Page 59 of Asher's Assignment
“Mrs. Tyler, is there anyone who would want to hurt your family?”
“No.”
Again, there was that slight hesitation on the beginning of the word. Almost like a stutter, but so slight, it was barely there.
“You’re sure?” the detective asked. “You didn’t even really think about it.”
“Why would I need to? I live a boring life. I work and go to the grocery. Rob takes Leah to most of her doctor’s appointments, of which there are many. Other than that, we’re home all the time. We don’t socialize. We don’t have time. There isn’t anyone who’d have a beef with us.” Connie shifted her arms, tightening her hug around herself.
Stroud pressed his lips together. Esther wanted to ask questions, but didn’t dare.
Moisture trickled down Connie’s face again. She sank onto the bench. “What am I going to do? I just want my baby back.”
Esther spared Stroud a quick glance as she moved forward and sank down beside Connie. “She’s a strong kid. She’ll be okay until the police find her.”
Connie nodded, raising a hand to wipe at her face as she sniffed. “I know you’re right. Thank you. I still don’t understand why you’re here, though. Is the detective your dad or something?”
“No. My friend—the one who helped me surprise Leah for her birthday?” She paused, waiting for Connie to acknowledge she knew who Esther meant.
“The man in the unicorn suit?”
“That’s him. He’s disappeared too.”
Connie’s eyes widened. Then, just as suddenly, she reared back and stood up, aiming a glare at Esther. “Your friend did this?”
“What?” Esther’s eyes rounded, and she rose to face the angry mother. “No. Asher would never. I think their disappearances are related somehow, but he didn’t take her. I was at the police station, filing a missing person’s report on him, when the call came in about Leah.”
“Mrs. Tyler, do you know Asher Horn?” Stroud asked.
“No. I’ve never heard the name before.”
Esther noted there was no hesitation in her voice this time.
“Why do you think they’re connected?” Connie demanded of Esther.
It was Esther’s turn to hesitate. For one, she didn’t want to talk out of turn. She doubted Stroud brought her along so she could inject her speculation into his case. And two, she didn’t want to upset Connie if she happened to be wrong. Ultimately, she decided to go with a basic truth. “Someone’s been lurking around outside your house. I thought they were following me, because I’ve seen them at my place too. Asher was with me, not just to help surprise Leah, but to make me feel safer. He’s been my shadow for the last week.”
Connie’s brows dipped. “Why would someone kidnap your friend and my daughter?”
“I don’t know. But their disappearances have to be connected. It’s too coincidental.”
“All we have at this point is conjecture.” Stroud closed his notebook and tucked it into his pocket, along with his pen. “I’ll look at all angles for both disappearances.”
“I don’t care what you do. Just find my daughter. She—she could die”—her voice broke—“if she doesn’t take her meds.”
“What are the meds for?” Stroud asked.
“Anti-organ rejection. She had a heart transplant in late August. If she goes too long without them, her body will reject her heart. It can be irreversible.”
“How much can she miss?—”
“None,” Connie said, not letting him finish. “At this stage, missing any doses could cause rejection fairly quickly.” Tears gathered in her eyes again. “Unless you can find her in the next hour or so, she’s going to miss a dose. She takes them every twelve hours. At eight a.m. and eight p.m.”
An ache speared Esther in the chest. Connie was right. They were on a ticking clock.
Twenty-Six
Adrumline danced in Asher’s head again, pounding out a tattoo as he woke. He shifted, and a deep groan that felt pulled from the pits of hell rolled from his chest. His mouth worked, trying to bring some moisture into its parched depths. He felt like he’d sucked on cotton balls.
