Chapter Thirteen
"Don't worry, Ivy," Sheridan told her sister-in-law
as gently as she could. "We'll find her."
Sheridan and Luis were in the living room of the Crane mansion with Ivy and Julian Crane. They all had spent several
hours at the police station and were exhausted.
Ivy was beginning to get restless. She hadn't wanted to spend all those hours at the station. She wanted to go
out and find her daughter.
Sheridan was afraid that Ivy would go into hysterics. But her husband was a steadying force. Contrary to his usual
self, instead of drinking himself blind, he held Ivy in his arms and tried his best to comfort her. Surprisingly,
she let him hold her.
The doorbell rang and Luis answered it. He let Agent Phillips in. She came with the latest news. When they walked
into the living room, Ivy sprang up from the couch. She looked at Phillips with pleading eyes, hoping for good
news.
"Anything, Agent Phillips?" she asked in desperation.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Crane, but there is nothing. I came here to see if your sister-in-law has had any luck with
information that can be of any help."
Sheridan had tried her best to figure out where Clara was, but she was too emotionally involved in it all. It was
her niece who was in danger now, not some stranger's daughter.
"I'm so very sorry, Agent Phillips," Sheridan told her. "But I tried to find out where she may be.
I just couldn't get anything."
"That's okay, Sheridan. It's probably because..." Agent Phillips was interrupted by the telephone.
Julian picked up the phone. "Hello. Crane residents. Yes, she's here. Hold on. Sheridan. It's for you."
Sheridan lifted an eyebrow in surprise. Who knew she was at the Crane mansion? "It's probably a reporter,"
she told everyone.
But wouldn't they want to speak to Ivy and Julian? She shrugged off the uneasy feeling that was coursing through
her.
"Hello?"
"Sheridan, sweetheart. How are you doing?"
It was Watts.
Sheridan sensed that he didn't want anyone to know that it was him. So, she turned around so that no one could
see her face.
"What do you want?" she hissed.
"I have your niece, as you already know. What is her name again? Clara?"
"Where is she, you son of a bitch?" she whispered.
"Ah, ah, ah. Such language, young lady. You want Clara back, you have to come get her. 635 Birch Avenue. Come
alone and when you get here, I'll release your niece. If anyone is with you, I swear I will kill her."
He hung up.
Sheridan slowly lowered the phone in its cradle. She rearranged the expression on her face, so that no one would
know something was wrong.Everyone was watching her.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Just as I thought...a reporter. Look, I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be back
in a couple minutes."
On her way to the bathroom, she stopped by a desk in the hall. she pulled out a post-it and wrote 635 Birch Ave.
on it. She opened the bathroom door, stepped in, and put the note on the mirror. She locked the door and when she
was out of the bathroom, closed it behind her. That should give her some time.
Sheridan headed towards the kitchen. She intended to leave the mansion through there. She slowly opened the kitchen
door and peered inside. Nobody was there. She stepped in and left through the door on the other side of the room.
Down the road, she was lucky enough to see a woman exit a cab. She decided to take it. The cab dropped her off
in front of the house.
Sheridan stood on the sidewalk and paced slowly up to the house. She was so nervous that she tripped on the stairs
of the porch, but she caught herself by placing her hand on the top step.
She approached the door and tentatively knocked. The door creaked open. This time, without hesitation, she stepped
in. |
