by Charly Cox
Mrs. Cambridge’s face registered surprise and though she still kept her eyes carefully averted, she said, ‘They have a personal gym on the patio in the back.’
The gym was another brick wall. None of the families attended the same church services as they all belonged to different religious organizations. None of them utilized the same bank or served on the same boards. And now none of the families worked out at the same place.
Alyssa had known the financial link was tenuous, but she’d had to follow the thread to the end to be certain. Which led her back to Meghan Jessup. If she could locate the mysterious senior Meghan had been seeing, whether it was Beau or someone else, they might find the one piece of the puzzle that tied all these girls together.
Upstairs, Isaac stirred as he got ready for his Memorial Day weekend with his best friend’s family, and Alyssa decided that she’d make the most of the time she had with him and push the cases to the back of her mind, concentrating instead on how this getaway would be a healing steppingstone for Isaac. Even though he’d still be surrounded by woods, Red River was three hours north from the Sandias where he’d been held captive in April.
Isaac’s bedroom door opened and slammed loudly. ‘Sorry. Accident,’ he shouted as he came bouncing down the stairs.
In the kitchen, the wide grin and the one-armed hug he bestowed on her after he dropped his knapsack on the floor in the corner wiped out any further reservations she had about him leaving too soon after all he’d been through. But Holly was right: if they hovered, if they treated him like he’d never be okay, his healing process would take even longer.
He popped in two strawberry Pop-Tarts, lobbing the wrapper into the trash can, whooping out, ‘Slam dunk,’ as it bounced off the rim and into the bag. Humming off-key, he moved to the refrigerator and took out the milk, uncapping it and drinking straight from the jug.
‘Isaac Wyatt! You aren’t a caveman – yet. Get a cup, for God’s sake.’
With a milk mustache still rimming his lips, he opened the cupboard and grabbed a glass, filled it to the brim, and then chugged it down before pouring himself another. As he moved about the kitchen, he rambled on about hanging out, fishing, and hiking. ‘But s’mores, Mom. S’mores. Mrs. L always brings those campfire marshmallows, and if heaven has a taste, that’s it right there.’
Alyssa erupted in laughter, a lightness in her chest, as she witnessed the pure joy that lit up her son’s face when talking about the popular sugary campfire treat. ‘Try to save some for the rest of the family, if you can.’
‘Hey, no promises. Mrs. L knows me, so she knows what she got herself into when she asked me to tag along,’ he said, finally plopping down at the kitchen table so he could eat his ‘breakfast of champions,’ as he liked to call it.
His eyes swept over the table, landing on her case files, and if she hadn’t been looking directly at him, she would’ve missed the slight tightening at the corner of his mouth. When he caught her staring, he recovered quickly. ‘I’m okay, Mom. I’m just worried about Holly and Sophie, but if anyone can find Jersey and these other girls, you can.’
To hide the tears that had sprung to her eyes, Alyssa grabbed her dishes and carried them to the dishwasher. If only it was as easy as Isaac made it sound.
On her way to the refrigerator to put the milk away that Isaac had left on the counter, she couldn’t resist reaching out and rubbing her hand over his wavy brown hair, so much like his father’s. And despite the one-armed hug earlier, he behaved like any typical fourteen-year-old by ducking his head and shrugging her hand away, adding a scowl for good measure. With every bit of normalcy Isaac added back into his daily routine, her heart soared with hope and happiness. She checked the time on the microwave.
‘Trevor said he wanted you there by quarter to seven, right?’
Isaac glanced at his phone. ‘Yeah, but you can drop me earlier if you want. That way I can help load up the truck and camper.’
‘Which reminds me, Dad put your tent in the back of my car.’
‘Cool, thanks.’ He stood, scraping his chair back and dumping his crumbs in the sink before placing his plate in the dishwasher. Alyssa chuckled on the inside because that particular act wasn’t normal at all. Then, after he gulped down the remainder of his milk, rinsed the glass, and set that inside, too, he closed the door and bounced on the balls of his feet.
‘Whenever you’re ready.’
‘All right, then, grab your things, and let’s hit the road.’ At the garage door, she paused. ‘You did pack a toothbrush and toothpaste, right?’
He shook his head and rolled his eyes in a highly exaggerated manner. ‘No, Mom. And I didn’t bring clean underwear, either. In fact, I didn’t bring clothes at all. Or deodorant. I figure it’s better that way. Keeps the bears away.’
Alyssa swung her hand into his stomach as she laughed. ‘Well, at least you’re thinking ahead, I suppose.’
Whatever comeback he had was thwarted by a text message notification stealing his attention away. His fingers flew over his keyboard as he answered whoever it was. Then he tucked his phone into his pocket and said, ‘Grandma telling me to have a fun weekend.’
Regardless of their past history of contention and barely tolerating each other, the one thing Alyssa could never argue was that Mabel Wyatt adored the ground her grandchildren walked on.
At the Lewises, she chatted a few minutes with Trevor’s parents and cooed over his new baby brother, Ryan. It made her arms ache to hold her own babies again. And as soon as that thought whipped through her head, she knew it was time to go. Despite the embarrassment to her son, she kissed the top of his head, told him to have a great time, and climbed back into her car, where she found herself checking the mirror until the Lewis’ house was no longer in sight.
And then she pushed all her insecurities about Isaac’s camping trip aside and focused her concentration where it needed to be in this moment – finding Meghan Jessup’s killer and locating Rachel, Jersey, and Katelyn before they met the same fate as Meghan.
* * *
When Alyssa arrived at the precinct later that morning, she headed straight to the conference room where printouts of the call and text logs for Rachel, Jersey, Katelyn, and Meghan spanning back to March waited for her. Immediately, she began poring over each page, hoping to find one common number amongst the four girls. And if she was being really honest, she knew she was hoping it would belong to Beau Cambridge, cementing the theory that he was somehow involved in all this.
So far, however, all she’d succeeded in doing was giving herself a throbbing headache and blurry vision. All she needed was one thread to pull. Just one. Was that asking too much of the universe? Because she didn’t think so.
She was rubbing circles into her temple when Ruby appeared in the doorway. ‘Detective, there’s someone here who says it’s urgent he speak to you right now.’
‘Who is it?’
‘Nick Otis.’
Forgetting her burgeoning headache, Alyssa shoved back from the table and hurried to the front where Rachel’s twin rapped the counter with his knuckles, drawing attention from irritated officers.
‘Nick?’
He swung around, causing his hair to droop into his eyes. Absently, he brushed it off his forehead only to have it lapse right back to where it had been when he rushed over, meeting her part-way.
‘Someone answered Rachel’s phone.’ His words spilled out in a fountain of energy, and it took several seconds for Alyssa’s mind to make sense of what he was saying. When it did, she latched onto his arm and guided him toward the conference room before changing her mind and ushering him to the office she shared with Cord instead.
Once inside, she demanded an explanation. ‘Talk. What do you mean, someone answered Rachel’s phone? When was this?’
Nick tunneled his fingers into his hair, tugging lightly at the ends. ‘So, I’ve been calling Rach’s phone ever since I found out she was missing because’ – he swallowed – ‘because I was hoping�
�’
Because he was hoping she’d answer, or if someone else did, that they’d tell him where his sister was. Alyssa understood, and she waved her hand in the air for him to continue.
‘Like I told you Monday at my parents’ house, the first day, her phone went straight to voicemail every time I called. The next day was more of the same.’ As he spoke, he barely took a breath, his words firing rapidly. ‘I knew it was probably useless to keep calling, but I couldn’t stop. I had to try.’ Pressing his hand to his chest, he rocked back and forth on his heels. ‘If you pull her phone records, my number will be the one that looks like she’s got a stalker.’ He swung his gaze down to meet hers, unapologetic. ‘I called once an hour Monday and Tuesday, and then every few hours yesterday and today. This morning at 8:42 exactly, some guy answered.’
Alyssa’s eye flickered to the digital clock on the wall behind Nick. 9:02. Her heart rate took off at a sprint, yet, somehow, she still managed to keep her voice level. ‘Why didn’t you call me immediately? Why did you waste time driving over here? Did this guy give a name?’ She lobbed the questions in quick succession.
‘I was afraid you’d be busy, so I thought it might be easier to interrupt if I came here in person. And no, the guy wouldn’t tell me his name. All he said was that one of his roommates found the phone – and no, he didn’t say where, claimed he didn’t even know when I asked – anyway, the friend found it, decided to keep it, and when it rang, this guy decided to answer in case it was Rachel – he said “the owner.” When I told him “the owner” had disappeared from a frat party, the guy freaked out, said he didn’t know anything about that, and then hung up.’ Nick’s nostrils flared, and he spoke through clenched teeth. ‘I called right back, but it went straight to voicemail again, so he must’ve powered it off.’
No longer able to stand still, Nick paced in the only available space in the tiny office – in front of Alyssa’s and Cord’s desks. Four steps to one wall, four steps back. Repeat. ‘What if this person has Rachel? What if my calling makes him do something to her? What if—?’
Alyssa planted herself in his path and pointed to a chair. ‘Sit. I’m going to get someone to see what we can do to find out what tower that call bounced off. Don’t go anywhere, do you hear me?’ As soon as she was certain he wasn’t going to jump up and follow her, she went in search of Hal, wishing in vain that Cord hadn’t needed to take the morning off so he could attend a doctor’s appointment with Sara.
She found Hal in the breakroom grabbing a piece of birthday cake someone had left behind a day or two ago. She didn’t bother with a greeting. ‘Someone answered Rachel Otis’s phone this morning. Can you get ahold of Judge Rosario and obtain a ping warrant. I need to know immediately what tower was used when that call was answered. Tell her it’s not only relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation, but the lives of three girls may be on the line.’
Hal abandoned the uneaten cake and whirled his chair around, rolling past her. ‘Where can I find you after she gives the go-ahead?’
‘I’ll be in my office or in the conference room. Find me the second you get the approval.’
‘Consider it done.’
A minute later, she was back with Nick. ‘Okay, we’re obtaining what is called a ping warrant right now so we can locate that tower.’
She pulled up short at the sight of Nick. Both hands cupped his head, and his shoulders were shaking violently. When he heard her enter, he jerked up, and using his knuckles, he brushed away the evidence of his tears.
‘Can you still do that if the guy shut the phone off?’ Crying had changed the tone of his voice into a guttural growl.
‘In a nutshell, yes.’ Alyssa leaned over to Cord’s desk and swiped a tissue, handing it to Rachel’s brother. ‘Turning a phone off stops it from communicating with nearby towers, but it can still be traced to whatever location it was in when it was powered down.’
Nick graciously accepted the tissue, wiped his nose, and sagged against the back of the chair. ‘Thank God for that.’ Then he sat up straight again. ‘If you need me to, I think I’d recognize the voice of the guy who answered.’
‘That’s good. If it comes to that, I’ll let you know. Now, have you told your parents about any of this?’
Nick actually snorted. ‘No. What would be the point? They’re still in denial she’s missing. It might interfere with their social engagements if they had to take an active concern in their daughter’s well-being.’
Alyssa wasn’t surprised by his response, but she was saddened. She couldn’t imagine not worrying about Holly or Isaac if they hadn’t been seen or heard from in days. Hell, she’d nearly lost her mind the second she’d realized Isaac was gone – and that was before she discovered he’d been kidnapped.
She shook the memory away. Her children were safe; this was about Rachel. Plus, something else was bothering her. ‘Nick, you already said you didn’t know much about this new friend of Rachel’s…’
Nick’s head snapped up. ‘Anna? The one she went to the party with? Have you found her? Does she know something?’
Alyssa held her palm out to halt his barrage of questions. ‘No, we’ve been unsuccessful so far in locating this mysterious Anna. No one at the party seems to know her.’ Nor had anyone by that name been reported missing, which could mean any number of things. Should they also be searching for Rachel’s friend, or had the girl simply vanished into thin air, never knowing her friend had disappeared? After all, Rachel’s roommate had claimed the girl’s visits were sporadic at best, with gaps of time between each.
But while the mysterious Anna was important, there was another question burning in Alyssa’s mind that she hoped Nick could answer. ‘You also said your sister didn’t talk about the guys she liked, but did you happen to meet any of the guys she hung out with, even if it was just friends?’ Like maybe a tall, linebacker guy with a chauvinistic, misogynistic attitude?
‘Sure, I met a few of them, but they were more pals than flirtations, and I rarely saw her with the same guys more than once or twice.’ He smiled at some memory. ‘And even though she was definitely one of the popular girls all throughout school, she avoided athletes like they had the plague.’ Then he cocked his head and asked a question of his own. ‘Why do you ask? Do you have a suspect?’
Alyssa chose her next words carefully. ‘I have a possible person of interest I’m trying to either rule out or prove involvement.’ If it was true Rachel avoided athletes, and if she had encountered Beau and rejected his advances, Alyssa could easily envision the anger he’d feel at being thwarted, especially with that overinflated ego of his.
Nick’s posture went ramrod straight. ‘Who?’ he demanded.
The flash of anger in Nick’s eyes reminded Alyssa of Callie McCormick’s husband, Rafe, and the thought that Rachel’s brother could easily turn into another vigilante crossed her mind. ‘I’m sorry, but I’m not at liberty to share that information with you. At least not yet.’
* * *
A few minutes later, after promising to call with any news, Alyssa ushered Nick out and went in search of Hal. She’d barely made it as far as the front desk when he rolled out of the conference room, flagging her down.
‘Got it!’
‘Hal, you’re the best! Let’s find out where that phone is.’ Alyssa was positive that if anyone looked, they’d see evidence of her heart trying to pound straight through her chest right now.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Thursday, May 23
A few minutes after ten, Holly parked outside the precinct. She and Sophie were hoping to catch her mom. They’d just finished their daily walk through the mostly deserted UNM campus where they stopped random people to show them Jersey’s picture, asking if they’d seen her. Of course, no one had, unless it was on the news or in the flyers they’d seen.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her mom to do her job; it was just that she and Sophie couldn’t sit still, or they’d lose even more of their minds. They had to do somet
hing. They’d already posted flyers all over Albuquerque, and several times a day they scoured Jersey’s social media accounts for anything that seemed off. And still, they heard nothing but crickets.
Since the precinct was just a few miles down the road from the university, the girls decided to drop in. While Holly drove, she instructed Sophie to send her mom a message to see if she had a couple of minutes to meet with them.
As she shifted her car into park, a tall, lean, good-looking guy about her age exited the precinct. Holly followed him with her eyes until her phone chimed, alerting her to a text.
‘It’s your mom.’ Sophie grabbed Holly’s phone from the center console and handed it to her.
Hi sweetie. Got your message. I’m right in the middle of things, so I won’t be able to see you girls right now. Sorry. I’ll call you when I get a chance. Love you.
Holly dropped her head back against the headrest, closing her eyes against tears that appeared out of nowhere, and released a heavy sigh. ‘Mom’s busy, so guess we’re going to have to catch up with her later. I don’t know what else we can do.’
Sophie swallowed, bent at the waist, and lowered her face into her hands. ‘Hol, what if we never hear from Jersey again? What if she’s… God, I can’t even…’ Each word wobbled on the precipice of a cliff neither girl wanted to go over.
Even though her best friend didn’t say dead, Holly knew that was what she was thinking. ‘Neither can I.’ She did the only thing she could think to do – she reached over, squeezing when Sophie’s hand gripped her own. She was glad they had each other.
‘I hate him, Holly. And I can’t help but think that Beau knows something.’
Holly twisted in her seat so she was facing Sophie. Her friend’s face was red and splotchy – something she’d learned over the years meant Sophie had surpassed upset and sailed into full-on anger. ‘If Beau is somehow involved, my mom will find out, and he’ll pay the price. You know my mom’s the best at her job.’