I threw that in for good measure, because if they knew about our ownership of the loft they’d know about our ownership of other buildings in town.
“Wow,” Detective Rodriguez said when we stepped into the loft’s expansive main living area. “Cool place.”
“Thanks.” Bram and Remy were already in the living room, clearly prepared thanks to Maeve’s text. I had to give them credit: they did a good job of looking surprised by the fact that Maeve and I had brought guests. “This is Detective Rodriguez and Detective Grabowski. They have some questions about one of their investigations.”
“You have a warrant?” Bram was asking because he’d be stupid not to ask, and because not asking might also tip them off that we’d given Bram and Remy a heads up.
Detective Rodriguez shook her head. “And you have every right to tell us to kick rocks if that’s what you want to do.”
Bram seemed to consider it, then shook his head.
“Can I get you anything?” Remy asked. “Coffee? Water? Something to eat?”
Detective Grabowski started to answer but Rodriguez shut him down. “We’re good.”
Grabowski was obviously disappointed, and from the extra padding around his stomach I guessed he was no stranger to taking subjects up on their offer of snacks.
“We can sit.” I gestured at the sofa and chairs in the living room.
Bram made a point of taking one of the chairs and Remy took the other. If we’d ceded the chairs to the Detectives we would have felt like kids being questioned by our parents.
Maeve and I sat at one end of the sofa while the two deceives took the other end.
Detective Rodriguez removed a notebook from her pocket. “Mind stating your full names?”
“Is this an official inquiry?” Remy asked.
“Not at all. Just want to make sure I have it all down.”
We stated our names. Maeve went last.
“Do you live here too?” Deceive Rodriguez asked her.
Maeve hesitated.
“Yes,” Bram said. “This is her permanent residence.”
I caught the flicker of surprise in Maeve’s eyes and hoped Bram hadn’t overstepped. Then again, of there was anyone in the world who didn’t give a shit about overstepping, it was Bram.
“Mind letting her answer for herself?” Detective Rodriguez asked him.
“It’s my permanent residence,” Maeve said, her voice strong.
It was the wrong time to feel my spirits soar but they did all the same because there was nothing I wanted more than for it to be true that Maeve would be here with us forever.
Detective Rodriguez wrote in her notebook.”What do you know about the local girls that have gone missing?”
“Nothing,” Bram said.
“We’ve heard about it,” Remy added. “Obviously. But other than that we haven’t heard a word.”
“You seem to have your ear to the ground here,” Detective Grabowski said. “You haven’t heard any gossip about who might be responsible?”
“I thought you caught the people responsible,” Maeve said. “The guys from Aventine, that real estate developer and his son.”
It was smart for Maeve to let on that she knew more than we did about the missing girls. You couldn’t be a woman in the world and not be aware of your inherent vulnerability — something I’d only begun to really understand because of Maeve — and that went double if a bunch of girls your age had been kidnapped in our hometown.
“They were apprehended for a certain set of crimes,” Detective Rodriguez said. “But there are loose ends, other things we haven’t figured out, women still missing.”
