Page 34 of Cassidy

But then his new disposable phone rang. They jumped apart, as if the sound had been a gunshot rather than a shrill ring.

“Must be my mother,” Gabe said, reaching for the phone.

She ran her fingers through her hair, doing her best to calm her racing heart. In that moment, she was forced to admit her feelings for Gabe had morphed from one friendship to something more.

And she was at a loss as to what to do about it.

ChapterEight

Mentally bracing himself, Gabe answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Where’s my son?” His mother’s voice was a loud shriek, and he had to pull the phone from his ear. “What did you do to him?”

“I didn’t do anything to Travis.” He tried not to sound defensive and hoped he was telling the truth. The crushed phone flashed in his mind. Had he hurt Travis? No, he couldn’t imagine doing such a thing.

“This is your fault! You have to find him!” His mother’s voice rose in panic. “He’s not answering his phone! He always has his phone. Always!”

“I have my entire tactical team working on finding Travis.” He spoke in a firm tone, hoping to cut through her hysteria. “You can help by answering some questions. Can you do that, Mom? I need to know the last time you saw or spoke to Travis.”

“You spoke to him last, not me!” she said in a voice that was slightly calmer. “You were the last one to see him alive.”

That rocked him back on his heels. Although based on finding his phone in the field where he’d woken up, it shouldn’t have. “I saw him face-to-face or spoke to him?”

“How should I know?” The shrill panic was back. “He said he had to call you back as he walked out the door. You need to tell me what happened!”

He sincerely wished he could. “Mom, please try to remain calm. I need to know the last time you spoke to him. Yesterday? The day before? When did you notice him missing?”

“What are you not telling me?” she demanded. “Is he dead? Is that it? You don’t want to tell me because he’s dead?”

“No!” He winced, knowing that shouting back at her wouldn’t help. “I have amnesia, Mom. I woke up outside with a huge lump on my head. I don’t remember what happened, that’s why I’m asking you these questions.”

“Amnesia?” Her voice was a sneer. “Seriously? You really expect me to believe that?”

He raised his gaze to the ceiling, far too aware of the sympathetic expression in Cassidy’s gaze. “You can believe what you want. I have no reason to lie to you. I am desperately trying to find Travis. If you refuse to help, then I’ll figure out another way to get the answers I need to start tracking him down.”

The silence stretched so long he’d wondered if she’d ended the call. Then the sound of sobs filled his ears. She was crying.

He told himself not to feel hurt at the way she cried for Travis, despite leaving him without a backward glance. “Mom, don’t cry. It’s going to work out.”

“We had a fight,” she said between sobs. “I didn’t know he was in contact with you, and it made me angry.”

“I’m sorry you argued with Travis,” he said. “When was that? Yesterday?”

“Yesterday right after school.” She sniffled loudly. “He took off in his new car, and I haven’t seen him since.”

“Tell me about his new car.” He latched onto the news with both hands. “I need the make, model, license plate number.”

“I gave all that to the other cop.” He heard the sound of rustling paper. “Okay, I found it. Travis has a five-year-old Corvette convertible, metallic blue with a black top, and the license plate is DWE 7754.”

He scribbled the information on the notepad. “Okay, that’s great, Mom. I’m sure we’ll be able to find that car. Just to be clear, the last time you saw Travis was at three thirty yesterday afternoon?”

“Yes.” Another sniff. “He didn’t answer my calls or text messages asking if he would be home for dinner.”

“Does he usually answer you?” Gabe asked.

“No.” The sobbing started up again. He had to wait for his mother to regain control. After a moment, she continued, “Travis can be stubborn, like any other typical teenager. He often ignores me. When I realized he didn’t come home last night, I blew up his phone again, begging him to answer me. But he didn’t! And he’s never done this, Gabe. He’s never stayed out all night without telling us.”

“Okay, I understand.” He did his best to soothe her fears, despite the sick feeling in his gut. He hadn’t realized he may have been the last one to speak to Travis before his disappearance. “Maybe he lost his phone. Did the officer you spoke to issue a BOLO for the Vette?”

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