Page 60 of The Gathered Fragments of Us
"Morrison... Yes... No response at all?... Okay, keep trying. Check with neighbors." He hung up and looked at us with concern.
"The officers are at your ex-wife's house. No one's answering the door, and the house appears empty—no cars in the driveway, curtains drawn."
My heart stopped. "Empty?" I croaked.
"Mr. Barrett, I need you to think carefully. Does your ex-wife have access to significant cash? Other properties? Family out of state?"
"The money she stole," I said slowly. "She could have been converting it to cash. The way she managed it was really around getting my company to pay bills, but in reality I am completely out of touch with the level of fraud she performed and how much actual cash she could have walked away with."
"Well, so far we haven't been able to see how long she has been doing this, so it may be even more than you anticipate." Detective Morrison said grimly.
My phone buzzed with another text. This time it was from Jessica's number.
Caden, Macy and I are taking some time away. She needs space from the drama. She would rather some space from you right now. She told me to tell you that she'll call when she's ready.
Detective Morrison read it over my shoulder and his expression hardened.
"Mr. Barrett, this changes things. Your ex-wife has just admitted to taking your daughter and leaving. Combined with the financial crimes, this is now what we would call custodial interference."
"What's the next step?"
"Since you have documentation that requires agreement for any type of movement out of your local area, her removing Macy without your agreement is problematic. Now that she’s confirmed she’s left without it, this qualifies as custodial interference. And combined with the fraud, it’s more than enough for us to escalate." He leaned away from us.
We should issue an Alert—I'll need recent photos of both your ex-wife and your daughter, license plate numbers, any information about her current husband or partner, family members, anywhere she might go. We'll get an alert out to the surrounding states."
As I started rattling off information, I felt like I was describing strangers. How much did I really know about Jessica's life? Her plans? Her desperation?
As he rushed out to coordinate the alert, I slumped in my chair, staring at Jessica's text. Somewhere out there, my daughter was with a woman who'd been living a double life for years, a womandesperate enough to steal shit-ton of money, and now desperate enough to take Macy and run.
"We'll find her," Felicity said, but her voice was shaking too.
I just prayed we'd find her in time.
Felicity pulled in close. She wrapped her arms around me. How could I ever have let this woman become invisible to me. She is my rock. When all this is over, I will do everything in my damned power to make sure she sees that I can be her rock too. A tear slipped down my cheek—fear for Macy and love for Felicity all tangled together in my chest. Unable to hold it back, a sob wracked my chest. And Felicity was there for every shake of my shoulders.
She was more than I deserved but I'll be damned if I give her up.
Chapter 25: One Crisis at a Time
~Felicity~
The lights in the police station hummed overhead as I sat in the hard chair, watching Caden pace the small waiting area. Detective Morrison had disappeared twenty minutes ago to coordinate the Amber Alert, leaving us to stew in our own fears.
My phone buzzed. Maliyah's name flashed on the screen, and I felt a pang of guilt. I'd forgotten to call her back earlier this week like I'd promised.
"Hey, it's Maliyah. I should take this," I said to Caden, who nodded distractedly, still staring at his phone as if he could will Macy to text him back.
I stepped into the hallway and swiped to answer.
"Hey, MayMay."
"Finally! I was starting to think you'd forgotten you had a sister." Her voice carried that familiar teasing tone, but I could hear the underlying concern.
"I'm sorry, I've been—" I paused, my voice cracking unexpectedly—unsure of how to even explain this last week. "It's been a complicated week."
The teasing disappeared from her voice immediately. "Hey—Felicity, what's wrong? You sound terrible."
Where did I even start? "So…I'm at the police station."
