Page 55 of Colton's Second Chance
After the bag of marshmallows was depleted, the family eased into quiet conversations around the bonfire. Eli arranged two lawn chairs beside Kansas’s chair and tugged Noelle over.
“Any news on Scott’s whereabouts yet?” Kansas asked Eli quietly as Noelle was settling in her chair.
“Not really. Workin’ on it.”
“Hey,” Will said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Eli and Kansas. “You know the rule at family gatherings. No business talk. Family time is for relaxing.”
“Aye, aye, Captain!” Eli called to his father and cast Kansas an amused look and shrugged. “Have you been to see Asher today?”
Kansas looked reluctant to answer but finally gave a quick nod. “What if I did? He’s been discharged from the hospital for about thirty-six hours, andsomeoneneeded to be sure he was following his doctor’s orders.”
Eli scoffed. “You say that as if I haven’t checked on him every day since the accident. I even took him a pizza tonight and shrimp salad from the Cove last night,” Eli aimed a finger at Kansas, “which, I have it on good authority, you helped him eat after I left.”
“Maybe I did. What of it?” Kansas said with a note of lighthearted challenge.
Noelle listened to the cousins’ banter while casting her gaze around the circle of chairs. Only Kansas wasn’t paired up with a significant other. The affection between the Colton couples, young and old, snuggling against the cold, made her ache for that kind of forever connection with Eli. The smiles and camaraderie between siblings and cousins tugged at her heart while also raking her soul with claws of longing. Did Eli have any idea how blessed he was to have such a large, loving family?
“You’re awfully cozy with Asher considering your ongoing feuds at the office,” Eli said, continuing to tease Kansas.
Kansas lifted a casually dismissive hand. “I’m cutting him a break while he’s injured. When he’s back on the job, being a pain in my backside, I’m sure our relationship will revert to normal.”
Before Eli could reply, the jangling of his cell phone interrupted the peaceful evening and murmur of conversation. Noelle jolted, having become so relaxed and at ease, that the strident tones sent a ripple of alarm through her.
“Don’t answer it!” someone called, while others groaned.
“No phones!” Will grumbled when Eli pulled out his phone to check the caller ID.
Sasha put a hand on his arm. “It’s okay, honey,” she said calmly. “Our boy has important work. He has to stay connected.”
Eli’s screen glowed brightly in the night-darkened yard, and Noelle held her breath, as if sensing the call was bad news. Hadn’t most of the callsshe’danswered lately been something ugly or troublesome?
Pressing the phone to his ear, Eli answered with, “Agent Colton here. What’s happened?”
In the light from his phone, Noelle studied Eli’s face and saw the swirl of a few fluffy snowflakes beginning to fall. He grunted as he listened, and his brow furrowed. With an angry huff, he lurched to his feet. He paced away from the fire, toward the house, where he could take the call in private.
Noelle and Kansas exchanged worried looks.
“This doesn’t bode well,” Noelle said quietly.
“Unless it does,” Kansas said, a hopeful note in her voice. “Maybe they’ve caught him. Maybe they’ve got a confession or located his car or…” She grimaced as if knowing her optimism wasn’t likely to pan out.
Noelle gnawed her bottom lip and watched the back door for signs of Eli returning. When he didn’t for several minutes, her concern grew.
Kansas, too, seemed restless, and finally Eli’s cousin stood and signaled to Noelle. “Come on. Let’s go see what’s up. I’m sure it’s not nearly as bad as we’re imagining.”
The women hustled inside and found Eli at the kitchen table, his head bowed and his phone set on speaker as he talked to a male caller. While Eli took notes on a scratch pad, the man on the line said, “We’ve alerted teams in all the nearby districts to keep an eye out. They have full descriptions of all the principals and for the car.”
“Good. Send some uniforms to the area and have every business in a one-mile perimeter pull up their CCTV recordings for the time around the sighting—no, make that the last twenty-four hours.” Eli paused and frowned. “Damn it, go back as much as five days on every camera in the area since that’s when he disappeared. He may have been casing the region and targeting this woman.”
Targeting this woman?
Noelle heard Kansas muffle a gasp, and her own stomach dropped. Bile filled her throat. Had another woman been killed? The grave expression on Eli’s face said that was likely the case.
He angled a glance to find them standing at the end of the table and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “Look, I should go. I need to get to my office and dig into the matter from there, watch the footage for myself.”
“I should tell you,” the man on the phone said, “we’re keeping an eye on this storm front that’s moving in. It’s ugly and getting here faster than predicted. Towns to our west are already reporting high winds and heavy snow. Our search capabilities will be severely limited within hours.”
Eli sighed and scrubbed his face with his palm. “Understood. Keep me posted. All right? Anything and everything you learn, no matter how trivial it seems.”
