That’s when Evelyn felt it. A prickly shock of alarm went through her body and she knew that someone had locked sights on her. As casually as possible, she glanced around, making sure she’d produced an all-purpose tourist smile as she searched for the source of her unease.
She saw him. The cop was standing ramrod straight, his right thumb hooked into a leather belt that held his gun. His dark gaze homed in on her. Luckily, the crowd blocked his view for a second, enough time for her to turn, duck, and keep walking. But she could feel him right behind her.
Dammit.
Christina continued to cry, then balled up one of her fists and hit Evelyn on her opposite shoulder.
Please . . . Evelyn’s mind began to spin. Was it already over? Was this cop going to arrest her? Had she already failed Amanda? Christina? Pop-Pop Charlie? Had she already disappointed everyone she had ever loved?
“Welcome to Bayberry Island.”
Evelyn turned toward the male voice, pretending she’d been caught off guard. Of course she did a piss-poor job of it. She was a sports therapist and fitness and nutrition blogger—not an actress. “Hello. Thank you.” She adjusted Christina’s weight on her hip. “It’s been a long day,” she said with an apologetic shrug.
The officer nodded.
“Is the fountain this way?” She pointed down Main Street, figuring he had to see right through her charade. If he was going to arrest her, she just wished he’d do it now and save everyone’s time. Why didn’t he just get it over with?
The police officer tipped his head and regarded her with a puzzled expression. But then his brow relaxed, and he unleashed a smile so warm it stole Evelyn’s breath.
The noise of the crowd faded away. The dock seemed to vaporize under Evelyn’s feet. Her heart did a back flip in her chest as the tingling shock wave of recognition hit her.
Those midnight blue eyes. That straight, white grin. The dark curly hair. She knew this man—well, once, briefly, a very long time ago she’d known him as a boy. Evelyn let her eyes roam to his name tag: CHIEF CLANCY FLYNN.
It took every bit of her remaining strength to stay standing.
Chapter Two
“I already told the sheriff everything I know.” The old man sighed, looking like he barely had enough energy to shake his head. “Evelyn left to pick up Christina from Montessori school yesterday like she always does, but they never came home. I have no idea where she is. I’m just as confused as everyone else.”
From where Richard Wahlman stood just outside the kitchen door, he could see Charlie McGuinness wipe his weathered face with a wide farmer’s hand. The old guy’s eyes were rimmed red and watery. Richard almost felt sorry that the FBI had to interrogate him in his own home like this. Almost.
If his four terms in the U.S. House had taught him anything, it was that no human being was one hundred percent honorable—not his fellow caucus members, not his devoted staff, and not his wife. That said, Richard had a hunch that old Charlie McGuinness was telling the truth. The shell-shocked look on his face revealed that his daughter hadn’t shared her kidnapping plans with him. Richard had to hand it to Amanda’s older sister, Evelyn. She’d been smart not to involve her father in a crime that would surely result in a lengthy federal prison sentence for everyone involved.
Richard smiled to himself, sliding his hands into the pockets of his suit trousers. He knew the federal government didn’t look kindly upon a noncustodial family member taking a child across state lines. The FBI’s presence in Charlie McGuinness’s kitchen was proof of that. And things could get a lot worse for the McGuinness family if the case landed in the lap of one of the many federal judges Richard knew personally. Evelyn had made a boneheaded move. If she’d done it without involving her father, she’d done him a huge favor.