Page 51 of Echoes of Obsession
I quickly pull up the information for the same hospital I just took her out of.
“Saint Mary’s, how may I direct your call?”
“I need to know if a woman named Amara Clarke was brought it by ambulance?” I say. “She most likely had her service dog with her.”
“One moment, please.”
I focus on my breathing while I hear the clicking of a keyboard through the phone.
“It looks like Amara Clarke arrived via ambulance earlier this morning but was discharged a couple of hours ago.”
“She hasn’t been back in since?” I ask frantically.
“No, I’m sorry. Not unless she’s sitting in the waiting room.”
Damn it. Hanging up, I call Venom.
“Brother, you on your way back? Pops wants to grill out tonight before you take the new family home.”
“She’s missing,” I respond. “I can’t find her, and I’m freaking the fuck out.”
“Who’s missing? Snow?”
“Her apartment door was open, and her shit was waiting by the door, but I can’t find her. I even called the hospital. She’s gone.”
“Fuck. Alright. I’m calling the men in. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Don’t fucking drive, Ghost. I’m coming to get you.”
“I’ll meet you at the clubhouse. Have Knox pull any and all cameras within a mile of Snow’s home.”
“Damnit, Ghost.”
“Hey,” someone calls out when I reach my car. “Are you friends with the deaf girl and her mom?”
An older man walks towards me with a slight limp, his cane snapping against the pavement.
“Yes,” I answer. “Why?”
“Some skinny man was carrying her over his shoulder to his van earlier,” he tells me. “I tried to tell him that she needed her dog, but he ignored me and drove off. Can you take her dog to her? He was out here running around, so I brought him inside.”
“Do you remember what this man looked like?” I ask quickly. “Or the plate number on the van?”
“Do I look FBI to you? It was a solid black van. The man was stronger than he looked and carried her from her apartment to the van with no problem. She’s got some meat on her bones, so he must have been hiding muscles under that jacket. Anyway, come get this dog. He won’t stop barking.”
“Did the man get in the driver or passenger seat?” I ask.
“He climbed into the back of the van with the woman,” he says. “This is me.”
“Did you call the police?”
“In this neighborhood? Son, the police would think it’s a prank.”
Fuck.
The second the man opens his door, Sky bursts out and runs back to his apartment.
“Sky,” I call out. “Let’s go, boy. Thanks for your help, sir.”
Not waiting around to hear his response, I rush to my car and open the door. Sky runs to the car. Before jumping in, he looks back at the apartment as if waiting for his friend to emerge.