When she sat back down, she wrapped her handsaround her warm coffee cup, letting the heat burn her skin and bracing herself. “I need to start at the beginning. You know Zach and Bobby were trying to get information out of me that night. They thought I knew where Anthony was, but I didn’t—don’t.”
“Yeah, I know.” Lyric’s eyes softened. “I’m sorry you still haven’t heard from him.”
“It’s like he disappeared. There isn’t even a record that he existed.” Even the police and investigative departments were stumped. Anthony was a ghost. It was hard to hold on to him when there were moments when she wondered if he’d ever been there, or if she’d just made him up.
Lyric adjusted the blanket draped over Nora with shaking hands. “That’s so strange. What do you think happened?”
“I don’t have any proof of this, but I think he owed people like Zach and Bobby money and couldn’t pay it back. He was always good with computers, so I think he didn’t want to be found.”
“Do you think he’s okay?” Lyric asked.
“I have no idea. Even Asa and Dawson haven’t been able to find him.” The police department had spent way too much time and resources looking for a man without any offenses. No one except Lauren even cared that he was gone. Well, anyone he’d wronged or owed probably wanted to know where he’d gone too.
Lauren slid her fingers into her hair and cradled her forehead. “I just have this feeling that he’s in trouble.I have since before everything happened with Zach and Bobby.”
“If Asa could help, I know he would.”
“I’m not doubting him. He’s done all he can. It’s just that I need to explore other avenues in my search.”
Lyric’s eyes narrowed. “Like what?”
Looking down at the table, Lauren took a bracing breath. “I started visiting Zach when he was in prison.”
“You what?” Lyric leaned over the table, gawking at Lauren. “You saw him?”
“A number of times over the years. At first, he wouldn’t talk to me.”
Lyric rubbed her temple. “Why would you do that?”
Great, Lauren’s lungs were struggling. Tons of adrenaline had just dumped into her system, but there wasn’t anything to run from, except herself. “At first, I didn’t know why I felt the need to go see him. When they had me in that house, Zach and Bobby were fighting. Bobby wanted to force me to tell them things about Anthony, but Zach wanted to let me go.”
“You mentioned that, but he still grabbed you from the parking lot at your work and tied you to a chair,” Lyric reminded her.
“But Zach fought for me that night. I don’t know why, but he knew they’d done something wrong. He had convictions.”
“So he has a shred of humanity in him,” Lyric said. “What does this have to do with you visiting him?”
That was a good question. Maybe she’d be able to explain it…someday. “I wanted to know why. What made him change his mind? Dawson thought Zach would turn into an informant. Why didn’t he?”
“So you went to the prison to ask him why he didn’t give up his friends? Asa said criminals who become informants can’t always be trusted anyway.”
Lauren laid her hands on the table. “I just needed to know why he didn’t want to kill me. Then, I wanted to know if he’d been close to finding Anthony. Maybe he knew something I didn’t.”
Lyric looked around the bakery as if someone might overhear their conversation. “It wasn’t smart to go see him. So what if he knew something about Anthony? What could you do with the information? That’s a job for law enforcement. Did you tell Asa or Dawson you went to see Zach?”
Oh, great. Another detail Lauren had kept from her friends. “I didn’t.”
“Lauren!” Lyric’s eyes opened wide. Lauren’s shoulders rounded in shame. “What if something had happened to you?”
“Nothing happened.”
“How many times did you see him?”
Lauren’s stomach rolled. Ugh. The lies were going to make her sick. Or was it the truth coaxing a wretch out of her? “A bunch.”
“A bunch, as in six?” Lyric asked.
“A bunch, as in over fifty,” Lauren clarified.
