“What colour sweater?”
He screwed his eyes shut.“Green?Or burgundy?Maybe the burgundy was Tuesday.”
Sophy began rummaging through the laundry hamper, and then she checked the closet.
“Okay, there’s a burgundy sweater in here, and she only has one of those.Nothing green.”She straightened suddenly.“Hold on a second.”
We followed her to the kitchen area, where she pulled open the refrigerator.
“Oh, shit.She didn’t come home on Wednesday evening.”
“How do you know?”Justin asked.
“We ordered pizza on Tuesday, and she got a large so she could eat the leftovers on Wednesday.There’s still half a pizza in here.”
“Was she planning to go anywhere after work?”
“I’m not sure; she didn’t tell me.We’ve been roommates forever—we’ve lived in four different apartments together—and we’re friends, but we don’t do everything together, you know?We just look out for each other.”
“So you don’t know how she planned to spend her day off yesterday?”
“No?Like, not for sure.But I overheard her on the phone, and she said something about a doctor’s appointment.”
“Amie was sick?”
“I mean, she didn’tlooksick.She just seemed more stressed than usual these past couple of weeks.Honestly, I thought that maybe she was having problems at work, which was weird because she always enjoyed going to the office.”
You know who else looked stressed?Sophy.Like, on the verge of tears.But honestly, if Saylor were missing and I had no idea where she was, I’d be upset too.
“Everything was fine at work,” Justin said.“She was doing a great job, as usual.”
“Did she have any money worries?”I asked.
“I don’t think so, not anymore.She always paid her rent on time.”Sophy bit her lip.“When we first moved in together, she, uh… She had some, uh, problems.”
“If you mean the credit card debt, I know about that,” Justin said.“She told me.”
“Really?”Sophy seemed surprised.
“She wasn’t eating properly.So I started ‘accidentally’ ordering extra lunch, and then she realised…” Justin grimaced.“Let’s just say there were tears.But she confessed about the difficulties with her sister and the identity theft, and I invented a ‘hardship fund’ and gave her a thousand bucks, plus we started pizza Fridays.She promised to tell me if she was struggling with her budget again.You know if she’s had any more trouble with Saige?”
“When has she ever not had trouble with Saige?”Sophy shrugged.“You should try speaking with Brett.He’s a real douche, and she’d be crazy to get back with him, but it already happened, like, three times before, so…”
“Do you have a number for him?”
“No, but he works at the fish place near the Spend ’n’ Save.You know it?”
“The seafood restaurant?”
“No, no, the fish place.Ponds and fountains and koi.”
“We’ll find it.”Justin sighed.“Can you call me if you hear from Amie?”
“Sure, give me your number.”
Justin and Sophy swapped contact details, and I took a last look around the apartment.There was laundry drying on a radiator, a shopping list on the refrigerator, and a half-read book on the coffee table.No hint that a woman had left without intending to return, but when I ran, I hadn’t exactly planned for it.
“Good luck with Brett,” Sophy said.
