The Christmas Bell Tolls Read Free Page B

child was
abducted was critical.
    Abducted. Savannah. His baby girl. Jesus!
    Nick glanced at
the clock on the dashboard as he whipped into the parking lot of the community
center. “About forty-five minutes since the incident was reported.”
    Forty-five
minutes.
    Darren swallowed
against his still-dry-mouth. Nick hadn’t even turned off the car’s engine
before Darren bolted from the car. Already, yellow police tape cordoned off the
back parking lot of the community center.
    He strode forward,
whipping out his badge, but was stopped by a plainclothes officer. “Sir, please
go around to the front door.”
    Nick took hold of
his elbow and led him to the front door. “Timmons, I’m allowing you onsite—at
the scene, but remember to stay out of the actual investigation.”
    Darren nodded, but
he’d already made it to the front steps.
    “Darren!”
    He halted, staring
up at Maddie’s pale face.
    “I’m so sorry.”
    He wanted to be
mad. Wanted to be furious. Wanted to scream at her
that it was her fault his baby girl was missing. That Savannah had been in her
care and she’d let his daughter get taken. Why hadn’t she been watching his
baby?
    Darren wanted to
hate her, but he couldn’t. He loved Maddie like the sister he’d never had, and
he knew she would have taken a bullet before allowing something to happen to
Savy. He grabbed her into a hug and held her tight. He could feel her pounding
heart and her hiccups. “It’s not your fault,” he whispered into her hair before
pulling away. Any longer and he wouldn’t be able to control his emotions.
    He had to stay in
control.
    “What happened?”
Nick pulled Maddie against him as he led the way inside the community center.
He and Darren stopped log enough to sign in on the crime scene log, then
entered the building’s main room.
    “We’d just
finished listening to the first bell choir’s piece and the florist had set up
the bouquet samples in the kitchen. We were starting with the smallest bouquets
first, so Savannah went with the florist to pick out the flowers she wanted in
her arrangement.” Maddie perched on the edge of a table as various law
enforcement officers milled around.
    Nick nodded. “I’ll
be right back. I’m going to talk to the Detective in charge.”
    “Then what
happened?” Darren asked.
    Maddie chewed her
bottom lip. “The second bell choir played their piece and the third was setting
up when I realized Savannah hadn’t come back yet. I thought she might be having
trouble picking flowers, so Riley went to go check on her. She found the
florist on the floor and no sign of Savannah.”
    Darren looked over
the room. Riley Baxter Simpson sat on a chair in the corner of the room, two
uniforms and a detective taking her statement.
    “At first, we
thought the florist had fainted or had a seizure and passed out or hit her head
or something, but we soon realized that was incorrect. When we got her up, she
confirmed that she’d been hit while talking with Savannah. Everyone began
looking for Savannah.”
    Darren spied a
woman who was most likely the florist talking with several police officers, both
in uniforms and cheap suits.
    “When we didn’t
find her after calling, I ran out the back door.” Maddie’s eyes filled with
moisture. “I found her bow in the back, so immediately called the police, Nick,
and my team.”
    “Why didn’t you
call me, Maddie?” Darren struggled to keep the accusations out of his tone.
    Maddie swiped at
her eyes. “You know why I couldn’t. If I’d called you first, you would’ve come
right over. You’d have been distraught and driving, might have caused an
accident. You know protocol.”
    Yes, he knew
protocols, policies, and procedures well. They were the backbone of his work
ethic. But he’d never had his daughter abducted before, where he felt like
everything worked against him.
    Nick returned.
“Darren, I just got off the phone with the Executive Assistant Director.
Officers are going to drive