Page 31 of The Girl in the River

His mother had always been a bit of a hoverer, had never really liked any of the women he’d dated. Always found something lacking. Said he was naïve.

And maybe he was. But he preferred to see the good in people. And Mia was all good.

Except…now …now she was suddenly gone.

She needs you to believe in her now. To be strong for Pixie.

He punched the doorbell just to announce his presence, then opened the door and went inside. The house smelled of bacon and coffee, and he pictured his father stirring eggs over the stove while his mother poured coffee in those tiny china cups she liked so much.

He preferred big sturdy mugs like the ones Mia owned.

“Mom? Dad?” he called as he crossed the foyer to the kitchen where he found things just as they always had been.

That alone felt oddly disconcerting considering what had happened the night before. Their routine went on as usual while his life had been turned upside down.

His father paused at the stove, the scrambled eggs nearly done, and his mother set the coffee pot down and rushed toward him.

“Oh, sweetheart, how are you?” She enveloped him into a hug, her floral perfume almost overpowering him. A tight squeeze then she pulled back, cupped his face between her hands and studied him. “Did you get any sleep?”

“Is there word?” his father asked, spatula in hand, thick brows furrowed with concern.

“No.” Mark lifted his mother’s hands from his face and took a step back. “I just met Detective Reeves at Mia’s. Her house was torn apart.”

His mother gasped, and his father set the spatula down. “What?”

“Someone ransacked her house.” He swallowed hard. “Mom, Detective Reeves said that you visited Mia before the wedding ceremony was due to start. That you looked tense when you left.” He hardened himself. He knew how his mother could be. “Did something happen between the two of you?”

She stumbled back at the obvious censure in his tone.

“Mark?” his father said, his tone a reprimand.

“I need to know,” Mark said. “Tell me, Mom. What did you say to her?”

She released a weary sigh, running her fingers over the edge of the counter. “I heard her tell Tori the night before that she wished her mother was there. So I went in to check on her and tell her that I was there for her. That’s all.”

Mark waited, sensing there was more. “What happened then?”

“She got teary and cried for a minute, then I hugged her and left.”

That could be true. After all, Mia had no family.

But when his mother turned and started setting plates out as if everything was all right, he saw her hand tremble.

He knew she wasn’t telling the truth.

FORTY

BABBLING CREEK RANCH

Derrick opened Mia’s computer and booted it up while Ellie drove toward the station. The lack of a breeze this morning left the air stagnant and muggy, and her shirt was already sticking to her skin as she navigated the winding mountain round.

Ellie’s phone rang. Seeing it was Emily Nettles, she connected and put her on speaker.

“Do you have any word on Mia?” Emily asked.

“No,” Ellie said, “but it looks like someone may have taken her. How’s Pixie?”

“Pretty scared,” Emily replied. “I finally got her to eat a little breakfast and she’s coloring with Norah right now. But she keeps asking me about her mom and I don’t know what to say.”

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