“Nah. But I need to call her in a minute anyway. We’ve got a thing on tonight that shetechnicallyknows about, but she hasn’t mentioned it, and she woke up entirely too happy, so I think she forgot. Or she’s intentionally blocking it out of her consciousness because she doesn’t wanna face it. I’ve been biding my time all day, since telling her about our dinner plans too early will ruin her whole day. But telling her too late will piss her off.”
“You mean at Justin’s?”
“Yeah, are you?—”
“Yeah,” he chuckles. “Mia and I are coming, too. Do you think Sera will be there?” His voice grows a little faster. Excited. “I love you, dude, but don’t eventhinkabout sitting beside me. I only have two sides, and Mia has dibs on one. I wanna leave the other open for Sera.”
“You’re a fuckin’ mess.” I laugh and drag the car door open. Sliding into the driver’s seat, I ignore Banks’ ugly scowl and turn the engine over, purely so I can switch the pathetic AC on and get a little relief from the heat. “I’ll sit across from you. Makes for a better view when Fifi punches you in the nuts, anyway.”
“Real nice,” he drones. “You wish violence and unhappiness on me so freely?”
“I wish entertainment for myself, and a distraction for my wife, since she’ll be grumpy about the dinner she’llclaimwas sprung on her. Good work on that stuff you figured out today. Banks and I are headed to the next family now.”
“The Mundys?”
“Yep. Simone Mundy, fifteen years old. She’s been Josey’s client for a year. We’ll swing by and see what they think about all this, then we’ll get Caleb on the way back.”
“Then dinner.”
I snort. “Then dinner. We still need to track the Prims down, since they’re the last on the list. Set them up for me and Banks and let me know when they’re expecting us.”
“Will do. Also, I checked out the movie theater alleyway Josey’s phone last pinged at. I’ve got it taped off and uniforms holding the scene until CSIs arrive, but…” He noisily shakes his head. “I don’t see anything, Arch. No blood on the ground, no tire tracks, no glass, nothing to indicate she was ever there. It’s entirely possible our perp got lucky and all of our evidence is inside the car.”
“Maybe. But we know she was there, and we know what time she arrived. Get us a warrant and pull traffic cam footage, then we can watch the car leave. Might be able to follow it.”
“Paperwork’s already on McArthur’s desk. We’re just waiting for a signature.”
“See?” I snicker. “This is what makes you a damn good partner, Fletch. It’s like you can read my mind.”
Drake bristles and growls low on his breath.
Pussy.
“Uh-huh, and since you’re already so complimentary, you should know Clay and I have uniforms walking the road all the way from the dump site to town.”
“But seeing as how you didn’t lead with that information, I assume there’ve been no cute little bags with bloodied clothes, a knife, and a confession letter discovered, huh?”
He snorts. “Nope. But it’s still early days, so I’m not giving up hope yet.”
“Are you fuckin’ done yet?” Drake snarls like a feral dog, turning in his seat and jamming his back against the door. “Conducting conversations aboutourcase, but excluding me, feels a little like our partnership could do with some work, Malone.”
“Yikes,” Fletch snickers in my ear. “You got trouble in paradise. Keepthe lid on that mushroom cloud, Arch. Update your partner. Come home to me when this is all over.”
“For fuck’s sake.” I hang up and cut Fletch’s barking laughter off with a tap of my finger. Locking my phone and tossing it into the console between our seats, I check my side mirrors and pull away from the curb, fixing my seatbelt while we move. “Calm the hell down, Special Agent Fuckface. I was receiving updates from our assisting colleagues, and fully intended to pass them along to you just as soon as our call ended.”
“So what are the updates? Stop wasting my damn time.”
Stop being such a fucking bitch.ButI can’t say that shit out loud without risking a mushroom cloud in the sky, so I bring us around a corner and head toward the Mundys’ home. “Alan Masterson—Josey’s dad—is in prison on an eight-year stint for assault and battery. He’s only four years in and has an alibi we won’t undo.”
“Then we’ll strike him off our list.” He pulls out his trusty notebook andliterallystrikes the dude’s name off. “We’ll put a call in to the prison and speak to the warden. Make sure everything is square over there. But for now, we’ll set him aside.”
I roll my eyes.No duh. “Also, Josey’s boyfriend isn’t her boyfriend anymore.”
Fierce green eyes whip across and warm the side of my face. He’s like a hound, and he just caught a scent he likes. “Explain.”
“Fletch called to line up a meeting for us. Caleb agreed, and he’s waiting for us, but he volunteered that they broke up six weeks ago. Heading in different directions, didn’t wanna risk a long-distance romance, blah blah blah. They committed to friendship for the summer, and according to Fletch, it all looks legit. We’re heading to his place at five.”
Thoughtful, he settles back in his seat and stares out at the road. “So either he’s playing us, or he’s one of the few dudes on the planet totally chill about a breakup?”
