“I know, but I don’t want the girls to be affected. They’re keeping them away from the news. They’d immediately pick up on the stress at our house.” She paused. “We’ll tell them when we need to.” Her expression closed off as she mentioned breaking bad news to her daughters.

Hopefully soon, Ava thought. And it will be good news.

Ava didn’t put much weight on the ransom note. It didn’t ring true. Was it simply meant to mess with their heads? Or was someone hoping to challenge the FBI’s skills and win?

Good luck with that.

Back at the house, she left Robin to work out her frustrations in the kitchen. Lucas and Jake were watching an Indiana Jones movie in the spacious family room.

“Where’s Lilian?” she asked.

“Reading in her room,” Jake answered, without taking his gaze from the screen. “We’re doing a marathon. She said she’d rather read.”

In Ava’s opinion, a marathon of Harrison Ford was good medicine. She went upstairs and tapped on Lilian’s closed guest-room door. The woman answered, tissues in hand, her eyes bloodshot.

“Hey,” said Ava. “Up for some company?” She’d planned to simply ask if Lilian needed anything, but the puffy eyes made her heart hurt and moved her to offer a shoulder.

“No, I’m good actually,” Lilian said, dabbing her nose. “I was in a funk for a while, but I think I cried myself out of it.”

“Sometimes crying is what you need.” That statement was lame, but Ava had no idea what to say to the woman. She was acting on her gut instincts. Duncan had said she was the right person for this job, so he must have seen something in her that he believed would work well with the family. Just be here to listen.

“Jake and Lucas are watching movies. Do you want to come down? Maybe simply getting out of this room would help. A change of scenery.” Lilian had spent a lot of time in the spare bedroom. Too much time alone.

“No, I think I’m going to nap. Crying wore me out,” she said with a forced smile. Ava studied the woman, wondering if she should do more for her. Was she failing Lilian?

“Okay. Come down if you can’t sleep.”

“I suspect I’ll be asleep in sixty seconds.” Lilian closed the door.

Did she have sleeping meds? Ava stood in the hallway. Should she ask if Lilian was self-medicating? Was it any of her business?

She’d done her part. She’d offered and been refused. She wasn’t a psychologist.

She was an investigator, and every cell in her body was itching to get to the command center and see what was going on. She’d checked in with her charges. All were stable. She should be allowed to leave, right?

She strode through the kitchen. Butter and sugar were being creamed together in Robin’s stand mixer. More desserts. Robin looked satisfied and calm in her kitchen. Ava couldn’t improve anything there. “Have you heard from Mason?” Robin asked.

“No. He told me he had to address some things at work and didn’t know how long he’d be.”

“I’m here.” Mason stepped into the kitchen from the utility room next to the garage entrance.

Ava started to smile at him and froze.

What’d happened?

He looked . . . fake. As if he were trying to hide an uproar behind a calm face. She glanced at Robin, who didn’t indicate she noticed anything unusual. She’d greeted Mason and gone back to her mixer. Ava looked at him again. His eyes were expressionless and his smile was forced. He’d removed his cowboy hat, his knuckles white as he gripped the brim.

She raised a brow at him. He wasn’t on her list of family members to babysit, but something was clearly up. Why wasn’t his ex-wife picking up on it?

Because she had enough on her mind.

She jerked her head toward the family room and he nodded. She led the way behind the sofa where Lucas and Jake were sitting and outside to the covered deck area. He closed the door behind them.

“What happened?” She folded her arms across her chest. Her thick sweater would be fine for a while in the chilly air, but not for a lengthy discussion.

Mason worked the brim of his hat, his gaze going past her to the landscaped yard. His lips pressed into a pale line. She wondered what he thought when he looked at the luxury home and grounds. Mason was a police detective. His salary couldn’t buy a home like this. Ava knew few people whose salary could. Did he feel like he’d failed Robin and Jake? Or was he happy for them?

She suspected it was both. From what she’d seen, he wanted his ex and Jake to be happy. He treated Lucas with a respect that seemed rare among divorced couples. Mason worked hard so the people around him could have better lives. Possibly to the point of ignoring his own well-being. Some people had it in their DNA.

“There’s some issues at work.”

“And?” She wasn’t going to let him off easy.

“Some stuff I need to deal with. But it won’t affect what’s going on here.”

Did he expect her to leave it at that? His shoulders were stiff, and he was still avoiding her gaze. He looked like he’d rather be anywhere but talking to her. Her gaze narrowed.

“Hold still.” She stepped closer, slowly holding out a hand. His gaze shot to hers, his eyes wide in alarm. “I’m just touching your coat,” she stated. She moved in slow motion, not wanting to startle him, and patted his jacket under his arm. An empty shoulder holster.

“They took your gun. Now tell me what the hell really happened.”