Sean kissed his fiancée, then gave Siobhan a hug. “I’m glad you came back with Lucy.”
“I didn’t want to,” Siobhan said. “I wanted to stay.”
“It’s not safe for you right now,” Lucy said. “We’ll go back tomorrow.” She turned to Sean. “I may be gone for a day or two.”
“That’s okay—I have a case.” Suddenly he didn’t want to go. “I’ll be busy. Are you hungry?”
Siobhan shook her head, but Lucy said, “Siobhan only picked at her food.”
“I’m so angry. They took everything. I mean, I have my photos, but they took everything else. My camera. My computer. We tracked them down—destroyed! And they went through my stuff.”
Sean exchanged glances with Lucy, then put his arm around Siobhan’s shoulders and led her down the hall. “You can shower, change, I’ll whip up an omelet. Breakfast food is about all we have in the house right now.”
“You don’t have to do anything for me,” Siobhan said.
“Nonsense.” Sean stopped in front of the main guest room. “I’m serious.”
Siobhan smiled at him, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “How’s Kane? Better?”
“You haven’t talked to him?”
She shook her head. “Not since the hospital.”
“He’s good.” Sean frowned. “Better than you, it seems.”
“I’ve been looking for Mari and Ana for over two years—I should have been looking harder.”
“Don’t do that to yourself. There is no one who’s looked for those girls harder than you.” He tilted her chin up. “Take a shower, then come and eat.”
“Okay.” She gave him another hug. “By the way, Sean, I absolutely adore Lucy. I see why you love her.”
Sean waited a minute until he heard the shower running, then walked back to the living room.
Lucy wasn’t there. He went upstairs and found her ready to get into the shower. “Join me,” she said. “I missed you today.”
Sean hesitated, just a second. He should tell her about Madison and Jesse right now—but she was so tired, so forlorn. Later, after she relaxed, ate, had some peace. Then he could tell her. He touched her face, kissed her warmly.
“Ten minutes, Sean. Of you, me, and water. I need to clear my mind, regain my footing so I can look at this case objectively.”
“Anything, princess.”
*
Thirty minutes later Siobhan entered the kitchen, her curly red hair wet and hanging down her back. She looked a million times better than when she’d first walked in. So did Lucy. Sean finished the omelets and dished up three plates.
“You didn’t have to do this,” Siobhan said.
“Nonsense. I know Lucy doesn’t eat right when she’s working, and you had a difficult couple of days.”
“Jail certainly wasn’t fun.”
Sean stared, mouth tight. “No one told me you were in jail.”
“I didn’t know the details until we got down there,” Lucy said. “Trespassing, breaking and entering, assault—”
“He pinched my nipple,” Siobhan said bluntly. “On purpose. My elbow in his nose was a knee-jerk reaction. I didn’t mean to break it.” She paused. “Not that I feel guilty about it.”
“You shouldn’t,” Lucy said before Sean could speak. “Charges were dropped, but Siobhan uncovered something potentially big. We’re going back tomorrow—we have several leads.”
“And I’m worried about Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth?” Sean questioned.
“The baby,” Lucy said. She had a faraway look on her face for a second, then shook her head. “We believe that Marisol or Ana gave birth and left her infant at a church.”
“The baby was wearing a locket I gave to each girl,” Siobhan said. She pulled her necklace out and showed Sean. “The locket was Marisol’s because of the photo and what she wrote on the back, so I’m inclined to think Elizabeth is her daughter, but we don’t know for certain.”
“A baby?” he said. Sean was watching Lucy. She stared at her plate, not looking at anyone.
“She’s beautiful,” Siobhan said. “You know what happened to Marisol and Ana de la Rosa, right?”
Sean nodded. “They’ve been on the RCK hot sheet since they disappeared.”
“Hot sheet?” Lucy asked.