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I had to swallow to keep from heaving before I spoke my next words.
“A phoenix.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ruby
What a day! I gulped down some cheese and crackers from the vending machine for a quick lunch when my phone rang with a number I couldn’t identify. Southern California area code.
“Detective Lee.”
“It’s…Shayna. Shayna Thomas.”
“Shayna!” I said too loudly. I lowered my voice. “Are you all right?”
“I’m okay.” Her voice shook. “I’m at a pay phone at a gas station. I don’t think I was followed.”
“Shayna, if you think you’re being followed, you need to notify the police.”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure. It might be all in my mind.”
Though I still had no concrete proof that my father was involved in any way with Juliet and Lisa’s disappearance, my intuition was on overdrive. After the phone call I’d received from my father after the last time Shayna called me, I knew he was at the helm. Proving it was another story. I’d been on his tail so many times, only to have him elude me. He never left any evidence that was enough to lead to his arrest.
But he would. With Larry Wade and Tom Simpson now gone, my father was getting nervous. I could feel it in the marrow of my bones.
“Just be careful. Don’t put yourself in danger to call me. Promise me, okay?”
“I won’t. But I had to talk to you.”
“What’s going on?”
“I got a text. All it said was ‘help.’ I can’t help thinking it was Juliet or Lisa.”
“Was it from a number outside the US?” I asked.
“I don’t know. It said ‘private.’”
“Damn.” I bit my lip. “Sorry. It could be a hoax. Someone trying to play with you.”
“I know. I thought of that. I just have a feeling it was one of them. I got chills when I read it.”
I had always trusted my own intuition, so I again resisted telling Shayna to discount her own. Still, I didn’t want her walking into trouble either. “I know you can’t forward me the text, but someone needs to get a look at your phone. Your local PD can unblock the number.”
“Yeah, I know. But…”
She was scared. I could hear it in her voice as it trembled across the line.
“Look. Never mind the phone. I can access your cell records and get the information for you. My office can run the check. Okay?”
“But what if they find you looking?”
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. Just keep yourself safe. That’s the primary objective here. Tell me you understand that.”
“I understand. I’m just afraid…”
Of course. Shayna wasn’t worried about me. She was worried about herself. I had to protect her at all costs, even if it meant not looking into the number.
But what if it had come from Juliet or Lisa?
