from her sister. A twinge of guilt surfaced. She tried to make it a priority that family always came first, but it wasn’t always easy when she had no idea when she’d be gone and for how long.
Like today.
“I need to make a phone call,” she said.
“Sure.” Jonas glanced up from the desk. “Is everything okay?”
“My sister called. I left her a message telling her I was fine, and that I’d call when I could. I just need to smooth things over with her so she doesn’t worry, then I’ll be back.”
“Take as long as you need. Seriously.”
Madison went back to the bench where she’d sat with Will and called her sister, surprised—not for the first time—by Jonas’s softer side.
“Danielle,” she said once she answered. “It’s me. Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.” There was a long pause on the line. “Listen, I probably shouldn’t have called you, and I apologize for not leaving a voice mail, but I got your message, then I couldn’t get through. I was worried.”
“It’s fine. I have a few minutes. I would have called sooner, but things have been a bit crazy.”
“I got your message about the plane crash and now it’s all over the news. Are you sure you’re okay? I have to say, I’m a little freaked out over all of this.”
Madison let out a sharp sigh. At least it sounded like everything was okay on her sister’s end, and she couldn’t blame her for being upset. Leaving a message that you’d been in a plane crash wasn’t something that happened every day.
“I’ll be honest, it’s been a rough twenty-four hours,” Madison said, “but I really am okay. You don’t have to worry. I’ll let you know as soon as the case is closed and I’m on my way home, though it might be a few days. You’ll need to tell Lilly how sorry I am to miss her birthday dinner. I’ll take her somewhere special once I’m back.”
“That’s fine. She’ll understand. Daddy’s here for Lilly’s party, which is a good distraction for her. I’ll tell her we’re going to have a second party later on.”
“I really am sorry, Danielle. I never should have left a message like that, but I was so worried about you finding out something on the news.”
“It’s fine, though to be honest, sometimes I hate your job and wish you were—I don’t know—a cafeteria worker or something, so I didn’t have to worry so much.”
“I promise I’ll be home soon, and we’ll all go out and do something normal with the kids. I’ve been wanting to take them to the aquarium or the zoo.”
“I’d like that, but there’s something else.”
Madison felt the worry surface again. She got up and started pacing. “What is it, Danielle?”
“I found a note on my front porch today. Slipped into my mailbox.”
Immediately Madison felt her guard go up. “What does it say?”
Danielle paused. “It says, ‘Consider your next move. I have more reach than you think. I know what would hurt you most.’”
Madison felt a wave of panic strike. “Is that all of it?”
“Yes, but it probably just scared me because Ethan’s gone, and I was watching this creepy movie last night. But then after your message, I started wondering if they were somehow connected to your work.” Danielle let out a sharp breath. “You know. Someone using me to get to you.”
Madison’s mind was racing. There couldn’t be a connection to Barrick. Could there? Had he found a way to threaten her family in order to get them to let him go?
“Is there a way to tell where it came from?” she asked.
“It wasn’t signed, but there were two initials. DB.”
The ground began to spin beneath her. Madison walked across the grass and sat down on the bench.
DB.
Damon Barrick.
How had he been able to get to her sister?
“What are you thinking, Madison?”
She hesitated. Her mind raced through the options, unwilling to take any chances of putting her sister or her family’s life at risk. “Those are the initials of the fugitive we’re after.”
“So someone is using me to get to you?”
“I don’t know how, but yes. When did you say Ethan gets home?”
“He flies in Saturday night.”
Two more days.
And she had no idea when she’d be able to get back. Even if she tried to get a flight out now, they were miles from the nearest airport.
“I want you to listen. Don’t panic but pack your bags. I’m going to call my boss. You’ve met him once—Chief Deputy Carl Michaels. You can