Crazy In Love (Secrets of Suburbia #3) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,50

my organization. No. He was still down here. But where?

I glanced toward the crawl space on the other side of the basement. It was pretty much the only place he could be hiding. But if he was down here, why was he hiding? A detective was literally standing here hoping to find him and help him. This was Noah's chance to be saved. It didn't make any sense. The little hairs on the back of my neck rose and I turned behind me toward the stairs. Snuggle Muffins' was sitting at the top of the stairs staring down at me. He whimpered.

"Ensley?" Detective Torres said.

I turned toward him. The lines on his forehead made it seem like he was concerned. Like he'd been trying to get my attention for a while.

I cleared my throat, but it still sounded shaky. "Yes?" Any second now Noah could jump out and yell, "Save me!" My fate was in his hands. I tried to ignore the empty chair. I hadn't imagined it. I...couldn't have. I wasn't crazy. He was down here somewhere. He had to be. And he was just hiding because he didn't want me to get in trouble? That didn't make any sense either. Maybe he was somewhere else in the house? Had the deadbolt been locked? It had. I know it had. I'd never leave it unlocked.

"Is this the right one?" Detective Torres lifted a plastic storage container labeled "Christmas Decorations" from the shelf.

I nodded.

"Great. I got this if you want to grab the reindeer." He shifted the container to one side so he could see me. "Are you okay? It looks like you've seen a ghost."

"Not a ghost.” But I wasn’t sure anymore. I swallowed hard. “I just...it's hard thinking about decorating for Christmas when Noah's out there somewhere." Somewhere loose in my freaking house! "Scared." It all came out as more of a question. And I was pretty sure I was the scared one, not Noah. Because I wasn't sure about any of it anymore. What if... I let my thoughts trail off. I’m not crazy. "I just love him so much." Am I crazy?

"We're going to find him. He'll be home safe before Christmas."

I was going to be long gone before Christmas. And another fruitless promise from Detective Torres wasn't going to change that. But I could feel my own plans crumbling around me. What if I had dreamed of kidnapping him? Just like I imagined his blood covering the steps? The image in my head was so vivid. It felt so real. I picked up the reindeer and hoped Detective Torres wouldn't notice my hands shaking. "I hope you're right."

"What's with the litter box?"

I tried to ignore the fact that it had moved. "I'm litter training Snuggle Muffins."

"Is that even possible?"

"Of course. He's very smart for a dog."

Detective Torres laughed.

I did too. But I didn't know what was funny. I was pretty sure most dogs were idiots. But Snuggle Muffins seemed very intelligent to me. Not that I actually liked him. I looked up the steps again and Snuggle Muffins was still staring at me. He was the reason why I felt like someone was watching me. Which meant...it was very possible that Noah wasn't here. It was possible that he was never here. Noah had called me crazy a few weeks ago when I tried to talk to him about his late nights. He'd said I was "insane." That my "imagination was running wild again."

Detective Torres walked past me and started up the stairs. The odds that Noah was still down here were fairly high. If he'd ever been down here.

Stop. There were no ifs. My husband was wrong. I wasn't crazy. He was down here. He was hiding in the crawl space and not getting help from Detective Torres for God knows what reason. And I had to make sure he didn’t escape.

I retreated after Detective Torres. When I reached the top of the stairs I wanted to slam the door closed and slide the deadbolt back in place. But Detective Torres was standing there with his back pressed against the open door waiting for me.

"After you," I said.

He smiled. "You have to show me where you want these."

"The family room." I waited for him to leave the door, but he didn't. Because he had no idea where the family room was. I'd tried to get him to search it earlier, but he'd been dead set on searching the kitchen. I started walking toward the