Ryan got behind the wheel of her car, shifting its gears and backing out of Charles’s driveway with barely a squeal. Her heart was racing and her head was going crazy trying to assimilate everything she had learned. Was it murder? If it was, how was she going to prove it? What roles did Charles, Veronica, and Steven play?
It was like attempting a crossword with half the clues missing.
Liv was silent in the car next to her, her beautiful eyes focused on the scenery behind them. Part of Ryan was just happy to have some time to study her, to think about her and remember.
Part of Ryan still hurt about what had happened all those years ago. She couldn’t handle being abandoned again. No, if she was going to commit to someone again, it had to be someone who trusted her. And she didn’t know if Liv would ever fit that bill.
“Is that enough to take to your Chief?” Liv’s voice was too quiet for her liking.
Ryan gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I don’t know,” she said helplessly. “I’m going to talk with the forensic scientists and see if we can find some physical evidence to support his stories.”
“Or some circumstantial.”
Ryan nodded acknowledgment. “That’s harder.” She grimaced. “Juries demand physical evidence, nowadays.”
Liv hummed and then turned back out the window.
Ryan pulled into her driveway, not quite ready to give up the closeness that had started to build between them. Her heart was racing, her hope was building. Maybe Liv was ready now.
If Ryan didn’t lie to herself, she’d admit that Liv was the only one for her. There was no one else she wanted to be with. If she couldn’t have Liv, she’d live alone. And she was okay with that.
“Do you want to come in?” Ryan asked before she could stop herself. “Not for anything specific,” she added hastily. “Maybe coffee, or something.” Inwardly she cringed.
Liv looked up, her gaze straight forward, then she turned to Ryan with an apology. “I can’t.”
“Okay.” Ryan’s throat felt sandpaper dry as Liv got out of the car and got into her own. Darkness was starting to fall before Ryan went inside. All alone. Again.
12
Sunday 2nd October; 8pm
He sat at the bar, his attention on the phone in front of him. The shipments were on time. He needed to get the supplies packaged for distribution. He had a group of girls coming in to do their work, and they couldn’t be wasted.
As long as they stayed in their place, at least.
He scowled at the bar as if it was going to tell him something. Who had reported that girl missing? No one should have noticed for weeks. She was integral. At least for now.
He scrubbed a hand across his face. Then there was that other girl. The one who was back in town, for the first time in a long time. Could he recruit her to his side? The idea was tempting. But the way she had looked at the Detective ruled things out.
But he was good at talking his way out of things. He’d done it enough, after all.
His phone beeped. He looked down at it, the chunky ugliness of the burner phones he used then disposed of, and checked the message.
I can’t.
He smirked. She could, and she knew it. He tucked the phone casually in his pocket and left the bar as easily as he had snuck in. The woman hunting him would have to wait. He had business to take care of.
13
Monday 10th October; 4pm
Ryan sat at her desk, trying to ignore the events of the previous week and focus on what was in front of her. She was trying to find anything and everything she could in the public records on the two missing girls. Most importantly, she needed a connection between them and Cairo. It had been a week with no progress, and she felt like she was spinning her wheels without going anywhere.
There was something there, she could feel it. She just didn’t know what it was.
Jasmine Turner, age 19. Grew up in Amaranth to a married family that had since left. Where had she been living? With Ashley Palmer. They’d taken over a small farmhouse on a lot, away from Ashley’s parents. Interesting. Her parents hadn’t mentioned that particular fact.
Neither had any prior arrests, nor any documented history of gambling, in contrast to Cairo’s history. Frustration was starting to pound in her temples. They weren’t getting anywhere on anything.
Not that there was anywhere to go on Cairo’s case, not any more. She gritted her teeth, certain she was going to hear from the Chief sooner rather than later. She wasn’t going to let it go until she was satisfied with the ending. Until she was certain they had uncovered every facet there was to find.
“Thinking too hard?” Dane sounded amused.
“Working on those missing cases,” Ryan said.
“Instead of Cairo’s case?” Dane raised his eyebrows.
Ryan didn’t look at him, instead using the bitterness she felt to fuel her typing as she delved further into public records. They were younger than Cairo so it wasn’t likely they had gone to school at the same time. Did they know her family? What was Cairo doing for a living, now that she had given up poker?
“There’s too many untied ends,” Ryan said finally, turning to look at her partner. “In the Cairo case.”
Dane turned to face her fully, his elbows on his knees and his fingers steepled under his chin. “Explain.”
“It feels staged.” Ryan frowned. “Why the poker cards? What was she saying with that?”
“She was a poker player,” Dane pointed out. “Maybe she killed herself because of that.”
“But why?” It didn’t make any sense. “She made a ton of money off it and no one has said she was unhappy.” Ryan hesitated, tapping her chin as she thought. “Then there’s the whole thing with her ex-boyfriend…”
It took Dane’s raised eyebrows for Ryan to realize she had said too much.
“When was this?” he
