Chapter 17
I drove up the small, quaint street. The stores and restaurants on each side of Park Avenue were packed with people. It was a nice day out, temperatures in the mid-seventies, and sunny. It was a classic February day, with crisp air and clear skies above. To me, that was when Florida was at its best.
“Are you sure she grew up in Winter Park?” Scott asked nervously next to me in the minivan. He looked out at the sidewalk cafés and people strolling in and out of the stores, then turned to face me. His hair had grown a little long in front and fell onto his forehead in a way that framed his eyes cutely. I stared at him, feeling myself get lost for a second, then looked away.
“It just…it doesn’t match up with anything she told me,” he continued. “She said she was from Athens, Ohio.”
I searched for a parking spot along the street, but they all seemed to be occupied. I spotted a couple as they walked up to their car, looking like they were about to leave, and I decided to wait.
“I know, Scott,” I said, putting on the blinker to signal that I wanted their parking spot once they left. “I know that’s what she told you, but this is what the case file said. This is where she grew up, right outside of Orlando, and this is where her family still lives.”
“But why?” he said. “Why would she lie about that? And why haven’t I met any of them? If they were here the entire time? Just an hour away?”
I exhaled, hoping these people would hurry up and leave. I didn’t have all day. I had left Matt alone with two babies while I did this for Scott, and he wasn’t happy about it. It had been two weeks, and still, we hadn’t found Amy. She had left that day when Owen cried so helplessly, and no one knew where she was. I was terrified she might have harmed herself, so I involved Matt and Chief Annie in the search. Still, it was like she had vanished from the face of the earth.
Meanwhile, her baby needed her, and I was getting worn out from having to take care of two infants simultaneously. Luckily, Owen had responded well to the bottle and slept better now. Still, it was quite a lot for all of us and putting a strain on our little household. Matt wasn’t happy with me, even if he didn’t say it much. Frankly, he didn’t have to. I could tell by his disapproving looks when I rolled out of bed in the middle of the night to take care of a baby that wasn’t ours. But what else was I supposed to do? He thought we ought to call the Department of Children and Families, the DCF, so that they could find a foster home for Owen, but I told him I wasn’t ready to give up on Amy yet. I just needed to find her; that’s all. I was hoping she would come back on her own, but as the days passed, I felt less confident it was going to happen.
Finally, the car backed out, and the couple left. I slid into the spot and killed the engine, smiling triumphantly. I looked at my watch. We still had ten minutes before meeting with Sarah Abbey’s brother. I had contacted everyone in the family, and he was the only one who had gotten back to me after two weeks. He had agreed to meet us for brunch at The Briarpatch. It was supposed to be the best brunch in town, and I was beyond starving. Breastfeeding always made me so hungry, and while my mom and Matt both hoped it would help me shed a couple of pounds—make that fifteen to twenty—my eating habits lately hadn’t exactly carried me in that direction, I had to admit.
“Let’s find our table,” I said and walked up under the yellow awning outside the building that housed the old restaurant. The place was packed, and there was even a line outside, which was a good sign. It told me it was a sought-after place, one worth the long drive. Luckily, I had reserved a table just in case. I walked up to the guy by the entrance and told him my name.
“Thomas, three people.”
He nodded and grabbed three menus. “Right over here. Your third party has already arrived.”
Chapter 18
THEN:
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
Lynn blinked her eyes. “Sorry? What?”
Jeffrey chuckled. “You’ve literally been staring at me for like five minutes without saying a word.”
Lynn looked down at her notepad, hoping that he wouldn’t notice she blushed. “I hardly think it was that long.”
“It was. I looked at the clock just now, and it was five minutes.”
“Okay, then, I guess I was just…” Lynn trailed off. She couldn’t really tell him she had been fantasizing about him, a fantasy she had a lot lately, of him ripping off her clothes and pushing her against the wall. They had been staring into each other’s eyes, and it had felt like he was making love with her through them, penetrating her deepest inner self with his gaze. It was intoxicating.
“Where were we?”
“Are you all right, Doc? You seem a little off.”
“I’m fine. I just…well, I have a lot on my mind.”
“The hubby not giving you enough?”
Her eyes grew wide as she lifted her gaze to meet his again. “Excuse me?”
He grinned. “It’s okay. Lots of women your age don’t get enough. It’s only natural. I can help with that if you like.”
His smile was so dashing it felt crushing to her.
“You can’t say things like that,” she said. “We need to have clear boundaries on this.”
“I’m sorry. I was just joking.”
She continued, mumbling under her breath, “Besides, I’m not married.”
His eyes lit up. “You’re not? A woman like you?”
She looked down at her notepad but didn’t tell him about the boyfriend, Stan, she had been seeing for the past six years, who didn’t believe in marriage and therefore, there would never be one if she stayed with him, which she wasn’t sure she would. Especially not at this moment. Heck, they didn’t even live together. Not that Lynn wanted him to come live in her new house she had just bought. She liked her peace and quiet and being able to do whatever she wanted to whenever. She didn’t answer to anyone.
“So, you were just telling me about your new girlfriend?”
“Yes,” he said and leaned back on the couch, placing his hands behind his head, smirking. “And that’s when you dozed off and suddenly looked like you could rip my clothes off.”
She closed her eyes briefly. “You’re overstepping the boundaries again, Jeffrey; we talked about this.”
He laughed. “All right; all right. I’ll leave you alone. Yes, I told you I had met someone. Her name is Alice. I really like her. Do you want to see a picture of her?”
He pulled out his phone and turned it on, then showed the screen to her before she could tell him that, no, she actually didn’t really want to see a picture of the woman who got to go home with him at the end of the day.
“Here.”
Lynn stared at the screen, her pulse quickening. She could barely swallow. She stared at the woman with the dyed red hair, alabaster skin, and black-framed glasses on the screen.
She was the spitting image of Lynn herself.
Lynn lifted her gaze and met his while she wondered if he could see the resemblance.
“Cute, right?” he said. “Normally, I like blonde girls, but this one really stood out to me. I met her on this dating site. We’ve had a few dates, and I think she could be it, Doc. She could be the one. Don’t you think?”