He wiped his feet on the rug by the door and flipped on the light. “Faye? Curtis?” He went through the door to the living room and down the hall to the front door. He unlocked the door and swung it open as the officer with Kaia started around the end of the house.
They turned and ran to join Jesse. “You should have waited for me, sir,” the officer said.
Jesse pointed to the stairs. “The bedrooms are up there.”
With his hand on the rail, the older policeman started up the stairs. “I’ll check out the downstairs,” the younger patrolman said.
Jesse went up the stairs. He knew his niece wasn’t down here. At the top of the stairs, he found the policeman bending over a figure on the carpet in the hall.
Curtis was moving about, and his eyes were fluttering as he struggled to gain consciousness. A pool of blood stained the tan carpet by his head. Jesse looked past him into the bedroom. The soft green comforter had been carefully folded and lay across a stand. Every accessory had been coordinated and placed just so. It seemed an attempt to create a perfect haven. This had to be the master bedroom.
Unfortunately, it was empty.
He let the officer take care of Curtis and stepped past them to race down the hall to the guest room. Heidi’s stuffed bear, Boo, lay in the doorway. Jesse caught his breath as his lungs constricted with an awful knowledge. “Heidi?” he croaked. He flipped on the light and looked frantically around the bedroom.
The covers had been thrown back, but the bed was empty, though there was still an indentation in the pillow where Heidi’s head had been. Jesse picked up Boo and clutched the bear to his chest. He sagged against the doorjamb.
He felt a touch and turned. Kaia’s dark eyes were soft and troubled. “She and Faye are both gone?”
He couldn’t have spoken if he tried. Nodding, he gestured toward the bed.
Kaia’s gaze swept the room. “Her suitcase is still here.”
Jesse hadn’t noticed. He’d failed Heidi and Jillian. Failed to protect his precious niece from harm. Some guardian he was. Kaia touched his arm, and he opened his eyes. He knew he needed to do something, find them somehow, but his muscles felt frozen in place. Where did he even start to look?
She put her palms on his cheeks. “We’ll find them, Jesse.”
“How?” he croaked, his tight throat finally allowing a word through.
“God will help us.”
Jesse knew God as an exacting Father. Maybe this was Jesse’s punishment for all the failures in his life. He’d failed to protect his wife and child, and now Faye and Heidi were in danger because of him. He never should have left them.
Kaia leaned up and brushed his lips with hers. The action warmed his cold limbs as nothing else could. He clutched her to his chest and buried his face in her fragrant hair. “You smell like plumeria,” he murmured.
A soft laugh escaped her, and she pulled away. He let her go slowly, wishing he could hold this moment a little longer. Maybe the police would know where to look next. He didn’t have a clue. He followed Kaia down the hall to where the officers crouched over Curtis.
Curtis was sitting up now with his head leaning against the wall. His eyes were closed, and an ugly bruise darkened his forehead. The cut was crusted with dried blood, and Curtis touched it then winced.
“How is he?” Jesse asked the older officer.
“He’ll be all right. The paramedics are on their way.”
Jesse tucked Boo inside his shirt then knelt by Curtis. “What happened?”
Curtis opened his eyes. “I’m not sure. I heard a noise and got up. My gun was on the nightstand, so I took it with me. When I opened the door and stepped into the hall, someone hit me on the head. That’s all I remember.”
Not much help there. “Did you see the attacker at all?” Jesse asked.
“No, not a glimpse.” Curtis looked up, his face contorting with pain at the movement. “I’m sorry, Jesse.” He looked around. “Where’s Faye?”
“Where did you see her last?” an officer asked.
“She was still in bed when I got up. I don’t think she heard whatever it was that I did.” Curtis groaned and leaned forward, holding his head.
“She’s nowhere in the house, sir,” the other patrolman said.
Curtis looked up. “What’s that mean? What about Heidi?”
“Gone as well,” Jesse said. “The back door was standing open when we got here.”
“I shouldn’t have gone to bed,” Curtis said. “Faye wanted me to stay up and stand guard, but I told her we’d be fine. I have state-of- the-art security here. I have no idea how the guy got in.”
“You think there was only one man?” Jesse asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything.” Curtis’s head fell back against the wall.
Twenty-six