I didn't get it. "A muzzle?"
"Or ear-plugs," he said. "Like I said, she's a real yapper."
It was typical Chase.
He was full of shit, and we both knew it. I replied, "I'll pass, thanks."
"Eh, smart move," he said. "Get this. I'm supposed to be picking up breakfast."
I glanced toward the kitchen cupboard behind him. "I think there's cereal on the top shelf."
"Not anymore," he said. "I ate that on Wednesday."
I didn't get it. Chase had a shopping service, a maid, and plenty of women dying to cook for him. But what was he doing? Eating my cereal and drinking my juice.
But hey, to each his own.
It's not like I missed whatever he was taking. I had plenty of money and a shopping service of my own. I'd only been stopping by the condo a few times a week anyway – mostly to swap out clothes and pick up the mail.
And besides, it wasn't juice I wanted now. It was something with a lot more kick.
I was still mulling that over when Chase's phone chirped in his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at the display. As he did, the blood drained from his face. "Shit."
"What?"
He looked seriously rattled. "I've gotta go."
Chase had a thing for crazy chicks. From the look on his face, his so-called date had just threatened to light the bed on the fire. Hey, it wouldn't be the first time.
I said, "So your date wants you back, huh?"
Chase shook his head. "It wasn't her. It was Veronica."
I froze. "Willow's nanny? Why would she be texting you?"
"Because," Chase said, "she lost track of Willow, and she wants my help."
Chapter 57
Arden
Walking along the sidewalk, Cami pointed to the latest white two-story house. "Is that it?"
Willow shook her head. "Nope."
Cami and I were walking side-by-side with Willow between us. Already, we'd traveled nearly half a mile and had passed at least ten houses matching that description.
Over Willow's head, Cami and I exchanged a look.
No doubt, she was thinking the same thing I was thinking. Maybe we should've called the police.
But for Willow's sake, we hadn't. Instead, we'd decided to escort her safely home and take it from there.
There was only one problem. We couldn’t seem to find Willow's home.
It didn't help that she didn't know her own address or a family phone number. But she had given us a description of where she lived.
According to Willow, she lived in big white house that had an upstairs and a downstairs. And she lived on the water.
It sounded simple enough. And yet, she hadn't recognized any of the houses we'd passed.
And by now, we'd passed plenty.
With a strained smile, Cami looked to Willow and asked, "Are we getting close?"
Willow was skipping along between us. Without missing a beat, she replied, "Nope."
The funny thing was, she seemed to be having a terrific time. I could see why, too.
Until just a couple of minutes ago, Cami had been entertaining both of us with a whole series of knock-knock jokes. But now, after twenty minutes of fruitless searching, even Cami had grown mostly silent.
Me too, and with good reason.
Someone was missing a kid. And if we didn't find out who, we'd need to do more than simply walk her home. And what if Willow was in some sort of trouble?
Between us, Willow said with a laugh, "Hey, I know. Knock knock."
Cami said, "Who's there?"
"Orange."
"Orange who?"
Willow giggled. "Orange you glad that wasn't my house?"
I wasn't glad. I was worried. And obviously so was Cami. With a strained smile, she asked, "Are you glad?"
Willow nodded. "Oh yeah. You're more way more fun than Veronica." Willow looked to me and added with a grin. "You are, too."
For her sake, I smiled back. "Thanks. You're pretty fun yourself."
"I know." And with that, she continued skipping along, oblivious to the growing tension that Cami and I were both trying to hide.
This wasn't going well.
By now, I wasn't even sure who to blame – Veronica for losing track of a seven-year-old, me for not calling the police right away, or Cami for suggesting that we simply walk Willow home.
Probably we were all idiots, because by now, it was painfully obvious that Willow was a lot more lost than we'd first realized.
Either that, or she was stalling for some other reason.
Regardless, I was coming to the sad realization that we'd probably end up calling the police anyway. After all, a kid that young who'd wandered half a mile on her own was no laughing matter.
I was just bracing myself to make the call when Cami said, "Hang on a minute, okay?" When we all stopped, Cami crouched down to Willow's level and said, "Are you sure you don't know your phone number?'
Willow snickered. "I don't have a phone, Silly."
With an encouraging smile, Cami said, "But what about your mom? She has a phone, right?"
Willow's laughter faded. "I don't have a mom."
Ouch.
Cami's eyes filled with sympathy. "Oh, I'm sorry, sweet pea." She tried for yet another smile. "How about your dad?"
Looking almost disgruntled now, Willow said, "He's busy."
I felt my jaw clench. He wasn't just busy. He was neglectful. That much was obvious by the fact that his daughter was roaming around unprotected while he was off doing who-knows-what.
Following Cami's lead, I crouched down toward Willow and said, "Do you know his phone number?"
With a shrug, Willow replied, "Nope."
I studied her face. I was no expert on seven-year-olds, but I had the distinct impression she wasn't being completely honest.
I tried another approach. "But surely, you know his name, right?"
"Maybe."
"So…what is it?" I already had a last name, Taylor. But when I'd looked on the Web before setting out, I'd found no Taylors living nearby.
Still, if I had a first name, I could do another internet search on my phone, maybe see if we were heading in the right direction.
Willow grinned. "Guess."
"Guess what?" I asked.
"His name."
I didn't feel like guessing. But hey, at least I knew part of his name already. Trying to be crafty, I said, "If I
