He moved his head side to side in a somber manner. “I have not seen him this morning.”

“Then I suggest you back up the footage on your security cameras and see what happened.” If he dared to tell her there were no cameras, she might just have to punch him.

He nodded. “I can do that.”

In the living room, he picked up the remote to the television and turned it on. Then he opened a drawer on one of the side tables and withdrew another remote. This one he pointed at the television screen and made a number of selections.

A new app opened, and several views of the house appeared on the screen. He ran the video back and, sure enough, just before daylight, Poe exited a side door in the kitchen.

“You didn’t set the alarm?” This was ridiculous. Why would Abi take that sort of risk?

“I did set the alarm before I went to bed. I can only assume he disarmed it. It was armed when I got up this morning, which is why I didn’t consider that he’d gone outside.”

Poe was good. Figuring out a way around the code to disarm the security system wasn’t outside his purview, but why would he do that without telling her?

“The question,” Abi went on, “is why would he leave?”

“It would not be because he wanted to,” Jamie argued. If Abi was accusing Poe of something he could just back off. Poe would never double-cross her. She gestured to the screen. “Are there exterior cameras?” It was a silly question. Who had such an elaborate security system inside and then nothing outside?

Another click of the remote and they were looking at the yard around the house. The front was clear. So was the back. The view extended to the woods. While she watched, Abi ran the video back until it showed Poe as he walked out that side door.

Jamie held her breath as she watched him walk around the iron fence that separated the pool area from the rest of the yard. He continued past this area and straight toward the woods.

“This is wrong,” Jamie said, outright fear rising inside her now.

“We should go out there and have a look,” Abi suggested.

He led the way to the same kitchen side door that Poe had used. They exited the house and walked the cobblestone path toward the grassy area between the pool and the woods.

There was no way Poe would leave like this without telling her.No way.There had to be something about this that she didn’t know. A call from someone who had warned of imminent danger. Something.

Once they were in the woods, the lack of light made seeing any disturbance of the underbrush difficult. Jamie stood still and visually searched the area, looking for any indication that a person had cut through that underbrush.

Then she saw what she was looking for. A bent twig on a limb. She headed in that direction. Abi was right behind her. She inspected the bushes and the ground. Someone had definitely been through here recently.

She turned on the flashlight app of her phone and scanned the ground. The light flashed over something shiny.

Her heart bumped harder against her sternum.

She reached down and sifted through the leaves. Her fingers hit a cool and firm object.

Her gut clenched as her fingers curled around a cell phone.

The screen of Poe’s cell instantly lit with the missed call notifications from her attempts to reach him.

She started forward, looking for more indications of where the brush had been parted. Her heart pounded so hard she couldn’t catch her breath. Why would he come out here? Why wouldn’t he tell her whatever was on his mind?

A thought occurred to her, and she whirled on Abi. “You didn’t plant any tracking devices?”

He looked away before answering the question. “Only on you. I wasn’t expecting you to have company.”

Fury roaring through her, she started to search once more. If Poe was lying out here injured, she needed to find him.

Abi didn’t argue or question her actions. He just followed suit, picking his way through the brush and searching the same as she did.

An hour later it was obvious they weren’t going to find him.

The underbrush became spotty as they neared the drop down the hillside. At that point there was no longer any indication Poe had been out there.