Yet everything was wrong.
The team reconvened in Mariella’s room. Just as they stepped inside, Ranger’s phone rang.
He stepped a few feet away, turning his back slightly as he answered.
His posture shifted almost immediately—he went still, his jaw tightening.
When Ranger ended the call and joined them, he didn’t sit. Instead, he said, “I’ve got an update.”
Duke waited to hear what he had to say.
Andi waited for Ranger to continue, curiosity thrumming in her ears.
“Portland released details on Jen Watkins,” he finally told them.
Andi’s fingers curled into the edge of the chair beside her before she realized she’d moved.
“They confirmed cause of death.” Ranger’s voice sounded steady, but Andi caught the pause he didn’t quite manage to hide. “It wasn’t quick.”
Her pulse thudded hard in her ears. “Keep going.”
“They found restraint marks on her wrists,” Ranger said.
Andi swallowed as the room seemed to tilt. She’d expected the update, but she’d hoped she was wrong.
“From all appearances, her body wasn’t dumped in the woods,” Ranger continued. “Police found a cabin where they think she was left. There were claw marks on the door as if she tried for several days to get out. Based on a broken hinge, she was finally able to escape. They think she ran for help.”
Images burned into Andi’s mind until she closed her eyes. Was this what Kate was going through now? Being locked away in a strange place and forgotten? How about Gina?
Ranger exhaled slowly. “The ME said that it appears she went without food and water for several days. That might have been what ultimately killed her.”
Andi pressed her thumbnail into her palm, welcoming the sting.
What had happened to Jen was terrible.
She’d been terrorized. Taken. Played with. Then left to die.
And if they didn’t find Gina or Kate in time, that might be their fate also.
CHAPTER
FORTY-NINE
I recordedthe episode in one take.
No edits. No hesitation. I liked the way my voice sounded when I didn’t polish it—measured, curious, almost reluctant. As if I hated to even ask the question.
I listened to my recording twice afterward.
The first time through cheap earbuds, volume low, just another episode in the feed. The second time with the phone in my hand, attention sharpened, savoring the way I framed it all. Not an accusation. Never that. Just an observation. Cities. Timing. Proximity.
Questions did the work better than statements ever could.
I smiled.
Not because I’d said anything untrue.
Because I’d said just enough.
