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“I sense it, that darkness Dominique warned you about. Maybe she was foretelling what happened to your friends. Maybe it was the danger we must watch out for.”
Not that he was ready to acknowledge that particular aspect of the investigation, but he had to keep hope and use all of his skills and experience to help his friends. And with Noelle’s help, maybe he could untangle this mess.
Jordyn looked so lost and frightened sitting on the steel chair. It made Brandon even angrier at this situation.
Without even looking, he could feel Noelle restraining herself from going to hug the poor woman. Dressed in a white coverall, no doubt her clothes had been taken for analysis.
Her eyes lit up when she saw them. “Oh! I hoped you’d be involved. Did Nico contact you? Do you know where he is?”
Brandon sat and Noelle followed suit, although scooting a bit closer to Jordyn. “It a strange situation, and we hope that with your help, we’ll be able to sort it out quickly.”
Her sweet eyes filled with tears and Brandon had a tough time maintaining a straight face and was grateful for Noelle, who took the woman’s hand in hers. “Easy. Let’s start with what happened to you. Can you recall what happened last night? Start from the moment you left after the tour.”
Her resolve taking over, Jordyn blinked and straightened on her chair, keeping hold of Noelle’s hand. “I’ll do my best. Most of it is crystal clear. I know we said we’d head back to the hotel because it was getting late and we were tired, but as we walked, we got lost and stumbled upon that bar. The music was awesome, and Leanna just pulled us all in. It was great, and we were lucky enough to arrive as a group was heading out, leaving us their table. We drank and enjoyed the music, but after a while, we started feeling tired again, well, mostly Leanna and me.” Jordyn frowned. “It starts getting a bit fuzzy for me at that point. I remembered going to the bathroom. Leanna made a joke about drinking a bit much and being woozy. I remember her laughing and then...”
Brandon leaned forward a little, desperate for any clue or detail, insignificant or not. “Go on. Everything you can tell us is important.”
“That’s the thing. It’s completely blank from that point on. I don’t remember leaving the bar, let alone leaving Nico behind.”Her voice broke, and it was apparent she was about to lose the battle against her tears. “I don’t know what happened next, I swear. My first memory after the bathroom is walking down the street.” Sobs melded with the words, and Noelle left her chair to hug the poor woman.
This was a mess, and it was clear Noelle thought the same when she glanced at him.
“Listen, Jordyn, we don’t know what happened to you between the bar and finding you, but we’ll get the answers. But to do that, you have to be strong.”
“I swear on my life, Brandon, I don’t know anything else. It’s like something swiped part of my memories. It’s so scary.”
“I know, and we’ll solve this mystery and give you answers. In the meantime, you need to keep thinking hard, tell me every detail you remember. We’re going to go over it again and again until it becomes clear and certain.”
For the first time, her mouth hinted at a smile. “I know the drill. Loving an FBI agent and having friends in the force makes me familiar with all that, unfortunately. I’ll do everything you ask, but can you tell me if Leanna is okay? And Nico? Ryland?”
Noelle sat back down, keeping her hands in hers for support.
“We haven’t found Leanna yet, but patrols are canvassing the area where we found you. It’s only a matter of time.”
“And Nico? Is he okay?”
“Yes, he’s here with Ryland. Only you and Leanna disappeared. He wanted to be here with you, but he’s caught in a drama of his own, one you can set straight.”
When Noelle explained the accusations, Jordyn’s expression turned furious. “That’s completely insane! Nico would never hurt me. Just the thought of it makes me want to hurl.”
“We know that. We’ll need your statement, and as you don’t have any wounds, it should be enough to close the case for good.”
Jordyn nodded but soon shook her head. “Now that you say it, I do have bruises. I noticed them on my arm when they asked me to change.”
As she spoke, Jordyn rolled the sleeve of her right arm to reveal bluish marks.
Brandon leaned forward. “Did the team take pictures of this?”
“No. I thought I’d scrubbed a little too hard in the shower. My skin was so red. I didn’t notice it until I got dressed.”
Noelle turned her arm to have a better look. “Fingerprints. Someone must have grabbed you. Let’s go to the lab. We have to take pictures and measurements before it fades. Then Brandon will retake your statement and record everything.”
Brandon got to his feet. “Go with her to the lab while I go get Callan. When I have all the data, it should be enough to loosen the noose around Nico’s neck. And then, we can go find Leanna.”
CHAPTER 10
Noelle’s lower back was screaming at her to sit for a minute, but the evidence that needed to be processed was shouting way louder.
“When was the last time you slept, my friend?”
