“Hello… I’m… I’m trying to reach a Patrick Weber… is he at this number?”
“Who is this?”
“Derek. A… a friend.”
“I’m sorry. You have the wrong number. There’s no one by that name at this address.”
“Oh. Okay. Sorry for bothering you.”
“No bother.”
“Derek?” Gideon exchanged a glance with Bailey as Derek lowered the cell. “What did they say?”
“Wrong number,” he whispered, staring at the phone.
Gideon frowned. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“It was the first number on theWeberlist,” Bailey said. “Odds were, we wouldn’t hit the jackpot right off the bat.”
They had decided to go down the list alphabetically. The first name on the list:Alan Weber.
“I know.” Derek sighed. “It’s just…” His brow pinched.
“What is it, son?” Gideon asked.
“I don’t know, probably nothing, but… he asked who I was before he said it was the wrong number.”
“So?”
“If they didn’t know Patrick, why not just say it was the wrong number? Why would they ask who I was first?”
Neither Gideon nor Bailey offered immediate insight.
Derek shook his head. “Forget it. I’m just grasping at straws.” He dropped down on the sofa beside Bailey. “What’s the next number?”
