It always helped to get people started by talking about easy subjects. The easy subjects helped the team get a feel for the questions that held easy truths—and it made it easier to see the shift if they decided to lie. People conducting a lie detector test used the same methods.
Andi had learned to make those observations in her time as an attorney. Making people feel comfortable was important.
Pam drew in a deep breath before starting. “I’m thirty-two and single. If you know of any single guys, let me know.” She let out a feeble laugh before continuing. “Gina and I grew up in a town north of here called Cloverdale. Our parents were both teachers, but they died in a car accident a few years ago. I moved to San Francisco to take a job as an assistant in the Public Worksoffice. Gina moved here a year later.” Her voice caught. “We’re very close.”
“Tell us more about your sister,” Duke said. “Why do you think something’s happened to her? I want the rest of our team to hear the story from you.”
Pam inhaled shakily as if trying to ground herself. When she opened the folder again, her hands were steadier than they’d been earlier at the convention center.
“Gina’s always been the responsible one,” Pam began. “Straight As, law school honors, junior partner at Morrison, Blake, and Associates faster than anyone else in the firm. She’s reliable to a fault. So when she didn’t come to my place on Tuesday after work, I knew something was wrong.”
“It’s not like her to stand you up?” Simmy asked.
A server passed with a tray of sizzling fajitas, the smell of peppers making Andi’s stomach twist. She was hungrier than she realized. But eating could wait.
“No, it’s not. We have dinner together every Tuesday. It was Gina’s idea—she said we needed to make sure we didn’t drift apart.” Pam’s voice cracked. “She’s never missed one. Not even when she had the flu. She just made me wear a mask and sit across the room. Besides, she stayed with me after the attack,” Pam continued. “Both she and her roommate didn’t want to stay at the apartment right away. They were pretty shaken up.”
“And the break-in?” Ranger prompted. “Tell us more about that.”
Pam pulled out a folded police report and repeated the story to the rest of the team.
“If we do this, we’d like to talk to Emily,” Andi said.
Pam nodded, a touch of eagerness in her gaze as if she was relieved to hear their response. “Of course. I mean, I can’t speak for her. But I’d imagine she wouldn’t mind. She’s a sweet girl,though a bit naive and clueless. She slept right through the break-in.”
As their food was delivered, Andi realized they had a lot to chew on—literally and figuratively.
After they’d prayed over their meals, Andi let her hands rest around the stem of her water glass and tried to refocus.
The clink of silverware and the low murmur of nearby conversations pressed in around them, grounding her in the restaurant even as her thoughts kept circling back to Gina James. This wasn’t a podcast taping or a panel discussion—this was someone’s life. And that distinction mattered.
“Did your sister have any enemies?” Mariella paused with her fork halfway to her mouth. The pasta on her plate—something rich and cream-based—released a warm, garlicky aroma that mingled with the scent of seared steak drifting from nearby tables. “Anyone she mentioned being scared of?”
Pam glanced at her untouched grilled salmon fillet before looking back at them. “You think this guy might not have been a stranger?”
“We’re just gathering information,” Duke said, his voice even.
Pam exhaled and nodded. “Then yes. Colin Hoffman. They dated for two years. Broke up about a month ago. He didn’t take it well.”
Andi felt the subtle shift around the table—the way attention sharpened, bodies leaned in.
Names had weight. They always did.
Ranger tore off another piece of bread, buttering it with slow deliberation before popping it into his mouth. “Definenot well.”
“Two weeks ago, he showed up at her office demanding she talk to him,” Pam said. “Posted nasty things about her online.” She slid her phone across the table, the screen glowing with screenshots. “But Colin’s more pathetic than dangerous. Or at least . . . that’s what I used to think. He was supposed to escort her that night, but he never showed up.”
Andi noted the phrasing.Used to think.
“Wouldn’t Pam have recognized him if he was the one who broke in?” Mariella asked.
“You’d think so, right?” Pam let out a breath that sounded halfway between a laugh and a scoff. The scent of lemon and herbs rose from her plate as she shifted. “But this guy had a light on his forehead. According to Gina, it was blinding. She couldn’t see anything about him.”
“What about his voice?” Andi asked, lifting her glass and taking a slow sip of water. She kept her tone neutral, though her mind was already running through possibilities. “Wouldn’t she have recognized it?”
“You would think that also,” Pam said. “But I wonder if the man disguised it. People do weird things sometimes, right?”
They do,Andi thought. She’d built an entire career on that truth—watching reasonable people make unreasonable choices when fear or pride got involved. She set her glass down carefully. The base clicked softly against the table, louder to her ears than it should have been.
