Page 53 of Little Child Gone

“I’m sure that makes your job easier.”

“It does,” Melinda answered. “When the attending supports the nurses, the rest of the doctors on the floor tend to follow their lead.”

“Have you ever met Christy or any other family members?”

“Of course,” Melinda said. “Doctor Hall had a get-to-know-you party at his place the first few months he started. She’s very nice. Very much the homemaker.”

“Their home is beautiful,” Nikki said. “This might sound strange, but does Doctor Hall share anything personal with you? Issues the kids might be having at school, the usual things co-workers talk about?”

“He talked about Taylor and marching band,” Melinda said. “Going to football games and competition. Stuff they wanted for Christmas, that sort of thing.” She worried her lower lip. “I really hope Taylor’s okay. Do you think he was kidnapped?”

“I can’t really share details,” Nikki said. “We’re doing everything we can to find him.”

Melinda’s pager beeped. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to check on this patient. I’ve already called the OR to let Doctor Hall know you are here. He was finishing up, so he should be with you shortly.”

Nikki handed her a business card. “If you think of anything else.”

Melinda tucked the card into her pocket and rushed out of sight. Nikki wished she hadn’t checked in with the operating room, but she understood Melinda was just trying to help.

She went back to her email, eager to read the one that had just come in from Liam. She skimmed the short message and clicked on the attachment.

“Shit.” Nikki read the Marion County, Indiana, arrest report. Taylor had been a witness to the violence and testified that he’d seen his mother throw a beer bottle at Jared.

She heard Jared’s scrubs before he entered the room. “Agent Hunt, did you find Taylor?” He towered over her, Snoopy scrub hat still on, circles under his eyes.

“Not yet.” Nikki grabbed her bag and stood. “We need to talk about Indianapolis.”

Jared sank into the chair next to her. It was clear he knew exactly what Nikki was referring to.

“It was nothing, really.” He pulled his scrub cap off, running his hands through his thick hair. “Christy’s had it rough most of her life. She was a foster kid. They kicked her out when she got pregnant with Taylor, and she had to learn to survive on her own. That sort of thing takes its toll on a person. She fell into certain bad habits, which affected the kids.”

“But the arrest happened less than two years ago,” Nikki reminded him. “You two had been married for several years, you’d adopted the kids and given her a good life. And Penny had come along. Things weren’t better for her?”

“Oh, of course they were,” he answered. “But she’s had a hard time forgiving herself for those early years. She stopped drinking when she was pregnant with Penny, but she fell off the wagon from time to time. That was one of those times. I should have known better.”

“What happened?”

“I’d come home from a long shift. Penny had a cold and was being a little bear. Amelia had taken her upstairs, and the boys were playing video games loudly,” Jared said. “I asked Christy what was going on, why she was so upset. It just went downhill from there. I tried to calm her down and she threw her beer bottle at me.” He touched the scar on his right cheek. “One of those perfect throws you’d never be able to repeat. I wouldn’t have called the police, but Taylor saw it happen. He called 9-1-1. I told the police it was an accident, begged them not to take her to jail. But they had to, and it was pretty obvious who was the aggressor.”

“The arrest report says she pleaded guilty and had to go through anger management and alcohol abuse classes,” Nikki said. “How did that affect her relationship with the older kids?”

“Taylor has never really seen her the same way after that night.” Jared sighed. “He and I have always been close. He feels like she doesn’t appreciate me and what I did for them. I thought things were getting better after we moved, and they seemed to for a while. But the first big argument they got into, he decided not to come home to freak her out. He texted me, but I was in surgery.”

He wiped his teary eyes. “I love her so much. She’s a great mom. It’s just her demons.”

“Do you think something could have happened between Christy and Taylor?” Nikki said. “We know she drove around longer than she admitted to last night.”

Jared stared at her. “She did?”

Nikki nodded. “She left Menards like she said, but she drove around for an hour before she came home. Christy told me she was looking for him.”

“I was on call,” Jared said. “Amelia and Caden both said she was livid when she got home, yelling about Taylor making her wait and how that was the last time.”

“You didn’t mention that this morning.”

He stared at her. “I didn’t think it was relevant. Where are you going with this?”

“We have to consider she and Taylor could have had an argument that went badly.”

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