Page 55 of Ultimate Justice

“He was such a nice man,” his mother said. “All the people who worked for him were nice.”

“Why did you think we might recognize this man?” When his father pointed to the sheet, Evan looked at it, into Frank Manello’s dark eyes. For a fraction of a second, a tiny spark of recognition pinged his memory, then it was gone. “Just covering all the bases.”

A long shot and another dead end. There was no sense mentioning the photo of Gracie in Manello’s basement. He wouldn’t put them through the agony of futile hopefulness when he didn’t have any idea where she was.

“Do Marlie and Noah have something to do with this case?” his mom asked. “Is that why you brought them here?”

“Yes.” And no. He’d also brought them because he’d wanted to. Not only did he owe Noah cake, but the idea of getting through another birthday that was more like a funeral, was about as appealing as drinking an acid smoothie.

“Son, are they in some kind of danger?” his dad asked.

“Yeah, Dad. They are.” The phone in his pocket buzzed. His SAIC’s name lit the screen. “McGarry,” he said.

“Evan, you need to come in.” A sense of urgency in his boss’s voice had him gripping the phone tighter. “Another kid just went missing.”

Chapter Sixteen

By the time they turned onto Evan’s street it was nine thirty. Between the moonglow and the development’s streetlights, Marlie could just make out his stern profile. Tension had radiated off him since the moment they’d left his parents’ house. Now it was worse, like a viable thing she could feel in the air.

Something bad had happened. He hadn’t told her what, but there’d been a sense of urgency in the way he’d raced to the FBI office. Refusing to leave her and Noah alone at his house, he’d insisted they come with him. For the last four hours, they’d waited in a conference room, eating take-out sandwiches for dinner and watching TV while Evan met with his colleagues behind closed doors.

He headed into the garage, and Marlie leaned into the back seat to give Noah a gentle shake. “Wake up.” His head rested on the meaty part of Blue’s haunch. “We’re home.” She winced inwardly. This wasn’t her home, and it wasn’t Noah’s. Frankly, she didn’t know where home was anymore.

He yawned and stretched. When Evan opened the rear door, Blue hopped out, and Noah’s head hit the seat. “I’m awake, I’m awake.”

As the garage door closed behind them, they went to the inner door that led to the dining room. Evan frowned at the keypad on the wall.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Probably nothing. I could swear I set the alarm before we left.” Slowly, he pushed open the door. With his other hand, he pushed back his overshirt, exposing the holstered gun on his belt.

Until that moment, she hadn’t realized he’d even been armed.

The door closed behind them. “Wait here by the piano while I check things out.”

Blue took the lead as they went around the corner. Evan flipped on lights as they went from room to room on the main floor, then headed down the stairs to the basement.

“I’m tired,” Noah said, yawning again. “I wanna go to bed.”

“In a minute.” Marlie peered into the great room. Everything looked the same as when they’d left. Every dish she’d washed from lunch was either in the dishwasher or drying in the rack. The TV was off, and the living room blinds were open, revealing the shadowy foothills in the distance.

She wrapped an arm around Noah’s shoulder, darting her gaze around the spacious ground floor, as if someone really might jump out from a shadow.

Blue padded up the stairs, followed by Evan. “Everything’s fine. I must have forgotten to set the alarm. You both should hit the sack. I want to leave for Wyoming by nine.”

“Good night, then,” she said, urging Noah to the stairs. Ridiculously, the impulse to kiss Evan goodnight shot through her. She understood why he’d broken off their pool-table kiss so abruptly, yet it bothered her that he acted like it never happened.

Did she want it to happen again? If she were honest with herself, she didn’t know.

Five minutes later, Noah crawled into bed in his brand-new pajamas. Blue hopped on the bed and lay down.

“Down, Blue.” She motioned with her arm, but when Noah turned on his side and laid his arm on the dog’s belly, she stopped. Dogs could be just as therapeutic as a good therapist. If he kept Noah from tossing and turning all night, she’d let him stay.

She flipped off the lights and headed back upstairs. Evan sat on the sofa, his back to her as he leaned over, scrolling through images on his laptop.

Quietly, she went into her bedroom. Not her bedroom, the guest bedroom. While changing into the purple nightgown and a matching robe, Marlie thought about Evan’s parents. It was obvious they were still grieving. As difficult as it was for Evan to find anything positive in these birthday celebrations, it was also obvious he did it for them.

She headed for the bathroom but couldn’t resist another look at Evan. He still sat on the sofa, rolling his head left, then right. What he needed was a good neck and shoulder massage. She took a step toward him but stopped as apprehension raced up her spine because…