“I had a bad feeling about him from the minute I set eyes on him,” Evelyn mumbled with a disgruntled humph. ”How could he be this irresponsible?”
Sonia braced her elbows on the table. “The more pressing question is where is he?”
”What are you going to do if he doesn’t return by this evening? You’ll have to keep Henry overnight.”
“I can’t think about that yet,” Sonia said, pulling out her phone and dialing Ray’s number for the umpteenth time. “I’m going to keep trying until he answers.”
Not unexpectedly, her call went straight to voicemail. She set down her phone on the table with an exasperated sigh, staring at it as if she could will Ray into responding.
Her mother tutted her disapproval. ”You’re wasting your time. You’ve already left him several messages. He’ll get back with you when he’s ready.”
“When he’s ready?” Sonia angled a brow. “What does that mean?”
Evelyn shrugged. “Maybe he’s caught up in some story or other. He’s a journalist, isn’t he?”
“Yes, but not an investigative journalist. He works from home writing freelance articles for magazines, or something along those lines.” Sonia dragged a hand through her hair. “My gut tells me this isn’t about work. He seemed so overwhelmed by Henry, without his wife here to help. Maybe he cracked—couldn’t take the pressure.”
Evelyn blew on her tea, looking pensive. ”Do you think he planned this after meeting us? Perhaps that’s why he asked you to be Henry’s emergency contact for preschool.”
“It’s possible, I suppose. He might have decided to take the easy way out when he saw how well Jessica and Henry got along.” Sonia let out a beleaguered sigh. ”They say grief does strange things to people.”
Evelyn nodded, a faraway look in her eyes. ”Poor little Henry. Celia would be turning in her grave if she knew her son had abandoned her only grandchild.”
“We don’t know that’s what happened. I’m going to give it until dinner,” Sonia said. “If he hasn’t gotten in touch by then, I’m calling the police.”
“You can’t do that!” Evelyn threw her a horrified look. ”They’ll have Child Protective Services pick Henry up. We can’t let them take Celia’s grandchild.”
“Mom, we don’t have a choice. We can’t just keep him. We have a duty to inform the authorities.”
Evelyn blinked, her face beset with concern. ”We can keep him overnight, since you’re listed as his emergency contact at the school. If Ray hasn’t returned by morning, we’ll call the police then.”
Sonia picked at a broken nail, her mind spinning. She shouldn’t have been so quick to agree to serve as Henry’s emergency contact. She’d sensed something was off about the whole situation from the very beginning, but she’d ignored her instincts in a misguided attempt to be hospitable, for Celia’s sake. But Celia wasn’t here anymore. Ray was a stranger. She should have been more cautious about letting him into her life. Draining her tea, she pushed her chair out from the table. “I’m going over to Ray’s place—to make sure he’s not there. Can you keep an eye on the kids for a few minutes?”
“Of course he isn’t there,” Evelyn said in a testy tone. ”His truck’s gone.”
Sonia shrugged. “Doesn’t mean he’s not home. What if his truck broke down, or he’s having it serviced or something? He might have taken an Uber home and fallen asleep. Or tripped on Celia’s clutter and knocked himself out. He might need medical attention for all we know. But I can’t just sit here and keep dialing his number all afternoon.”
Evelyn pursed her lips, reaching for their mugs as she got to her feet. ”Be careful. If he opens the door, don’t go inside, whatever you do. I don’t trust him. And take your phone with you.”
Sonia winked as she exited the kitchen. ”Now who’s fussing?”
She rapped on Ray’s back door multiple times, but no one answered. Gingerly, she crept around to the side of the house and peered through the family room window. To her surprise, it looked exactly as it had when Celia lived there. She’d expected Ray to have moved things around, or perhaps even to have gotten rid of some of his mother’s belongings. But it didn’t look as if he’d put his personal stamp on his new abode in any shape or form.
Sonia continued on around the house and squinted through Celia’s bedroom window next. The same faded floral comforter covered the queen sleigh bed, the same dancing china figurines graced the top of the dresser—nothing about the room indicated it had a new male occupant. Sonia moved on to the guest bedroom, tenting her fingers over her eyes to peer through the smeared glass. Jessica had told her this was Henry’s bedroom, but nothing suggested a child was sleeping in it. A row of moving boxes was stacked along the bottom of the bed, and Sonia could make out several Target bags lying on the floor next to them. What on earth had Ray been doing all this time if he hadn’t even bothered to unpack Henry’s things?
She froze at the sound of a vehicle pulling into the driveway. Finally, he’d returned! She gritted her teeth as she stepped out of the planter she was standing in. He’d better have a good explanation for his absence. Hurrying around the house to greet him, she came to an abrupt halt at the sight of a squad car parked in place of Ray’s gray Toyota Tacoma pickup. Her eyes traveled to the front door where a thickset policeman stood, one hand on his holster. He dipped his head at her, as if to reassure her he didn’t consider her a threat, before striding over to her.
“Afternoon, ma’am. I’m Officer Reed with the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office. Do you live here?”
“I … no … I’m a neighbor.” She gestured at her house with a flick of her wrist, confusion flooding her brain. Was she in some kind
