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“I don’t know any specifics. I’m sorry.” She looked close to tears. “He never said anything other than the bare minimum. He didn’t want me—”
A shrill ringtone went off, making all three of them jump.
Harris dug her phone out of her pocket and looked down at it, then up at Cassie and shook her head.
“I’m pretty sure I left mine on vibrate,” Cassie said, digging out her own phone and holding it up. The screen was blank.
The two of them turned to Rose, who held a small flip phone. If possible, her eyes were even wider now. When she spoke, there was a tremble in her voice. “It’s Bob.”
“Put it on speaker,” Harris said. Her usual demeanor was back as she strolled across the room. “Don’t mention that we’re here.”
Rose did as she was told. “Hello? Bob?”
“Hey.” Bob’s voice sounded strained. And the connection was weak. “Where are you?”
“What?”
“Rose, I need to know where you are. You weren’t at the hotel room. Where did you go?”
“I went out for dinner. Bob, someone broke in.”
“I know. I need to know where you are.” There was a pause, a hesitation that told Cassie he was more scared than he was letting on. “I need to know right now.”
Rose looked up at Harris, who shook her head. Rose swallowed and a pained expression filled her face. “I don’t think I should do that.”
Another pause. “Why not?”
“I’m scared. What’s going on? Where did you go?”
“I didn’t go anywhere. I’m right here. But, Rose, I need you to tell me—”
“They found my hotel room. Did you tell them that?”
There was a small sob, which crackled in the static of the poor connection. “Rose, I—”
Rose looked more resolute now. “I’m not going to tell you where I am.”
There was a rustling in the background from the phone exchanging hands. A new voice spoke, louder this time. The call had been taken off speaker. “That’s okay, Mrs. Sherman. It won’t be long until I find you.”
A shiver ran down Cassie’s spine. She’d never heard a voice so cold, yet so amused. Harris launched herself from the bed and grabbed the phone from Rose’s hand, slamming it shut. Her eyes were wild when she looked at Cassie.
“We need to leave,” Harris said. “Now.”
30
It only took the three of them a few minutes to grab their things. Rose hadn’t unpacked her duffel yet, and both Cassie and Harris had been living out of their bags since they got to the hotel room. All Harris had to do was shove the computer into her backpack, and they were ready to leave.
“Do we need to get rid of the phone?” Rose asked, scrambling after them.
Cassie jogged to keep up with the detective. “And who was the other man on the phone?”
Harris opened the flip phone and hit a few buttons. “We’re keeping the phone, but I’m turning it off for now.” She ran up to the elevator and hit the down button. “And I don’t know who that was, but I didn’t like the sound of his voice.”
“Me neither.” Rose was shaking. “D-do you think—I mean, what about Bob? Is he gonna be okay?”
Harris waited until all three of them were in the elevator before responding. “I can’t make any promises about Bob.” Harris turned to Rose and took her bag. “Are you doing okay? Can you keep up?”
Rose had a determined look on her face. “I can keep up.”
