Page 24 of The Unseen
THIRTEEN
Quinn settled Alex into a baby carrier and set off for her appointment. She would have preferred to take the pram, but the tables in FreeState Coffee were too closely set up to bring it indoors and she didn’t want to leave it outside since it had begun to snow. Logan had chosen the place for the meeting, since he could only pop in during his work break. Quinn strode along purposefully, her arms around the baby, whose cheek was pressed to her arm. He was wide awake, looking around with interest. If she walked long enough, he’d drift off and hopefully sleep through the meeting with Drew Camden, private investigator. Quinn had called him that morning, thinking they could chat over the phone, but Drew had wanted to meet in person, probably to get a sense of her as a client.
The coffee shop was half-empty, which was a blessing. Quinn took a table in the corner and ordered herself a decaffeinated cappuccino. She would have loved a blast of caffeine but felt too guilty to indulge while nursing. As soon as she weaned Alex, she’d have a bucket of coffee followed by several bottles of chilled white wine and a night out on the town. She might even stay up past nine o’clock and wear something besides her elastic waistband leggings.
Quinn’s cheeks grew uncomfortably warm as she thought of Gabe and his hungry hands on her body. Last night had been frantic and primitive, but this morning their lovemaking had been slow, drowsy, and decadent, reminding her of what their life had been like before the children came along. She had been barely awake when Gabe pulled her against him, his hand cupping her overflowing breast as he entered her from behind, his movements leisurely and deliberate, and so delicious. It wasn’t just the sex that made Quinn happy, it was the physical intimacy between them that had been sorely missing for the past few months. It felt so natural and so right, like two halves of a whole coming together and locking firmly into place. Gabe still loved and desired her, and she’d rediscovered her hunger for him and realized that she wasravenous. They were parents to two children, but they were still a couple, still Quinn and Gabe, and they had to hold on to that no matter what. So many couples lost their bond as the responsibilities of family took over. She wouldn’t allow that to happen to them.
Quinn tore her thoughts away from the boudoir and turned her attention to the baby. She removed Alex’s fuzzy brown hat with monkey ears, pulled off his coat so he wouldn’t get too warm, and settled him in her lap. He was wide awake, smacking his lips in that way he did when he was hungry.
“Oh no, you don’t. I’m not nursing you here,” Quinn crooned to him. “I have a lovely bottle for you, young sir.” She extracted the bottle from her baby bag and adjusted the baby’s position for easier feeding before allowing him to latch on. “There you go. Enjoy! Same product, different packaging.”
“May I join you?” a gravelly voice inquired, nearly making Quinn jump out of her skin. “I’m Drew.”
“Ah, yes, of course. Sorry, I was a bit distracted.”
“I can see that. Sweet little lad. What’s his name?”
“Alex.”
Quinn took in Drew Camden. He was in his late forties or early fifties, with a head of thick, silver-streaked dark curls and light blue eyes that seemed to miss little. He was a bear of a man, and a little intimidating, if she were honest. Drew extended his left leg into the space between the tables as he sat down.
“Can’t bend it all the way,” he explained. “Gunshot wound.”
“I’m sorry. Brian did mention you were shot in the line of duty.”
“No need to be sorry. What happened, happened. Now, shall we wait for your brother, or would you like to give me the backstory?”
“I can fill you in while we wait. Logan should be here any minute. He’s coming from work. He’s a nurse at the London.”
“A noble profession. There were some wonderful nurses looking after me after my injury. One of them was so sweet, I married her,” he added as a charming blush stained his cheeks. “Every cloud and all that…”
Quinn smiled. Drew Camden suddenly seemed a lot less intimidating, and vastly more likable. “That’s a great story. Logan met his partner, Colin, at the hospital as well. He’s a lovely man, intelligent and kind.”
“And where did you meet your husband?” Drew asked, smiling at Alex, whose eyelids were fluttering as he stopped sucking and began to drift off to sleep.
“We met on an archeological dig in Ireland. He was the dig supervisor and I was one of the students. It took us eight years to actually get together.”
“Life has its own plan, doesn’t it, and its own timeline.”
“I don’t know about that. Was it life’s plan to separate me from my sister at birth? Seems awfully unfair.”
“No one said it was fair, but maybe this is the way it was meant to be.”
“Well, I mean to change that. I have to find her. I must.”
“Tell me everything you know,” Drew invited.
Logan came rushing into the coffee shop just as Quinn finished her summary, which was pitifully short. “Sorry I’m late. What did I miss?”
“Nothing yet,” Drew replied calmly. “So, Quentin is not actually missing, just not in contact?”
“There’s no trace of her anywhere,” Logan reiterated what Quinn had already explained. “She doesn’t come up in any search. Even if she were dead, her obituary would pop up.”
“I think we need to work under the assumption that Quentin changed her name after leaving her parents’ home. Since we don’t know what she changed it to, that avenue of enquiry is closed to us. However, there are other ways to get to her.”
“Such as? We’ve learned next to nothing from her siblings or the attorney who manages her trust fund,” Logan said.
“Perhaps you didn’t ask the right questions, or pose them to the right people.”
