Page 96 of Searching for Bristol
Rocky closed his eyes and said in a low, tortured tone, “I find people for a living. What good are my skills if I can’t find the one person who means the most to me in the world?”
“For the record, I think you’re on the right track with what you said today. We got too focused on a physical search. This isn’t like the missing people we track down in the forests. She didn’t walk out of your apartment of her own free will. Actually asking the townspeople to gossip is exactly what we need right now.”
“Simon’s not going to be happy,” Rocky said, opening his eyes.
“So what,” Ethan retorted with a shrug. “He’ll deal. I have a good feeling about this. The one thing small towns do best,Fallportdoes best, is gossip. Someone saw something. I know it. Hang on, brother. Just a little longer.”
“Bristol needs to hear that, not me,” Rocky replied.
Ethan clapped a hand on his shoulder. They stood like that for a moment, soaking in the love and support they had for each other, before Rocky said, “I have a meeting with the realtor Bristol saw before she disappeared.”
“You do?” Ethan asked in surprise.
“Yeah. She called me…said she’d found the perfect property for Bristol.”
“Um, that sounds a little coldhearted,” Ethan said with a frown.
Rocky shook his head. “Actually, I don’t see it that way at all. She apologized and told me how worried she’s been. I’ve seen her on a few searches too. She told me when she saw the property, she immediately knew Bristol would love it, even after only knowing her for a short while. I wasn’t interested in seeing the house, mostly because I’m too consumed with worry. But also because I guess it needs considerable work. She told me that when we find Bristol, maybe having this house would give her something to concentrate on. Something to help put what happened to her in the past.”
“She said that?” Ethan asked. “Straight up? That’s kind of fucked up.”
Rocky shook his head. “Yeah, I wasn’t too thrilled…but then I thought about it for a bit. She’s kind of not wrong. So I said I’d meet her and go look at the property.”
“You want company?” Ethan asked.
Rocky shook his head. “No. Thanks though.”
“You need to eat more,” Ethan said after a moment. “You aren’t looking after yourself. Bristol would be pissed at you, and probablymefor not making sure you eat…and sleep.”
Rocky’s lips twitched. His brother was right. But the thought of eating made him nauseous. “I’ll grab something before meeting with the realtor.”
“Right,” Ethan said, obviously knowing he was lying. “Call me later about the property?”
“I will. You gonna give Simon a head’s up about what’s coming his way?”
Ethan sighed. “Yeah. I’ll head over there now.”
“Thanks. Give Lilly my love.”
“I will.”
The two men hugged, not ashamed in the least about the display of affection. Ethan pounded Rocky on the back before he turned to walk toward the police station.
Rocky felt guilty for a moment, knowing his brother—hell, their entire team—had been spending every spare minute of every day, for the last two weeks, doing all they could to find Bristol.
Raid had taken Duke out every day, hoping against hope to catch Bristol’s scent, with no luck. Zeke had left the running of On the Rocks to his bartenders and Elsie, who were all working extra hours to cover for him. Drew, Brock, and Talon had been doing everything in their power to use their skills to find any small sign of Bristol’s whereabouts.
Her disappearance had brought them all even closer, but it was bittersweet…since she was still missing.
Rocky could hear people chatting as they walked along the sidewalks around the square, saw cars driving slowly, smelled bread baking at The Sweet Tooth…everyone was going on with their lives as normal. While his life had completely stopped.
Sighing, and praying that today would be the day they got any sort of clue regarding Bristol’s whereabouts, Rocky walked across the grass toward his car. He had mixed feelings about seeing the property and house the realtor thought Bristol would love, but the last thing he wanted to do was go back to an empty apartment.
* * *
Simon ran a hand through his hair in frustration. It wasn’t as if he didn’t agree with what Rocky had told the townspeople who’d come out to help with the search this morning, but it certainly made his life a lot busier. The phone had been ringing all morning, with people telling him all the strange things they thought their friends, neighbors, and even strangers in the grocery store were doing. He was obligated to check them all out. Right now, he was alone in the station because all four of his officers were chasing some of the leads that had been called in.
He’d finally found a minute to sit and eat his lunch—even though it was two in the afternoon—when the bell over the front door of the station chimed.
