Don’t Stop Believin’ plays on my phone. Archie’s name lights up the screen.
“Answer it,” he says. “I’ll be in the kitchen preparing our lunch.”
“Hi, honey. I’m at Seamus’s house. We had a pleasant talk and came to an understanding.”
“We’ll have to chat about your conversation later.” He speaks so fast, his accent garbles the words. “You need to go to Ronnie’s straight away. The Bearsden Police should be there by now.”
Dread overwhelms me. “Why? What happened?”
“They put Luna down for a nap. When she went to check on her, she was missing.”
“Nooo!” My heart pounds against my rib cage. “It’s not possible. I hid a protection pouch in the nursery window. I made a special one for Luna since my witch’s intuition was bugging me.”
“Gwyn, Ronnie put Luna in the bassinet in their bedroom for her nap. She was taken from there.”
“Fuck. Of course.” I forgot I kept Tyler in our bedroom for the first few weeks. “Oh, my gods. Ronnie and Derek must be devastated.”
“She needs you now. Get to her house as quickly as you can. I’ll meet you there.”
“Please, call me if you arrive first. I’ll drive as fast as I can.” I swipe the red phone icon.
Seamus ambles into the room, an inquisitive expression on his face. “I sense something dreadful has occurred.”
“Someone…or something took Luna.”
“What a dire situation.” His eyebrows arch. “But now you have your evidence.”
I drive as fast as my puny Prius will go and pull up to Ronnie’s house, parking behind a police unit. I jump out of the car. Archie is speaking with Officer Quinn O’Connor.
“Ma’am,” Officer O’Connor says. “You can’t go in there. It’s a crime scene. I was just explaining to Dr. Cockburn.”
“Ronnie is my best friend,” I say, grinding my teeth. “She needs me, so I’m going in there. The only way to stop me is to arrest my ass.”
Officer O’Connor frowns at me. “Wait here.” She walks into the house.
“Keep it up,” Archie says, shaking a finger at me. “And you’ll find yourself cuffed in the backseat of her police car, stubborn woman.”
“Ronnie needs the support of her friends and family. Her parents are out of the country on vacation because Luna’s birth wasn’t expected until next week. It will take a while for them to get here. We’re all she has.”
Officer O’Connor opens the front door and waves us in. Archie and I enter the beachy living room where Detective Jack Schmidt is questioning Ronnie and Derek. The space is always so cheery, but not today. Ronnie’s eyes are red and puffy, and her crimson curls spring up from her head in a frizzy mess. Derek has an arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her tightly against his burly physique.
“I want to read my report back to you to make sure I jotted down my notes accurately. Around eleven, you placed your baby daughter in the bassinet, which is in your bedroom. When you returned at noon, she was missing. The window sash was up, but you said they were always locked. You didn’t notice anything unusual other than the open window. Did I get everything?”
Ronnie’s lips quiver. “Yes. Luna is a newborn—two days old. You have to figure out who took her soon. She needs to nurse.”
“The detective will figure out who kidnapped her, Ronnie,” Derek says, tearing up. “He has to.”
“I will do my best,” he replies. “We have an amber alert out now. I have to consult with the forensic team.”
I dart to my best friend and hug her. “Oh, Ronnie. We’ll find her. I promise.”
“I’m at a loss for words, Derek,” Archie says, hugging him. “Have confidence in the police.”
Derek sniffs. “I don’t get it. How could this have happened? They have the Baby Nabbers in custody.”
Because it’s not the Baby Nabbers. How do I tell them I had suspicions and hid that knowledge from them? They’ll hate me. Archie peers at me out of the corner of his eye.
“I suspect there are others connected with the kidnappings who roam freely,” he says. “But the Bearsden Police will do their best to get Luna back.”
Derek wraps his arms around Ronnie, and she cries against his chest. I tug on Archie’s DUB polo shirt and he follows me to a nearby corner.
“I have to tell her and Derek about Ashley,” I whisper. “And we have to alert the coven immediately to devise a plan to find Luna and rescue her. Seamus agrees this is the evidence we need.”
Archie rubs his whiskers. “We still don’t know it was her, Gwynedd. No one saw Ashley.”
My lower lip trembles while I stare at my despondent friend. “We must tell the coven. They can decide what we should do. I’ll honor whatever they say.”
Archie’s phone vibrates several times, and he reads the texts. “It’s Trinity and Leslie. I called them on the way here. They sent a group text out announcing an emergency circle for this evening, but they and the others asked to be updated as we learn more.”
I check my phone, which has been on silent, to discover several texts and missed calls from Tyler, along with messages from Trinity and the others. One of the forensic team walks into the living room and addresses Ronnie.
“Ma’am?” he asks. “I found this stuffed into the valance in the nursery. Do you know what it is?”
Ronnie glances at me but answers the investigator. “Yes. It’s a potpourri to make the room smell nice. If you excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom.” My best friend glares at me. “Can you go with me? I’m having trouble sitting on the toilet.”
“Sure,” I say, swallowing the lump in my throat.
