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But my gut told me something else.
“Exactly. All the facts point to her just going to town for a quick trip.”
I let out a slow breath, unsure of whether I wanted to tell my brother about her confession to me, about how she wanted to vanish.
The police department came into view, and Ian parked close to the front door. There weren’t many cars in the lot, which wasn’t a surprise. Not a lot of things happened in a small mountain town.
As we made our way up to the front door, a chill skittered over me. I glanced behind me, but I only saw my brother.
We entered the spacious lobby, and Officer Carl poured himself a cup of coffee.
“Thanks for stopping by. Grab a cup of coffee if you’d like,” Officer Carl said, waving us into his office. “Sometimes, it’s just easier to have a good-old-fashioned chat rather than texts, and emails, and voicemails.”
We walked by the coffee station straight into his office.
“Yeah, I’m interested to hear what you’ve got,” I told him.
My brother took a seat next to me.
“Well, I have more than I expected to tell. You know, something struck me as odd about the video from the night of the break-in. Something familiar.”
I nodded, propping my elbows on my knees while I leaned forward. I knew Officer Carl always liked a good story, but I needed to find Sadie.
“Tell me more.”
“And I can now say with near one hundred percent certainty that the person on the video was Melanie.”
I couldn’t hide my shock. “Melanie? She owns the place. Are you talking insurance fraud or…”
Officer Carl nodded. “I believe so. I had to turn everything over to the proper authorities because that type of crime changes jurisdictions, and then one can of worms after another opened”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, her real name isn’t Melanie.”
My mind spun with his words, tangling a messy web of deceit that sank deep into my soul.
I had failed. How did I not see through her façade?
A cold chill ran through my body as I bolted from my seat.
I eyed Officer Carl. “Is her real name Tracy?”
Ian stood next to me.
Officer Carl nodded. “I’ll be. It sure is.”
“Last name Venson.” Ian shook his head.
I was out the door.
“Where you headed?” Officer Carl called after us.
“We have to find Sadie,” Ian shouted as we dashed out of the station.
My pulse pounded heavily as I slid out my phone, texting Jaxson.
“No, no, no…” I muttered, popping my knuckles as we climbed into his truck.
