“I knew something was going on. A person would think Emery was curing cancer, as much as she was gone. It was either that or she was having an affair.” She pauses, her eyes drifting to Crash. “Areyou?”
“No!” we both shout in unison.
Betty lifts her hands in acan you blame me?shrug.
“So… you believe us?” Annie says. “Just like that?”
“My late husband worked for the Office of Naval Intelligence.” And another piece of the puzzle slips into place. “He could never tell anyone about his real job, either, and he was just as self-important as you, dear.”
Crash snaps out a surprised laugh. I’m opening my mouth to tell her exactly where she can shove that logbook of hers when Annie steps in. “What’s important here,” she says, “is figuring out what we do now.”
Delighted, Betty shifts to the edge of her seat. “Yes, yes. Whatarewe going to do now?”
“We’re not calling the police. But I am going to text Vince.” I pull out my phone.
“Why is everyone so against calling the police!” Annie says. “At the very least, we need to report that Luca is missing.”
“Luca is an adult. And he’s been gone for how long? A few hours?” Betty scoffs at our naïveté. “They won’t do anything and will berate you for wasting their time. Or so I’ve been told.”
Fuck. She’s right. And if they find out he talked to a lawyer about divorcing me, they’ll probably assume he just left.
Or that I killed him.
“And that’s why Emery is right,” Betty says. “You need to talk to this Vince person. Feel him out. See what he’s hiding. Don’t you agree, Crispin?”
“It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” he says.
I turn to Annie, who nods reluctantly. With a sigh, I unlock my phone and search for Vince in the contacts. I type out a text:
Are you around? We need to talk.
Less than a minute later, I get a reply:
Great timing. I assume you’re missing something? I’m going to send you an address. If you want to see it again, bring the dog and everything you have about Compound Y. Don’t talk to anyone.
Crash reads the message over my shoulder. “Did this dude really include a winky emoji and complete punctuation in a menacing text? What a weirdo.”
“He really did it,” I say, stunned. Vince tried to kill Luca—hedidkill Luca. And he has him now. “He had the nerve to talk about being unethical, all while he—”
“Breathe, Em,” Annie says for at least the sixth time today. “We can do this. I’m hoping you still have Emery’s Menstrual Vitamins in your fridge?”
“I’m sorry, what?” Crash says from behind me.
Holy shit, I do. Thank God we never took them back. “Yes, but listen, I’m not taking Honey to him. No fucking way. You guys stay here with her. I’ll get everything and—”
“Have you lost your mind?” She shakes her head firmly. “You’re not going alone.”
“Luca would kill me if I let you do that,” Crash says. “I’m going with you.”
Betty steps forward. “They’re right. We’re going. Besides, I have a nine-millimeter in my handbag.”
“You have awhat?” I hold up my hand, shaking my head. “No, Betty. There’s nowe.” I look at each of them in turn. “Thank you for your help, but I can’t drag any of you into this. It’s not safe.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re already in this. Besides, if this person hurt Luca, you’re going to need my evidence.” To emphasize her point, Betty reaches for her laptop and closes it with a decisive click. “And my help.”
44EMERY
And that’s how I end up with a veterinarian, a landscaper, a senior citizen, and a resurrected golden retriever–husky mix in my car as I race through San Diego.
