Page 6

"That's what I thought, too."

I swallowed. "I'll try him. Maybe he thinks it's about work and doesn't want to deal with it until he's reached his desk and had a cup of coffee himself."

She gave a small, nervous laugh. "That's probably it. He hates it when I call him outside of work hours."

"Exactly."

"Okay. I'll let you know if I hear anything else."

"Thanks."

She hung up, and I immediately called Philip.

No answer. I tried again. Still nothing. I tried again a third time. It kept going to voicemail. I stared at the phone, panic rising in my chest once more.

Please be alright. Please be alright.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to try to calm my nerves. Then I called again. Straight to voicemail, the same as the others. I tried once more. This time the call didn't even ring. Instead I got the 'this number is currently unavailable.'

What the hell?

Panic rose up again so quickly that I felt physically sick. I called Gigi back, my shaking fingers barely able to hold the phone.

She answered almost immediately.

"Gigi?"

"Shh. I can't talk right now. You need to get here now, though!"

"What?"

"I'll explain when you get there. Or they will. It's bad, Darren. Really, really bad." The words broke off in a sob.

"I'm on my way," I said, her tears sweeping me so far into fear that panic was a memory and I was on calm autopilot. Something had happened to my husband. Why had they gone there and not here? Was someone on their way here and Gigi hadn't known?

Upstairs. I needed to get together upstairs. The children were still upstairs. So were my clothes, as I was still in my pajamas. I ran up, threw on a pair of sweats and sweater, jammed my feet into my trainers, and bundled my darlings into their coats while still dressed for bed as they stared owlishly at me. I barely managed to get shoes onto the right feet. Evan complained that his coat was itchy. Matt wanted to know where Daddy was. Laura started crying because she was hungry.

"I know, sweetheart. I know."

I felt like I was moving through fog.

Twenty minutes.

That was all it took to get to the firm, and then a few minutes to park and get inside. Twenty minutes that felt like an hour. When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw the police cars immediately. My heart stopped. There were several of them. If he'd been in an accident, why were so many here?

I got the children out of the car as quickly as I could, gathered them around me, and hurried toward the entrance.

And then I saw Philip.

He was standing near the doors, and there were two police officers with him.

And his hands were cuffed behind his back.

"No." The word escaped me before I even realized I'd said it.

Philip looked up, and his eyes found mine. "Darren."

An officer started moving toward me. "Sir, you need to stay back."