Love in the Shadows

Chapter Twelve

(Sam's POV)

The leaves rustled at my feet as I jogged over to see what had been found. Wolfe was directly on my heels, his breathing heavy, as we made our way over to Mel. The first thing I noticed was the perturbed expression on the Minister's face. He was holding a humongous once-upon-a -time white, Air Jordan in the air and he wasn't wearing a fucking glove.

"Mel, where are your gloves? You can't just be holding that, it compromises the evidence."

The minister was stuttering with his nerves. "I'm s-s-s-sorry. I didn't realise. I was so excited to find something."

Uncle Jet strolled up to us. "It's okay Mel, it doesn't matter. There's no way it belongs to Tanya. Look at the size of that shoe Sam."

I mean he wasn't wrong, it wasn't a women's shoe, however I don't know if I agreed that we should assume that it didn't matter. "Yeah, but what the hell is it doing in the middle of nowhere?"

Wolfe spoke up. "Not just that but no teen is going to be okay with losing that particular shoe. Someone, somewhere worked hard to get it and you better believe they'd be missing it."

I reached out a gloved hand, bagging it and holding on, noticing my cousins raised eyebrows. He wouldn't say it outloud but his expression told me that he didn't trust the evidence in just anyone's hands, either.

"Uncle Jet, do you want me to take this to my dad?"

He shrugged. "I don't think there's a point. It obviously isn't anything but if you feel like you must... you'll need to take it to the station, so that he can get it in the morning."

What a piece of shit.

The fact that my dad had gone home for the night when Tanya still hadn't been found and he had multiple teams out still searching, said a lot about him as a leader.

About what kind of man he was.

Lincoln wouldn't hear of leaving before the search ended for the night. None of us would have. I bit back the words, not wanting to say any of that. I was still trying to play nice. "Yah, no problem, I'll get it there that way it can get looked at first thing in the morning."

Wolfe fell into step with me as I walked towards my truck. "Should they be letting you handle the evidence?"

I chuckled humorlessly. "Absolutely not. I would never allow someone, not in uniform officially, to handle something like this. I also can't believe that my dad isn't here right now. I know that it's dark and we need to stop for the night but he's been missing in action for the bulk of the day. It's shameful."

Wolfe nodded. "Not shocked. I still think you need to come back and run against him."

I blinked at him. "Man, that's a lovely thought but I don't think I ever want to come back here. I love Fenelon, it's my home now. You and I both know that I wouldn't quite be able to get my mind to fit inside the square box expected in this town."

Wolfe stopped in his tracks. "You think I can? I fundamentally disagree with all these judgemental pricks but I've come to the realisation that there really aren't that many of them. Their voices are just louder than the rest. I think you could make a real positive difference here."

A sound that I didn't recognize released from my throat, revealing my discomfort with this conversation and my asshole cousin laughed, fully aware of how I was feeling. "Okay. I've got to get this to the station and I'm going to touch base with Lucy and Lee. Are you coming over for breakfast tomorrow?"

"I wouldn't miss it. Will I get to meet your girlfriend?"

Such a dick.

When he didn't get a response from me, he waved, calling out as I got in the truck. "Thanks for coming home Sam. I'm glad you're here."

I squeezed my eyes shut as I closed the truck door and turned it on. I wish I could say that it was nice to be home but Lake Ridge wasn't my home anymore. All I wanted was to find Tanya safe and sound and then go back to Fenelon and the life that I had built there.

I pressed the car play button on my dash, and clicked on Lucy's name, smiling as her sweet voice immediately filled my truck "Hey Sam. We had to stop in Toronto but we're like an hour away now."

"Has the search turned up anything?" It was Lee asking.

"Yah. I don't know... maybe?" I scratched the back of my neck, knowing that this was more than likely not related. " I'm driving it to the station now. We found a shoe, but it's not Tanya's. It's huge, I'm gonna say a men's 12, Air Jordan. Singular."

"A men's shoe and just one?"

"Yup. In the middle of nowhere."

"Odd. Just so you know, we called Charlie and looped him in. He wants us to come in with covers, just in case. They've put in a call for extra support, so Lee's going to be starting as needed overflow support tomorrow morning." Relief coursed through my body at the idea that they were coming in officially.

Lucy continued on, "Lee, will you make sure that you wire it so that anything they find as evidence, gets sent to our teams too?"

Lee spoke up, "absolutely."

"That's perfect. Thanks guys." The fact that they were coming at a moment's notice, that they had looped Charlie in, it meant a lot.

"No problem. They're putting Lee up in the motel. Is it okay if I still stay with you? I won't come in as an officer. Just as a friend." I felt a pinch in my heart at her words. I was starting to hate the f word.

I don't want to be just friends.

Having her stay at my mom's place with me, would give me a chance to clear the air and make sure she was aware of my feelings. I didn't want to play it safe anymore.

"That works perfectly. I'm stopping at the station and then heading to my mom's place. You guys only have one car?"

It was Lucy who responded, "yah, mine."

"What if Lee drops you off at my mom's place and you can use my truck or her car and Lee takes yours. Keep you guys separate."

"That's perfect. Text us the address and we'll meet you there."

We hung up and I felt the exhaustion course through my body. I needed a hot shower and a cat nap. I pulled into the station and immediately recognized the blonde head pacing on the front stoop. I threw the truck in park and made my way over, my concern rising as I took in her dishevelled state. Bloodshot eyes met mine and lit up as she noticed the evidence bag in my hand. "You found something?"

"Tash, have you slept?

She waved me off and pointed at the shoe. "What is that?"

"Look, it might be nothing. We found a shoe, it's not Tanya's, it's a man's shoe."

Her eyes widened, "Do you think she was kidnapped? Is that her kidnappers' shoe?" Then she shook her head, "Sorry. My mind has been going wild all day long, it's not a great place to be right now."

I could understand that completely. My feelings aligned. It was hard to not spin out considering scenario after scenario, each one worse than the one before. "Why don't I get this dropped off and then you can come back to my mom's place with me. Lucy and Lee are on their way there too."

Tash nodded, her eyes filling with tears and I knew I was doing the right thing. She shouldn't be alone right now, and maybe seeing Lucy and Lee, hearing that they were coming in to help with her own ears, would help her get a little sleep tonight. Nothing about the next few days, no matter what happened, was going to be easy.