Page 110 of Paternal Instincts
Aslan bounced Ainsley on his hip, pretending to dance with her as he sang a kid song, so I answered. “Contractionsare about four minutes apart. They seem intense, but I have no basis for comparison. She’s five centimeters. The baby has moved down.”
“How are you holding up?” Allison asked.
“Nervous but excited.” My phone buzzed in my pocket. I frowned and excused myself, wandering a short way down the hall to answer it.
Costa’s name showed on the screen, and instantly, the case and its perils resurfaced, along with the panic and worries.
“Hey,” I choked out. “Did you find them?”
“We went to the house in Pickering. No one was there. We had a landlord open the apartment, but no sign of recent occupation. The team we sent to the Flemingdon Park area told us to meet them at the apartment, so we drove back into the city. The roommate, John Christie, said Flynn hasn’t been around much the past few days. He positively identified Clementine as a girl Flynn brought by more than once. He said there was definitely a sexual component to their relationship since she spent the night in his room several times. He knows nothing about a kid but describes Flynn as hot-tempered and unpredictable. A cocky mouthpiece who thinks his shit don’t stink.”
“Hold on. Flynn was sleeping with Clementine?”
“Yes.”
I dragged my fingers through my hair. “Shit. I bet Imogen found out, and that’s why she fired her.”
“Makes sense to me.”
“He’s in his forties. She’s twenty. That’s—”
“A very large age gap, but not illegal.”
I paced, my skin buzzing. “So, no sign of Crowley?”
“No, and we can’t find Nixon either. He wasn’t at Flynn’s place in Pickering, and he’s not here. John says he hasn’t seen him.”
“Shit.”
“There’s more. We confirmed that the vehicle where Clementine was discovered bleeding out belonged to her. Under the circumstances, Jordyn felt we could legally search it without a warrant.”
“She’s right.”
“We came up with bags of groceries and a collection of child-size clothing, recently bought at a Walmart. Tags still on.”
“She’s helping him.”
“Quaid, we need to figure out where they’re keeping the boy. Any ideas?”
“No.” I racked my brain but came up empty. So far as we knew, Clementine lived at home with her parents. “I’ll… let me see if I can talk to Imogen, but… if she knew where Crowley was—”
“She would have retrieved him. It’s why she took off, isn’t it?”
I didn’t respond. We both knew he was right. Traffic sounds came through the line, and I suspected Costa was outside.
“How are things?” he asked after a silent minute, his tone quieter. “I didn’t mean to drag you back into this, but I wanted to keep you updated.”
“I appreciate it. Things are progressing. Slowly. Our families are here.” I huffed a short laugh. “Torin showed up in a rage because no one called him. He says he’s a better detective than you, and I should have asked for his help instead.”
Costa laughed. “Is that so. Tell him to go fuck himself.”
I smiled for the first time since answering the phone. “I gotta go, Costa. If I think of anything, I’ll call you.”
“Okay. We have a CSI team on the way to properly process the car. Once they arrive, we’re heading back to the hospital to chat with Clementine’s parents. I’ll pop in if we have a minute.”
We hung up, and I wandered to the waiting room where Aslan’s parents, his sister, Torin and Allison, and my dad waited for an update.Aslan’s mother had Ainsley in her arms, cooing at the baby, who soaked up the attention.
Aslan chatted with my dad and Ronan. Amelia, Torin, and Allison watched Cellina with the baby. Since everyone was occupied and no one had seen me, I backtracked down the hall and aimed for the other side of the ward and Imogen’s room.
