Graham had been soexcited about finding a property to check out, he hadn’t even asked how Eric figured out Paula’s connection to Pete. He had seen no record of her. His best guesswas Pete’s father had a serious relationship with a woman who had a daughter, but the two never were officially married. He shook his head. Eric really was a genius with this stuff.
Glancing at the clock, he grabbed his phone and opened his text messages. Eric would land soon. He could wait to get the information he wanted until then. Hell, it’d probably take him longer to find it himself.
What is the full name of Pete Bogart’s stepsister?
He set the phone down and brought the bottle of water to his lips. His gaze scanned the computer screen as he debated whether he should venture out to talk to Becca’s mother tonight or not. Forming his own impressions on her was important, but nothing ground-breaking would come from a conversation with her. The police, and Eric, had already spoken with her at length.
Since he had no choice but to spread his attention in multiple directions, it was important he stuck with the lead that gave him the best chance at catching a break. Even if it meant sitting in front of a computer for the rest of the night. Sinking into the warm leather sofa, he leaned his head back and settled in for a long night doing grunt work.
Ping
He sat straight and stared at the picture on his screen. A match on the facial recognition search. Leaning forward, he studied the picture and let out a low whistle.
Well I’ll be damned.
Graham pressed the print button in the corner and the machine behind him chugged to life. His small apartment didn’t have an office, so he walked back into the kitchen and stood in front of the printer on the granite countertop. The machine spit out a piece of paper and he held it close to his face to get a better look at the girl in the picture.
He’d been right. Connie Difico was not the real name of the woman who was currently leasing Pete Bogart’s apartment andwho tried to kill Mickey. Her name was Chelsea Adams; she’d been missing for the last twelve years.
And the apartment Pete had lived at wasn’t the only property listed under her name.
11
She crinkled the small piece of paper in her hand. She should have told Graham about the address she’d found in Pete’s bedroom, but there was no way he would have let her go with him. Hell, he’d probably be convinced she knew what he’d find at the address, and she’d kept it from him just long enough to make sure Pete got away. The man was infuriating. His eyes had been cold as steel when he’d looked at her today, as if every word out of her mouth was a lie.
She was tired of it. After mulling it over all day, she had no doubt she was right. She needed to do something to clear her name, and if she could find Becca while she did it, even better. Graham had other leads to track down anyway, including working on a warrant for Pete’s apartment. If she found anything worth mentioning, she’d call him. Besides, he hadn’t given her much of a chance to tell him. He’d practically run away from her after dropping her off at her apartment earlier. He couldn’t get away from her fast enough.
Except when he was kissing her in her apartment and smelling her hair in the rain. Her pulse kicked into high gear. He had some nerve accusing her of helping kidnap her goddaughterfor sex-trafficking one minute and then knocking her off her feet with a simple touch the next. She hated the way her body responded to him. What she hated even more was how badly she wished they could have seen where that kiss led.
Stop it. Get Graham out of your head. He thinks the worst of you, and you need to prove him wrong and find Becca. Finding Becca is the only thing that matters.
She putthe address into her GPS and then wadded up the piece of paper before she threw it on the floor on the passenger’s side of her car. Her hands tightened around the steering wheel and she concentrated on the instructions as she drove through the city. The rain poured down in sheets from the dark sky and the traffic backed up on the slippery highway. Glares from the streetlights bounced off the slick roads, making it difficult to see.
Her phone trilled on the seat beside her and Lydia’s name popped up on the touchscreen on the dashboard. She pressed the button on the steering wheel to turn on her Bluetooth.
“Hey, Lydia, what’s up?”
“I’m just checking in. Did they catch the woman who broke in? How was your flight?”
Despite the unease boiling in her stomach, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Slow down a little.”
Lydia released a loud breath. “Sorry. I’ve been worried sick about you. I don’t know why you insisted on going to work today. No one would have blamed you for taking the day off. Hell, if I were you I’d take the whole month off.”
“I need to keep my mind occupied. Sitting around and stewing over what’s happened won’t help anything.”
“What about the fact someone tried to kill you? You shouldn’t have stayed in the apartment last night. I couldn’t sleep from worrying about what could happen to you.”
Mickey’s heart lurched. “I should have called you earlier. I’m sorry. My mind’s been all over the place today. I took Agent Grassi to Pete’s apartment before I went to work, and now I’m trying to find something. If you want to go back to the apartment, I had the locks changed this morning, but it’s still a little creepy being in there.” She’d spared just enough time going back to their apartment to check the locks herself before taking off again.
“I think I’ll stay with my parents until that woman is caught.”
Red brake lights flashed in front of her. Her heart slammed into her chest. “Shit!”
She swerved to the side of the road. Water sprayed under her tires until she hydroplaned on a river of water on the shoulder. Her hands clutched the steering wheel and her pulse thundered through her ears. Lydia’s voice broke through the hum of panic rampaging through her skull. “What happened?”
Mickey’s knuckles threatened to break through her skin as her grip tightened and her elbows locked. She turned the wheel left, and then right, trying to even out the car as it slid toward the side of the highway. As soon as the tires bounced back down on the road, she pulled over on the side of the highway, hit the brakes, and gasped for breath. Turning her hazards on, she fell back in her seat.
“Stupid car in front of me almost got me killed. I’m fine, but damn. I need to get off the highway.”
