Page 57 of Clara's Secure Hideaway

Katherine went to work checking the kids’ vitals and searching for any injuries. Both of them appeared unharmed. He hadn’t asked them about their experience, it hadn’t seemed the right time for such things. But he knew the trauma of this night would stay with them a long time.

Forever if they couldn’t find Clara.

“You were right, Avery,” Katherine said, returning her instruments to her medical kit. “You are very, very healthy.”

Mrs. Collins cleared her throat from the doorway. “And probably need something more substantial to eat besides candy. Do you two want some dinner? I made your favorite. My homemade macaroni and cheese.”

“And hot dogs?” Avery asked.

“You betcha! How about I take you two munchkins into the kitchen? Someone’s here to talk to Heath.”

Frowning, Heath stood to see past Mrs. Collins and into the foyer where Owen stood. The tense set of his shoulders and firm line of his mouth was all he needed to see to know there wasn’t any good news to deliver about Clara.

“But Heath’s hungry, too. Aren’t you?” Davey wound his arms around Heath’s forearm.

He smiled down at the boy and debated how to answer. He didn’t want to alarm them more than necessary, but he also needed to act, to move, to do something to help bring Clara home. “I am, buddy. But I still have a job to do, and part of that job is making sure everyone gets home safely.”

“Including Mama?” Avery asked, renewed tears brimming in her eyes.

“Including your mama. Can you go with Mrs. Collins? I promise I’ll let you know where I am at all times.”

“Okay,” they said in unison then dashed to Mrs. Collins, each taking hold of one of her hands, and walked away.

He squeezed the back of his neck and closed his eyes for a beat. He’d never experienced such a whiplash of emotions. But with the children out of sight, he could finally take a breath and place all his focus on Clara.

When he opened his eyes again, Katherine was gone and Owen stood in front of him.

“Anything?” he asked.

Owen shook his head. “We keep coming up against the same walls we’ve rammed into over and over. I spoke with his parents again. This time I threatened to arrest Fred if he kept any information from us. He stood firm on his statement that he hasn’t heard from Mitch since this morning and has no idea where he’d take Clara. His mom kept crying and saying how her son just wanted his family back—wanted life back the way it was.”

“She said the same thing when we were there. What about Bob? Did you talk to him or anyone else he worked with?”

Sighing, Owen shoved a hand through his hair. “Spoke with Bob, who can’t believe he bought Mitch’s whole I’ve changed and want to be a better father and husband story. He feels sick about giving the guy a job.”

Panic raised in Heath’s chest. His heart hadn’t beat a regular rhythm since he’d received the call from the sheriff. “We have to be missing something. This guy is not that smart. No way he has some elaborate plan in the works right now. Most of the time the simplest solution is the right one.”

“Agreed, but what’s the simple solution in this situation?”

Heath replayed everything they’d learned, every conversation they’d had about Mitch. They were making this too difficult—they had to be. Frustration fisted his hands at his sides. Mitch wasn’t some criminal mastermind. He was an asshole with no money, no friends, and an apartment he couldn’t go back to.

Realization struck him in the chest. “We’re looking at this the wrong way.”

Owen frowned. “What do you mean?”

“We know the obstacles surrounding Mitch. What he doesn’t have or where he can’t go.” Excitement thumped along with his racing pulse as his intuition tingled. “In his mind, he has one thing. Clara. His family. He wants his life to be like the way it was before.”

“So, what’s your point?”

“He wants to go back to when he and Clara and the kids were together, in their home. Have you checked Clara’s house?”

“A deputy went by there last night. The place was empty with zero sign of Mitch.”

Heath threw his hands in the air. “So we check again. It’s the one place left in this town that he has a delusional claim over. That he thinks no one would imagine he’d be. If he wants his family back, why wouldn’t he return to the family home, especially if he’s certain it’s already been crossed off the list.”

“He can’t expect that he can hole up there with Clara forever,” Owen said.

“He doesn’t plan on letting her live long enough to care.” The truth snuck up and slammed against the side of Heath’s head. Every bone in his body told him he was right. His gut twisted and determination surged through his system like water hitting a live wire.

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