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“A guy called into the Hoboken police to report that his girlfriend never came home tonight,” Patrick answered. “She works in Tribeca and lives in Hoboken. She called her boyfriend around eight-thirty and said she was on her way. She never showed up.”
“Tribeca,” Casey repeated. “Where?”
“At the Canine Palace.”
“Where we board Hero.” Casey’s voice was a monotone. “Is her name Maura?”
“Maura Harris, yes.” Patrick studied Casey’s reaction. “You obviously know her.”
“She’s great with Hero.” Casey’s reply was wooden. “I can also save you the description. She’s a petite redhead, maybe late twenties. She’s studying to be a vet.” There was a pained pause. “Goddammit.”
“She takes the PATH train.”
“She took it,” Claire said as fact. “She arrived at Hoboken. After that...” She swallowed, then fell silent. A flicker of awareness dawned in her eyes. “Affluence and poverty.” The words seemed to come on their own. “Expensive condos. Low-income housing. One on one side. One on the other.” A confused shake of her head. “And Andrew Jackson.” She turned her palms up in non-comprehension. “A twenty-dollar bill? That doesn’t feel right.”
“Jackson Street,” Patrick said. “Hoboken’s west-east blocks are named after U.S. presidents, sequentially from Washington Street. The projects and the condos you’re describing are on Jackson Street—all the way over on the west side of town.”
That resounded in Claire’s mind and she gave a painful nod. “Have the police check there. They’ll find the body.”
Chapter Eleven
The waiting game was under way. And the collective patience of the FI team was fraying.
They brewed multiple pots of coffee, read over their research until the words were swimming in front of them and paced the conference room with growing frustration.
It was Marc who finally broke the stalemate.
“We need some separation from this,” he said, putting down his coffee mug. “Obviously, no calls are coming in anytime soon. In the meantime, we’re banging our heads against the wall going over the same old information. Let’s take a few hours and chill out. Hutch is here, so I’m going to the gym. I suggest you all follow suit. Do something to take it down a notch. Sleep if you can. Or whatever works. Keep your cell phones on. Stay close by.”
“Good idea.” Patrick rose from his chair. “I’ll head home to Adele and maybe catch a few hours of rest.”
“I’ll stay here,” Claire murmured, massaging her temples. “I’ll be doing yoga in the third-floor office where I store my mats. With any luck, it’ll calm me down.”
“I’ll join you at the gym,” Ryan told Marc. “I really need to work off some of this stress. Waiting makes me crazy.”
“Fine. Let’s get going.” Marc headed for the door.
Casey didn’t budge from the conference table. Her stare was fixed on the telephone.
“And you get some rest.” Hutch came up behind her and planted his hands on her shoulders. “You don’t think you need it. But you do.” He pivoted her chair around and pulled her to her feet. “You need to conserve your strength. It’s going to be taxed to the nth degree until this case is solved.”
“Okay.” Casey nodded, forcing herself to see the wisdom of Hutch’s words. She glanced around the room at each member of her team. “But whichever one of us gets news first, call the others ASAP.”
“Agreed,” Ryan said, speaking for the group. “And, Yoda?” he called out. “Remain on active standby.”
“Active standby initiated,” Yoda responded.
* * *
It was an hour later, and Casey’s bedroom was dark and quiet—other than the thrum of Manhattan traffic from outside and the snorts Hero made in his sleep.
Hutch had been right. Casey was past the point of exhaustion. And she’d tried to rest, but without any success. Worn out or not, she’d been too wired.
Hutch had known just what to do about that.
Now, she blew out a breath—along with a wave of tension. “Have I mentioned that I’m glad you’re here?” she murmured, draping her leg across his and resting her head on his chest.
“Not in so many words. But in actions? Yeah, I kind of picked up on the fact that you were happy to see me.” Hutch ran his fingers through Casey’s tangled mane of hair. “And, in case you didn’t notice, I feel the same way.”
