He sucked in a breath. “You think she’s still there?”
“Maybe.”
“But the doorman confirmed that he saw Dylan leave.”
“Asher, come on. We both know doormen can be paid off. I don’t know, maybeshe’s not still here. But the front doors aren’t the only way out of this place. What if he and his cronies took Dylan out one of the other exits, and he’s here...” A lump formed in my throat, making it impossible to finish the sentence.
There was silence on the other end of the line, then finally Asher said what I couldn’t. “You think he’s there building an alibi.”
I expected him to tell meI’d been watching too many murder shows, but he didn’t. Every second Asher stayed silent reinforced the idea in my head.
“Dylan wouldn’t have left without telling us,” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes.
“Oh God,” Asher breathed, his mind clearly coming to the same conclusion. “Have you told Jake any of this?”
“No. I was hoping I’d call you and you’d tell me I was crazy.”
“And I wish I could,but everything you’re saying makes sense. I’m almost back to the building. Gather together anyone you know we can trust and meet me by the front door.”
“What are we gonna do?” I asked, already moving toward the kitchen staff.
“We’ll scour the building. If Dylan’s there, we’ll find her.”
“Okay, see you soon.” I disconnected before either of us could ask what we’d do if Dylan wasn’t in the building.
Now with a sense of purpose, I marched into the kitchen. The building was huge, and Asher and I would need help with the search. Since dinner had been served before the auction, the staff was busy cleaning up. I pulled Stacy aside and told her the situation.
“What can we do?” Stacy asked after she hugged me.
“Grab the staff and tell them to start searching for Dylan anywhere the guests don’ttypically go.”
Stacy nodded. “Got it.” She frowned. “So we’re looking for your friend? The one in the green dress?”
The meaning behind her question constricted my throat. What if they found Dylan? What if she was dead? No, I refused to believe that. “Dylan is smart and resourceful. She’ll be okay. They probably took her out of here, but if she had the chance she would have left something behind.Some sort of clue that would lead us to her. Maybe she Cinderella’d it and left a glass slipper behind, or an earring, or maybe her cell phone. I don’t know, but if she left us something, we have to find it.”
“Yes ma’am, we will,” Stacy assured me.
“Tell the staff I’m offering a reward. If one of them finds Dylan or the clue that leads us to her, the whole staff will get two thousand dollarsapiece.”
“Addison, that’s extremely generous, but you don’t have to—”
“I know I don’t, Stacy, but I want to. This means a lot to me. Please, get them started as soon as possible.”
Stacy called her workers to follow her, and we headed for the front door.
Asher rushed through the doorway. I waved him over. “What’s all this?” he asked.
I watched as Stacy spoke to the group. “The cavalry.They’re gonna help us search.”
“Good thinking, Addie.” Asher draped his arm over my shoulder. “Let’s get started.”
Asher and I headed in the opposite direction of Stacy’s group and started searching. We stayed together, opening closets, large cabinets, anywhere someone might stash something as big as a body. With each doorknob I turned, I worried I’d find Dylan’s body on the other side.
Wewere a little over five minutes into the search when my cell phone rang. Stacy’s name came across. Dreading the news we were about to receive, I put it on speaker so I wouldn’t have to repeat anything to Asher.
“Addison, we found a purse,” Stacy said. “It looks designer. You know... the really expensive black sparkly one that was at Neiman’s?”
I’d loaned Dylan my Alexander McQueen CrystalFrame clutch... it had to be hers. My heart jumped out of my chest. “Ohmigod, that’s Dylan’s. Don’t touch it. Where are you?”
