Myron frowned. “Are you sure?”
“That’s what she said.”
“He’s dead, Muse.”
“Who?”
“Drew Van Dyne.”
Erik came over and stood next to Myron.
And that was when it happened.
Erik’s cell phone rang.
He brought the phone up. When he saw the number on the caller ID, Erik nearly screamed.
“Oh my God….”
Erik snapped the phone to his ear. His eyes were wet. His hand shook so badly he hit the wrong button to answer. He tried again and brought the phone back up. His voice was a panicked scream. “Hello?”
Myron leaned in close enough to hear. There was a moment of static. And then a voice, a teary voice, a familiar voice said, “Daddy?”
Myron’s heart stopped.
Erik’s face collapsed, but his voice was all father. “Where are you, honey? Are you all right?”
“I don’t… I’m fine, I think. Daddy?”
“It’s okay, honey. I’m here. Just tell me where you are.”
And she did.
CHAPTER 54
Myron drove. Erik stayed in the passenger seat.
The ride was not a long one.
Aimee had said that she was behind the Little Park near the high school — that same park that Claire had taken her to when she was only three. Erik would not let her off the line. “It’s okay,” he kept saying. “Daddy’s on his way.”
Myron cut time by taking the circle in the wrong direction. He drove over two curbs. He didn’t care. Neither did Erik. Speed was the thing here. The lot was empty. The headlights danced through the night and then, as they made the final turn, the lights landed on a solitary figure.
Myron hit the brake.
Erik said, “Oh my God, oh my sweet dear God….”
He was out of the car. Myron was out fast too. They both started sprinting. But somewhere along the way, Myron let up. Erik took the lead. That was how it should be. Erik swept his daughter into his arms. He took careful hold of her face, as though fearing it was only a dream, a puff of smoke, and that she might vanish again.
Myron stopped and watched. Then he picked up his own cell phone and called Claire.
“Myron? What the hell is going on?”
“She’s okay,” he said.
“What?”
“She’s safe. We’re bringing her home to you now.”
In the car, Aimee was groggy.
“What happened?” Myron asked.
“I think,” Aimee began. Her eyes went wide. Her pupils were dilated. “I think they drugged me.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know who kidnapped you?”
She shook her head.
Erik sat in the back with Aimee. He held her. He stroked her hair. He told her over and over again that it was okay now, everything was okay.
Myron said, “Maybe we should take her to a doctor.”
“No,” Erik said. “She needs to go home first.”
“Aimee, what happened?”
“She’s been through hell, Myron,” Erik said. “Give her a chance to catch her breath.”
“It’s okay, Daddy.”
“Why were you in New York?”
“I was supposed to meet someone.”
“Who?”
“About…” Her voice faded. Then she said, “This is tough to talk about.”
“We know about Drew Van Dyne,” Myron said. “We know you’re pregnant.”
She closed her eyes.
“Aimee, what happened?”
“I was going to get rid of it.”
“The baby?”
She nodded. “I went to the corner of Fifty-second Street and Sixth. That’s what they told me to do. They were going to help me out. They pulled up in a black car. They told me to get money from the ATM.”
“Who?”
“I never saw them,” Aimee said. “The windows were tinted. They were always in disguise.”
“Disguise?”
“Yes.”
“They. There was more than one?”
“I don’t know. I know I heard a woman’s voice. That much I’m sure.”
“Why didn’t you just go to St. Barnabas?”
Aimee hesitated. “I’m so tired.”
“Aimee?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Someone from St. Barnabas called. A woman. If I went there, my parents would find out. Something about shield laws. I just… I’d made so many mistakes. I just wanted to… But then I wasn’t so sure. I got the money. I was going to get in the car. But then I panicked. That’s when I called you, Myron. I wanted to talk to someone. It was going to be you, but, I don’t know, I know you were trying, but I thought maybe it would be better to talk to someone else.”
“Harry Davis?”
Aimee nodded. “I know this other girl,” she said. “Her boyfriend got her pregnant. She said Mr. D was really helpful.”
“That’s enough,” Erik said.
They were almost at Aimee’s house. Myron did not want to let this go. Not yet.
“So what happened then?”
“The rest is fuzzy,” Aimee said.
“Fuzzy?”
“I know I got into a car.”
“Whose?”
“The same one that was waiting for me in New York, I think. I felt so deflated after Mr. D sent me away. So I thought I might as well go with them. Get it over with. But…”
“But what?”
“It’s all fuzzy.”
Myron frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I was drugged almost the whole time. I only remember waking up for a few minutes at a time. Whoever it was, they held me in some kind of log cabin. That’s all I remember. It had this
