Man of the Hour

Please, God, watch over her. Watch over my baby.

“Glynnis?” Kat said softly. “You feel like talking?”

Glynnis surreptitiously wiped away the tears. “I thought you were sleeping.”

“I tried, but too many thoughts are spinning around in my head.”

“I know.”

“If you want a sleeping pill, I’ve got some in my purse. They’re just over the counter, nothing too strong.”

“You carry sleeping pills around with you?”

“I grabbed them when I stopped at the house for my nightgown.”

“No, I don’t want one.” How could she sleep when Olivia was out there somewhere, probably scared, probably crying for her?

“You want some hot chocolate or something? I could go make us some.”

“No.” All I want is Olivia. “But if you want some, go ahead.”

“No. I just thought…” Her voice trailed off.

After that, Kat fell silent, and when another half hour went by, Glynnis thought she’d probably fallen asleep. Glynnis knew she should try to sleep, too, otherwise she’d be a zombie tomorrow, which would help no one.

But sleep wouldn’t come.

At four-thirty Glynnis gave up. Quietly, so as not to wake Kat, she headed for the kitchen, where she put on a pot of coffee. She also took some frozen cinnamon rolls from the freezer so they’d be thawed by the time Kat awakened. Then she headed for her bathroom, where she splashed water on her face and brushed her teeth and hair. When she returned to the kitchen, the coffee was ready, its rich aroma filling the air.

Glynnis poured herself a cup, added powdered creamer and a packet of sweetener, then sat at the table. Slowly, she drank. She was just about finished when Kat, rubbing her eyes, padded into the kitchen.

“Did I wake you?” Glynnis said.

“The smell of coffee did.” Kat walked over to the counter, yawned, got a mug out of the cupboard and poured herself a cup. She pulled a chair out and joined Glynnis at the table. “Did you get any sleep at all?”

Glynnis shrugged. “I dozed a little.”

“You know, I was thinking. Maybe you should offer a reward for information.”

For the first time since Olivia’s disappearance, Glynnis felt a spark of excitement. “Kat, that’s a great idea!”

“We could even take up a collection.”

“That would take too long. Besides, it’s not necessary. I can sell some of the stock Ben left the children. How much do you think I should offer? Would five thousand be enough? Or do you think I should offer ten thousand?”

“Ten thousand would probably get you more attention. But you know, we should probably ask Dan if this is a good idea. Maybe a reward will just muddy the waters.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, bring the nuts out of the woodwork with a lot of false leads.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that. What time do you think it would be okay to call him?”

“What about right now?”

“Now? Kat, it’s not even five o’clock. Won’t he be sleeping?”

“Hon, Dan has probably been at work all night. I doubt he’d go home and sleep when Olivia is out there somewhere.” So saying, Kat got up and went in search of her handbag. A few minutes later, she came back into the kitchen with her cell phone in hand. Quickly, she punched in some numbers.

“Hello? May I speak with Lieutenant O’Neill, please? Thank you.” Grinning at Glynnis, she handed her the phone. “What’d I tell you? He’s there. Here. You talk to him.”

It warmed Glynnis to know he was there working in her behalf. A moment later, he came on the line.

“Lieutenant O’Neill.”

“Dan? This is Glynnis. Glynnis March.”

“Yeah. Hi, Glynnis. How you holding up?”

“I’m okay.”

“Kat there with you?”

“Yes, sitting right across the table from me. Neither one of us could sleep.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.”

“Um, Kat’s the reason I’m calling. She had an idea, and we wanted to know what you thought about it.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, we thought it might be helpful for me to offer a reward. You know, for information.”

For a few seconds, he didn’t answer, and Glynnis’s heart sank. He didn’t think it was a good idea.

Then he surprised her by saying, “You know, that’s a pretty good idea. A reward might jog someone into remembering something they wouldn’t ordinarily notice.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I do. But to be enough incentive, the reward should be substantial, I’m afraid.”

“I was thinking of ten thousand dollars.”

He gave a low whistle. “That’s substantial.” Unspoken was a question. Could she afford that much money?

“Don’t worry. I have the money. Thing is, how do we publicize this for maximum benefit?”

“Leave that to me. We’ll call the TV and radio stations and the newspaper office. By tonight, everyone around here will have heard about it. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the wire services pick it up.”