Page 75 of Good Boys Don’t Bite

Then:

ELLIOT: claire ditched me

RONAN: tragic

ELLIOT: dylan around?

Ronan stared. There it was. Of course.

RONAN: police station

The typing indicator appeared immediately. Stopped. Appeared again.

ELLIOT: why

Ronan hesitated. Then:

RONAN: last person to see lucas

No response. Ronan waited. One minute. Two. Five. Nothing. He put the phone down. At 1:31 it buzzed.

ELLIOT: that's weird

That was all. Ronan frowned. He typed:

RONAN: apparently Lucas thought someone was following him

This time Elliot answered faster.

ELLIOT: before he disappeared?

RONAN: yeah

ELLIOT: did he see who

Ronan stared at the screen. The question was reasonable. Completely reasonable.

RONAN: no

Elliot responded with a single:

ELLIOT: shit

Ronan locked the phone. Again, reasonable. Everything was reasonable. He was the one making it strange. At 4:22 P.M., Bellweather Police held a press conference. Ronan watched from a drafting table while half the architecture studio crowded around somebody's laptop. Detective Mara Vance stood behind a podium outside Bellweather Police headquarters. Ronan recognized her from Elliot's description. Dark hair. Calm face. No visible impatience despite reporters shouting questions before she'd started.

“Lucas Harper remains a missing person,” she said. “At this time, we have not established any connection between Mr. Harper's disappearance and the homicide of Mason Kerr.”

A reporter immediately asked whether police believed Lucas might be another victim. Vance did not answer directly.

“We are investigating all possibilities.”

Another asked about the masked figure.

“No identification has been made.”

“Is that person considered a suspect?”

“We continue to seek information regarding that individual.”