"No. Kristine doesn't talk to me much," Solange said. "She keeps to herself."

  Solange was giving her nothing, whether that was because she had nothing or she was hiding something, Andi couldn't tell. "We really need to talk to Daniel," she said again. "If he comes home, call me right away." She pulled out a card and handed it to Solange. "It's better for him to cooperate than to stay out of touch for whatever reason he might have."

  "I understand, but sometimes, Daniel is gone for a few days at a time," Solange said. "And he doesn't tell me where he's going or when he's coming back."

  "I understand. Do his siblings know more about his activities than you do?"

  She sighed. "No. They've gotten annoyed with him because of his…drinking. He hasn't been talking to anyone in the family the last several months."

  She suspected that Daniel's drinking was just part of a bigger problem with substance abuse. But Solange didn't want to put her son in an even worse light. She might need to track down the siblings and get their take on their brother.

  "How's Daniel doing at the gym?" Cooper asked. "Is he enjoying the boxing? I hope it's giving him an outlet for his grief and anger."

  "He has been better since he started there," Solange admitted. "I guess punching something helps. He was really upset by his father's death, and I was so lost in grief I didn't help him the way I should have. If he's in trouble, it's my fault."

  "Let's hope he's not in trouble," Cooper said. "I know you're worried about your son, just as Neil is worried about Elisa. The best way for us all to move forward is to be honest and forthcoming. You believe Daniel is innocent, so there's no reason to try to protect him. The truth won't hurt him."

  "I understand. I'm not trying to protect him. I don't know where he is." Solange walked them to the front door. "Does Neil think Daniel is involved?" she asked.

  "I'm sure he doesn't," Cooper answered. "Agent Hart is focused on everyone who has been in the house. Daniel is the only one we can't find, and that's troubling."

  "He didn't know he had to stay home. No one told us that. He talked to someone yesterday. He thought he was done."

  "I understand," Cooper said. "I realize this is upsetting, Solange, but as a mother you know what Claire is going through, and I'm sure you want to help."

  "I do. I really do."

  Seeing Solange respond to Cooper reminded Andi of how good Cooper had always been at charming people. His easygoing manner, the way he looked someone straight in the eye, and his soothing smile had always made people loosen their guard. While her impatient desire to get to the truth had made her less interested in soothing and more focused on ruthlessly dragging answers out of people. That hadn't always worked well.

  She'd gotten better at varying her interrogation tactics over the years, but she had to admit it had been a while since she'd talked to anyone in such a slow, soothing, compassionate way. There was rarely time for that. Her cases always moved fast, at least at the beginning, when they knew their best chances for finding a child were in the first twenty-four hours.

  Unfortunately, they were past that now, and they were no closer to finding Elisa than they'd been yesterday.

  Hopefully, they'd have more luck with Shana Grier.

  Andi was frustrated. Cooper could tell that by the way she drove them to Shana Grier's office, jumping between the gas and the brake with a very heavy foot. He was feeling the same way. Every step they took to move forward either just left them stalled or sent them backward. They were getting nowhere fast, and he was beginning to realize just how many more people would need to be interviewed, how many more times they would have to ask the same questions and probably get the same unsatisfying answers. Because they didn't have any good leads. Maybe this one with Shana would pan out, but he doubted it. He couldn't see Shana kidnapping her ex's kid. It seemed like she'd be more likely to try to destroy him another way, like stealing his business or something.

  On the other hand, Shana had been incredibly hurt by Neil choosing to have a baby with another woman while refusing to give her a child. Who knew what that had done to her emotionally? It could have hit her so hard that a part of her had broken, which might have led to an irrational and impulsive decision.

  Andi pulled into the underground garage for Shana's building, and they took the elevator to the third floor. He'd been in this office once before when he'd first discussed his book with both Neil and Shana. It hadn't changed much. There was a young woman sitting at a reception desk. She waved them toward a small couch to wait until Ms. Grier was off the phone.

  There were film and television posters on one wall, some of which had been done when Shana was still working with Neil, although there were some newer projects as well.

  "What can you tell me about Neil and Shana?" Andi asked as they sat on the couch together.

  "I know they met in their twenties. Shana was an actress. Neil was writing a screenplay. They were both moonlighting as servers in a restaurant. Together, they pitched one of Neil's scripts to a production company. It almost got into development before being scrapped. But from that venture, they made valuable connections and ended up getting a backer and taking the project to market themselves. The film was a modest success and brought them enough funding to do other projects. They spent the next thirteen years together as husband and wife and business partners."

  "Maybe that was too much togetherness," Andi said dryly. "Was Neil cheating on Shana with Claire?"

  "I don't know. He told me that he met Claire after he and Shana separated, but they weren't divorced yet."

  "I wonder why Neil decided to have kids with Claire when he didn't want them with Shana."

  "He was just at a different point in his life. When he was with Shana, they were working a lot, traveling for productions. He told me it just didn't make sense. But when he got together with Claire, his feelings changed. Plus, Claire really wanted a baby, and he really wanted Claire."

  "He wanted to make Claire happy but didn't feel the same way about Shana."

  "Maybe, but no one knows what goes on inside a relationship besides the two people involved, and we're here based on an anonymous tip, which could be completely wrong."

  "You're right. I'm just considering motivations."

  He jumped to his feet as Shana entered the lobby. Shana had a much different look than the blonde and waifish Claire. Shana was tall and fit, with dark hair and olive skin. An energy radiated off her.

  "Hello, Cooper," she said, then turned to Andi. "I understand you're from the FBI. I assume this has something to do with Neil's daughter?"

  "Yes," Andi replied. "I'm Agent Hart. I'd like to ask you a few questions."

  "Let's go into the conference room." Shana led them into a nearby room with a long table and a dozen chairs and closed the door. As they sat down at the table, she added, "I don't know what I can tell you, but if you have questions, fire away."

  "Do you know anyone who would have a grudge against Neil, who would use his daughter as leverage?" Andi asked.

  Shana gave her a direct look. "Are you talking about me? Do you want to know if I have a grudge against Neil and if I'd kidnap his daughter to somehow punish him or hurt him? Is that what you really want to know?"

  "I'd be happy to hear your answer to any of those questions," Andi said evenly.

  "Look, Neil and I had a bad ending. We started out wanting the same things and ended up with dreams that were far apart."

  "Did you want a child with Neil?" Andi asked.

  Shana didn't even flinch. "Yes, I did. I wanted a family. Neil kept putting me off. It wasn't the right time. There was a new production about to start. We had business trips somewhere, but, clearly, he just didn't want to have a baby with me. He felt differently after he married Claire. That hurt. But Neil was and is a selfish person. He wanted what he wanted when he wanted it. I'm sorry their baby has been taken. I certainly didn't do it, and I have no idea who else could be involved. Neil can piss people off, but I can't imagine why someone would take his child. I assume it must be about money. Neil's last two films have been very successful. Maybe someone wanted a piece of that." Shana frowned. "And, no, I'm not that someone. I'm doing fine on my own. I actually prefer not having to answer to Neil. We started together, but at some point, he thought he was in charge. Now, I call all the shots."

  Cooper couldn't help but admire Shana's direct candor. It was refreshing, and it felt remarkably honest.

  "What can you tell me about Larry Friedman and his problems with women?" Andi asked, changing the direction of their discussion.

  "How much time do you have?" Shana asked cynically. "Larry is a pig. He's a known harasser and predator, and while no one has come out and called him a rapist, I would not say that is out of the question."

  "I understand Jillian Markham is trying to get some accusers together."

  "She reached out to me, but the truth is I didn't work a lot with Larry. His partnership with Neil didn't start until after we divorced."

  "Neil's defense of Larry seems to have made Ms. Markham very angry," Andi said.

  Shana tilted her head. "You think she would kidnap Neil's child because Neil is defending Larry? That's ridiculous. Although, she might have done something stupid because I think she's crazy in love with Neil."

  "Did she tell you that?" Cooper asked in surprise.

  "Of course not. But she said they hooked up, and I believe her, but Neil has never been a faithful person." Shana gave him a questioning look. "What's your involvement in all this, Cooper? I thought you hated the FBI."

  "Neil asked me to make sure everything that needed to be done was being done."

  "So you're looking over Agent Hart's shoulder." She looked at Andi. "You must love that."

  "Dr. Bradford has actually been helpful," Andi said, shocking him with her words. "Is there anyone else you can think of, Shana, that would go after Neil in this way, because it feels very personal. Whoever took Elisa knew the layout of the house, how to get in and out without anyone seeing them."

  "I can't think of anyone."

  "What about Solange's son, Daniel?" he asked. "You must have known Daniel from the time Solange worked for you."

  "Of course. Daniel was a good kid until his father died. Then his issues with drugs got bigger. I'm pretty sure he stole some jewelry from me. I couldn't prove it, and I confronted Solange about it. She denied it, said she checked his belongings, and then she quit. I would have pursued it, but it wasn't a big loss, and I felt sorry for Solange. I told her I didn't think she was helping her son by not admitting he had a problem. She said I was wrong, but I don't believe I was." Shana paused as her cell phone rang. "Hold on. Hello? Yes, I need to talk to you. One second." She put her hand over the phone. "I need to take this call. Are we done?"

  "For now," Andi said. "Thanks for your help."

  "I'm not sure I was of any help, but I hope Neil gets his kid back."

  There wasn't a tremendous amount of empathy behind her words, but then Shana hadn't tried to hide her feelings about anything.

  They walked out of the office and back down to the car. They'd no sooner gotten inside when Andi's personal phone dinged with several more texts in a row.

  "Your father?" he asked.

  "No. My furniture was supposed to be delivered tomorrow morning but now it's coming in less than half an hour. Damn."

  "What's the problem? We can be at your place before they get there."

  "If you want to get out and get a ride to your car, you can do that. You don't need to go to my apartment."

  "I want to keep working with you. This won't take that long, right?"

  "Probably not."

  He could see that Andi didn't want to take him to her place. She'd always been prickly about where she lived. When they were kids, he'd chalked that up to her just hating to be at home. But it had probably been more than that. She'd never wanted to hang out at her house. Even when her parents weren't home, she'd always wanted to go somewhere else.

  "What are you so angry about?" he asked, seeing the stony set of her profile as she drove home.

  "It's inconvenient and I hate when people don't do what they say they're going to do. They said they would deliver tomorrow."

  "I get it, but what's really bothering you is that I'm going with you, right? You don't want me in your apartment. You hated when I'd come to your house. You never wanted to hang out there."

  "Because my parents were always fighting. It was embarrassing."

  "Even when they weren't around, you insisted on going somewhere else. I used to tease you about it, remember?"

  "I remember punching you when you annoyed me. I wouldn't make the same mistake."

  He grinned at her sharp comment. He'd always liked the fire Andi brought. She could be irritating as hell, but she had always made his life more interesting.

  His smile faded as he realized he was doing it again, forgetting why he hated her. Spending so much time with her was dimming his anger, his feeling of betrayal. He needed to remember the end of their friendship, not the six years before that. In fact, he felt a little desperate to hang on to the dislike, because hanging with Andi in his old bedroom, wanting to kiss her like he had when he was a kid, was messing with his mind. Kissing her had seemed impossibly complicated when he was fourteen, and it was even more complicated now. Maybe he should have gotten a ride to his car, instead of going to her house. Wasn't that just going to entangle them even more?

  That question still echoed in his mind when Andi pulled up in front of a two-story townhouse in Santa Monica. It was at the end of a development of six matching homes, and it really didn't seem to suit her, because Andi had never been like everyone else. She'd always been one of a kind.

  "I'll leave the driveway for the moving van," she said, as she got out of the car.

  "Makes sense." He followed her into the house, the very empty house. There was no furniture in the living room, just a shiny hardwood floor and very white walls. The kitchen was slightly better with a bowl of fruit on the counter, along with a coffeemaker and a box of oatmeal.

  "Looks like this delivery is coming in the nick of time," he said dryly. "How are you even staying here?"

  "I have a bed upstairs and a coffeemaker. That has gotten me through the past two days. I got in late Monday night, started work Tuesday, and I've barely been home since then."

  He moved toward the stairs.

  "Where are you going?" she asked.

  "I want to see your room."

  "There's nothing to see," she protested, as she moved up the stairs after him.

  He walked into the large master bedroom and realized she was right. Besides the bed which was only covered with a sheet and a blanket, there was nothing else in the room. There were a couple of suitcases by the closet and a single rack of clothes, but that was it.

  "I told you, Cooper," she said.

  He moved toward the window, which looked at another building about thirty feet away. "Why didn't you go for a beach view? You always said you wanted to live by the beach one day."

  "I didn't see the point of paying extra for that. I work a lot. I don't have time to sit around and look at a view."

  "But you must have told me a million times that one day you were going to live by the sea."

  She frowned. "I can't believe you remember that."

  "Like I said, you said it a million times. We'd ride our bikes to the top of Ridgeview Avenue, where we could almost see a sliver of the ocean fifteen miles away."

  "I loved going up to Ridgeview. Even though we couldn't really see the ocean, we did have a great view of the city, and I liked having a bigger world to look at. It made me feel that there was more to life somewhere out there."

  "So, why not pay the extra bucks?"

  "The beach is six blocks away. I can walk there."

  "It's not the same."

  "What about you? Do you have a beach view?"

  "As a matter of fact, I do," he said. "It's amazing."

  "Well, you probably have a few more extra bucks than I do. You've sold a lot of books."

  He wasn't going to tell her that he'd thought about her when he'd bought his condo, when he'd stood on his deck and looked out at the crashing ocean waves.

  "It was nice to be able to buy a place that spoke to me. I've always wanted a bigger world view, too."

  As their gazes met, something shifted between them. He took a step forward, and he thought she'd move back, but she didn't, and they were suddenly too close. He could hear her breathing. He could smell her scent. His blood began to race through his veins. A million voices in his head were screaming at him not to do what he very much wanted to do. But he shut them out.

  He didn't know if he moved or she did, but his mouth was suddenly on hers, and she tasted better than he'd imagined. She also kissed him back like a woman who knew what she wanted, a woman who wanted him, and every single wild fantasy he'd ever had about her was coming true. It felt like a dream, but it was real.

  Until she pulled away, until their eyes met in a clash of uncertainty and desire.

  "That was…" her voice trailed away uncertainly. "You shouldn't have kissed me, Cooper."

  "You kissed me back, Andi. You know you did."

  She stared back at him. "I shouldn't have."

  "Why not? You're single, right?"

  "Yes, but—"

  "So am I. We kissed. What's the problem?"

  "The problem is that you hate me, Cooper."

  The problem was that he didn't. He blew out a breath. "I want to hate you," he said. "But I'm having trouble getting there now."

  Her phone suddenly dinged. She pulled it out of her shoulder bag. "Oh, great. The furniture won't be here for another twenty minutes. Maybe you should go. Get a ride, get your car, do something else."

  "I want to go with you to the gym."

  "I think we should spend less time together, not more."

  "Because of a kiss. Was it that big of a deal?"

  "No, of course not. It was just a kiss. It's not like I haven't kissed anyone, and I'm sure you've kissed a million people."

  "You might be giving me a little too much credit," he said dryly.