Once Josie and Gretchen were a good three feet away, he said, “Did you bring him in yet?”
“Noah has to get an ID from the bed and breakfast owner first,” said Josie. “He’s headed over there now with the Chief to do a photo lineup.”
“No,” Turner said. “This will take too long. What if this bed and breakfast guy doesn’t ID him? What if you can’t find anything to tie him to Maxine or Dani? Then you can’t bring him in, can’t do anything, and the whole time, my wife and kid are right fucking there in his house!”
“Calm down, Turner,” Gretchen said. “We are going to get everything we need. I know we will. We just need a little more time.”
“We don’t have time, Palmer,” he said. “They don’t have time. My daughter doesn’t have time.”
His voice cracked again on the last word, the sound raw. For a minute, they just stood there in a loose circle. Josie knew they were all thinking the same thing. Cassidy and her mother might have run out of time days ago. That’s what the statistics told them. What they knew from experience.
“Quinn.”
Turner’s tone had gone from angry and disgusted to wary and curious. She looked up to see his brows draw down as he stared over her shoulder. Then his eyes shifted to hers. He glared.
“Quinn, did you do this?”
FORTY-TWO
Josie turned at the same time Gretchen did and watched as a small blonde woman and her nine-year-old daughter made their way down the road toward them.
“She wanted to see you,” said Josie.
Turner swore and pushed his hands through his hair again. “That’s not why I gave you my phone.”
“Zara called. You told her it was okay to talk to me,” Josie pointed out.
“It’s dangerous for her to be here, Quinn. You don’t understand. Emmer?—”
“Annette has eyes on Emmer,” Josie said.
Josie wasn’t sure what she expected when Zara and Penny reached them. A joyful reunion between them and Turner? Hugs? Some evidence of affection? But all they did was stand a few feet from one another, smiling awkwardly. Penny clung to her mother’s waist, keeping one eye on Turner.
Josie made eye contact with Gretchen and could tell she was noticing the same thing. Given that Gretchen believed that Turner had cheated on his wife, Josie could practically hear her thoughts: Turner and Zara were maintaining their distance to make sure they didn’t look like two people who’d had an affair.They were trying too hard to pretend it never happened. All Josie saw were two people who’d formed a very unusual bond that had fostered affection and mutual respect. Nothing more.
Zara’s blue eyes were soft with sympathy. “I know you don’t want us to risk our location, but I wanted to see that you were holding up.”
Josie hadn’t wanted to blindside Turner, but Zara had been insistent. It wasn’t until she said that besides Dani and Cassidy, she was the closest thing Turner had to family or friends, that Josie had agreed to help her see him. Now, she took a moment to study the woman that Dustin Emmer had spent almost ten years obsessing over. Zara was beautiful, that was undeniable. Small and delicate. Her hair was blonde, styled in a pixie cut. Her simple blue sundress showcased smooth tan skin. Penny wore a similar dress.
“I’m fine, Z,” Turner said.
Zara’s laugh was sweet and soft with a hint of skepticism. “You’re not fine, Kyle, and it’s okay not to be fine. Remember? That’s what you told me.”
Josie could tell by the way Turner stiffened, eyes darting around like he’d been trapped, that his panic was ramping up again. Before she could say anything to lighten things up, Gretchen said, “Wow, Turner. Your jackass persona is taking a hit today.”
Penny’s blonde hair was long and braided. She tugged at the plait, bringing the end to her mouth. “She said a bad word.”
Gretchen smiled at Penny. “Sorry about that.”
Turner knelt down to Penny’s level and put his fist out. “How are you doing, Pen?”
The girl detached from her mother so she could give Turner a proper fist bump, and that was when Josie saw the burn scars that licked from beneath the back of her sundress to the nape ofher neck. She missed Penny’s answer while she tried to keep her reaction from showing.
Tearing her gaze away from the marred skin, Josie found Gretchen staring directly at her, face pale. Discreetly, they walked off, letting Zara and Penny speak with Turner privately. Josie knew he would never admit it, but the visit had had a calming effect on him. At least for now.
Once Zara and Penny were gone, Turner said, “Quinn, remember when I said Penny’s dad wasn’t in the picture? He tried to kill them. Followed Z to a bank parking lot and set their car on fire with both of them inside. His own daughter. Luckily, he died instead. Dumbass was in such a hurry he got gasoline all over himself. Burned while Zara got Penny out and ran away.”
Josie thought about the cigarette burns on the inside of his bicep as well as the others he might be hiding. Turner understood what it meant to be hurt at your most vulnerable. Stripped down to nothing. Powerless. Worse than powerless.
