Page 24 of The Vanished

“Echoes from the Past Quinn? What does she⁠—?”

“I’m sorry about that,” Sean said as it grew quiet in the background. He must have walked into the bedroom and shut the door.

“What should I do, Sean?” Quinn asked. “Should I go to the police?”

“Give Logan until tomorrow afternoon,” Sean advised.

“Because someone needs to be missing twenty-four hours to file a missing persons report?” she asked.

“That’s not strictly true, but in the case of an adult, it’s advisable to wait. People go AWOL all the time. It’s irresponsible and inconsiderate, but not answering one’s messages for a few hours doesn’t prove that the person has been a victim of a crime or in an accident. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the misper turns up on their own, looking shamefaced and spouting excuses.”

“But what if Logan doesn’t come back?” Quinn asked.

Sean’s advice made perfect sense when applied to strangers, but Quinn knew with unwavering certainty that Logan would never not show up for Max. Anyone else, but never his baby.

“We’ll deal with that if it happens,” Sean said, and the use of we made Quinn feel a little calmer. She trusted Sean and knew he would do everything he could to help if the situation escalated.

“Is Logan seeing anyone?” Sean asked. His tone was casual, but Quinn knew her answer mattered.

“He hasn’t been in a serious relationship since he and Rafe Hoffman broke up a few years ago.”

“But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been dating,” Sean replied.

“Do you think he went off with some random bloke?” Quinn retorted. She didn’t mean to sound angry or defensive, but that was the way it had come out, and she was instantly contrite. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s only that Logan wouldn’t do that.”

“That’s not what I was getting at,” Sean replied calmly. He had dealt with countless worried family members over his thirty-year career with the Met and had probably heard it all.

“What, then?”

Sean sighed. “There are individuals who are unable to deal with rejection. When someone is assaulted—and I’m not saying that’s what happened to Logan—it’s rarely random. That does happen, of course, but a strong young man is not a likely candidate for a mugging. Those looking to rob someone of their valuables will choose someone they can easily overpower. So when an individual is targeted, chances are the victim and the perp have crossed paths before.”

“You think Logan was attacked by someone he’d gone out with?” Quinn asked.

“It’s not beyond the realm of possibility. What’s Logan’s dating MO?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is he the sort of person to see someone a few times, or is he more of a one-night stand kind of guy?” Sean asked patiently.

“I really couldn’t tell you. Logan has been in two committed relationships since I first met him, but he’s been single for a while now. I have no idea what his MO might be, or if he even has one. Perhaps that depends on who he’s seeing.”

“Let’s put his love life on the back burner for now,” Sean suggested. “Is there anyone who might hold a grudge against him? Anyone he’s had an altercation with recently?”

“Like whom?”

“Maybe a disgruntled patient, or a relative who took offense at something Logan said or did while caring for their loved one.”

“And so they kidnapped him and are holding him hostage?” Quinn exclaimed, horrified by the suggestion.

“I’m not suggesting that Logan was kidnapped, but maybe someone approached him, an argument ensued, and things turned nasty.”

“Logan left work at five o’clock. It’s now after eight. Even if that happened, it would have been hours ago,” Quinn reasoned.

“Maybe he went to A&E.” Or was taken to A&E and was in no condition to ask anyone to ring his next of kin seemed to hang in the ether between them.

“Should I ring the hospitals?” Quinn asked.

“Any injuries that are a result of obvious violence or a serious accident will be reported to the police by A&E staff, so you don’t need to do that. If anything happened, the police would come to you. They would be able to track down Logan’s next of kin even if he was unable to tell them himself.”