“No. Again, I hoped you’d know.” She hesitated. “I think he might be drinking. I mean, like, a lot.” She shrugged again. “Something’s wrong. I stopped by his place and knocked, but he didn’t answer. I’m afraid he’s somewhere hurt or sick.”

Grant scrubbed his hands down his face. Not again, he wanted to groan, but kept it silent. Wesley’s partner didn’t need to know that he’d likely thrown away a whole year of sobriety. Or maybe not a whole year, if he’d been disappearing for a long time.

Goddammit, Wes. You would pick the busiest fucking time of the year to go AWOL. You’d better be sick or hurt, or you will be when I find your drunk ass in whatever gutter you’ve passed out in.

He took another deep breath, then another. Yes, his brother had suffered a loss. But we all did. I miss her, too, but you don’t see me crawling into a fucking bottle.

Because Grant had responsibilities.

He lifted his gaze to meet Tracy’s sympathetic one. “I’ll ask my wife to stop by his apartment. We have a key for emergencies.” Not to feed a pet or water plants, because Wesley had nothing alive in his apartment. If you don’t count the mold growing on the old food in his fridge.

Tracy rose, a faint smile on her face. “Thank you. Let me know what you find, okay? I like him. He’s been a good mentor to me. I’ve covered for him a time or two, but I can’t do that anymore.”

“Of course you can’t,” Grant said gently when he really wanted to scream. “I’ll let you know whatever I find.”

“Take care,” Tracy said. “And try to get some rest.”

“After April fifteenth,” he said wearily. When the door had closed behind her, he called his wife with a sigh. Then winced when he heard screaming children in the background. “Hey, Cora,” he said, hoping she wouldn’t sound too frazzled.

“Grant,” she breathed hopefully and his heart squeezed. She was hoping he was calling to say he was coming home to give her a break.

He was going to disappoint her again.

“I need a favor.”

There was a beat of harsh silence on the other end, followed by a tense “What?”

“It’s Wes. He’s disappeared. His partner just left my office. He’s gone AWOL.”

Cora sighed. “Oh no. You don’t think he’s . . . you know.”

Yes, Grant knew. “I don’t know if he’s drinking again or not. I was hoping you could get a sitter and go check on him.”