Page 59 of Secret Crush

"She'll answer mine. Give me your address, John. I'll send her brother to you to get as much information as possible."

Unlocking the front door, John stepped outside. The blaring sun made his skin heat. He told her his address and then said, "The police are here now, Mrs. Collins. Please let me know if you find her."

The sirens stopped in his front lawn, but the black SUV behind them held a camera crew. He pressed his lips together and stared into the tinted windows of the police cruiser that was followed by a local station.

Years of training told John television cameras might make everything worse. It would illuminate angles that the bad guys shouldn't know. With luck Alice was fine, but he'd not take that chance.

The officer, who had been speaking to Alice at the wake, got out of the patrol car. Good. At least this man knew her and knew she was a sweetheart. "Rafe. Alice is in danger."

The man stepped closer on the grass as cameras took their picture. "How?"

With his head down, John led them to the front door.

"I sent this to the FBI the other day." He slipped the letter in the plastic bag into the other man's hands. He stared at the camera crew and then said, "Please come inside."

Rafe walked inside and John closed the door. The officer put on plastic gloves and John handed him his phone to listen to the message. "Here. This is what I heard this morning."

John hit replay on speaker, knowing there was no way to recognize the distorted voice pattern.

Rafe read the note and listened to the short message. "Where is Alice now?"

His heart beat in his chest, loud. "I don't know."

"Alice was always a kindhearted girl. I don't want her in any sort of trouble."

John's gut twisted, but he ignored the pain. Instead he simply asked, "Will you help me find her?"

Rafe sucked in his lower lip and tapped his pen against a piece of paper. "We solve crimes after they happen. I can release an APB to be on the lookout for her, but I can't promise anything. What I can do is track the voicemail and try to match the handwriting and any fingerprints in the database."

No. They'd not find Alice's body somewhere in the bottom of a swamp picked apart by alligators. "Do what you can. I can't let anything happen to her."

Rafe's face paled as he said, "Alice Collins will turn up fine. She's smart, sweet, and a loyal friend. She used to tutor me in math."

John put his hand on the knob, feeling determined. "And someone wants her dead because of me." He opened the door.

Rafe walked outside but turned back before he reached the patrol car. "I will do everything I can. She was always a good girl."

Was meant past tense. John lifted his head. "Sheisa good woman. Thanks again Rafe."

Rafe lifted John's phone. "Just doing my job. Can I keep this?"

"Answer if it's Alice." No real choice existed. John shrugged as that was the only answer he could give, but then he stared at his brother's men who appeared on the street. He nodded at Rafe. "I'll get another line connected."

He'd send one of them to get him a phone as he went in search of Alice himself.

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