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“What did you two talk about yesterday when she was in with Bailey?”
“We talked about what happened to her dog, and that I wanted to keep Bailey overnight to monitor her condition.”
“Did Jessica mention she was going anywhere specific after she left the clinic?”
There’s a pause for a beat, as if he’s mentally replaying his conversation with her. “Sorry, Troy, but we only talked about Bailey. She never mentioned any plans for the rest of the day. I wish I could be more help.”
I thank him for his time and apologize for disturbing him on the weekend.
“That’s fine. I hope you find her.”
Garrett and I return to his SUV.
“Now what?” he asks. “Any ideas where she could possibly have gone?”
“No. None.” I glance around the parking lot as if the answer to Jess’s disappearance is here.
Ambrosia’s green Honda Civic sits at the far end of the small lot. A blue SUV drives past on the street. A magpie hops down from the low fence and pecks at a discarded paper cup on the ground. There’s nothing here to tell me where Jess could have gone.
We drive over to Picnic & Treats. Zara isn’t working today, but maybe someone there saw Jess before she went missing.
Amy is leaving the café as we walk up to it. “Hi, Garrett. Troy.” Her gaze lingers on my brother for a beat longer than necessary. It’s no secret Amy once had a thing for him.
“Hey, Amy,” I say. “You haven’t seen Jess Smithson in the last twenty-four hours, have you?” Jess mentioned they’re in the same yoga class, so Amy knows who I’m talking about.
“I think I saw her yesterday afternoon. Maybe. I saw someone who looked like her from a distance. Except, she was alone.”
Hope stirs to life, but I wrangle it under control. “Where was this?”
“I was hiking with my brother and some of his friends yesterday. We were in the parking lot, getting ready to return home, when I thought I saw her walking toward the trailhead.”
I suck in a breath. “Which trail?”
She gives a quick shrug. “Who knows? They all seem the same to me. It’s the one that’s about thirty to forty minutes from here.”
I know the trail she means. It’s one of Jess’s favorite hikes.
“But you’re not a hundred-percent positive it was her?” Garrett asks.
“I was too far away to know for certain. But from where I was standing, it looked like her. Same height, body, blond hair in a ponytail. Bailey wasn’t with her. And since those two are inseparable, I’m not absolutely positive it was her. Is something wrong? Why are you looking for her?” Amy’s gaze slides between us, eyebrows raised in alarm.
“Because my girlfriend has gone missing.” I immediately regret the terseness in my tone. It’s not Amy’s fault that her news has put me further on edge when it should have the opposite effect. At least we’re closer to figuring out where Jess went than we were ten minutes ago. “Sorry. I’m worried about her.”
“I hope you find her soon. I was surprised to see anyone heading out on the trail so late, but I figured the woman knew what she was doing.”
Garrett and I thank her for her help.
“What do you think?” he asks me. “Do you think it was Jess?”
“It’s possible. She was stressed about what happened to Bailey. Her therapist has been encouraging Jess to do more things that relax her. It would make sense for Jess to go hiking and take photos.” The unease in my gut from last night has turned into a five-alarm heartburn. If she went hiking yesterday afternoon, why the hell hasn’t she returned?
Garrett and I exchange concerned glances. Either something happened to my truck and it didn’t start—but that’s unlikely because I keep it well maintained—or Jess is injured and possibly lost in the mountains.
We race to his SUV, which is parked on a side street. As soon as my door slams shut, I’m on the phone, calling Kellan and Lucas on a conference call. Garrett pulls onto the street and heads toward the route we need to take to get to the trail.
Kellan picks up with a grumpy, “Any luck finding her yet?”
“Amy Clayborne saw her yesterday afternoon.” I get him and Lucas up to speed. “More than likely, Jess is lost and injured.” And scared. For all I know, something triggered a flashback while she was hiking and she fell.
