Page 11 of Halloween in Sleepy Hollow
It’s telling me something is terribly wrong. And that Shea, my wife, the love of my life, is in danger.
Why did I go to the security station at all? I’m not on duty tonight. I could have let the two officers assigned to man the station handle it. Then I would have been with Shea. We’d be headed to the Hop-less Horseman to meetup with Kane and Jess for beer and wings. Shea would be safely next to me and I wouldn’t be standing in the town park trying my best to keep my cool even though I feel seconds from losing it.
But the two officers—Jasper Harris and Milo Weston—are new to the force, thus the reason why they got assigned one of the least enjoyable duties all year. Case in point, the drunken Headless Horseman fight I caught the end of, as Jasper and Milo tried to defuse the two men without drawing the attention of the kids nearby.
I thought I’d just stop by for ten minutes or so to check in. I never expected to end up serving as referee in a ridiculous argument overwhoseHeadless Horseman costume was better.
Neither of them, for the record. Because the costumes were the same. But I guess after enough drinks, even identical costumes can look different.
Anyway, I thought Shea was just going to the park to meet up with her friends. “They’re all at the kids’ craft station,” Shea told me. “It sounds cute. Seeing all the little ones making Halloween crafts. I’ll just hang out there until you’re done.”
But she didn’t hang out at the park, did she?
“We need to check the library,” I announce. As Ben and Cash’s gazes swing towards me, I explain, “Maybe they’re still there. In the library, I mean.”
Cash nods. “Good idea.” He glances at Ben. “Didn’t Thea say something about the basement having bad cell reception? Maybe they went down there?—”
“To what?” Ben retorts. There’s an edge to his voice. “Check out the archives? On Halloween night? When Winnie and Elias are waiting for them?”
A beat later, Ben’s face creases in contrition. “Sorry. It’s a good idea. It’s just… I’m worried.”
“Same,” Cash agrees. “I keep trying to tell myself there’s a logical explanation for this. But—” He shakes his head. His mouth drags down. “Winnie’s over there, waiting for Ari to show up. What do I tell her?”
Sympathy cuts through the thick cloak of guilt wrapped around me. Cash and Ben aren’t just worried about their wives, but how their kids will react. And they can’t show how worried they are, how scared…
“We’ll find them in no time,” I say, following my old CIA mentor’s advice.“Even if you’re not confident, fake it,”he used to tell me.“And eventually the confidence will become real.”
“Okay, so the library.” Cash glances at Winnie, who’s sitting next to Scarlett and the twins by the bandstand, listening avidly to whatever story Penny is reading. “I’ll go. And Ben?”
Ben nods quickly. “Yeah. Count me in.”
“I’ll go too,” I tell them. “If we have to break in, it’s better if I’m there.”
And considering it’s where Shea was headed, it’s the first place I want to check.
“There’s Kane,” Cash says, gesturing at my partner as he enters the park.
“And Ian,” Ben adds. He jerks his chin towards Ian, who’s making his way towards us from the east side of the park.
Just as I’m lifting my hand to signal to Kane, my phone rings.
My heart leaps.
A moment later, as I recognize the ringtone, it sinks with a sickening thud.
It’s not the ringtone I assigned to Shea. I should have realized that immediately. It’s the one I gave to my brother-in-law and founder of Blade and Arrow Security, Cole.
Shoving aside the heavy disappointment, I answer briskly, “Cole. Are you on the way? Can anyone else help?”
“I’m on the way,” he affirms in the crisp, commanding tone he uses whenever he’s dealing with Blade and Arrow business.
Or the possible—likely—disappearance of a family member, in this case.
“Zane, Nora, and Jackson are out on a job,” Cole continues. “Rylan and I are just getting in the car now. Leo’s going to stay back at HQ to keep an eye on things. But he’ll be following up on any leads we may find, too.”
I’m relieved to know Leo’s available, albeit from the Blade and Arrow headquarters across town. He’s their resident tech genius, so if there’s anything we need to research online, he’s the one to do it.
“See if he can trace their phones, too. Apparently, Thea left hers in the library, but Ari and Shea had theirs on them.”
