Page 67 of Protecting his Heart

Evan could hear the pain in his voice, but he was, unfortunately, right. They had nothing. The only way for the girlto disappear was through her father’s front or back door while he was watching TV or through her bedroom window. It didn’t leave a lot of options for someone to forcibly take her if she put up a fight. Which potentially meant she had been unconscious. He shared his thoughts with Owen.

“I agree. If she didn’t leave of her own volition, she must’ve been unconscious at the time. It’s the only way she could’ve disappeared without Edward knowing.”

And that didn’t bode well for her.

“Unless he knows more than he’s saying,” Owen added.

Evan stared at him, rearranging things in his head to leave space for that option. It was something he hadn’t thought about. “Do you think he does?”

Owen blew out a breath. “I’m not sure. There’s nothing to show that he does, but it’s not impossible.”

As Roger returned, a car stopped beside them, and two men climbed out.

“Are you Owen and Evan?” one said, holding up his badge. “Detectives Acton and Burrows.”

Owen stepped forward, holding out his hand. “Owen Morris. This is Evan Montgomery and Roger…”

“Coulson,” Roger finished. “Forensic scientist.”

“Sorry to meet under these circumstances. Brett mentioned you know the father,” Detective Acton said.

Evan nodded. “Yes. He’s a doctor and I’m a nurse at the hospital. We have spoken with them, but we have nothing to go on.”

Acton nodded. “Okay, leave it with us and we’ll keep you updated. Coulson, did you find anything?”

“I’ve taken some fingerprints, but they might come back as family. I don’t have a reference for them right now, but I’m going to head back in to get the parents’ prints for our records. Otherthan that, there wasn’t anything amiss that I could see, either in the bedroom or outside the window or in the back garden.”

Burrows sighed. “So we have nothing.”

“Pretty much,” Roger agreed.

“Let’s speak with them. Like I said, we’ll keep Brett updated as we go.”

Roger said, “Can I get a lift back with you, Detective?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks, Roger,” Evan said. “Let’s get back. I’ll drive.”

He took the keys from Owen and climbed in, Owen a little slower than him. This had to be bringing back awful memories for him. It was bad enough for Evan because he thought of Amy as a little sister, the same as he thought of May, Dominic’s sister, but it must be ten times worse for Owen. He was purposefully ignoring that his sister was ill for the moment. He didn’t have enough brain power for that right then. They were silent as he worked through the streets, heading back to Windsor. The guards waved them through, and they trudged through the corridors to Sec HQ.

Filling in Brett took little time because they had nothing, but they still gave him everything they had. Felix had found nothing else on the cameras in the time they’d been gone.

“It’s as if she’s disappeared off the face of the earth,” he muttered, frowning.

“It’s too clean,” Owen added. “Have you looked into the father?” he asked Brett.

“Felix?” Brett called. “Edward Wallis?”

Felix joined them, holding a tablet. “Edward Wallis, doctor at Windsor Hospital for eight years. Before that, he worked in London. He amicably divorced Rebecca Wallis two years ago and has joint custody of Anika Wallis, who is now fifteen. Edward has lived in the same house since they moved back to Windsor,and Rebecca lives in a smaller house a short distance away. No criminal record for any of them, not even parking tickets.”

“This doesn’t feel right,” Owen said, and Evan couldn’t agree more.

As much as he didn’t want Edward to be part of it, for someone to disappear so easily without leaving a trace at all was almost impossible. It was feasible, just unlikely.

“Did you check any property cameras?” Felix asked.

Evan shook his head. “I didn’t think about that.”

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