“So you’re here,” she said slowly, “to make sure I know you’re not closing ranks?”
“I’m here because your light was on, and I knew you wouldn’t let a true-crime host have the last word without a fight. Or a glass of Merlot.”
A reluctant smile tugged at her mouth.
“You’re not supposed to know me that well yet.”
“Too late,” he said.
They sat in quiet for another moment, watching the lights of the square below.
Then Reid stood.
“Come on.”
She looked up.
“Where?”
“I’ll walk you to your car.”
Eleanor slipped her heels back on and grabbed her keys.
“Very chivalrous.”
“I’m a public servant,” he said. “Occasionally, I like to serve the public one person at a time.”
Outside, the air had cooled.
The square was peaceful again, the earlier foot traffic long gone.
A Vanished in the Valley fan had taped a printout of Caroline’s missing flyer to the courthouse bulletin board sometime that afternoon. The page fluttered slightly in the evening breeze as they passed.
Eleanor’s gaze caught on it.
“She had a baby,” she murmured. “They keep showing that picture.”
“They think it makes people care more,” Reid said.
“Doesn’t it?”
“It shouldn’t have to,” he replied.
They reached her car.
Eleanor glanced around the lot, shadows stretching between parked vehicles.
“No podcasters hiding in the bushes?” she asked, voice wry but edged.
Reid’s mouth curved.
“They’ve moved on to their comment sections for the night,” he said. “For the moment.”
She unlocked the door but didn’t get in.
Reid stepped closer.
“See?” he said quietly.
