Page 22 of The Vanished

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Gabe replied.

“Nine o’clock.”

“Probably more like eight,” Gabe guessed.

“Half eight?” Max pleaded.

“If it’s OK with Aunt Quinn.”

“Is it?” Max asked, turning to her.

“Just this once.”

Quinn grabbed Max’s things and followed them inside. She was both worried and furious with Logan. If something had come up, she would have gladly collected Max, but the fact that Logan hadn’t bothered to notify anyone had really rattled her.

Where the hell was he, and what was she supposed to tell Max if Logan didn’t show tomorrow morning?

THIRTEEN

As soon as Max was on the sofa, comfortably wedged between Alex and Mia, and his attention fixed on the TV, Quinn escaped to the study. She phoned Logan one more time, then sent another text, which also remained unread. She then sent him messages through Facebook, Instagram, and X, and emailed him for good measure, before she called the London Hospital, where he worked as a nurse. After she got transferred to various departments and put on hold for nearly a quarter of an hour, she was finally connected to one of Logan’s coworkers, who told her that Logan’s shift had ended at five o’clock. Quinn called his friend Pamela, but she hadn’t heard from him since the previous weekend and didn’t know where Logan might have gone or with whom. Quinn even called Rafe, but he brusquely told her he was no longer in contact with his ex and had no idea what Logan got up to.

Frightened and at a loss, Quinn did the one thing she had promised herself she wouldn’t do. She rang Jude. She hated to alarm him, especially when he was in another country and couldn’t possibly help, but she needed to speak to someone who loved Logan and Max, and who might at least offer her some advice and emotional support.

“Hey, Quinny.” Jude sounded happy and relaxed when he answered the call, and she could hear Tamzin’s voice in the background as she talked to the children. “How are things?”

“Have you heard from Logan today?” Quinn asked. She couldn’t bring herself to engage in several minutes of small talk before getting to the point.

“Yeah. He sent me a meme.”

“But you did not speak with him?”

“No. Why?”

Quinn filled Jude in, and his tone instantly changed to one of concern. “That’s not like him at all. Max is his world.”

“I’m really getting scared now, Jude.”

“Don’t panic. There must be a reasonable explanation.”

Quinn inhaled sharply. “What sort of reasonable explanation would account for Logan suddenly not replying to anyone?”

“I don’t know,” Jude admitted. “Even if Logan lost his wallet and his phone, he’d find a way to get to the nursery. It’s not that far from the hospital. He would have walked.”

“Unless he couldn’t,” Quinn said, her voice hitching.

“Logan has you listed as his emergency contact in his phone. Someone would have phoned if something had happened to him.”

“But what if he didn’t have his phone on him?”

“He would tell them.”

“Unless he couldn’t,” Quinn said again. “What if he was hit by a car? Or attacked?”

“Quinn, you’re letting fear get the better of you.”

“That’s because I don’t know what to do,” Quinn exclaimed. “Where do I go? Whom do I call?”

“What about that friend of yours, the writer?” Jude suggested. “Nicole?”