“You won’t.” He gave her a grin. “I’m making a plan. My sponsor is really helping me with it, and I’ve already gotten a list of meetings out there for me to attend.”

  “And what happens if you don’t?”

  Peter sighed. “Then I have to make some serious decisions about how I want to go to school, but if I can’t handle school or living on my own, then I don’t have much of a life to live, do I?”

  “But are you ready to test that theory out?”

  Pausing, Peter looked from his food to his hands to Grace. He gave her a very small nod and then a quirk of his lips. “I think I am.”

  “Good. You stick with that, and you call me when it gets tough. I’ll answer any time you need me.”

  Peter looked far more relaxed than he had earlier. Grace finished her coffee and started in on her orange juice. At one point she used to drink more orange juice than coffee, but Amya and lack of sleep had changed that. They spent the rest of the hour chatting about his plans for school and the new apartment he was looking at renting. He, at one point, whipped out his phone to show her. Grace was impressed even if she doubted he’d be able to afford it while going to school full time and wondered just how much he was planning on taking out in student loans.

  As she got up to leave to go back to work, Peter gripped her in a hug, holding her tight. Grace wrapped her arms around him after hesitating for only a moment. She was never the kind who was touchy feely and Peter had never really wanted physical affection before. When he pulled away, he was grinning at her.

  “You going to help me move out there again?”

  Grace groaned. “Do I have to? You know how much I hate moving.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, sure, whatever.”

  “Doesn’t Amya have a sister out there?”

  “Connecticut? I don’t know, I’ll have to ask. She’s got so many sisters that I lose track.”

  “Right?” Grace laughed at their inside joke. “I think Beth lives there, or maybe it’s Jenessa. I can’t remember. Forget I said anything. Ask her. I bet her sister will help you move or even keep you on the straight and narrow.”

  “Great.” He elongated the syllables. “Another parent to watch over my every move.”

  “Hey, you need all the help you can get.”

  “True.”

  Grace waved him off, as she got in her cruiser. Lunch had been a welcome respite, and she really did need to do it more often. Maybe she could even steal Kit away from school one day before Christmas to have lunch with her. She might like that. No, she’d probably hate it. Too much parenting for their independent teenager. Laughing at the thought, Grace drove to the station, ready to focus all her attention on Andrew’s case for the next few hours.

  ###

  Everyone was out, no doubt trying to finish up whatever they were working on so they could take Thanksgiving day off. Grace was stuck working Thanksgiving, though she’d already put her name in to work at the mall for Santa’s big appearance in two weeks, and no matter what Paige said, she was going to be there.

  Sighing, she sat at her desk and pulled up the list of people she wanted to check out. Phone calls would be easier than going door-to-door especially when she didn’t know if they were going to be there and there wasn’t a major reason to suspect them. Still, door-to-door was appealing. She picked up her cell phone to call Abrams and see if he was up for it when Paige stepped next to her desk and glowered.

  Putting her phone down, Grace turned her face upward. “What’s up?”

  “You took a long lunch.”

  “Not really. Wasn’t even late coming back.”

  Paige’s jaw muscles tightened. “What are you working on?”

  “Finally got those phone records. Abrams and I spent last night and this morning matching the names up and doing a basic background on them.”

  “And?”

  “Felicia is the only one with connections to them. From what we can tell no one else on either side of the family has a connection. It’s three people, well families. Two couples and one single woman.”

  Paige cocked her head to the side before standing up. She grabbed the chair from the desk next to Grace’s and dragged it over so they could sit next to each other. Paige put a hand on Grace’s thigh, making Grace jump from the contact. This was not what she had wanted to happen.

  “What were they talking about?”

  “The texts seemed to be mostly them checking in on Felicia and her pregnancy, on Andrew after he was born.”

  “Seems benign.”

  “It does.” Grace kept her gaze locked onto Paige’s when Paige moved her thumb back and forth subtly under the desk. “Abrams was supposed to pull financials while I was out. I’m just waiting on his email.”

  “Financials for what?”

  “Felicia was getting cash somehow. I want to see if the amounts match up with what she was depositing and what they were withdrawing.”

  “You think she was scamming them for money?”

  “Maybe. Won’t know until I investigate.” Grace’s words were harsh, but she was tired, and she really wanted Paige to move her hand.

  Paige sighed. “Do you mind if I join in? I could really use the distraction.”

  “Distraction from what?”

  “Long story.”

  Grace snorted. “Break up with another girl?”

  “Haven’t had a steady girl in months, Halling. I figured you knew that.”

  “I don’t pay that much attention, Paige. And I’ve been swamped with cases lately, so I really haven’t paid much attention.”

  “Fair. I’ve been swamped with work, too. I never thought running my own unit would feel so much like a ball and chain.”

  Grace chuckled. “There’s a reason I never want that job.”

  “Never say never.”

  “Fine. But still, don’t want it. You could always give it up and come back to the dark side of investigating. You’re good at it, so it’d be worth it for everyone if you did that.”

  Paige worried her lower lip, glancing from Grace to the computer screen. “I may not have a choice soon enough.”

  “So you did apply for the position, then.”

  Paige shot Grace a sharp look, clearly caught red-handed and not knowing what to say in response. “You know I can’t talk about it.”

  “So that’s a yes.”

  Nodding, Paige shifted in the seat, her voice lowering. “Yes, I did apply for it, but I don’t know if I’ll get it. There are other applicants who are much more qualified than I am, and who have a steadier temper.”

  Grace snorted at that. She would hope so. Paige was definitely not known for her patience. “You’ll do great.”

  Moving her leg out of Paige’s grasp, Grace shifted a folder so Paige could look at it. Paige took it, skimming the report while Grace grabbed her phone. She texted Abrams to tell him she was going to call the people on the list to see if they were even in town for an interview before just going to their houses. He agreed it was a good choice. Picking the most recent name, Grace dialed the number and put the phone to her ear. It rang three times before there was an answer.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, is this Paulina Dutroit?”

  “This is she.”

  “I am Detective Grace Halling with the Sheriff’s Department. I was wondering if you had a minute to talk with me about one of our ongoing investigations.”

  “Is this about Andrew?”

  Grace’s stomach clenched, and she sent Paige a look. Paige immediately leaned in closer to try and hear the other side of the conversation, but Grace shifted away. She wasn’t about to put the call on speaker phone in the middle of the room where anyone could walk in and hear, and she didn’t want Paige that close to her.

  “It is.”

  “Have you found him?”

  Grace tightened her hand into a fist. “No, ma’am, we haven’t found him. Can you tell me why you thought this call was about him?”

  Paulina sighed. “I met Felicia a few months ago. We’d been texting a lot lately, and I figured I might get called because of that.”

  “Where did you meet Felicia?”

  “When she was pregnant at the doctor’s office. We always seemed to have appointments close together, and our due dates were similar.”

  “Due dates?” Grace swallowed as she waited for an answer.

  “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to get pregnant either, but I at least had my husband to go through the process with me. Felicia had her mom with her at some appointments, but mostly it was just her. We checked in on each other to make sure everything was going okay.”

  “Did you see her outside of the doctor’s office?”

  “We got coffee a few times, but between my work schedule and hers, it was hard to find time to meet up. I know she was worried about Jonas.”

  “Why would she be worried about him?”

  Paulina sighed. “He didn’t want anything to do with the baby or her pregnancy. She couldn’t even get him to talk to her about it. She was worried she’d have to raise Andrew on her own.”

  Grace wrote down notes on a legal pad, Paige reading over her shoulder. “When’s the last time you saw Felicia?”

  “Before she had Andrew. She kind of stopped texting me after he was born, I’m not sure why. I never got a response from her on that one. I had Gabriella about a week after Andrew was born, and I haven’t been able to keep up or reach out to her. Guess I don’t need to now.”

  Thinning her lips, Grace drew in a deep breath. “Was Felicia always planning on keeping Andrew?”

  “I’m pretty sure she was. She’d talked once about considering adoption, but it didn’t seem like something she was super interested in.”

  “Do you know if she’d contacted an agency about adoption?”

  “No, I don’t know.”

  “All right. Did she mention anyone else when she was talking to you, anyone who might have worried her?”

  “No, just Jonas, and maybe his mom. She said his mom is an odd one.”

  Grace could agree with Paulina there. Theresa Erikson had not stopped calling about Andrew. “Okay, well thank you for talking to me. I may call you again if I have any other questions.”

  “Absolutely. I’ll answer anything you need to know. I was so sad to see that on the news.”

  Wrapping up the conversation, Grace settled her phone down. Paige looked at her curiously, obviously wanting some kind of answer. Paige’s hand on her arm had her attention. “What’d she say?”

  “Nothing useful.” Abrams text came in with perfect timing. Reading it, Grace moved it over so Paige could also read it. “She hasn’t been the one giving money to Felicia.”

  “Then who has?”

  “I don’t know. It’s not easy to get releases for that kind of information, especially with tomorrow being Thanksgiving.”

  “You’ll have to work on that one.”

  “I am working on it, Paige.” Grace barely managed to keep the anger out of her tone, but Paige’s proximity was setting her on edge. She didn’t want Amya to randomly walk in and see them, and she really just wanted to focus on her case and nothing else, even though she could tell Paige needed a break and a win that day, which was why she was picking the low hanging fruit with Grace.

  “Who’s next on your list?”

  “Um…the number is registered to Collin Mullins. He is married to Carla Mullins.”

  “Call them.”

  Grace did, but her conversation was eerily similar to the one she’d had with Paulina. It wasn’t the doctor’s office that they’d met, but Carla had been a support to Felicia throughout the latter half of her pregnancy, contact also ending when Felicia had given birth or shortly before it. Either these were fast friends she didn’t want to continue a relationship with or something had happened between them and Felicia to cause the breaking point.

  “The third number is registered to a single woman out of Johnson County.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I’m going to call Blake in a bit and see if she’s heard anything.”

  “Thinking you might want a trip down there?”

  Grace raised a shoulder and dropped it. “If something pops up that would warrant it, yes. That would be ideal. But if you want me to not go, I’m sure Blake can handle it.”

  Paige frowned, her fingers wrapped around Grace’s bicep. “I don’t want to keep you from your work, Grace.”

  “Seems to happen often.”

  “All you do is work.”

  “Yes, and all you do is ask for updates.”

  Paige straightened her shoulders. “I didn’t realize I was being so imposing.”

  “It’s a little annoying, Paige. I do know how to do my job at this point, and while you hold your temporary position—whether you get it permanently or not—you’re not my partner anymore.”

  “I get that,” Paige whispered. “I just hoped we could still be friends.”

  “You want more than friends, and I’ve told you many times that won’t happen.”

  Paige’s eyes widened. “You’re right. My apologies.”

  Without another word, Paige shoved back the chair she’d brought over and stalked to her office. Finally alone, Grace called Blake. “Hey.”

  “What’s up, Halling?”

  “Still working that missing baby case.”

  “No shit.”

  “Yeah. You hear anything about it?”

  “Nope.”

  “Figures.” Grace grumbled. “How’s work down there?”

  “Busy. I got stuck with the Thanksgiving on-call shift.”

  Chuckling, Grace smiled. “Me too. Amya is thrilled.”

  “I bet. I was wanting to spend the time with my girlfriend.”

  “Oh?” Grace’s eyes rose up at that. She glanced to Paige’s office, finding the door closed. “When did that happen?”

  “Month or so ago.”

  “What’s her name?”

  “Tiffany.”

  “Nice. You’ll have to bring her up some time.”

  “Plan on it when we get around to it.”

  Smiling again, Grace clicked through her computer, planning her next call while she finished her conversation with Blake. It would be helpful to get out and see Blake, not just for professional reasons but for personal reasons. They had really hit it off and become fast friends. Even Amya liked her.

  “You let me know if you hear anything about my case, will you?”

  “Absolutely, Grace. You know me better than that by now.”

  “I do. See you around.”

  With one more phone call for her day, Grace made it. She was shit out of luck when Elizabeth Novety didn’t answer. She’d run her name, figured out where she worked, called there only to discover she’d quit over a month ago. Sighing, Grace pressed her fingers to her temple. She was done for the night. Logging out and closing everything down, she left the office without even telling Paige she was going home for the night. She needed space, time, and a break from work.

  Over Communication

  Thanksgiving morning started out slow, which was a surprise for Grace. Normally she raced around the house trying to get everyone ready and going, mostly Kit, who habitually took an hour to get ready. She was still dressed in her pajamas as she sipped at her coffee on the couch, Amya curled into her side. It was the first down time they’d had in as long as she could remember.

  “Are you still going to the mall for Santa?”

  “Every year,” Grace said, the happiness seeping into her tone. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  “Good. I signed up, too.”

  “Thank God. You in a uniform is exactly what I need for Christmas.”

  Amya giggled and wiggled even closer to Grace. “What time does Kit have to go in?”

  Grace glanced at the clock on the wall. “Two hours.”

  “When are you going to check in?”

  “On and off, but I plan on staying right here as long as I can.”

  “I’ll take it.” Amya’s lips brushed against Grace’s neck just as Kit walked out of her room.

  Kit groaned, rolled her eyes, and scrunched her nose up. “Could you not?”

  “Not what? Kiss my partner of three years? Almost four at this rate.” Amya giggled. “You should get used to it, Kit. Why is it so odd for you?”

  “My parents never did that.”

  “Yeah, well your parents are weird and not a fine example of humanity.” Grace said the words before she could stop herself, and the look in Kit’s eyes and the jab from Amya’s elbow to her ribs told her she’d way overstepped. “I’m so sorry, that just…that came out.”

  “It’s true,” Kit stated, her voice quivering, but she still had a hard look to her face.

  “Doesn’t mean you don’t love them or that it doesn’t hurt when you think about them. I’m so sorry, kid.” Grace tried to grovel as best as she could. She shouldn’t have said any of that, and the fact she did, told her just how close she was to the edge. “They’re your parents. They brought you into this world and they raised you for sixteen years.”

  “And then they kicked me out when they caught me knuckle deep in a girl.”

  Grace froze. Her gaze was locked on Kit, her lungs holding the air tightly in her chest. What the fuck was she supposed to say to that?

  “Kit,” Amya stepped in. Thank God. “One, that is not appropriate to say. Two, you will not get kicked out from here for doing that, though if you are going to do that, we need to set some serious conversations about how to have safe sex.”

  Kit groaned and rolled her eyes again, stalking into the kitchen to pour herself coffee. “I got enough of that last week.”

  “Last what?” Grace’s brow furrowed as she was confused. If Amya had to have the sex conversation with Kit, then she had missed out on way more than just taking her to and from school and work every day.