AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mom eyed me, uncertainty flitting over her features. “She’s not obligated to inform us of her plans, Reid.” She paused, her mouth tightening. “Are you worried about her?”
I was always worried about her. I glanced at my watch. It wasn’t late, about an hour after sunset, but Lark should’ve been done at her mother’s shop by now. Technically, Winnie should’ve taken over the reins to her own store again, but that woman had been in shambles when Lark left her house and I was certain Lark hadn’t expected her to run the business in that state.
“Is everything all right?” Mom asked.
I looked up, my lips pressed together. “When was the last time you talked to her?”
“This morning.”
“Did she tell you where she was going?”
“She said she was going to work.”
I shook my head. “It’s probably nothing. I’m just wound tight, is all. I haven’t spoken with her all day.”
Mom picked a piece of fuzz off her yarn. “You two will figure things out, honey.”
The sympathy in her tone had me shuffling on my feet. “I’m gonna go check upstairs, just to make sure she isn’t there.”
I turned and left the room before I made my parents even more concerned about me. I took out my phone and called Lark’s number as I climbed the stairs.
She didn’t answer. That fact shouldn’t be concerning considering she made it clear she didn’t want to speak to me for a while. I sent her a text to be safe.
The room my mother had set her up in last night was empty except for her bag sitting on the bench at the foot of the bed. My heart sank. Though I wasn’t expecting anything different, I had been hoping that maybe she had snuck past my parents.
I didn’t have much time to dwell on my disappointment when my phone rang. I yanked it out of my pocket, that disappointment deepening when it wasn’t Lark’s name on the screen.
“Ramsey,” I said.
“Hey, Reid, it’s Kristy.”
I turned from the empty room, my attention focusing on the phone call. Kristy was one of the evidence technicians with the Ember Hollow PD. I’d called her earlier, trying to get some information because I couldn’t get hold of Xander all day for some reason.
“Hey, thanks for getting back to me.”
“I’m sorry it’s so late. I was out of the office and just got your message.”
“No problem. I wanted to check on that necklace Xander submitted as evidence. It’s been almost a week, and I haven’t heard any updates about it.”
I was getting anxious for some answers. Anything would help, especially now that Lark wasn’t staying with me anymore.
There was a long pause, and unease shifted in my gut. “I’m really sorry, Reid, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. Xander hasn’t submitted anything resembling a necklace for testing. I even gave the lab a call to make sure he didn’t give it to them directly, and they don’t have something like that either.”
My muscles tensed as I processed that. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m positive. This is a small department, so there’s not a lot of evidence to get lost. Maybe you have it confused with something else?”
I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me. Dread trickled through my veins, heavy and cold. “No. It was a necklace. A gold one with a pendant of a half heart.”
“I definitely haven’t seen anything like that. Have you spoken to Detective Cohen about this?”
Ever since he’d taken that necklace and Lark’s statement that night in her house, he had been a bit distant. I hadn’t wanted to push him too hard because with the Lily Baker case and now the threat against Lark, he had so much on his plate as well as his campaign for sheriff. He’d been understandably busy.
But it didn’t make sense that he wouldn’t have turned in that necklace. It was a key piece of evidence if it was Thea’s.
“No, he hasn’t been answering his phone.”
Kristy let out a long sigh. “He’s been working himself to the bone. Burning the candle at both ends, I think, with everything going on.”
