“No,” Morales says, standing up. “He left about an hour ago. Something wrong?”
Claire’s face crumbles, and she takes a shaky breath before blurting out, “I need to find him, now!”
Morales gestures for her to take a seat, but Claire shakes her head, refusing. “We can have someone radio him. Are you feeling alright? Is it the baby?”
Claire looks at her confused. “I’m fine. The baby is fine. It’s him, he’s the problem.”
Despite how upset she is, Claire looks great. She looks healthy. I know looks can be deceiving, but with how long Ryker was out because of her health, I was expecting her to look sick. She doesn’t.
“Ryker’s mentioned you’ve had a tough pregnancy,” I say.
Her glassy eyes meet mine, her expression pinched. “What are you talking about?” She rubs her stomach. “I mean it’s no walk in the park, but I’ve been managing it fine. What has he been saying?”
Morales’s gaze flicks to mine before flashing Claire a polite smile. “He said you have HG and had been hospitalized.”
Claire shakes her head, laughing in disbelief. “He’s lost it,” she says under her breath. “No, I don’t have that. I don’t know why he would say that.”
Why would Ryker lie and say his pregnant wife is sick?
“We’ve been in mediation for weeks,” Claire continues. “I thought it was going fine, and that he would sign the divorce papers willingly. I was wrong. I just found out now he’s trying to prove I’m unfit and wants to fight me for full custody.”
My stomach starts to twist. “Did you say divorce?”
She nods, wiping away the last of her tears.
“Yeah, the bastard cheated on me.”
My breath stills as my gaze collides with Morales’s, both of us caught off-guard. Divorce? Ryker hadn’t said a word about it.
“Divorce?” Morales echoes, as if the word is foreign.
“Yes,” Claire snaps. Have you two met his little girlfriend? Victoria? I should’ve noticed the signs earlier.”
The name lands like a wrecking ball. My muscles tense, and I see Morales freeze beside me.
“Victoria?” Morales asks carefully. “Victoria Delmar?”
Claire blinks, clearly confused by her reaction. “I don’t know her last name. She’s got dark brown hair, tall, pretty, younger…”
Morales reaches for her tablet, pulling up a photo of Victoria Delmar from the case file. She turns the screen toward Claire. “Is this her?”
Her eyes widen, and she nods, her hand flying to her mouth. “Yes, that’s her. That’s Victoria. The woman he was cheating on me with.”
My stomach sinks. Morales shoots me a glance, and I can see the same dawning realization in her eyes.
“Claire,” I start, almost unable to continue because I’m insuch disbelief. “Victoria isn’t Ryker’s girlfriend. She’s missing. Or, she was. Her body was found a few weeks ago. She was murdered.”
Claire gasps, staggering back slightly before catching herself on the edge of the desk. “Oh my God,” she whispers. “I had no idea. I’ve been staying with my parents in Seattle. I didn’t hear anything about her being missing.”
She turns to me, her eyes round and questioning. “You don’t think he…You don’t think Ryker…He would never—he’s not like that. I mean, he’s a cheater, but he’s not a…”
The unsaid words hang in the air like a dark cloud. My instincts scream at me, the bad feeling in my gut turning into a full-blown storm.
“We don’t know anything yet,” Morales says carefully. “But we’re going to find out.”
I can barely hear her over the pounding in my ears. My thoughts are racing, pieces clicking into place that I hadn’t thought to connect before. Ryker’s disinterest in calling in the feds when we’re clearly not equipped to handle the investigation properly, his insistence that it didn’t look like a setup.Thinking back on our conversation about Ellie, him telling me I was on borrowed time. It always bothered me that he wasn’t quiet about his attraction to her, as if I’m not aware of how badly he wanted her in high school.
Ellie, home and alone, immediately comes to mind.
