Page 47 of Stay With Me
I walk back to my office with a cup of coffee and sit at my desk, thinking about last night. That was the best date I’ve ever had, and I know it was the last first date I’ll ever go on.
I need to remember to call my mom after calling Elijah. I want to touch base since I haven’t talked to her about Jess and Luna moving in. I make a note to check my calendar to see if she’s in port.
After setting my phone on the desk, I dial Elijah’s number and turn on the speakerphone. It takes two rings before he answers.
“Hunt.”
“Hey, Special Agent Hunt. It’s Deputy Noah Andrews calling you back from Griffin’s Den. How’s it going?”
“It’s going. I was wondering if you were going to call me back, or if I was going to have to call you.”
“I had to talk to my girl. It’s her story to tell, and I wasn’t going to make it happen until she was ready.”
“And you’re sure she said she came from The Family?”
“Yeah, her and her sister.”
“Do you know any more than what you told me before?”
“All I’m willing to say is that Luna moved to town just about a year ago. She works here in town with a local family. When wewere celebrating her birthday at the local bar, I got a call that a young girl was at the police station asking for Luna.”
“I take it Luna was surprised when she found out.”
“Honestly, I thought we’d have to take her to hospital because of shock. Of course, because a child was involved, we had to call CPS, and some of the story came out when it came to the fingerprinting and background check. Luna admitted she didn’t have identification. It was my turn to be shocked, but once I saw how scared she was of being separated from her sister, I stepped in as the emergency foster until we could get her identification sorted. We agree that it’s time she meets with you, but it’ll only be Luna first. We’ll decide after if you need to talk to Jess.”
“She’s really brave. Leaving couldn’t have been easy, and for Jess, it had to be even harder. Have you gotten either of them set up with a therapist?”
My respect for the man just went up tenfold. I haven’t worked with the feds often, but you hear about both good and bad experiences. He could have demanded more information, only interested in closing a huge case. Instead, he asks if they’re seeing a therapist.
“Yeah, Jess recently started, and Luna is waiting for a spot to open up with a therapist.”
“Good, it’ll help them.” He blows out a breath. “So I have both good and bad news. Which one do you want first?”
Suddenly, extremely nervous about what he’s going to say, I answer, “Good.”
“My team and I can be down there in two or three weeks. Maybe sooner, but let’s plan for that.”
“Okay, I’ll make sure we’re prepared.”
“Now, the bad news. The Family is in the wind. I’ve never seen them leave the area like this, and I don’t believe they plan on coming back because they burned the whole camp to the ground.”
I shoot up in my chair, and my heart rate picks up. “How long have they been gone?”
“We got the tip yesterday from the fire department after an investigation showed that it wasn’t a natural wildfire. The fire itself happened several weeks ago. I have my profiler working on it. My best guess is they aren’t happy a second person has run away, and they’re moving to try and keep themselves safe if Jess talks to the cops. Or worst case, they’re coming looking for her.”
“A bonus of living in a small town is that the second someone steps out of line who isn’t from here, we’re notified. I’ll make sure my sheriff knows.”
“Small towns are good at getting fast information in most cases, but the lack of food options leaves much to be desired.” He laughs.
“I used to feel the same about the food options. I had a hard time adjusting after coming back from college.”
“Yeah, I imagine that would take some getting used to. Anyway. I’m going to brief my team and get the travel plans ready. I’ll text you once it’s set. In the meantime, we’ll touch base if we hear anything strange.”
“Sounds like a plan. I look forward to meeting you, Special Agent Hunt.”
“Just Elijah. Talk soon,” he says and ends the call.
Taking a deep breath, I process what he told me.
