Emily’s mouth fell open. “Why would anyone do that?”
“That’s what we need to figure out,” Andi said.
“Did she have a key? Did she let you inside Gina’s apartment?”
Andi paused before answering. “She said she had a key, but the door was already open when we got there. So I’m not sure if the key she had really fit the lock.”
Duke straightened. “We don’t have photos of the woman who approached us. But the venues should. We can try to pull footage, see if you recognize her. Based on everything this woman knew, she had to know Gina on a personal level. She mentioned Tuesday dinners with her sister—things a stranger wouldn’t know.”
Emily pulled her arms across her chest and shivered. “That’s unnerving, to say the least.”
Yes, it was.
Andi’s thoughts raced now. “Emily, where is the real Pam right now?”
“In Italy. She’s been working overseas for a few months. Consulting job. She’s actually on her way back now.”
Andi’s pulse skipped. “You’ve talked to her?”
“Yes. I called as soon as Gina went missing. She wanted to fly back immediately, but her passport was damaged when there was a leak in her rental. It’s taking forever to get the issue resolved.”
The pieces shifted again.
The woman who’d come to them must have known Pam was out of the country. It was the only way her ruse would have worked effectively.
But still—why go through all this trouble?
Andi exchanged a look with Duke, the weight of this new revelation settling between them.
They described the fake Pam to Emily.
Emily listened carefully before shaking her head again. “That doesn’t sound like anyone I know. I’m sorry. I want to help. But I have no idea.”
Andi looked at Duke, the realization taking shape even as she resisted it. “We’re not just looking for Gina. Now, we’re trying to figure out who wanted us involved in this case enough to lie in order to get our attention.”
Emily’s hands trembled slightly on the table. “Does that mean . . . ?”
Duke nodded slowly. “It means our podcast’s connection to what happened isn’t random. Someone wanted us to be involved for some reason.”
“And it means we have a second mystery on our hands,” Andi added.
Whoever was behind Gina’s abduction was already several steps ahead.
For now.
The weight of what they’d just learned followed Andi all the way back to the SUV.
She slid into the passenger seat and shut the door harder than necessary. For a moment, neither she nor Duke spoke. They sat there. Duke started the engine and let air flow through the vents.
The city moved around them—traffic rumbling, a bus sighing at the curb, someone laughing on the sidewalk—but Andi felt suspended, caught between what sheknewand what she still couldn’t explain.
“Emily wasn’t lying,” Andi finally said. “You saw her face. She had no idea who that woman was.”
Duke ran a hand across his jaw. “Which means whoever approached us knew enough to be convincing.”
“And this woman was bold enough that she didn’t bother to hide her face.” Andi shook her head. “She fully jumped into this and pretended to be a missing woman’s sister. That’s not desperation. It’s crafty.”
She pulled out her phone and scrolled to the contact labeled Pam James—the number Fake Pam had given her.
