“Nothing I can’t manage between my phone and my computer,” he answered. So focused on holing up in her room, she hadn’t noticed he’d brought his computer. “Besides,” he continued, “I offered to be here, and you wouldn’t even be in this situation if not for me.”
“I wouldn’t be in this situation if not for Weeks and Beeks and whoever hired them. I wouldn’t be in this situation if they hadn’t come into Maggie’s or sat so close to me. There are a lot of factors that, if life had played out differently, would result in me not being a part of this. But you weren’t shot, you weren’t left to die on the side of the road, and you’re alive, so frankly, I’m glad I was dragged into this.”
Four days ago, all he’d been to her was one of Callie’s brothers-in-law, important to Daphne only for that reason. She wouldn’t say they were the closest of friends now—no, what thrummed between them was more elemental than that—but she didn’t want to imagine a world without him in it. So yes, despite everything, she felt lucky that Weeks and Beeks happened to wander into the same diner where she’d been stuffing her face with pancakes.
“When Philly and Callie first got together, you were planning to visit a few weeks later. What delayed it?” he asked. She glanced over to find his green eyes steady on her. “When you didn’t come, I thought maybe you two weren’t as close as Callie made it seem. It’s obvious that’s not true, but when you start talking about life’s weird coincidences, like you being in Maggie’s that day, it made me wonder what brought you to town when you came to town?”
She spotted the police station and put her signal on. “The initial delay was a combination of a few things, both Callie’s work and mine. Not my writing, but the other ventures I’m a part of.” She pulled into a spot and killed the engine. “As for why I decided to come early, I don’t really know. I just…felt the needto be here. I haven’t lived through nearly half the things you have, but I’ve still learned to trust my instinct when it’s telling me something. I’m not saying there’s some big cosmic force that brought me here so that I could be at Maggie’s that day, but, well, maybe I am.” She ended with a shrug and a grin. Who the hell was she to unravel the secrets of the universe?
She remained seated as he studied her. Sometimes when he looked at her, he made her feel exposed and bare, but now she felt a distant coolness. He’d wanted more from her. But just because shefeltthings didn’t mean she could explain them. And just because she couldn’t explain them didn’t mean she didn’t feel them.
“You ready to go in?” she asked, nodding to the building.
His eyes held hers, then he nodded. A few minutes passed as they bundled up for the short walk to the front door, and soon, they were disrobing everything they’d put on. The joys of living somewhere cold.
“Oh, good, glad you’re here,” Ava said, emerging from the hall by the reception. “I was going over a few things with Ryan. I have to pop back to work, but he can fill you in. Will we still see you tonight?”
“We’re planning on it. You sure it’s okay for all of us to join, all things considered?” Daphne asked.
Ava waved the question off. “My dad’s already cooking. Some sous vide something-or-other, and there will be sides. Honestly, I don’t pay much attention. He’s a great cook, but also, anything Mitch and I don’t prepare is fine by me.”
Daphne laughed. With three kids under three, Ava and Mitch had their hands full, but Callie and Gabe would be in a similar boat soon. Not quite so wild, but with her sister’s type-A personality, it was going to be interesting.
“I’ll text him to see if there’s anything we can bring,” Daphne said.
“Feel free, but he’ll tell you nothing,” Ava said, tugging her hat on. “See you both tonight!” And then with a puff of cold air, she exited the station.
“I don’t know how she and Mitch do it,” Lovell said after she gave their name to the receptionist.
“You and me both. I will be an excellent auntie and I’mreallylooking forward to it, but kids of my own? No thanks.”
She registered the surprise on his face before he could mask it, but Ryan appeared, cutting off anything either of them might have said.
“Thanks for coming in. We have a few updates, but I want you to have a look at a couple of photos as well,” Ryan said, ushering them back to his office.
When the door closed behind them, he gestured to two seats. “I assume you saw Ava on her way out. Do you want her news or ours first?” he asked, taking a seat behind his desk.
“Whichever makes most sense,” Daphne answered.
“I’ll start with my update,” he said. “As you know, we found Beeker’s phone caught up on a tree. It’s a burner, but there are two numbers on it. The first is one from Atlanta.”
“Where Daisy is,” Lovell said.
“Also where his mother lives,” Ryan said. “She’s in an assisted care facility and has Alzheimer’s. He called her every other day.”
Daphne winced. “The juxtaposition of someone willing to kill another person, probably for money, being the same someone calling his mom every other day is a hard one to marry.”
A commiserating look passed over Ryan’s features. “We talked to the staff there. Apparently, he was a very attentive son despite his mother not recognizing him most of the time. We’ve touched base with the police, and they’re working with the facility and the guardianship to make sure she’s taken care of.”
“And the other number?” Lovell asked.
“Burner phone with a New York area code, but Ava was able to triangulate the most recent three calls to the northern New Jersey area. Different cell towers, but same general area.”
“And we can’t get real-time location because it’s a burner and either turned off or dumped somewhere,” Daphne said. She hadn’t expected a miracle discovery, but a little wave of defeat rolled through her.
“HICC is keeping an eye on it, but that pretty much sums up where we are. Unless you know someone from that area who might be behind this? Someone we should look into?” Ryan asked, directing his question to Lovell.
“I grew up in Trenton, but that’s not that close, and I haven’t been in touch with anyone from there since I left at eighteen,” he responded.
