“So, I have an idea.” My words were cautious.
Reid being too observant for his own good, immediately narrowed his eyes.
“What?” There was more apprehension in that word than I would have thought possible.
“Just hear me out,” I said while grabbing the pan and putting the leftovers into a glass container he’d gotten out earlier.
He lifted his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I already don’t like the sound of this.”
I carried on anyway. “Paul is at the gymconstantly; you saw it yourself. And since he isn’t taking the bait with our fake catfish profile, maybe it’s time we took a more hands-on approach.”
“No.”
“I know where he lives. It’s not far from here. We can just wait until he posts a gym selfie, rush on over, and peek through a window. See if we see anything.”
“No.”
“He lives alone, last I checked. He also lives on the first floor. It would be so easy just to take a quick look.” I batted my eyelashes innocently, as if I didn’t know how opposed Reid would be to this idea.
Reid let out a sigh that must have completely emptied the air from his lungs. To my surprise, he sat there in silence for a moment, his eyes zoning out as if he were mulling over the risks.
“Please?” I pushed, sensing his wavering resolve. “We’re getting down to the wire here.”
His eyes met mine. “You just want to peek through the window?” he clarified.
“That’s it, I swear.” I crossed my heart. “No confrontations will be had. He won’t even be there.”
He rubbed his chin. When his shoulders sagged in defeat, I knew I had him. A small squeal escaped me as I clapped.
“You’re a little too excited about this for my liking,” he said.
“I’m only excited at the thought of actually finding Vermont and putting this whole thing to bed.”
Which was true. Mostly. Ididwant this to be over, and I wanted Gran’s cat—mycat—back, more than anything. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a small thrill from investigating with Reid. There was something exciting about the idea that an answer could be waiting around any corner. Sure, it was crushing when we hit dead ends, but Reid had this wayof keeping my hope alive. Like we were getting closer, even when we weren’t.
“I’ll think about it,” he said.
But I was pretty sure I already had him.
SIXTEEN
Reid
Operation wait-until-Paul-is-at-the-gym-and-look-through-his-windowwas at a bit of a standstill. Hazel had proposed the idea two nights ago and, of course, Paul had decided to take his first break from the gym in what felt like years. I had only been following the guy since the catfish profile, but every day since he’d been sliding into the fake profile’s DMs with a gym selfie of himself flexing. Now? Radio silence. Nothing. It was almost as if he knew.
Hazel was getting increasingly impatient, but there was nothing we could do except wait for our moment to strike. I still wasn’t keen on the idea, but a quick glimpse into a window while the suspect wasn’t home seemed like a relatively low risk for what could be a big payoff.
“What about this one?” Hazel asked, holding up a painting that looked like a first grader might have created it.
My nose involuntarily scrunched in disapproval. “What about not?”
“You can’t reject everything I suggest.” She put the painting back before grabbing a lava lamp and sticking it into the cart without waiting for the okay from me.
When I raised an eyebrow at her, she shrugged. “What?It’s portable. I can take it with me if it doesn’t grow on you, but I promise you it will.”
“You have no room in your apartment for a lava lamp,” I said.
“Oh, Reid. There’s always room.” She winked before scampering ahead to look at a vase.
