Lullabies and Lies - By Mallory Kane Page 0,44
interstate.
Beside him, Sunny blotted up spilled coffee with a napkin.
“Are you burned?”
“No, no thanks to you.” She dried off the cup and placed it in the cup holder nearest him. “Who was that?”
Griff checked the mirrors as he guided the car onto the entrance ramp of the interstate.
“I don’t know. A green Plymouth. Old.” Finally satisfied that there was no sign of the green Plymouth, he pulled onto I-91 and relaxed minutely.
“Ever seen a beat-up green Plymouth hanging around?”
“No. What about the license?”
“Couldn’t see it, but there was a front plate.”
“Tennessee.”
“Yeah.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Ugh! Maybe we shouldn’t drink this. I want to get as far away from here as possible before we have to stop. How long can you hold out?”
“As long as you can.” Sunny’s voice rang with determination.
Out of the corner of his eye, Griff saw her fingers tremble as she pushed them through her hair. The idea of being followed had spooked her. She wasn’t as calm and composed as she was pretending to be.
She was terrified, but she had courage. Maybe as much as anyone he’d ever met. And her emerald eyes burned with the fire of hope.
He prayed he wouldn’t have to be the one to snuff that fire.
Chapter Seven
96 hours missing
“I don’t care what time it is.” Sunny glared at Griff. “That woman has Emily. I’m not spending another night without my baby. She said to call her when I got to Philadelphia. Well, we’re here. I’m going to call her.” To her dismay, her eyes filled with tears and her pulse pounded.
She dug into her purse for her cell phone, but her vision blurred and the purse slipped out of her fingers and onto the floorboard.
“Yeah, we’re here, and it’s ten o’clock at night. Look at you. You’re so tired you can’t even hold on to your purse. We’re only a few minutes outside of Oak Grove. We’ll get some sleep, and first thing in the morning, I’ll contact the local police and Natasha. We need to be prepared.”
Frustration burned in her chest. “Prepared? For what? The woman is waiting for me to call her. She has my baby.”
Griff exited the interstate and headed for a motel.
“Why won’t you listen to me?”
Griff didn’t answer. She glanced over at him and saw a sad look in his eyes.
We need to be prepared.
“You think she’s the kidnapper.” Her heart slammed painfully in her chest. She pressed her palm against her diaphragm. “You think that was Jane Gross who called?”
“No. The police in New York questioned Jane and Edward Gross today. Gross is running for Congress, and last night they were at a charity function with the other candidates.”
“But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have called.”
“I know. But they’ve lawyered up and threatened to sue for defamation of character. And anyhow it doesn’t make sense.”
“Why should it?” Sunny asked wearily. “Nothing else has.”
Griff squeezed her knee. “My gut tells me the woman who called you is sincere. She really does want to get Emily back to you. I just don’t want to make any mistakes.”
Sunny’s eyes brimmed over with tears that streamed down her face when she blinked. “Thank you.”
His dark eyes softened and his fingers on her knee tightened reassuringly. “Don’t cry, Sunny,” he whispered. “Do you trust me?”
She nodded, surprised to discover that she did. He might be just doing his job, but his integrity and sincerity burned in the violet flame of his eyes.
She prayed that her trust wasn’t misplaced.
A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER, Griff had showered, and was sitting in front of his laptop, dressed in jeans and nothing else, comparing the various elements of Sunny’s case to other cases in his database. It was a frustrating pastime. There were few similarities beyond the expected ones. She’d been alone. There had been no ransom request. It was unusual to see a physical confrontation.
Which was the main reason Griff was sure Emily had been taken either for revenge or for leverage.
He sorted the database to see how many other cases he had recorded that began with an attack. Only six. Three of those were family members. The other two, besides Sunny’s case, were unbalanced women who swore the children were theirs.
He sighed and raked his fingers through his wet hair, then sorted by city, although he already knew how many cases had occurred in Nashville. Just two. He stared at them.
A hesitant knock sounded at the connecting door between their rooms.
Sunny. He jumped up and flung open the