CHAPTER 54

AVA CAME AWAKE to the sound of the doorbell, police lights flashing across her front windows.

She had fallen asleep on the couch. Her mind was numb with fatigue and worry and too much wine, and when she saw rising from the plush chair directly across from her a thin white man with a red beard and dressed in a suit, she almost screamed.

Then she remembered: she had invited him into her house. His name was John Bace, the LAPD detective who had taken over her daughter’s case. Detective Alves was still hospitalized.

John Bace was smiling now. Right then, Ava knew the police had found her daughter—alive.

It was like she was rising from the depths of an ocean. She broke the surface of the water, gasping, the sweet air filling her lungs and rinsing away the iron grip of fear that had laid claim to her mind, body, and soul. Her eyes clouded with tears of relief and gratitude and she held on to the doorway to keep from falling.

Detective Bace grabbed her by the arm. “Easy,” he said. “Easy. Everything’s fine. Your daughter is fine.”

“Where?”

“At a hospital in Ojai. No, she’s okay, I swear. Come on—I’ll take you to her.”

Ava headed to Bace’s department car, a black Ford Fusion. She got into the back, and she didn’t realize she’d forgotten to put on her shoes until Bace brought them to her.

“I want to talk to her,” Ava said, after Bace slid behind the wheel.

He looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Cell signals up that way are spotty, because of all the wildfires. And they’re running some tests—standard stuff, don’t worry—and they don’t allow cell phones back there. Where’s Charles? I thought he was staying with you.”

“He went into the office.” Ava caught his confusion and said, “China is fifteen hours ahead of us. Charles wanted to be there when the markets open. I’ll call him and let him know what’s happening. He can meet us there. Go. Please.”

Two cruisers—one in front, the other in the rear—escorted them out of the neighborhood. It was predominantly quiet, so they didn’t need to use sirens. The flashing lights were enough to signal drivers to pull aside and let them through.

When she called Charles and told him the news, his voice was thick with sleep, and she could hear a woman’s voice in the background. Charles had told her he was involved with someone. Her name was Emma and she was all of thirty-two. From bits and pieces of conversation with Charles, Ava had gathered that this whole ordeal with Grace had frightened Emma terribly, made her feel unsafe when she stayed in his brand-new mansion in Bel Air.

Ava didn’t judge him, was no longer in a position to judge.

“What was she doing all the way up in Ojai?” Ava asked.

“I don’t know the answer to that. We’ll find out more when we arrive.”

Ava stared out the window, trying to absorb everything, trying to get herself settled so she could think. The homes raced by her in a blur. She was more awake than she’d ever been in her entire life.