Chief and Bill both lock eyes on me, and the heat of their stares burns through me. A second passes, two, before Chief’s voice cracks like gunfire. “What do you mean, you can’t find her?”
My pulse is in my throat. “She was at work. I went by when I couldn’t get hold of her. She isn’t there. Can’t find her anywhere.”
Bill frowns, brows stitched so close they nearly meet in the center. “Have you called—”
“Everyone.” I pull my phone from my pocket, wave it uselessly. “Someone texted Violet from my work phone. Told her to meet in the parking lot for a surprise.”
Bill glances at Chief. “You didn’t send that?”
I shake my head. “Never touched the damn phone. Left it at my desk until an hour ago. Only saw the message when I went up there to check.”
A silence settles, the kind that feels like all the air has been sucked out of the night. Chief’s breathing is deep and ragged. “Who the hell would want to hurt her?”
My mind flips through possibilities. “I don’t—” The word dies on my lips. But I do know. Something cold trickles down my back.
Chief glares at me when my voice trails off. “Who has access to your office? Your phone?”
“Janice,” I force out. “It’s Janice.”
She is the only person outside of Violet who has the key to that office.
The only one who wants me.
The only one who couldn’t stand Violet coming back.
“Fuck,” I roar.
Violet was right, all along.
I didn’t listen to her.
I pull out my phone, trying to call Janice again.
She doesn’t answer.
Over and over, I call.
She ignores it.
“Get in the truck,” Chief orders.
I don’t argue.
I get in.
Chief’s fingers drum on the steering wheel as he speeds down the road, no doubt having no idea quite where he is going. “She’s been obsessed since you broke it off, am I right?”
I stare ahead, the road a silver thread unwinding into darkness. “She’s smarter than I gave her credit for,” I say, quiet. “I should have listened to Violet.”
Chief grunts, but he doesn’t make me feel any worse than I already do. “Where would she take her?”
I run through every memory, every conversation about family, about the city, about her sad, empty little life. I shake my head. “She’s a control freak. She wouldn’t risk public places, wouldn’t risk anyone seeing. She’s always worked late, stayedbehind when no one else does. There’s a storage basement at the company’s warehouse. It’s the only place I can think of.”
Chief grunts approval. “Let’s go.”
As we cut along the empty side street toward the storage building, I force myself to breathe. Think. Focus. If Janice is there, if she has Violet, she won’t expect company. She’ll think she’s in control.
But this time, I’m taking it back.
