Page 117 of The Morning After (Savannah 2)

“She’d better.” Morrisette found a pack of cigarettes and shook the last one out. “Be smart, okay?” she suggested to Reed as she crumpled the empty pack and tossed it into the trash.

“I try.” His tone was cold as ice and his ex-partner seemed to get the message.

“Okay—maybe I came on a little strong, but I’m beat and I don’t need anyone telling me how to do my job. I’m gonna go home to my kids. Who are, presumably, sleeping, and don’t even know I’m not there…This is no damned job for a mother, let me tell you.” She placed the unlit cigarette between lips showing only a hint of lipstick that had been applied hours earlier.

“But you can’t just stop looking for him tonight,” Nikki protested, worried sick about Simone. The dog whimpered and she set him on the ground. “Not now…” Turning pleading eyes on Reed, she said, “Every second counts. Right now Simone could be in a coffin, trying to get out, hearing shovelfuls of dirt being rained upon her. Dear God, can you imagine what she might be going through? We have to find her. We can’t give up.”

“No one’s giving up!” Morrisette turned swiftly and stared Nikki down. Her already hot temper flared. “If you haven’t noticed, Ms. Gillette, we’ve been working our asses off on this one, and all you’ve been doing is getting in the way. If you can come up with one sound reason why I shouldn’t go home, give me an idea of how to handle this any better than I have, then, shoot.” She waited, cigarette twitching.

“Slow down, Sylvie,” Reed warned. “We’ve all put in a long night.”

“Just keep her in line, okay?”

Nikki said slowly, “No one keeps me in line.”

“That’s the problem. You’re the loose cannon, Gillette, and frankly, I don’t have time for it.” Morrisette glared at Reed. “I’m surprised you do.” Retrieving a Bic lighter from her pocket, Morrisette stormed out, her boots ringing with each furious step, her anger radiating in nearly visible waves.

The entire world seemed to crash down on Nikki. She stood in Reed’s office feeling bereft, Simone’s little dog pacing the office. “This is my fault,” she said, wounded that anyone, even the prickly woman detective, would think she placed her ambitions or a story before her friend’s life. “I didn’t come here for a story,” she said, and the weight of the night settled deep in her soul. “I just want to find Simone.” Tears filled her eyes. “I just want to do everything possible so that she’s safe.”

“I know.” He was impossibly kind, the look in his eyes compassionate, and she knew he felt her pain. Hadn’t he lost those he’d held dear, a woman he’d once loved, a child he’d never gotten the chance to meet, to this twisted maniac?

“I’m sorry,” she said. “For your loss and—”

“Shh.” He folded her into his arms and rested his chin on her head. He felt so strong. So male. So dependable that she sagged against him and fought the tears that seemed determined to flow. Crying wouldn’t help Simone. Nor would moping and worrying. She had to take action. Find the bastard who did this and stop him. Fast.

She felt Reed stiffen and the supporting arms around her dropped as someone cleared his throat. Instinctively she took a step backward and turned to find Cliff Siebert in the doorway.

“Ms. Gillette,” he said, his voice flat. “You’re the last person I expected to find here.”

“Just on my way home,” she replied. “I’m here because my friend is missing.”

“I heard.” His hard features softened a bit. “I’m sorry.”

“I just hope that you find her. And soon. Come, Mikado!”

Cliff nodded curtly. “We’ll do our best.”

“Thanks,” she said, nearly calling him by his first name and giving away the fact that she was close to Cliff Siebert. Reed didn’t know they were friends, had no idea that Siebert was her source within the department, and she wanted to keep it that way. She scooped up the little mutt.

“I’ll give you a lift,” Reed offered and she managed a weak smile. He motioned to Mikado. “The dog can come, too.”

“That would be great.” She felt Cliff’s gaze upon her as she and Reed walked out of the station, but she was too distraught and tired to worry about what he thought. Not that it was any of his business. Outside, the night seemed to close in on her, the dampness reached her bones, the darkness touched her soul. No one was on the street and the deserted city seemed to take on a sinister hue. Blue light from the street lamps danced eerily upon the wet pavement.

She climbed into the El Dorado and, with Mikado on her lap, leaned heavily against the passenger door. Without a word, Reed got behind the steering wheel and wheeled out of the parking lot, nosing the Caddy in the direction of her apartment. She felt so tired, her muscles aching, but her mind was in overdrive as she petted the dog and tried vainly to keep guilt at bay. Where was Simone? Did that horrid animal have her? Please keep her safe. Keep her alive. Don’t let her die a horrible, mind-numbing death.

Outside, the city was quiet, the streets nearly deserted, only few interior lights in the grand old homes shining in the darkness. Inside the El Dorado, Reed held his silence and all Nikki heard was the rumble of the engine, whine of spinning tires and crackle of the police band with its short, staccato burs

ts of conversation. Simone’s little dog, front feet on the window ledge, nose pressed to the fogging glass, didn’t bark or whimper. Nikki tried not to think about Simone, attempted vainly not to envision the horrors of what she might be going through.

Finally, Nikki could stand the thick silence between them no more. “God, I wonder where she is?”

“Don’t beat yourself up thinking about it,” Reed said as he maneuvered through the back alleys and narrow streets. A startled cat jumped out of the shadows and scurried through a wrought-iron fence. “It’s not your fault.”

“I should have met her.”

“You couldn’t. Didn’t know you were supposed to. Someone stole your phone, remember?”

“But I was careless.”

---