“That just means we need to find someone for you to make heart eyes at,” Raina teased.
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Camille said. “I think my dear brother just needs to pluck up a little courage.”
“And we’re changing the subject now. How about this weather, huh?” The low lighting made it difficult to tell, but it looked to me like Will was blushing. His eyes darted across the room, lingering for a split second before looking away. I’d bet my next paycheck he’d paused on a small round table near the window.
“Hang on. I feel like I’m missing something,” Alex protested, looking back and forth between Will and his sister.
“Me, too. What did I miss and how did I miss it?” Raina asked. She pouted at Camille, who just patted her shoulder.
“You didn’t miss anything, and if we keep talking about my love life, I’m walking out right now.”
Camille scooted over in the booth and leaned her head against her twin’s shoulder. “We’re only teasing you because we love you, but we’ll let it go if it makes you that uncomfortable.”
“I’m not uncomfortable. I just don’t want to talk about it.”
“Alright, then. Topic closed.”
That finally got a small smile from Will and even though I knew he and Camille had been born identical, for a moment there I actually saw it when she mirrored his smile.
“Okay, if we’re moving on, we should probably go ahead and actually order food before they kick us out of here for loitering,” Raina said and I had to laugh. A bit heavy-handed, but it worked, because Alex and Camille’s attention was diverted from Will to the menu and Will’s shoulders slumped in relief.
The conversation stayed light throughout the meal and as I looked around at my friends, warm contentment settled in my chest. I’d never had a group of real friends before. Not like this, anyway. I’d had work buddies, guys I’d grab a beer with after a long shift, but they weren’t the type of friends I’d call if I actually needed anything. Now, I knew I could call any one of them and they’d drop everything and help me deal with a dead body, no questions asked. Literally, since we all knew what Alex could do.
We were debating the merits of ordering the dessert sampler to split, despite how full we were, when Will’s phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and frowned, but answered immediately.
“Hello?” He paused, frown deepening. “Yes, this is Detective Dodd. I remember you, yes.”
“That doesn’t look good,” Alex murmured.
“No, it doesn’t.” I caught the server’s eye and motioned for the bill. I had a gut feeling that our night out was over.
“What? When?” Will sat up straighter, catching my eyes across the table. “No, no, you did the right thing. Give us 15 minutes and we’ll be there, okay? We’ll take care of it.” He disconnected as I handed my card over to pay.
“What’s up? Do you guys need to leave?” Raina asked, and Camille’s eyes were dark with worry when she looked at her twin.
“Yeah, sorry. Sorry to dine and ditch,” he apologized, already sliding out and putting his jacket on. I did the same, looking over at Alex.
“Can you grab my card for me?” The server hadn’t returned with it and we clearly couldn’t wait.
“I’ve got it. Be careful, okay?” he whispered and I leaned in, kissing him as long as I could.
“I will. I’ll let you know when I’ll be home.”
Leaving the girls and Alex behind, Will and I hurried out of the restaurant, breaking into a jog as soon as we were on the sidewalk.
“What’s going on? Who was that?”
“Violet DeVor. I met her and her husband when we were wrapping up the Perez case and doing interviews. She must’ve kept my number.”
“Did something happen?” I pressed. We were already back in the parking lot of the precinct and heading inside to grab vehicle keys.
“Yeah. Landon DeVor is missing.”
***
Will had been the one to interview the DeVor family, but I remembered Landon and his sister Amelie from the initial interviews right after Rebecca went missing. Landon was a gangly kid, all arms and legs. With any luck, he’d hit one last growth spurt and fill out some. I’d assumed his father would be roughly the same build, an older version of his son.
The man in front of me, however, couldn’t have been more different from his son. Even sitting down, I could tell he had to be over six feet tall. His broad shoulders and barrel chest wouldn’t look out of place on a pro football team and his heavy muscles spoke of either a lifetime of hard work or a daily gym routine. The callouses on his hands and knuckles told me it was the former, his skin rough when I shook his hand.
