilled to show the kids how to take care of the animals. They’re getting good at what my grandpa’s been teaching them.”

  A sound outside the apartment alerted Brody that someone was possibly eavesdropping on their conversation. He put his forefinger on his mouth while creeping toward the unlocked front door. Nick withdrew his gun.

  When Brody heard whispering, he held up his arm and stepped into the doorway. “What are you two doing here? You should be at your apartments.”

  Amber dropped her head.

  “We wanted to know if you found out anything about Piper and her mom,” Melody said.

  Nick put his gun back in his holster then stood next to Brody. “You have great hearing,” he told Brody.

  “One of my secret powers, developed while in the army.” Brody winked at the girls.

  They giggled.

  “I agree you two should go home. When I know something, I’ll tell Brody, and he’ll let you all know. In fact, I’d like Brody to escort you two back to your apartments. It’s dark out here.”

  “I’d love to. If you need me, call. I’m going to the hospital.”

  He walked with the two teenage girls from the third building toward the first one where they lived. They neared the corner of the apartment structure where Piper lived. A man ducked back into the dark shadows. Brody wished he had his canine, Charlie, a war dog trained to defend and track. He wanted to pursue whoever had been watching them, but Amber and Melody needed to go home.

  Brody guided the two girls toward his SUV. “I think I’ll drive you even though it’s only a hundred yards away. Until I can get the lights fixed, be careful at night here. Make sure you’re in groups, especially if you have to go somewhere after dark.” Brody drove them the short distance. He didn’t have a good feeling about what was happening here. He couldn’t shake it. Who was that guy at the corner of building three? Was he involved in what happened at Piper’s place or just curious?

  The two girls exited his vehicle before he’d turned the engine off. He hurried to keep up with them. Tension gripped him, and he couldn’t rid himself of the sensation tingling throughout his body—just like he’d felt right before being ambushed in a combat zone.

  As Amber neared her apartment, she looked over her shoulder toward the corner of the third building. “I think that was Bobby Joe. If anyone knows what’s going on here, it would be Bobby Joe.”

  “Where does he live?”

  “In the second building in apartment 2204. He’s harmless. He was in special classes at school. He graduated last year. Thanks for bringing us home.” Amber unlocked her door and hurried inside.

  “I live down the hall. I’ll be fine.” Melody pointed in the direction of her place.

  “I’ll wait until you get inside.”

  “Thanks.”

  When the teenager went into her apartment, Brody swung around and decided to see if he could find Bobby Joe before he headed to the hospital to check on Ada Nelson. Maybe the guy saw something concerning Piper’s disappearance. He’d love to have good news that Piper was all right, although he couldn’t shake the feeling something sinister was going on here.

  Brody knocked on the door to 2204 in the second building, but no one answered. Disappointed, he walked toward his SUV, intending to track Bobby Joe down tomorrow. Right now, he needed to relieve Emma and Sarah. Both of them would have patients in the morning and would need rest.

  He arrived at the hospital within fifteen minutes, two and a half hours since they’d found Ada passed out in her apartment. He strode into the ER and went to
the waiting room to find Emma. He caught sight of her when he entered. Her head was down with her hands folded together as though she were praying. He covered the distance to her.

  Emma lifted her head, flipping her long brown hair behind her shoulders. Her dark gray eyes, filled with tears, locked with his gaze.

  “What’s wrong?” Brody slipped into the empty chair next to her.

  Chapter Three

  Piper’s eyes blinked open to pitch black. Sweat popped out on her forehead.

  Where am I?

  She tried to remember what happened, but a fog weaved its way through her mind, robbing her of her memory. She closed her eyes as though that would make a difference in remembering what happened to her right before her mother told her she’d lost her job then took another drink of alcohol.

  Someone had clamped her arm. Then a smelly cloth covered her mouth and nose. She struggled to breathe.

  Then nothing. Until now.

  Piper’s heart pounded so hard she was sure anyone around her could hear it. Fear gripped her as the darkness engulfed her in a cold blanket. The silence mocked her. With her hands tied together lying on her stomach, she rested on a hard surface. She tried to roll over to get a sense of where she was. She encountered a rough plank. She pushed away from it and turned to the left. Another barrier blocked her movements. Lifting her arms, she reached up to feel where she was as she tried to sit up. Her head hit another rough plank. A wooden barrier above her entombed her into a black enclosure as though all light had been sucked out of her surroundings. She collapsed back against her “coffin.” Her fear evolved into panic.

  She screamed. Again and again—until no sound came out of her mouth.

  Chapter Four

  “Ada died. I just finished letting Sarah know. I didn’t see the need for both of us staying here. Sarah left twenty minutes ago.” Tears ran down Emma’s face. She turned toward him. “What are we going to do? What about Piper? Where is she?”

  “First, we’re going to let Nick know about Ada. I’m sure he’ll want to know the cause of death. He found an empty pill bottle for sleeping pills under the couch. Nick will want that confirmed as the cause of death.” Brody covered her hand. “We need to see that the kids at the center understand that alcohol and drugs can be a lethal combination.”

  Emma heard Brody’s words, yet a part of her felt numb. If or when they found Piper, she would need support. After their talk on Tuesday, Emma wouldn’t be surprised if Piper blamed herself for her mother’s death—if Piper was found. “We didn’t get to Ada in time. I should have left the group and gone looking for Piper when she didn’t show up. I might have found her. Then maybe I would have gotten to Ada early enough that she could be rescued.”

  “It isn’t your fault. We came as fast as we could. We have other kids who’ve missed coming to a group at the last minute. Things happen when they go home after school. You’re beating yourself up over something that was out of our control.”

  Emma balled her hands so tightly her fingernails dug into her palms. “But I knew that Ada drank a lot. Piper told me on Tuesday. Her mom had taken a sleeping pill with alcohol because she couldn’t get to sleep Monday night. That morning. Piper had a hard time waking up her mother who was late for work. Piper told me that had been the fourth time in the past month. She was worried and felt helpless.”

  “Quit blaming yourself.”

  That was easy to say but hard to accept. Emma stared at the floor. A numbness threatened to shut her down. This week had been extra stressful, and she hadn’t been able to sleep much, partially due to working nonstop.

  Brody put his forefinger under her chin and turned her head toward him. His gaze locked with hers. “When we find Piper, we’ll help her get through this.”

  Working with children took a toll on a counselor. So much of a child’s life was out of his control. And that was one of the reasons she chose her profession–to stand up for the helpless.

  “Okay?”

  She nodded. “While Piper was at school yesterday, I did go by her apartment to talk with her mother. She didn’t answer. I tried again today at lunch, but either the woman was gone, possibly at work, or she didn’t want to talk to anyone she wasn’t familiar with. Although Piper mentioned her mother worked, I didn’t know where or, for that matter, when she went to her job. After I left, I’d decided I would talk with Piper tonight and see if she would give me more information about what was going on with her mom. I thought that might help me approach Ada to help both of them. I was going to see if Sarah would take Ada on as a client if Ada agreed. I was too late.” Words tumbled from her mouth while Emma returned her focus on the floor before her. “After dealing with a teen who tried to commit suicide Tuesday morning, I was so tired that night after the group meeting. I should have followed up more with Piper then.” Again, she didn’t know if she could forgive herself for not doing more. Maybe she wasn’t as good as she thought at juggling various problems that came up in her profession.

  Brody took her hand. “Don’t do this to yourself. You can only do so much. I once dealt with an attempted suicide. That wiped me out emotionally. I was useless for a couple of days.”

  “Did the person kill himself? Get help right away?”

  “No to both questions. The incident happened on a battlefield.”

  Emma lifted her head and looked into his eyes. Pain stared back at her. She knew that feeling—of desperately searching for the right words to talk a person down from taking his own life.

  “How about your patient?”

  “He’s getting the help he needs, but it’ll be a long road for him. Teens have a lot to deal with today, and I want to be there for him, too.”

  “As much as I want these kids to have the best life possible, I know that I won’t always be there for them when they have to make a decision. It’s like that story about not giving a person food. Instead, you teach him how to fish. That’s my hope for the kids at the center. To learn to think for themselves and use good judgment so when faced with a dilemma, they’ll have the right tools to handle it.”

  Although she considered Brody a friend, in the months working at the center, she really hadn’t gotten to know Brody that well. She knew he cared about the children they worked with. He went out of his way to help others. What was the story behind the man? “I know you grew up here, but you were gone for years until your father died. What made you come back to Cimarron City to live after his death?”

  For a long moment, Brody stared at the wall across from them, a nerve in his hardened jawline twitching. A neutral expression fell into place, and he turned his attention to her. “It was time for me to leave the military. I wanted to do something for the town where I’d grown up. As a soldier, I was always moving around. When my dad died, I didn’t want to have my young sister moving from post to post, not to mention the times I would serve overseas and be separated from Maggie.”

  “I’ve seen you and a young woman with blond hair at church occasionally. Is that Maggie?”

  He nodded. “When my dad died, my sister was a junior in high school. After graduating last summer, she was accepted at the University of Oklahoma. She comes home on the weekends at least once a month. We have a small family—an uncle on my mother’s side and an aunt who was my father’s sister.”

  “Where’s your mother?” Emma would rather learn more about Brody than deal with her emotions concerning Ada and Piper. She hated this feeling of powerlessness.

  A scowl left deep lines across his forehead. “She left my dad nine months after Maggie was born. I don’t know where she is, and my father didn’t want to find her. I never knew what happened between my parents.”

  “There’s a wide gap between you and Maggie. No other brothers and sisters?”

  He shook his head. “I was fourteen when my sister was born. I wasn’t interested in a baby.”

  “From what I’ve seen at church, that’s different now.”

  He chuckled. “Yes. We’re a small family. How
about you?”

  “Not much to say. An only child. Both of my parents lived together in Tulsa. Both were doctors and had a busy life.” Until her dad drank alcohol and downed a bottle of sleeping pills when she was a teenager.

  “Do you see them much? It’s only two hours away.”

  She didn’t like talking about her family. Her mother was dedicated to her job and had little time for her. She’d raised herself. “I see my mother on holidays.” She flexed her hands to keep them from curling into fist. “But my aunt does live next door to me.”

  “How about your father?”

  “He died using the same method Ada did. That’s why I know what Piper’s going through. I was thirteen when it happened, and it took me years to understand why someone would do that—someone who appeared to be okay. My dad was a successful doctor who helped others. My mom couldn’t tell me why and refused to discuss it with me.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I’ve dealt with it. I had to in order to help others dealing with the situation.” Her patients had forced her to come to terms with her dad. As a child, she hadn’t seen his “sickness,” but now she knew the signs, and that was what gave her the ability to help the children who thought suicide was the way out.

  His gaze connected with hers. “I’ve seen your compassion with the kids at the center. I’m glad you agreed to be a part of Pals.”

  She looked away, her cheeks flushed with heat from his compliment. “So, besides running Pals, do you do anything else?” Emma asked, wanting to turn the conversation back to him.

  “Besides the center, I dabble in the stock market. I’m thankful I’m successful. I’m also involved in search and rescues in this area. My dog, Charlie, and I help when we can. Sadly, we don’t find the person every time we’re looking, or sometimes it’s too late. I wish I had a one hundred percent success rate, but I don’t. But I won’t let that stop me from participating and trying my best. That was what you were doing for Piper and her mother—trying to help them. We can’t foresee the future. We won’t always be victorious, but we can’t let that stop us from trying.”