Her whirlwind of a day was about to begin.
The small table by the window in Mariella’s room had become the team’s makeshift command center, and Andi couldn’t decide if the sunlight streaming through the glass made it feel more hopeful—or more exposed.
She claimed the chair with the best view of the room, habit more than preference, and let her gaze sweep the setup before settling in.
Mariella, Matthew, and Duke crowded around the table with her, laptops, phones, and notepads competing for space. The surface looked like a crime scene collage in miniature—screens glowing, coffee rings forming, scraps of information waiting to be connected.
Ranger and Simmy were absent. Ranger had insisted on taking Anastasia to the hotel pool early that morning, determined to give her something that felt normal after days of travel and crowds. Later, he would talk to Gina’s neighbors.
Andi had agreed without hesitation with Ranger’s plan. Normal mattered—especially now. Ranger had also promised, however, to try tracking down Fake Pam at her supposed place of employment after the pool trip while Simmy helped Anastasia with some schoolwork. Fake Pam had claimed she worked for Public Works. It could be another lie, but it was a place to start.
Mariella had picked up bagels and cream cheese, and they nibbled at breakfast as they worked. Andi had chosen a plain bagel with garden vegetable cream cheese—heavy, indulgent, and oddly comforting despite the knot that refused to leave her stomach.
She set her mug down carefully, as if noise alone might break something fragile, and pulled up the image on her phone again.
The grainy picture of Fake Pam still glowed on the screen.
Who was she? Were she and Colin working together?
She’d spent half the night turning it over. But all that thinking did no good. Andi still had no idea who she might be.
“I keep asking myself why.” Andi set her phone against her thigh and narrowed her eyes, staring past the table as if the answer might materialize there. “Why pretend to be Pam?Why bring this case specifically to us? If this woman wanted attention, there were easier, less risky routes.”
Andi’s thumb brushed the edge of her phone. That detail had been needling her since the moment Emily told them about Fake Pam. Money motives made sense.
This didn’t.
“She asked for help,” Andi murmured. “That’s what makes all of this even more confusing.”
People lied for profit. They lied for protection. But asking for help meant something else entirely.
Matthew leaned back slightly, his chair creaking. “Do we think she’s working with the killer?”
The question landed heavy, settling into the quiet that followed. Andi felt her stomach tighten as she considered it—how badly she wanted the answer to be no, and how little that mattered.
“It’s a real possibility.” Duke took a measured sip of his coffee. “Maybe the killer wanted to control the flow of information. Maybe he wanted insight into our conversations—what we knew, what we suspected. It’s hard to say.”
Andi exhaled through her nose, unease pressing closer.
Control. Misdirection. Layers of manipulation.
It all fit too well.
Her phone buzzed against her thigh.
Andi startled, her heart jumping before her brain caught up.
Emily.
Andi snatched it up and read the text.
Pam just landed. She’s at the airport and wants to meet with you.
Andi jerked her head toward her team. “The real Pam is back in San Francisco. Emily says she just landed and wants to talk.”
Mariella exhaled. “Good. Maybeshecan tell us who that Fake Pam woman is.”
Andi quickly typed out a reply, arranging a meeting later that morning at a neutral location. “If anyone has answers, it’ll be Pam.”
