He released a deep bitter laugh. “They found nothing in the alley, no evidence, no leads to find her. All they had was my description of the man, and all I could tell them was that the kidnapper was a tall, white man with shaggy brown hair.”
“So, they never caught him?”
He shook his head. “Even though my mother called the police station every day, if felt like nobody really cared. My mother thought they didn’t do a real investigation because we were poor and Latino.”
“I certainly hope that wasn’t true,” she replied, appalled by the mere notion.
“The idea that it might be was what drove me into the law enforcement field.” He released a deep sigh. “I’ve never stopped looking for Maria. I check the internet to this day hoping to find her out there somewhere.”
“I’m sorry, Evan. I’m so sorry for your loss,” she replied softly. She knew her words were inadequate, but she meant them to the depths of her soul.
She couldn’t believe he’d had something so catastrophic happen to him when he’d been so young and impressionable, and during the two years they’d dated he’d never told her anything about it.
She gazed at him and he looked at her at the same time. His face was so near to hers. His lips were achingly close. He leaned forward and her breath caught in her throat as she anticipated a kiss.
His lips almost grazed hers, and then he jerked upright and off the sofa. “I need to check in with some people.”
The night hours passed slowly. Evan was on his phone a lot, and when he wasn’t, he was quiet and closed off. Annalise suspected the memories he’d shared with her still had him by the throat.
The tragic event in his life explained a lot...like his affinity for saving children in dangerous hostage situations. It also explained his occasional moodiness when they had been together as a couple.
She wanted to wrap her arms around Evan and somehow comfort him from the bad memories she’d stirred by asking him about Maria. She wanted to somehow take away the guilt she now knew he carried about that tragic loss in his life.
Still, she knew he didn’t need her right now. What he really needed was for this case to come to a satisfactory conclusion. He desperately needed to be a hero.
EVAN LEANED BACK in the dining room chair and stretched with his arms overhead. It was just a few minutes after six. He glanced at Annalise, who was sleeping on the sofa.
Telling her about Maria had been one of the most difficult things he’d ever done. He’d spent most of his life trying not to access those painful memories. It had not only been a shameful secret he’d carried, but one that still had the capacity to bring him to his knees.
It had been an event that had forever changed who he was at the very core. It had stolen his belief that the world was a safe place and had created a self-hatred inside him that had never really gone away.
He’d only told one person about Maria, and that had been Hendrick. He and Hendrick had shared a few too many beers one evening at Evan’s house. Hendrick confessed to Evan about being raised in a cult, and Evan had shared his heartache of Maria.
But he needed to put those memories away now. He hated himself for showing Annalise his vulnerability. And in that vulnerable state he’d almost kissed her again.
There was no question there was still something between them, a chemistry...a desire that was difficult to ignore. But he couldn’t forget that she’d walked out on him before.
He got up and went into the kitchen to refill his coffee cup. He made a fresh pot of coffee and then poured himself a cup. He took a sip and leaned against the counter. Where was Sadie right now? Had they given her something to eat? Was she sleeping in a car parked on some mountain road? Or was she dead? He shook his head to dispel that particular thought.
Talking about, remembering what had happened to Maria had only made him more desperate than ever to find Sadie. One child at a time, he thought. All he could do was try to save one child at a time.
Part of what had made him a hostage negotiator as an officer of the law before he’d been asked to join TCD was the number of domestic disputes that turned ugly.
Far too often a man locked himself inside a house or apartment with a gun and his children. Most of the time those situations ended with the children being safely released, but occasionally those kinds of hostage situations ended in tragedy.
If Evan could save a child, then it assuaged a tiny piece of the guilt that would forever haunt him, the guilt that he’d been unable to save Maria.
He stretched once again and then grabbed one of the homemade cinnamon rolls that Chief Cummings had given him before he’d left the station after the interviews. It was delicious. At least the chief was correct that his wife definitely knew how to bake.
When he went back into the living room, Annalise was awake. “There’s fresh coffee,” he said.
“Thanks.” She got up and disappeared into the kitchen and returned a moment later with her cup of coffee and one of the cinnamon rolls on a saucer. She sat down next to him at the table.
As they drank their coffee, they talked about the elements of the crime they knew so far. He’d always liked bouncing things off her. Many a night when they were together they’d talk about his work and various crime scenarios.
They talked about his interview with Earl and other potential people at the school who might be involved. They tried to brainstorm where on earth the fugitives might have gone. He talked out all
