Excerpt: LIVING PROOF (that no good deed goes unpunished), Neighborlee, Ohio, Book 4

 

I slumped in mychair, feeling like someone had pulled a plug and I was deflating like apunctured waterbed. "How long have they been missing?"

"I'msorry."

"How long?"

"What'sup?" Pete demanded, joining us. He saw Felicity two seconds after hestumbled in, dressed in threadbare boxers with purple hearts on them. Heshrieked and dashed into the laundry room, just off the kitchen, and emerged afew seconds later with a bath towel wrapped around his hips. To add insult toinjury, Felicity was too busy watching me to notice Pete's condition.

"How long havemy parents been missing?" I demanded again, choking on the words.

"Twoweeks," he admitted on a sigh.

"And you've beenlooking for them all this time?"

"If Mum and Popdidn't want anybody to find them for some reason, nobody could find them,"Harry growled. He glared at me when I signaled him for silence, then sank intothe nearest available chair. Fortunately, it didn't have any of Felicity's looton the seat.

"When I havemore information, I'll contact you," Hayward said. "Don't stir up anymore trouble than there already is by calling here or the hotel they were lastat. Understand?"

"Oh, Iunderstand far more than you might imagine."

"Lanie… I'm sorry. They'remy friends." Another sigh. "I didn't even know the military wastrying to ride on the coattails of their research until after they werereported as missing."

"If that's aploy to try to find out what we know—"

"Your parentsare my friends. Trust me, all right?" He waited, while I tried to findwords, and swallow down the sharp-edged block that filled my throat."Lanie?"

"We don't reallyhave any choice, do we?"

"I'll contactyou as soon as I can." Then he hung up before I could respond.