Her phone rang, Michael’s name lighting up the screen. Her heart leapt as she pressed the button to answer.
“I’ve got it,” Michael said without preamble. “Seaglass Towers, unit 317. It’s a condo complex off Shore Drive.”
Delaney’s pulse quickened. “Are you sure?”
“Call it an educated guess. Iris Benson has lived there just under three months.”
Delaney pulled over and typed the address into her GPS. She’d passed this place multiple times, but she hadn’t been able to get into the parking garage beneath it. From where theapartment building sat, the third-floor apartments would have a view of the bay. She scanned out and saw the golf course a handful of blocks away. “I’m heading there now.”
“Wait.” Michael’s voice sharpened. “You need to call the police.”
“I will,” she said, already pulling back onto the road. “I’ll do it now.”
“But I want you to stay away from that building, just in case.”
“A little girl’s been kidnapped, Michael. Would you stay away?”
“I’m a trained agent. It’s my job?—”
“I’m not going to charge in there. I promise. I’ll call you when we’ve got her.”
“Laney.” His voice was low and filled with emotions she’d never heard from her no-nonsense cousin. That and his use of her nickname had her pausing. “Be careful. Promise?”
“I promise. Thanks.”
She ended the call as she parked on the street adjacent to the apartments. She couldn’t drive into the garage without entering a code on the keypad, but the ramp wasn’t manned. She could duck under the gate.
She climbed out of her rental, surprised at how the temperature had dipped now that the sun was down. She grabbed her keys and phone and jogged into the parking garage.
Her phone vibrated in her hand before she could dial 911. She glanced at the screen.
Noah?
Heart pounding, she answered. “Did you find her? Is she all right?”
“No news, but you’re supposed to be in Maine.” By the background noise, she guessed he was in his car. “Why do I see your location in Virginia?”
She’d forgotten she’d shared her location with him back when she’d first started working with him. But… “Why did you check it?”
“I don’t know. I just…”
His voice trailed, and she understood what he hadn’t said. That he missed her. She missed him too.
“What are you doing in Norfolk?”
“I was just about to call you. Well, the police, then you.”
“What’s going on?” His volume hiked up, more fear than anger.
Delaney scanned cars and plates as she walked through the small garage. “I couldn’t get on that plane. Not when Charlotte’s out there somewhere. And I think…” She didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he was probably with the police right now. “I think I’ve got a lead.”
“What are you talking about? What lead? How?”
Delaney climbed the ramp to the second level of the garage, the scents of gasoline and oil pungent. “My cousin helped me track down a possible address for Violet.”
“How would your cousin?—?”
“He’s CIA. If he hadn’t answered, I’d have called Dad. Michael said a woman named Iris Benson rented an apartment at Seaglass Towers, unit 317.”
