Shane opened the driver’s door (it was unlocked) and Lacie’s scent hit him head on. So fresh, so feminine. Sunshine and flowers. It made his stomach clench in worry. When the inner dome light did not come on, Shane used a flashlight to do a quick check of the interior. The keys were still in the ignition. Lacie’s purse and the contents of it were strewn across the passenger seat as if she had been looking for something. Her wallet still sat there, so at least it didn’t look like she had been robbed.
Her phone, Shane realized. Her car had a dead battery and she was looking for her phone to call for help. With a few quick taps he dialed her number and listened. There was no telltale ring in the VW, no muted vibration.
“Hello?” a male voice said through the small device.
“Who is this?” Shane asked, fighting down the sharp twist in his gut.
“Charlie, night custodian. Who’s this?”
“Shane Callaghan. I’m trying to reach Lacie McCain.”
“Ah,” the man said with a slight chuckle. “I should have known this was Lacie’s phone. Found it lying in the conference room, didn’t know who it belonged to.”
“Is Lacie in there?”
“Nope. They all left hours ago.”
“Lacie’s car is still in the lot. I think she might have had some trouble with it. May I come in?” It was a courtesy. Shane was going in whether he received permission or not. There might be some clue in there.
“Not supposed to do that,” the man mused. “Your name is Callaghan, you say?” Shane confirmed that it was. “Guess it’d be alright then. Come to the southern entrance.”
As Shane made his way toward the building, the powerful beam of his flashlight searched the ground and surrounding areas for any indication of Lacie’s earlier movements, but he didn’t have much hope. The storm would have wiped out anything useful.
Charlie was waiting for him at the door. Shane immediately pegged him as a veteran; he had the haunted look of a man who had seen enough horror in the world and was trying to live out the rest of his life in peace. “Your brother Kane saved my ass in Iraq,” Charlie said by way of greeting. “He is one scary son of a bitch, but a hell of a good man.”
Shane nodded. His eldest sibling was roughly the size of a small mountain and had the personality of a deadly tsunami. He was quiet; no one ever heard him coming, but once he got there, everything around him was decimated. There were hundreds of men like Charlie who owed their lives to Kane.
Unfortunately, Shane didn’t learn much from his look around. Charlie told him he’d had his earphones in most of the night, hadn’t heard or seen anything out of the ordinary until he found the phone in the conference room when the backup generator kicked in. He walked Shane around the building, but again, no luck.
Charlie flipped the switches to turn on the emergency floodlights around the property, bathing the outside in light. Shane had already called Sean and Kieran; they were on their way to assist in a search of the grounds. Charlie said he wanted to help, too. “Lacie’s a good woman. Nice to everyone, you know?”
Yeah, Shane knew. Her gentle, compassionate nature was one of the first things that drew him in.
“She got me this mp3 player for Christmas,” Charlie continued, as if he needed to impart the knowledge. “Said the music would keep me from getting lonely when I’m here at night by myself. Sometimes she leaves Yodels on her desk for me. She knows they’re my favorite.”
Shane nodded. That sounded exactly like something Lacie would do.
Sean pulled up in the family Hummer H2, and Shane was grateful that Nicki had come along, too. His twin’s croie was a former agent of an elite, unsanctioned group known only as the Chameleons. As the only woman to ever be actively included in the Callaghans’ off-the-books team, she had proven herself invaluable time and time again. Kieran jumped out of the back seat with his usual enthusiasm, all-business and raring to go.
Together they methodically covered the grounds. It was Sean who found an area near the far back end of the building where it looked as though some of the landscaping had been crushed. Closer inspection revealed shallow grooves in the seeping mud, consistent with someone crawling – or being dragged, though they ended where the walkway picked up again.
“Sean.”
Nicki’s voice was barely more than a whisper, but Shane’s head whipped up. His heart sank into the bottom of his shoes when he saw Sean crouch down next to Nicki, touch his fingers to the foot-high stone retaining wall, then draw them up to his nose.
Shane didn’t need to invoke his special connection with Sean to know that he’d found blood.
“How bad is it?” he asked.
“Not bad,” Sean answered evenly. “We have to call this in, Shane.”
Shane heard the words he didn’t say aloud. This might be a crime scene.
“I know.” Lacie is fine. She has to be.
“Kieran’s calling in the others.” We’ll find her, Shane.
Fuck yes we will.