Page 40 of Nick
“Gracie!” Nick’s voice carried through the shop. “Rafe, where is she?”
“We’ll find her. No,” he grabbed Nick as he tried to race past him. “She’s not here. You’ve got to stay calm. I need you clearheaded if you want to help. Otherwise, I’ll have you hauled over to the sheriff’s station and locked in a cell, because I don’t need you interfering. Pull yourself together right now.”
“Tell me everything.” Rafe had to admit he was impressed. It was like Nick pulled on a suit of armor, a chilly demeanor coming over him. It was almost looking at the man who’d be in Brashear’s back pocket all over again. But right now he’d take it, because he needed Nick thinking because there were only two options, and neither one was good.
“What can I do?”
“Call Huntsville. See if Brewster made any calls, had any visitors. I need to know if he’s behind this.”
“He’s not.” Nick’s tone was definitive, like he knew exactly who was to blame.
“What do you know that I don’t?” Rafe glanced at his dad, who nodded. Guess he knew what Nick did, and he felt completely out of the loop.
“Just found out some information this morning. I’d planned to share it with you. We were on our way to your office when you called. Apparently Simon Norville has family who’s been visiting him, two nieces and a nephew. Long story short, Cassandra Bishop, the niece, and Jesse Norville, the nephew, have been in Texas for the past eight weeks. We suspect they’ve been working and coordinating with their uncle to take me out. Somebody screwed up the first attempt and got Antonio instead.”
“Ridge, can you stay put until the forensic guys get here?” At his nod, Rafe motioned for everyone else to follow, and headed back to the sheriff’s station. On entering, he spotted Alice pacing by Sally Anne’s desk, her arms wrapped around her middle. She looked up when she heard him walk in.
“I know you told me to go home, but is it okay if I wait here? I’ll go crazy until I know you’ve found Gracie.”
“It’s fine as long as you stay out of the way.”
“I will.”
“Was she there when Gracie was taken?” Nick’s eyes fastened on Alice.
“Yes, Alice is the one who came and told me about the woman forcing Gracie out at gunpoint.”
“I need to ask her a few questions.” Without waiting for his answer, Nick walked over to Alice. “Hello, Alice. I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Nick, a friend of Gracie’s.”
She nodded. “You’re the guy from Australia, right? Gracie’s talked about you.”
“Alice, I need to ask you a couple of questions, if that’s okay? It might help us find Gracie faster.”
“I’ll do anything to help. Gracie’s my friend, and I’m scared something bad is going to happen to her.”
“You told Rafe there was a woman who had the gun pulled on Gracie. Can you tell me what she looked like? Anything you remember might help.”
Alice looked at Rafe and he nodded encouragement. “She was tall, a little taller than me. She had really blonde hair, longer in the back and shorter toward the front, straight and kind of curved under at the ends. It was really blonde, like what they call a platinum blonde, I think. I didn’t get a good look at her eyes, so I can’t really tell you what color they were. Sorry.”
Rafe watched Nick pull out his cell phone and turned it toward Alice. “Is this the woman you saw?”
“Yes! That’s her! I’m positive.”
“Thank you, Alice. That’s a big help.”
Nick passed the phone to Rafe, and he looked at the photo of a blonde woman with blue eyes, a small nose, and a pointed chin. The hair was styled exactly how Alice described it.
“Who is she?”
“Cassandra Bishop. Simon Norville’s niece.”
“The one you were just telling me about? Guess you were right about them being in Shiloh Springs. But what made her grab Gracie?”
Nick drew in a deep breath and before he could answer, Douglas did. “She took her because Nick’s in love with her.”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward Nick, and he simply shrugged, a sheepish expression on his face. “I do. I know it’s crazy because it’s happened so fast, but it’s true.”
Rafe looked at his dad. “Seems be a family tradition, falling hard and fast.”
