“Sacramento.”
I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “Oh my God—thank you. This is exactly what I was hoping for.” A plan forward. Actual steps to take. I smiled my first genuine smile in weeks.
“Here’s my card.” He pulled one out of his wallet. “When I get back to the office in a couple of days, I’ll draft the letter. And you can call me anytime if you have questions.”
“Thank you so much. I feel a million times better already.”
“My pleasure.” He took another bite of his chicken. “Anything for a friend of the Parkers.”
I looked over at Ellie. She winked, and I blew her a kiss.
The next morning, I called the police station to check in with the officer I’d spoken with the day before. I asked if there was any news on where Jenna had taken the Starbucks photo, or if they’d managed to track down Melanie Daniels.
“The data on the photo just came back—looks like it was taken just a few days ago, north of the city, in Marin County. I called and spoke to the manager of the Starbucks. Melanie Daniels—which is actually her name—is on the schedule tomorrow, so I warned him that we’ll be stopping by to question her. He’s going to keep it under wraps so she doesn’t get spooked and not show up.”
“That’s great. Say—where is the Starbucks?”
“Sausalito. But ma’am, let the police handle this. I donotrecommend you attempt to approach her.”
“Understood. Thank you so much. Please let me know how it goes.”
I hung up and went into the kitchen to figure out dinner. But something was distracting me—a nagging feeling, tugging at the back of my brain.
Sausalito …
I’d heard the name recently. Who lived there?
I was about to make myself some tea when a lightning bolt cracked in my brain.
Of course—Madison’s parents.
The Clarks live in Sausalito.
CHAPTER19
AS I WALKEDto work the next morning, I tried calling Jenna again. This time it didn’t even ring—her voicemail picked up right away. Frustrated, I shoved my phone back into my bag just as I reached the office.Where the hell are you, Jenna? You dropped a bomb and then vanished.Maybe she was visiting her mom again, and her phone had died, or she’d lost it.
As the elevator doors opened, I practically collided with Sam. He looked frantic.
“Hey, Sam—how’s it going?”
“Oh, Savannah—good, you’re here.” He grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me along with him. “Listen—Meredith is about to call everyone into the conference room. She has important news.”
My eyebrows popped up. “What kind of news?”
“New client.Bigclient.” He was clearly enjoying the secrecy. “I just want to warn you—you need to be at the top of your game, Savannah. You need to be perfect going forward.Perfect.Don’t give her any reason to doubt you. I think this could really work in your favor, if you play your cards right.”
My mouth fell open as he walked away.
I quickly set my things down at my desk. I could hear Sam making his way through all the cubicles, calling everyone into the conference room. I grabbed my notebook and a pen and followed everyone down the hall.
Meredith was waiting inside, pacing in front of the long table. “Please take your seats quickly.” Once we were all sitting, she said, “I have some exciting news.”
Meredith gave what passed for a big smile—for her, anyway. I sat up straight in my chair, pen poised over my notebook, trying to look eager and attentive.
“We got a call from Chef Pedro Torres’s team. Apparently, they’re unhappy with the job DigiMark has been doing for them, and they’ve decided to part ways.” She gave a satisfied grin as she let the news sink in. “Since we were a close second, they’re officially bringing us on instead.”
She briefly met my eyes. I tried to look composed and confident, even as it felt like fireworks were going off inside my head.
