Page 46 of Hell Hath No Fury

“Didyouknow?”

“Oh, yes. We all know. But it’s none of our business. He’s always so sweet and generous. Nothing else matters.”

“What happened next?”

Sheila shifted nervously in her chair. “Mr. Baker’s clients both got up and left. I felt awful for him. Mr. Jones kept pushing at him until… well… Mr. Baker kinda snapped.”

“Snapped how?”

“He stood up and got in Mr. Jones’s face and told him to shut up and leave him alone or else.”

“Or else what?”

She squirmed and, in a whisper, said, “Or else he’d kill him.”

Fergusson shot a look at his partner but avoided meeting Matthias’s eyes.

“He wouldn’t, though,” Sheila said quickly. “He felt so bad about the whole thing, he came around and apologized personally to all of us who were working that night. And he left a huge tip.”

“How huge?”

“Two hundred dollars.”

Matthias felt his phone vibrate as Lukan let out a whistle. The text message was from Emma.

Call me. Urgent.

Matthias excused himself and stepped out of the room to place the call. “What’s wrong?” he asked when it connected.

“Nell’s gone,” Emma sobbed. “Again.”

* * *

Matthias slammed through the front door at Eric’s house and was met with raised voices. He followed the shouting to the bookshelf-lined living room where Emma sat on the sectional, hanging her head, while Eric paced the floor.

“I can’t believe you let her out of your sight,” he said sharply.

“I was taking a shower,” Emma replied, her voice on the verge of a whimper. “What was I supposed to do? Lock her in the bathroom with me?”

“Maybe. At the very least, you should’ve waited until I got home to watch her.”

Matthias stepped between them and faced Eric. “That’s enough.” He turned to Emma and softened his tone. “What happened?”

She wrapped her arms around herself and told him about Nell slipping out. How Emma managed to track her as far as the main road, where a trucker picked her up. “Before you ask, no, I wasn’t close enough to get a plate number. All I know is it was one of those big boxy trailers.”

“What did you notice about the cab?”

“It was older, faded red with a company logo on the side, but I couldn’t make it out.”

Matthias gave her a look that he hoped offered more encouragement than he felt. “I’ll make some calls.” He turned back to Eric, the encouraging look gone. “And you.Back off.”

To Matthias’s surprise, he did not. “I’ve spent the last few weeks taking care of Nell, protecting her, making her feel safe,” Eric said, his hands balled into fists. He sidestepped to glare past Matthias at Emma. “I told you how fragile she was. I pleaded with you not to come here. But you always think you know best. Well, you don’t. Nell trustsme. Or at least she did before you came crashing back into her life. The person she doesn’t trust isyou.”

Matthias wanted to grab Emma and hustle her out of there, but Nell was her sister, and if he was going to find her, he needed Eric’s help. After all, as Eric said, he’d been with her for the last couple of weeks. Keeping his voice in the low, gravelly tone he used to intimidate criminals, he asked, “Where would she go?”

“I don’t know.” Eric crossed his arms, impervious to Matthias’s intimidation efforts.

“Yes, you do. Think.”