The Sholes Key (An Evans & Blackwell Mystery #1) by Clarissa Draper Page A

listening to him, she said, “But don’t get me wrong, she’d never abandon him, she wouldn’t. She loves him too much. He’s her life, but who wouldn’t need a break? Anyone in her position would need a break. God, I should’ve been more help.”
    Theo changed his line of questioning. “Can I get a list of friends or relatives she may have gone to?”
    “Friends?”
    “Yes, those she spent time with.”
    “She doesn’t have time for friends. She works and then has to be home for Stevie.”
    “What about the Internet? Could she have made friends there?”
    “She can’t afford the Internet.”
    “What does your daughter do for work? Does she work nights?”
    “Nights? No, she works at an office, architect firm. She answers the phones there Monday to Friday, nine to five. She refuses to work at night; she has to be at home with Stevie. Look, I know what you’re thinking. You think I should know more about my daughter, that I should be more interested in her life. But she’s an adult.”
    “Was Steve in childcare?”
    “Yeah, Lorna had to be to work by nine, so she has Stevie in childcare before and after school. I can’t think where she would’ve gone Wednesday night. Did she leave the house or was she… ?” She couldn’t continue.
    “Has she always been a single mom? From Stevie’s birth?”
    “Yeah.” She gave a little smile. Stevie was giggling on the bed as the dinosaur tickled his belly.
    Theo asked another question and got no response.
    “Sorry?” Eva finally said.
    “Oh no, that’s perfectly all right, I know this must be hard for you.” Eva nodded, not looking away from the boy, so Theo repeated, “I was asking if—as far as you know—she was seeing anyone? Dating anyone?”
    “I really don’t know.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “She wanted to get married, I know that. She was looking, but I don’t know if she found anyone. We didn’t talk much about those sorts of things. I had a hard time with my husband, and it made her relationships… well, she has difficulty with them. I don’t think she has the time to date, really. And she probably thought she had no chance, her having a child and all.”
    “Does the boy see his father?”
    “That piece of—” She stopped and crossed her arms. “He was useless. Never helped at all, not with money, rent, or food. I knew that relationship was doomed from the start. I warned her. When it was over and he left her looking after the baby alone, I told her she should go after the bastard. He should be supporting her. I don’t know why she didn’t. I don’t know why.”
    “Do you know his name or maybe his address?”
    “I don’t think Lorna even knows where he lives. But the bastard’s name is Everett Harrison.”
    “Grandma, grandma!” Dorland helped the boy down off the high bed, and he ran to his grandmother. “Mr. Dorland said I could go see a police station. He would let me. Can I? Can I?”
    “Someday, I promise,” his grandmother assured him.
    “Okay,” he said, grabbing on to Theo’s hand and looking up at him. “Are you going to find my mum?”
    “I’ll try my best, but in the meantime you make sure you take care of your dinosaur because I think he’ll want to come on the tour of the police station too, all right?”
    “I promise.”
    * * *
    The trip to the hospital left Theo drained. He took a deep breath when he stepped through the hospital doors onto the pavement. Being there brought back so many bad memories—the air inside suffocated him. He had spent agonizing hours watching and praying for his wife to recover from her accident and regain her memory. A damn waste. A damn waste of time.
    “I want to go back to the office for awhile,” Theo said. He wanted to sleep.
    “The boy kept asking me where his mother was,” Dorland said as they walked toward the car. “What do you say to that? How can I pretend that everything will end well when I know chances are unlikely?”
    “Did he tell