Page 47 of Fatal Betrayal

"I told her I didn't. I said I love my daughter. I never wanted to hurt her."

Neil turned to him with fury in his gaze. "Did you tell Agent Hart about Claire's issues?"

"No. I didn't even think about it, and Agent Hart never asked me about it."

"What the hell is she doing? We need another agent in charge. I have to call someone."

"Hold on," he said. "Let me talk to Agent Hart and find out what she's thinking."

"I need someone else," Neil said in frustration. "You were so right about inept investigators."

He hated having his words taken out of context. But that wasn't important now. "Look, if Agent Hart knows, then everyone in the Bureau knows, so there's no point in trying to get her off the case. I suspect she's just checking every possibility. I doubt that this will be an issue."

"It better not be."

"I love Elisa," Claire repeated.

"I know," he said. "Have you slept at all, Claire?"

"I can't close my eyes."

"You need to try. Maybe take a light sedative. Do you have something like that?"

Claire shrugged. "I don't know."

"I called Dr. Mulders' office, but he was out," Neil said. "He's going to call back as soon as he returns."

"I don't want to take anything," Claire said. "I need to be alert in case Elisa needs me."

"You need to rest so that you will have all your energy available when she's home," he told Claire. "Let Neil take you upstairs. Lay down for a while. See if you can get a little sleep."

"He's right, Claire," Neil said.

"Okay," she said wearily. "But you'll keep on them, Cooper?"

"I will. I'll go to the press conference now." As Neil took his wife upstairs, Cooper left the house. The news vans were mostly gone, probably heading downtown to the press conference. That was good. He didn't want Neil or Claire walking out of the house in panicked, edge of a breakdown mode. Hopefully, Claire could sleep and get herself a little more together.

He hopped into his car and started the engine. As he drove, he wondered why Andi had gone to Claire about the postpartum depression and where she'd heard about it. He actually hadn't even thought about bringing it up, because Claire had been fine the last few months, and he didn't believe it was an issue. But he could see why Andi had to ask her about it. He just wished she'd talked to him first. Maybe he could have smoothed the waters.

Even as that thought crossed his mind, he could hear Andi's voice in his head telling him that the investigation wasn't about making Neil and Claire comfortable. It was about finding Elisa, and she couldn't leave any stone unturned. She'd probably say that with a pointed look, because he was the one who said the investigators in Hannah's case didn't dig into every clue.

On the other hand, like the agents on Hannah's investigation, Andi had zeroed in on the close family circle and not on the broader pool of suspects. To be fair, she had to start somewhere. Frowning, he wondered why he felt the sudden need to be fair, because this wasn't about Andi's feelings, either.

He also wondered if he should have told Neil he had a past with Andi. In the beginning, he'd thought the case would be over before the sun went down, but as it went on, as Neil questioned Andi's actions, he was starting to feel like he should have been up-front from the start. Not that their past relationship was getting in the way. He was probably getting better information than he would have if they hadn't known each other before.

At this point, he didn't want to muddy the waters. Neil didn't need anything else to worry about, but what he did need was a strong liaison with the FBI, and that was him. So, he'd keep going and hope that together he and Andi would be able to do what they couldn't do before—bring a missing child home.

CHAPTERELEVEN

Andi knewthe media was frustrated with their press conference. They had very few facts to relate and couldn't confirm any of the speculative suggestions from the reporters. Damon had spoken first, then introduced her to field questions. They'd done well in portraying a unified front, but they couldn't give the answers everyone wanted to hear, and she was thankful when it was over. She had never wanted to be the face of the FBI, but in her line of work, she'd found herself at far more podiums than she would have liked.

"That wasn't worth much," Damon muttered as they stepped away from the microphones. "But necessary. Hopefully, it brings in some new leads."

"I hope so," she said fervently, as Flynn joined them.

"I need to talk to you and Flynn for a few moments," Damon added. "Let's go to my office."

He led them out of the room, down a back hallway and up a flight of stairs to his office. There was a woman sitting outside who handed Damon a note as he paused at her desk.

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