Page 113 of Absinthe Minded

I had the sensation of movement.

This isn’t right.Foggy and confused, I tried to sort out what happened. “Put me down. Where’s Gabe?”

Something smashed against the back of my head. It took a moment for my brain to register pain before everything went black.

* * *

Gabe

“They left in a dark colored sedan, Toyota, I think.” The young valet looked between Wayne, me, and the gathering of uniformed police officers.

“Is this the woman who was passed out?” Wayne held Shanna’s cell phone to the guy’s face, a picture of Maggie in her gown on the screen.

“Definitely. I remember the dress. I thought she looked like a Valkyrie or something.”

“You let these people put an unconscious woman into a car?” My anger and fear narrowed to a single point, the valet.

“They said she had too much to drink,” he murmured.

Wayne took a moment to scroll through the pictures on Shanna’s phone and showed the valet a photo with Chantal in the background. “Is this the woman who took her?”

The kid shook his head, then hesitated and shrugged. “No. She had red hair.”

“Could she have been wearing a wig?”

“Maybe, I don’t know.”

“Did you get a look at the man?” I stared at the image and my blood ran cold. It had been taken in the dress shop.

“Short and stocky. He wore a black mask. The cheap kind, like you get at the French Market.”

“Don’t you guys write down license plates?” It took every ounce of my willpower not to slam the kid into the wall.

“Yes, and the color, make, and model, but we toss the ticket when they pick up the car.”

Wayne motioned to one of the uniformed cops. “Go through these. Look for an older, dark colored sedan.”

“I’m going to Chantal’s.” I turned to walk inside, but Wayne grabbed my arm.

“You need to stay put. We have people there now. If this is a ransom situation, they will likely call your cell. Let’s go find out why Shanna has a picture of your baby mama on her phone.”

Shanna sat on a sofa in the den. Her makeup smeared down her cheeks. Evelyn, Nadine, and Dahlia sat on the opposite couch. The women looked up when they entered the room. I met my mother’s gaze and shook my head.

“Where’s my daughter?” Nadine stood, placing herself in my personal space.

I set my hands on her shoulders. “The police are looking for her.”

“What did you do to her? What did you do?” Nadine crumpled into a heap on the couch.

Wayne squatted in front of Shanna. “Why do you have a photo of Chantal DuBois on your phone?”

“What?” The color drained from her face. “That’sChantal?”

My frustration threatened to pour out of my mouth, but I forced myself to keep my voice at a reasonable volume. “Yes. Now answer the question.”

“We didn’t know who she was. She said her name was Lindsey. She’s the one Jessie said has been hanging around the bar. I’d seen pictures of Chantal, but she looks so different now.” She glanced between the detective and me.

I remembered Maggie mentioning a tag-a-long the night of the proposal.I should have listened.“Where did you see pictures of Chantal?”

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