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“Whatever the cops said she did, she didn’t do it.”
“That’s exactly what he told me. If she’s on the run, he wants to clear her name so she doesn’t need to watch her back all the time.”
Until now, Charlotte had veered between friendly and hostile, but now a little fear crept into her eyes.
“If she’s on the run…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “What if she isn’t? I’ve tried not to think about it, but she never got in touch after she vanished, not once, and she must have known I’d try to help her.”
“The two of you were close?”
“In the beginning. But we grew apart—not because of a fight or anything; we were just so busy. She had modelling, and auditions, and those waitressing gigs, and I met Jenson.” Charlotte glanced toward the kitchen. “It was love at first sight, which I know some people don’t believe in, but I swear it happened. I fell head over freaking heels. Anisha told me it was too good to be true and we were moving too fast, and I guess I got sick of the negativity… Anyhow, I practically moved into his apartment within a few weeks of meeting him. Do you think that’s crazy?”
“Why move slowly if things feel right? My boyfriend moved in a month after we met, and I didn’t even like him in the beginning.”
“Really? Whoa. Anyhow, I thought why wait? If things go wrong, they go wrong, but what’s that old saying? It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Charlotte snorted. “Anisha insisted on drafting a prenup though.”
“She was only looking out for you.”
“I know.” A sigh. “I wish Kaylin could have been at the wedding too.”
“You didn’t receive any unsigned cards, did you? Maybe she was there in spirit.”
“No, nothing like…” Charlotte’s eyes widened. “There were flowers. Beautiful flowers in a crystal vase. I always figured the card had gotten lost, but nobody ever owned up to sending them. Pink peonies and orchids. You think that was Kaylin?”
“I think it’s possible.”
“Pink was her favourite colour. Wow.”
Wow indeed. Yet another clue that pointed toward Kaylin being alive. Alive and staying at a distance. She still cared about her family and friends, but she didn’t feel safe getting in touch with them, not even Nico. Which made sense, but also didn’t. The first time she’d run—and I believed she had run to Virginia rather than making the trip for money—she’d done a poor job of it. Hiding out in a run-down motel, living off vending machine snacks… But the second time, she’d vanished so completely that even the cops couldn’t find her. A part of me had wondered if she was being held prisoner the way I had been, but nobody let me send cards and flowers on special occasions.
“All Nico wants to do is help her, but he can’t do it alone.”
“The flowers just appeared on the gift table. I don’t even know who put them there.”
“We believe the key to her disappearance lies in New York. Something sent her running to Virginia before the incident with the police officer.”
“I don’t know a thing, I swear. We barely saw each other in the weeks before she left.”
“There might be some tiny snippet of information that you don’t even realise is important. If we could just go over?—”
“Hey, lady,” a guy at the next table called. “Can we get another bucket of onion rings?”
That asshole. The moment was lost, and Charlotte backed away.
“Sorry, we’re short-staffed tonight.”
“Maybe we could talk later?”
There was the longest pause, and I crossed my fingers and my toes too. Charlotte had been friends with Kaylin, perhaps closer than anyone else had been in the months before the incident.
“If you can wait until we close, I’ll talk with you then.”
Thank goodness. “Could I get a filet mignon while we wait?”
Finally, she managed a smile. “Sure. And what’ll you have, sir?”
Collier beamed at her. “I’ll have the same as Hallie.”
I sank onto a padded seat and let out a heavy breath. This job didn’t just teach me to follow the breadcrumbs; I was also learning how to tiptoe around the human psyche. As Emmy had once told me, everyone would talk as long as you asked the right questions.
