I clenched my back teeth, pulling in a steadying breath through my nose. “There’s a Jane Doe listed there. She was twenty-five.” I muttered out the date she was found and the few things that were listed in the case file. For the first time, I realized there wasn’t an evidence log.
“I’d have to look it up. I’m not totally sure off the top of my head—”
“I can’t find an evidence log,” I snapped.
He gave another too long pause. “With a case that old, maybe someone simply forgot to digitize it.”
I bristled. “How fast can you find the information?”
“Are you—” He sounded completely uncomfortable. “Are you sure everything is okay?”
I stopped my incessant pacing. No, everything was not okay. “Yes,” was what I spat into the phone.
It wasn’t his fault; I knew that. I shouldn’t expect him to memorize every detail of these cases.
I was probably overreacting, but it was hard not to at the moment.
“Hey.” Detective Whize’s voice shifted to a soft and steady tone. “I want to help you, okay? I can’t do that if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”
My hand gripped the phone so tight my fingers ached. Briefly, I closed my eyes. I let out a calming breath, but it didn’t help much. “I found something in one of the crime scene photos that I wanted to get some more information about.”
“Okay.” His voice was still quiet, almost soothing. “I can get you any information I have. Let me know what you need.”
My fingernail dug into the side of my thumb, and I felt blood well. “All right,” I murmured. “I’ll send you an email.”
I didn’t wait for him to reply before I hung up. I needed a moment to calm down. He needed time to get the information.
I shouldn’t be freaking out.
But as I looked back at my computer, I couldn’t help thinking. Couldn’t stop my mind from reeling.
Because I had given that exact bracelet to my mother before she abandoned my family twenty-nine years ago.
7
Fox
Ihadn’tbeenonadate in years, and I wasn’t sure why I was starting now.
Emersyn had pushed me into it, which caught me off guard because she never seemed the type to meddle in other people’s personal lives. Maybe it had been because of my shitty mood since running into my ex a week ago, but somehow I’d been set up with a girl from Emersyn’s yoga class. I had no idea why I’d agreed. Part of me wanted to get Emersyn off my back, and part of me wanted a distraction.
I immediately regretted everything.
Lakelyn was perfectly nice—pretty, even—but she loved to talk. Sometimes that worked out for a guy like me who didn’t say much, but it was exhausting to listen to the flood of words coming out of her mouth. I wondered whether it physically tired her to speak that much. I felt like it probably should.
We were at the Ember Hollow Brewery, a casual establishment that didn’t feel too overwhelming for a first date. The place had exposed brick walls, polished concrete floors, and string lights casting a softglow over reclaimed wood tables. It was bustling with movement and bodies, and it took longer than I’d hoped to get a table.
Lakelyn wasn’t fazed, though. She droned on about nothing in particular while we waited for our drinks.
By the time I had a beer in hand, I drank it faster than I intended.
I made small comments here and there when Lakelyn paused long enough to take a breath, but otherwise I sat, my brain struggling to stay in the moment. I was on my second stout beer when the edge of a buzz had my skin tingle with warmth. It’d been awhile since I’d had more than one beer in a sitting.
The sound of my name had me glancing up from watching the condensation roll down my glass. I blinked at Lakelyn, trying to focus. She pursed her lips, like she finally noticed I hadn’t been paying attention.
“What?” I asked, probably too flatly.
“Did you not hear me?” She frowned, glancing at our surroundings. “It is kinda loud in here tonight…”
