Chasing Second Chances by Shelly Logan

unsettled Nick and the rest of the officers working under him.
    “I was merely asking, Agent Wilkins, from one cop to another, what you think of this case,” he said, refusing to be intimidated.
    The agent glanced at him before answering. “What I think of this case? I think it’s far from over, Lt. Paulson. We have our work cut out for us, but at least we have something to go on now.”
    Nick wasn’t really satisfied with the response but decided not to press further.
    “Now, let me ask you a question in turn, from one cop to another,” Agent Wilkins said.
    “Go on.”
    “What do you think of Ms. Evans?”
    The question took Nick by surprise but he calmly answered. “She seems like an intelligent woman and I imagine she would be kind and cheerful if the circumstances were any different. But even as they are, I believe she’s faring better than most. She’s quite a strong woman.”
    “And what about Lloyd Marrick?”
    “Rich. Used to running things. He’s usually very composed but today, he lost it a little.”
    “Do you think he’s still in love with his ex-wife?”
    Nick’s eyes widened a little. Still, he said, “He seems to still care for her.”
    Agent Wilkins nodded. “Quite a complicated situation those three got.”
    Nick had to agree. One of them might be her ex-husband and the other her current boyfriend, but even he could not help but feel that both men were rivals for Kate Evans’ affection, almost reminding him like Victor and Rick competing for Ilsa in his wife’s favorite film. He wondered why Agent Wilkins brought it up, though.
    “Why do you ask?” he asked curiously.
    “I’m just curious,” Agent Wilkins answered.
    This time, Nick frowned. He certainly wished the agent would share his thoughts and theories, with him—he was quite sure the man had more than a few him—since they were working together, after all, but it seemed he had no intention of doing that.
    Oh well, he would just have to get used to the man and in the meantime, focus on organizing his own thoughts and forming his own theories in corroboration with the evidence they found from this site.
    And hope for all their sakes that the Evans children were still alive.
    * * * *
    “Lani, I baked some cookies here for you. Don’t you want a snack?” the woman with the curly brown hair and the long, shiny earrings—Mrs. Curly, she called her—asked through the crack in the doorway.
    Lena shook her head.
    “Okay. I’ll just save them then so you can eat them after dinner.”
    As soon as Mrs. Curly left, Lena snorted. She could not understand why the woman could not get her name right or why she kept trying to be nice to her, kept trying to give her things. Couldn’t she see that Lena did not like her?
    If Mrs. Curly was really good, she would bring Lena and Jack home, as Lena had asked during the first day they arrived at the strange house, but after asking over and over, Mrs. Curly had lost her temper, telling Lena never to bring that up again. Since then, Lena had barely spoken.
    I want to go home.
    After a day and a half of tantrums, Jack already seemed happy, no doubt because the woman had bought him plenty of toys and chocolates. He had already forgotten that they were at someone else’s house, the house of a woman they had never met before. He had forgotten all about Mommy.
    Lena, however, had not. She had known from the start that something was wrong, and she knew Mommy would come looking for her and Jack. That was why she had left a message for her back at the dark cottage.
    But what if Mommy wasn’t able to find it?
    She stood up to look out the window, peeking through the pink blinds, looking at the empty street. She had been waiting for Charlene to come back, remembering that the older girl had promised her they would get back home safely, but a long time had passed and still, there was no sign of Charlene.
    And Lena had grown tired of waiting.
    There was only one thing to do.
    She had to find a way to get