“How many days before she disappeared was this?”
Colin shrugged. “Maybe three or four? I think . . . I think it was right before that man broke into her house. Anyway, we were at a restaurant. I think I saw that woman—or someone who looked like her.”
He frowned as if questioning himself.
Duke’s pulse thudded as he waited for him to continue.
“She was sitting at another table.” Colin’s words tumbled faster now. “By herself. She kept watching us. Not subtle—just these long looks. Like she was . . . studying Gina. Studyingus.”
Hawkins narrowed his eyes. “You’re sure?”
Colin nodded vigorously. “Yes. I remember thinking it was weird. I even asked Gina if she knew her. She said no.”
Duke pressed his eyes closed.
Fake Pam hadn’t appeared out of nowhere.
She’d been watching and waiting.
But why? That still didn’t make sense. She had to be a part of this—if not the person behind the abduction, then an accomplice.
Detective Hawkins stood. “We’re going to need to verify all of this. Wait here.”
As Hawkins left the room, Duke leaned closer to Andi. “This isn’t about Colin. My gut says he’s smart but not enough to pull off something like this. We’re dealing with someone patient and calculating.”
Her gaze hardened as she nodded. “I agree.”
“And something tells me this ‘someone’ isn’t done yet.”
CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE
The city blurredpast the windshield as Duke drove them back to the hotel, late-afternoon sun slanting low and gold between buildings. With meeting the real Pam, visiting the law firm, and spending hours at the police station, most of the day was gone.
Tomorrow, they were supposed to leave San Francisco.
That realization sat heavy in Andi’s chest.
LA was next. Obligations stacked tight. Contracts and venues and sponsors who didn’t care about missing women or grainy security footage.
She hated it.
Her instincts screamed not to walk away now—not when Colin’s story had cracked just enough to show rot beneath it. Not when Fake Pam had deliberately pulled them into this. Not when Gina was still missing.
As Duke parked and killed the engine, Andi didn’t move right away.
“She didn’t want us to find Gina,” Andi announced.
Duke turned toward her, a wrinkle between his eyes. “Who didn’t want us to find Gina?”
“Fake Pam.” Andi shook her head. “She just wanted to get a feel for our take on what happened.”
“Why would she do this?”
“The only thing that makes sense is that she’s working with the killer.”
Duke tilted his head. “The killer who might be Colin?”
