Page 87 of Midnight Creed

Taylor felt the sheriff’s gray eyes pin her down. She blinked too soon and had to look away. She hated this. All she wanted to do was find Will, scoop him up, and never leave him here again. The sun was setting. As soon as it was dark, it would be chilly. Did he think to pack a jacket?

“Ms. Donahue, there’s something you’re not telling me,” Norwich said, bringing her back. “If you’re hiding this boy—”

“No,” Taylor said quickly. “I didn’t do that.” She looked away at the organized chaos. Dozens of law enforcement officers were searching the area. More on the highway were still arriving. She hadn’t been able to unclench the knot in her stomach since Dora’s phone call. When her eyes came back to Norwich, the sheriff was watching her. Waiting.

“I didn’t take him,” she told her. “But I wish I had. I think he ran away. And it’s my fault.” For the first time, she could hear the panic in her own voice.

“Okay. Help me understand that.”

Taylor glanced over her shoulder. Dora’s front door remained closed, though a shadow passed by the front windows.

“When I picked up Will on Friday, Dora and I argued. I told you that, right?”

Norwich nodded. “Care to tell me what that was about?”

“Custody stuff. She doesn’t like that I’m dating. I’ve been dating Jason Seaver.” She paused, checking to see if there was disapproval. He was younger than Taylor. That mattered to some people. It obviously mattered to Dora. She hoped the sheriff understood. She didn’t want to share the part that her mother-in-law had called her a slut.

“I think Will overheard some of it. He’s been anxious to come live with me full-time, and that’s supposed to happen after the first of the year. I keep telling him we just need to be patient.” She steeled herself. She would not cry. Maybe anger could get her through this.

“Dora told you she doesn’t want you dating Jason?” Norwich prodded.

“She didn’t say that exactly. But it was clear she didn’t like that I was dating. Period.”

“And she threatened that it could affect your custody terms?”

Taylor tried to remember Dora’s exact words. Everything else got clouded in her mind after she called her “a slut.”

“She reminded me that I left Will with her and gave her the right to decide what was best for him. She made it sound like she could delay the full custody if I wasn’t living up to that. I think Will heard the part about the delay. He asked me over the weekend...”

Oh god, did she really want to admit this? As soon as she did it would be the end of her ever getting custody. Dora would convince the courts that Taylor’s actions could cause her son to run away. And all the dangers.

“He asked what would happen if he just didn’t go back.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him we needed to be patient for a little longer. That he needed to finish the school year at his school over here.” She shook her head. Bit her lower lip. “I made it sound like there wasn’t another option.”

“Was there another option?”

Taylor shot another look over her shoulder. There was no way Dora could hear them this far away in the street. Still, Taylor lowered her voice. “Do you know my mother-in-law?”

Norwich looked like she was holding back a response. Then she shook her head. “By reputation only.”

“Then you know, she and her husband have a lot of influence in this community. If she wants something to happen, she can make it happen.”

As if on cue, a rumble in the distance grew louder.

“Son of a bitch,” Norwich hissed under her breath.

“What is that?” Taylor looked up, trying to find the sound in the sky. “What’s happening?”

“Your mother-in-law.”

The helicopter came into view, or rather, its searchlight did first. The bright beam cut over the houses like a laser, lighting up the shadows from the setting sun. It swooped low just over the trees and sending leaves, pine needles and pieces of trash airborne.

Over Norwich’s radio came a woman’s voice, urgent and angry, “Get that helicopter out of here! It’s scattering the scent.”

A tall woman waved at Norwich as she jogged toward them. It wasn’t until Taylor saw the big dog alongside her that she realized it was Brodie. She was fast even with a backpack, shirttails flying behind her, one hand holding down her ball cap.