When she got into work, Grace sat at her desk and stared at her computer for a full five minutes before she picked up her cell phone. Her lawyer definitely had gone to Johnson County. She had no idea if he was still there or if he’d left, but she’d called Blake the day before and now the two of the were working on it.

  Grace had a phone call to make, one she should have made well before now. Grabbing a clean notebook and two pens in case one crapped out on her, Grace walked to the back of her unit where the interview rooms were. Sitting down, she set her notebook up and took a deep breath. Why was it she always seemed to call Morgan for work help when she and Amya were arguing?

  Dialing the number, Grace listened and prayed Morgan would answer so she wouldn’t have to leave a message or risk having to call again. Morgan didn’t answer. Grace rubbed her eyes as she debated what to say when leaving a message, but the phone in her hand buzzed. Pulling it away from her ear, she saw an incoming call from none other than FBI Special Agent Morgan Stone, Amya’s oldest sister.

  Grace ended the voicemail and answered the call. “This is Grace.”

  “Grace? You called?” Just like Morgan, always short and to the point.

  “I did. I wasn’t sure if you’d heard about the case I’m working.” Grace felt stupid as soon as she said it. It’d be a toss-up if Morgan had heard about it. She wasn’t necessarily working that case on their end, and it had been in the news, local and national, and they lived decently close, but that still didn’t mean Morgan would have heard about it. “Baby Andrew who is missing. Mom murdered in her apartment before the baby was taken.”

  “Oh.” Morgan’s tone raised up. “I didn’t realize that was your case.”

  “Yeah. Um…you’re not working that one from your end, are you?”

  “No. Then I would know it was your case.”

  “Right.” Grace clenched her fist, digging her nails into the palm of her hand. Morgan’s know-it-all tone wasn’t helping Grace’s confidence. “Do you have a minute?”

  “I’m on the phone, aren’t I?”

  Either Grace was striking out, or something had crawled up both their butts. She’d talked to Morgan several times even though she’d never met her in person. Apparently she was the sibling who knew everything about the family, according to Amya. Grace wondered briefly if Morgan was aware of their issues. Pushing that thought from her mind, she realized she had to stop wasting Morgan’s time.

  “Right, anyway, I need help with a profile. I’m a bit stumped. I’m used to missing teenagers, not babies.”

  Morgan snorted. “These cases are rare enough as it is.”

  “Yeah. We’ve checked out everyone in the immediate family thoroughly and don’t suspect any of them at this time. Not ruling them out. I know most of these cases are done by family, but could you give me a little more insight into the mentality of someone who would kidnap a baby?”

  “Uh…sure. Got some paper?”

  “Yes.”

  Morgan drew in a deep breath, and Grace caught sounds of someone talking to her. Morgan sighed. “Hold on.”

  The line went quiet. Grace held on as she waited. Patience was apparently the name of the game for the day. It took Morgan two full minutes to come back on the line—Grace had checked to make sure they were still connected several times.

  “Sorry, Pax needed something.”

  “Your partner?”

  “Yeah. You gotta get out here some time to visit. Amya says we’ll get along.”

  “I’m pretty sure she says that about everyone.”

  Morgan snorted. “I think you’re right. Always the perpetual optimist.”

  Except for lately, Grace thought. Bringing the conversation back around to the purpose of the call, Grace asked, “So the profile?”

  “Yes. Like you said, the kidnapper for infants in this case is typically a woman, a young woman, someone who is related to the family.”

  “Immediate?” Grace asked.

  “Most often, yes, but even then related far more often than not. It’s very rare for stranger abductions to happen in the cases of infants from the home.”

  Grace wrote down a few notes, surprised Morgan knew this abduction had been from the home since the case wasn’t hers. If the kidnapper was family, then her search needed to be expanded drastically to all cousins, aunts, uncles, and perhaps even friends one might consider family.

  Morgan continued, “If she took the baby from a hospital or store or whatever, she usually is in a relationship with a man, and she tells people she has lost a baby frequently. Whether or not she has isn’t really the point. She could have had miscarriages or they could all be in her head.”

  Grace had most of this information already, but hearing it from Morgan gave her confidence that her research hadn’t been wrong. “Does she often have other kids?”

  “Um…she can. Not necessarily though. Usually if she does, it’s likely that the man she’s currently with isn’t the father of the other kids. Because she’s usually trying to provide his baby as motivation for him to stay with her.”

  “That’s shitty,” Grace muttered. When Morgan laughed out loud, she realized she’d spoken instead of just thought it.

  “Yeah, real shitty. But these people aren’t right in the head. If they were, I wouldn’t need a profile for them.”

  “Agreed.”

  Morgan sighed. “Whoever she is, she’s damn good at lying and manipulation. She’ll be able to twist stories and lies with the best of them, so you have to be on your toes.”

  “Great.”

  “However, since this case happened in the home, whoever did it is actually most likely to be single while claiming to have a partner. She wants to have the house with the white picket fence and two point five kids. So she says she has a partner when she doesn’t.”

  “Interesting that there’s a difference.”

  “Yeah, most research is done on abductions of infants outside the home since they happen far more frequently. The profiles are often blurred accidentally.”

  Grace had made the same mistake. The profile she’d researched had given her the wrong information just like Morgan had said it might.

  Morgan’s voice quickened. “I’ve got to run, but one last thing. When the abduction is out of the home, it helps to not look at family, too. A social worker or nurse, basically someone who is claiming to be in that profession even they aren’t. Look at distant family, too. Not everyone follows the profile perfectly, and without details on the case, I can’t tell you one way or the other.”

  “Right. Thanks, Morgan.”

  “Any time, Grace. And I meant it about visiting. It’s been too long since I’ve seen Amya in the flesh, and I’d like to meet this girl she’s been hung up on for three years.”

  Grace smiled. “Sure, we’ll make it happen as soon as we can.”

  As Morgan hung up, Grace let out a sigh. She only hoped there was enough of a relationship in the end that she’d actually get to meet Morgan. With the new information in hand, Grace went back to her desk to expand her list of people to check on. She still had a lot to learn, and it was good to have someone like Morgan to talk to when she needed.

  ###

  Grace grabbed her notebook from her conversation with Morgan as soon as she’d been able to put a little more of her thoughts and papers in order. Leaving her unit, she walked down to Homicide, finding Link at his own desk, hunched over his computer.

  Sitting on the edge of his desk, Grace smiled down at him. “Find anything?”

  “Not a fucking thing.” The edge in his tone was one she hadn’t heard before.

  Cocking her head to the side, Grace stared down at him and waited for an explanation.

  Link heaved a breath. “It’s like this killer vanished or never existed to begin with.”

  “That’s impossible.”

  “I know.” Link narrowed his gaze at her. “We have all this evidence and no one to even think about matching it to.”

  “Maybe this will help.” Grace flopped her notebook down onto the desktop with a loud snap.

  Link leaned back and stared at it. He turned his head at it as he read some of what Grace had written, then he turned his head the other direction. “What is this?”

  “I called my sister-in-law.”

  “Because that makes sense.”

  Grace chuckled. “She’s a profiler for the FBI out of Chicago. I asked her for the basic run down on a profile for someone who would kidnap an infant in the home.”

  “Oh!” Link grabbed the notebook and pulled it closer to him. “So, anything new?”

  “Yes. These are not commonly stranger abductions, which we knew, but when they’re out of the home, they’re meticulously planned.” Grace pointed to the notebook. “She said the woman who is often the kidnapper will most often know the victim, is a master of deceit, and she’s often working up to kidnapping for a long time.”

  “All right, but this isn’t exactly big news.”

  Grace snorted lightly. “When it’s done in the home, the kidnapper is often single versus when it’s done in the public. What that means is we had the wrong profile all along.”

  Link shifted his gaze from the paper to Grace. “So who are we looking at now?”

  “So glad you asked, Detective Abrams.” Leaning forward, she flipped the top sheet on the notebook up to reveal the sheet underneath. “This is a list of those involved with her at the hospital that we know about, including social workers. I took the time to call her mother earlier and ask if there were any social workers who stopped by the house and there was one social worker and one home nurse. Their names are listed here, and I think we should start there.”

  “You were busy.”

  “Always.” Grace smirked. “I also put together a list of her more distant relatives who are young women with or without partners.”

  “With? You just said she’s most likely single.”

  “Yup. But master manipulator, remember? She lies, and in this case, not uncommon for lying about partners.”

  “Ah.” Link skimmed the list of names.

  Some of the people they had talked to briefly already, but Grace wanted a more in depth conversation with a few of them, and she was pretty sure Link would as well. “I should have thought to call Morgan sooner than I did.”

  “Maybe, but this might help us. Did you check the licensing for these social workers and nurses?”

  “I did. They’re all on there. So I’m not sure if they’re our targets or not, but definitely worth a more in depth interview.”

  “You’re right. Let’s get started on this.” Link pushed away from his chair and grabbed his jacket.

  Grace followed suit, letting him lead the way. When they got into the cruiser, they strategized who they were going to talk to first. They went from home to home, from work to work, striking out at every turn. As they crossed more names off their list it was a relief to be making some progress, but a frustration to not be finding any suspects. Grace wanted to find this baby, and she knew Link wanted to find this killer.

  Sighing as they struck out again, Grace rolled her shoulders and buckled her belt in the passenger seat as Link did the same in the driver’s seat. Grace asked, “So what now?”

  “Now we go home, get some shut eye, and try again tomorrow. There’s still ten people easy on this list. And as we have more time, we’ll add to it.”

  “I guess,” Grace muttered. “I’m not a patient person to begin with, Abrams, and this case is trying what little patience I have.”

  Link laughed out loud. Grace turned on him, somewhat appalled but how funny he thought her comment was. It wasn’t that amusing. He shook his head at her. “I was thinking the same thing about me.”

  A smile hit Grace’s lips. At least the two of them were on the same page for now. “I’m going to go to Johnson County soon for another case, so if we find any relatives there, I could hit them up while I’m in town.”

  “Good idea. I’ve contacted my counterparts in other counties to do some interviews, but I’d much prefer to have you or me conduct them, detectives who actually know the case and care about it.”

  “Agreed.” Grace watched as the city around her passed by the windshield of the cruiser. “You know, I have a thought. You up for one more interview today?”

  “Sure.”

  “Head over to Jonas’ apartment.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yup.”

  The drive didn’t take them very long. Grace took the lead, since this idea was hers. She knocked on the door. Jonas answered after a minute. The room behind him was dark, all the blinds drawn, and he looked like he was just waking up.

  “Everything all right, Jonas?” Grace asked, taking in everything about him. He looked completely disheveled, half-asleep still, his eyes had dark rings under them, but his eyes were red too. Could be drugs, but it could also just be lack of sleep or crying.

  He shook his head silently, his dark curly hair moving. Jonas opened the door wider and invited the two of them in with the movement of his hand. That was a good sign at least. Grace stepped into the apartment, the stale scent hitting her first. It was messy, take out boxes left everywhere, nothing cleaned. Jonas sighed as he went to sit on the couch. Grace followed him, sitting next to him while Link stayed standing since there was no other place for him to go.

  “What happened, Jonas?”

  “I can’t believe she’s gone.”

  Ah, so it had finally hit him that his ex-wife was dead and his son was missing. “I know it’s tough. We’re here to talk to you a little more about Felicia and Andrew.”

  “She named him after my brother who died when he was born, you know. Andrew. That was my brother’s name.”

  Grace’s heart clenched at the thought. Felicia must have been certain that the baby was Jonas’ for her to do that. Although, it could have also been a manipulation tactic to get Jonas back. “Did she tell you that?”

  Jonas shook his head. “I knew it when she told me his name. Did those test results come back yet?”

  Grace glanced at Link, who shook his head. “No. There’s a backup at the lab because of the holiday. We should have them by the beginning of next week I think.”

  “I want to know if he’s my son, for real.” Jonas turned his dark eyes on Grace. “But I’m pretty sure I already know.”

  Nodding, Grace reached out and touched Jonas’ arm lightly. “That’s why we’re here, Jonas. We want to talk to you about Andrew.”

  Jonas drew in a ragged breath. “Anything I can do to help, I will. I want my son. I want to honor Felicia by raising him.”

  “Good.” Grace smiled at him, glad to see he was turning around. There’d still be a whole investigation by child protective services and social workers to make sure Jonas was fit and ready to be a parent and take custody, but if he wanted to parent, he could from what Grace had seen. “I wanted to ask if you’ve been dating anyone.”

  Jonas shook his head. “Not seriously.”

  “So you are seeing someone regularly?”

  Jonas shrugged. “I guess you could call it that. I haven’t seen her in a few days.”

  “When did you meet her?”

  “In high school.”

  Grace’s lips thinned. Another connection to that damn high school. “All right, how long have you two been seeing each other?”

  “Well, we’re not. Not really. We’re more just friends with benefits.”

  “Ah. I’m going to need her name so we can talk to her.” A glance at Link told her he was ready to take the name down.

  “Ashton Haverson.”

  “Does Ashton know about Andrew?”

  “Who doesn’t at this point?” Jonas rubbed his hands over his face. “I can’t believe Felicia is dead. We had her funeral a few days ago, just a private thing with the family, but I can’t…I can’t believe she’s dead.”

  Grace squeezed his arm to try and give him as much comfort as she could. “Have you dated anyone else since you and Felicia split?”

  Jonas nodded. “A few girls.”

  “We’re going to need all their names.”

  Sighing, Jonas looked at Link instead of Grace. “I don’t know all of them.”

  Grace wanted to roll her eyes. Of course he had gone a bit wild since they’d split. She should have expected something like that might happen. They took down what names they could, starting a brand new list of women for them to interview. They took down phone numbers when Jonas had them, descriptions of women he’d picked up where he only had first names and no other information.

  Link and she were going to have to do a lot of running around and following up to figure out who these women were. It seemed as though Jonas had gone a bit crazy once the divorce went through, well, even before it finalized. They wrapped up their interview with him after asking about family members. The list for Grace and Link to check had grown by nearly fifty people. They would have to split it up to check them all out in a timely manner.

  Grace stretched her back as they walked out to the cruiser. That had been an hour well spent. Checking her phone, she saw missed calls from Paige, missed texts from Paige, missed emails from Paige. She sighed. She’d check it all when they got back to the station and find out what drama she had happened while they’d been out working the case.

  “That was a good idea, Halling.”

  “Thanks,” she muttered as she got into the cruiser.

  Link drove them back to the station as they split up the list and who was going to look at what. If they were going out to interview, they agreed to go together, though Grace couldn’t figure out why. She was capable of interviewing someone on her own without him there.

  When he pulled up, he stopped her from getting out of the car with a hand on her wrist. “I need to tell you something.”

  “What is it?”

  “The reason I’m insisting on going on interviews with you isn’t because I don’t think you know what you’re doing.”

  Confused, Grace shook her head. “Why are you doing it then?”

  Link smirked. “Boss is checking you out and wants my opinion on how you work. He’s thinking about trying to convince you to transfer.”