“…she’s in trouble,” Justin finished.“Let’s go to the Waffle Factory.”
After a pit stop at the convenience store where I grabbed what I needed, we drove a couple of miles to everybody’s favourite restaurant, or at least, that was how they branded themselves.Was it true?I had no idea—I’d never eaten a waffle I hadn’t made myself from scratch.The parking lot was almost empty.A neon sign blinked above a hot-pink door that led into an acid-green vestibule, and the fledgling headache I’d woken with ratcheted up a notch.
Justin spoke quietly with the hostess, explaining that we needed to speak with Sophy if she was working today.
The hostess pointed to the back.“She’s right over there.Y’all want a table?”
“I’m not sure we’ll be staying that long.”
Her face fell, but she held out two menu cards anyway.“Well, maybe you will, and it would be our pleasure to serve you the best waffles in town at everybody’s favourite restaurant.”
Justin must have met Sophy before because he waved her down before we reached a table.
“I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Justin Norquist.I work with Amie.”
“Oh, sure.We met last year at Amie’s birthday dinner?”
“That’s right.Do you know where Amie is?”
“Well, isn’t she at work?”
“She didn’t show up today.”
“That’s weird.She said she was taking yesterday off, but she didn’t say anything about today.”
“Was she at home when you left this morning?”
“I stayed with my boyfriend the last three nights, but then we had a fight, and— Uh, never mind.I haven’t seen Amie since, uh, Tuesday.Tuesday evening.”
Justin and I glanced at each other, and my gut tightened the way it had every time Ridge made eye contact, but for a very different reason.Then, I’d been the one in trouble.Now, I feared another woman was.
Seemed that the possibility was dawning on Sophy too.
“You think there’s a problem?”she asked.
“All I know is that she’s worked for me for the past seven years, and she’s never taken a sick day without calling in.”
“No, she’s real reliable, and she texts me if she’s staying out late.”
“What’s happening with Brett these days?”
Sophy’s face clouded over.“They’re definitely off again.Did you try the apartment?”
“We just came from there.Could you go check inside?”
“I mean, my boss…” She swallowed hard.“I’ll speak with him.”
“You want me to speak with him?”
Sophy nodded quickly.“It might be better coming from you.”
The manager insisted that they were short-staffed.After some negotiation, I agreed to submit a résumé, and Justin agreed to order waffles for the entire office if he could borrow Sophy for the rest of the shift.As the cook got to work, we headed back to the building we’d just left.
The apartment was empty.Saylor swore vibes were a thing, and honestly, it felt as if nobody had been there for days.
“Amie’s purse isn’t here,” Sophy said.“What was she wearing at work on Wednesday?”
Justin froze like a deer in headlights.“Uh… Jeans?She normally wore jeans.”
