5th Pentagram: The sequel to the #1 Hard Boiled Mystery, 9th Circle (Book 3 of the Darc Murders Trilogy) (Book 3 of the Darc Murder Series) by Ben Hopkin

being there with a babysitter.
    But even as she thought it, Mala was sure that wasn’t the case.
    “Okay. Okay. Dr. Charan, I’m so sorry,” Pyper sobbed, giving way to her tears. “This has never happened to me before.”
    “Pyper, it’s all right. Take a deep breath and try to calm yourself. You won’t be able to help if you’re panicked.”
    “You’re right. You’re right.” The babysitter took a moment, and then responded with a more normal tone. “I’ll call you once I’ve checked those places.”
    Mala hung up the phone, fighting the rising fear that arose from her gut. “Darc, Janey’s gone missing. We need—”
    Before she’d finished, Darc had grabbed her by the arm and was sprinting toward the car. He seemed to be speaking into the air in front of him, the words making no sense whatsoever to Mala.
    “You heard? You are not in a state to drive. Wait five minutes, then call the station. Use whatever personal leverage you can to escalate this beyond regulations.”
    The words might make not sense, but the focus and intensity that radiated off of the bald detective as a palpable force, that she understood. It was something she’d seen before, and it almost always related to Janey.
    Mala had forgotten how hot it was.
    “Whom are you talking to?” Mala demanded. Nothing here seemed even close to sane or rational. It was like the world exploded with the call from Pyper.
    “I am conversing with Trey. We are connected via a Bluetooth device stuck in my ear canal.” He pressed the button on his keychain fob to unlock the car as he sprinted around to the driver’s side. “Oh, and Maggie is present as well.”
    “What?” Mala asked, her mind imploding. “You’ve been talking to Trey and Maggie while we were on a date ?”
    “This seems to be an inopportune moment to discuss it, but yes. They were helping me with the social aspects of our communication. Unsuccessfully.” That last word seemed to be directed more at the two linked to them by the wireless device.
    Mala shook her head, trying to refocus on the task at hand. “You’re right. We’ll talk about this later. We have to find Janey.”
    “Trey, our excursion tonight may have to wait.” He paused, then nodded at something Trey must have said. “You are correct. That would be easier.” Turning to Mala, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and pushed a series of buttons. “I’m turning this to speaker.”
    Trey’s voice echoed from the cell in the confines of the car. “Mala, I’m so sorry. I mean, about Janey. Well, about the other too, but that’s not important right now.” His speech wasn’t as precise as normal, which helped Mala to understand Darc’s earlier comment about Trey not being in a state to drive.
    “If Pyper can’t find her in the apartment, I’m not sure where to go next,” Mala confessed. There were so many options, but then also so few, especially when it came to a six-year-old girl. It’s not like she could go far. Unless…
    Darc seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “We have to acknowledge the possibility that Janey has been taken.”
    Once again, Mala was struck by how attracted to Darc she was in this moment, no matter how inopportune the timing was. This was the relationship that Mala cherished. The mutual respect and sympatico that existed between the two of them in moments of crisis. Even her perception of his face had changed. The sharp lines of his cheekbones and jaw, which could be off-putting, were strong and determined now. It was as if he were lit from within by his sense of purpose.
    Shaking off her attraction, Mala thought the whole scenario of Janey getting taken through. “I have no idea how that could have happened. I put her to bed, Pyper came and I left with you. When…?” She stopped herself. “The shower. Someone could have come in while I was taking a shower.”
    “Trey,” Darc said. “You heard that, correct?”
    “Yeah, buddy.”
    “There was a window of