“Simon showed it to me. He told me to stay out of his affairs. He told me I had to go to sleep sometime.”

Daniel closed his eyes. Tried to speak past the constriction in his chest. “Suze.”

“I was afraid,” she said, speaking now in a logical, cool voice, and he thought of Alex. “So I stayed out of his way.”

“What affairs of his had you been in before?”

She hesitated. “I really need to go now. I’m late for court. Bye, Daniel.”

Daniel carefully hung up the phone, wiped the moisture from his eyes, then got up and prepared his mind to talk to Jim and Marianne Woolf. Jim would be grieving his sister, but grief or no grief, Daniel was going to get some answers.

Atlanta, Thursday, February 1, 1:30 p.m.

Alex stood at the glass, Meredith beside her. On the other side of the glass, Mary McCrady had relaxed Hope so that she was actually speaking in full sentences.

“Maybe she was finally ready to talk,” Alex said.

Beside her, Meredith nodded. “You helped.”

“I could have made things worse.”

“But you didn’t. Every child is different. I’m sure Hope would have been ready to talk soon either way. But she needed to feel safe and loved and you did that.”

“I should have made her feel safe and loved before.”

“Maybe you weren’t ready before.”

Alex turned her head to study Meredith’s profile. “Am I now?”

“Only you can answer that, but if the look on your face was any indication… I’d say yes.” She chuckled softly. “Heck, if he hadn’t looked back at you the same way, I might have wrestled you for him.”

“It was that obvious?”

Meredith met her eyes. “In the dark wearing a blindfold. You got it bad, girl.” She turned back to the glass. “At least Hope’s talking to the artist this time. Between her description and the pictures Mary got from that guy who works with Daniel, we might at least get a lead on who did this.”

Alex drew a breath. “Even if we never get Bailey back.”

“We may not, Alex. You need to start coming to grips with that.”

“I am. I have to. For Hope.” Her cell phone jingled in her purse and Alex grabbed it, frowning at the caller ID. It was an Atlanta number, but no one she knew. “Hello?”

“Alex, this is Sissy, Bailey’s friend. I couldn’t talk to you before. Not on my phone. I had to wait until I could use a pay phone. Bailey told me that if anything happened to her that I should talk to you.”

“Then why didn’t you?” Alex asked, more sharply than she’d intended.

“Because I have a daughter,” Sissy hissed. “And I’m scared.”

“Has someone threatened you?”

Her laugh was bitter. “Does a letter under my front door saying ‘Don’t say a word or we’ll kill you and your daughter’ count?”

“Did you contact the police?”

“Hell no. Look, I told Bailey to pack her things and move in with me. She was going to, the next day. She called me Thursday night, said she had their things packed and loaded in her car. She said she’d see me the next day. But she never came to work.”

“So you went to the house and found Hope in the closet.”

“Yes. The house was trashed and Bailey was gone. There’s one other thing. Bailey told me that she’d mailed you a letter. That I was supposed to tell you that.”

“A letter. Okay.” Alex’s mind was spinning. “Why didn’t she just come that night?”

“She said she was meeting someone. That she’d come when she finished.”

“You don’t know who she was meeting?”

Sissy hesitated. “She was seeing a man. I think he might have been married. She said she needed to say good-bye. I have to go now.”

Alex looked at Meredith, who was impatiently waiting. “Bailey mailed me a letter the day before she disappeared.”

“Who’s been getting your mail?”

“One of my friends from the hospital.” She hit Letta’s speed dial on her cell phone. “Letta, it’s Alex. I have a favor to ask.”

Dutton, Thursday, February 1, 2:30 p.m.

Daniel’s conversation with the Woolfs had not gone well. Jim Woolf had lawyered up and Marianne had just slammed the door in his face. He’d gotten back to his car when his phone buzzed. “Vartanian.”

“Leigh told me you called,” Chase said. “I’ve been in a meeting with the captain for the last two hours. What’s the news?”

“I went to Sean Romney’s house and interviewed his mother. Apparently Sean was below average in cognitive ability as the result of a birth defect. He was too trusting and willing to please, according to Mrs. Romney. Because of this, she kept closer tabs on him than her other kids. Guess what she found in his room two days ago?”

“I have no idea, but you’re going to tell me right now, aren’t you?”

Chase sounded cranky and Daniel guessed his meeting with the captain had gone even less well than his visit with Marianne Woolf.

“A disposable cell phone. It wasn’t in his room and the cops didn’t find it on his body, but Mrs. Romney had written down the numbers in his call log. The number for his incoming calls matches the call Jim Woolf got Sunday morning.”

“Yes,” Chase hissed. “Does it match any of the incomings on the cell you found on the pizza parlor guy, Lester Jackson?”

“Unfortunately no, but we finally have a solid connection.”

“I wish you’d told me this before I went into my meeting,” Chase grumbled.

“Sorry,” Daniel said. “How bad is it?”

“They wanted you off the case, but I convinced them otherwise,” Chase said dryly.

Daniel let out a breath. “Thanks. I owe you.” His phone beeped and he glanced at the caller ID. “It’s Ed. I gotta go.” He switched calls. “Hey, Ed. What do you know?”

“Lots,” Ed said, clearly pleased. “Come to Bailey’s and you’ll know lots, too.”

“I’m just leaving the Woolfs’, so I’m not far. I’ll see you in twenty.”

Atlanta, Thursday, February 1, 4:50 p.m.

“Alex. Wake up.”

Alex twisted out of sleep, a warm mouth meeting hers. “Umm.” She kissed him back, then leaned back against the sofa in the break room where she’d drifted off. “You’re back.” She blinked her eyes open. “What time is it?”

“Almost five. I have a team meeting, but I wanted to find you first.” Kneeling on one knee next to the little sofa, he gave her an appraising glance. “Did you get your clothes back from the bungalow?”

“No. Shannon, the agent who was there last night, said they’d been slashed.” She shrugged. “So I went shopping.”

He frowned. “I thought-”

She patted his cheek. “Relax. Chase had one of the agents ‘accompany’ me.”

“Which one?”

“Pete Haywood.”

Daniel smiled, relieved. “Nobody messes with Pete.”

“I should think not.” The man had been bigger than Daniel and built like a tank.

“Nobody tried anything?”

“Nobody even looked at me cross-eyed.” She struggled to sit up and he easily lifted her. “I got a call from my friend Letta.” Alex had called him with Sissy’s revelation earlier in the afternoon. “She said there was no letter from Bailey.”

“It should have arrived already.” His brow creased. “How long since you moved?”

“A little more than a year. Why?”

“The post office only forwards mail for about a year. Did Bailey know you’d moved?”

“No.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s probably at Richard’s house. I’ll call him.”

“Where are Hope and Meredith?”

“Back at the safe house. Hope was exhausted after she and Mary were done, so Meredith took them both back. Hope was able to pick out two of the pictures, then Mary showed her a bunch of different hats and asked Hope to pick out one that matched the hat she drew on Bailey’s assailant the other night. Hope picked a hat just like the one they wear in the Dutton sheriff’s office.”

He nodded soberly. “I know. I stopped by the team room on my way to find you.” He rose and held out his hand. “Come. We need to talk to you.” He pulled her to her feet and, sliding his arm around her waist, walked her to a conference room with a big table. Around the table were Luke, Chase, Mary, and a woman she hadn’t yet met. “I think you know everyone except Talia Scott.”