She searched the apartment, doing her best to keep as quiet as possible. But no matter where she looked, Niles was nowhere to be found. The kitchen was empty, as was the living room. She checked the guest bedroom and even the third floor attic. And when she still found no sign of him, a sense of panic began to set in. Where could he possibly have gone?
"Niles!" She called into the darkness. She moved about the apartment, turning on lights as she went. She even opened the back door to the kitchen; the door that led to the garage. It was with some relief that she saw that his silver Mercedes was in the covered parking space. Without his car, he couldn't have gone terribly far. But now she was even more worried, because she had no idea where he could have gone. However, she fought the urge to cry, pushing the worry as far into the pit of her stomach as possible.
Worrying never did any good anyway. But she couldn't help the way she felt.
"Oh Niles, where are you?"
Frantically she moved about the apartment once more, starting upstairs and searching every inch, even those places that seemed ridiculous. She looked in closets, the shower, even the upstairs balcony, trying to ignore the vague memory that it provoked. There was no time for sentiment now. She had to find her husband. She checked the hallway, the upstairs guest room to no avail. But when she reached the nursery, she opened the door. Of course, there was no sign of Niles, but she couldn't resist walking inside to kiss her little angel. The sight of him made her heart flutter with relief, for he was sleeping soundly.
She kissed his soft cheek and then stroked it with her fingertips. "I love you, sweetheart. Happy birthday." She whispered, hoping that he could hear her. Tears welled in her eyes as she closed the door and then hurried down the stairs.
The living room was empty, as were the guest room and den. Even Niles' office was empty. She was mere seconds away from going upstairs and waking David out of a sound sleep. She knew from experience that waking David from a deep sleep would upset him greatly and it would take a very long time to calm him down. But this was an urgent situation.
David wouldn't be happy about it, but she'd have to take him with her if she was to get into her car and go searching for Niles. She had to find him. Calling Mrs. Woodson to come stay with David at this late hour was absolutely out of the question. It was much too late and explaining the situation would only cause her worry. And calling Martin and Ronee to come over was even more ridiculous. She wouldn't have been at all surprised if, had she called them, they made up an excuse as to why they couldn't come. The thought was like a knife to her heart, but after the way they'd been treated, the possibility wasn't entirely far-fetched.
With a sigh, she moved through the apartment, making sure that the doors were locked. There was nothing else she could do to find Niles. And she prayed that if he wanted to come back, he would.
Just as she was about to make her way upstairs once more, she heard the sound of rustling. Suddenly desperate to find him once more, she made her way through the door that led to the downstairs secret passage. Surely he wouldn't-
But then she heard talking and she followed the sound through the enormous library. She rarely entered it, but each time she did, the sight amazed her. She'd never seen so many books in her life. It held easily more books than she could ever possibly read in her lifetime. But just as she feared, there was no sight of her husband.
When she heard the voice again, she recognized it instantly. Coming from the adjoining room, the voice was soft and muffled. And she felt ridiculous for not recognizing it before. She crept to the door and knocked softly. But when there was no answer she opened it just a crack.
As she peaked inside she saw his handsome silhouette. The sight of him brought a huge sense of relief and she felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
But it was the look on his face, and the fact that he was crying that shattered her heart.