“To be fair, he didn’t actually call me that to my face.” She crossed her legs and rested her hands in her lap. “I overheard him as I was leaving the precinct. But to answer your question, no. I’m from St. Louis.”
“A Missouri girl,” he acknowledged with a dip of his chin.
“Born and raised.”
“You in town on business or pleasure?”
“Both. I flew into D.C. a few days ago for a job interview. The original plan was to do the interview and then spend a couple of extra days to take in the sights before going back home. But then…” A thick lock of long, mahogany waves fell over one shoulder as she gave her head a quick shake. “I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me back up to where it all started.”
“Good idea.” He flashed her a ghost of a smile.
She smiled back. “I’m an investigative reporter. A few months back, I broke a case involving corruption within my city’s government. It made national news, and caught the eye of David Ellis, the editorial chief of the Post’s Investigative Unit.”
“And now Ellis wants to hire you.”
Her smile grew a tad more when she answered, “Yes.”
“And Amy Weaver?” Emmett brought the conversation back around to why Janie was here. “Where does she come into play in all this?”
“I bumped into her on the sidewalk as I was leaving the Post. Or rather, Amy bumped into me. When she did, my purse went flying, and stuff fell out all over the sidewalk. But she immediately apologized and started helping to pick it all back up. When she saw the press pass I always keep on me, just in case, her entire demeanor began to change.”
“Change how?”
“She had a story to tell. One that drove a very realfear into her eyes. Amy said she didn’t have an appointment, but that she’d come to the Washington Post in hopes of speaking with someone from the paper, which means her decision to go there wasn’t something she’d planned. She didn’t think anyone would listen to whatever it was she had to say. I told her I’d be happy to listen and gave her my card.”
“What happened then?”
“We went our separate ways. It wasn’t until later that evening when I received a text. Amy sent me her address, and said she was ready to talk. I took a rideshare to her apartment, but when I got there, the door was slightly ajar. After hollering Amy’s name a couple of times with no answer, I went inside to make sure she was okay. But she wasn’t there.”
“You said the door was ajar,” Emmett repeated, using her words. “Was there any sign of forced entry?”
“None.” Janie slid her upper leg back down before leaning forward and resting her elbows on her thighs. “That’s the thing. Her apartment? It was immaculate.”
“Maybe she’s a good housekeeper.”
“Or maybe someone cleaned up the scene of the crime.”
“You don’t know that a crime has even been committed,” he countered. “Maybe this woman decided D.C. wasn’t the life for her, so she packed up a few things and split.”
“Except she messaged me less than an hour before saying she wanted to meet. And while I admit I didn’t go looking through every drawer, it didn’t look like the apartment of someone who’d impulsively jumped ship and left.”
Emmett processed what she’d shared so far before broaching an added element to the story. “I know you mentioned the cops being less than helpful when you reported Amy missing. What exactly did they say?”
“The detective I spoke with basically said she’s an adult, and just because she changed her mind about meeting me didn’t mean she was actually missing. He then proceeded to remind me that Amy was also a stranger I’d met on the street and that D.C. was ‘full of crazies’. His words, not mine.”
Whichever detective Janie spoke with wasn’t wrong. The nation’s capital was filled with its fair share of people who spent their days looking for trouble. But that didn’t excuse the man’s dismissal of Janie, who by all accounts so far, appeared to be of sound mind.
“So you met Amy?—”
“Three days ago,” the sexy reporter finished his thought. “And I’ve spent the last two days doing everything I can think of to find her.”
“You mentioned the intern list,” he brought the conversation to a turn with thoughts of one of her earlier comments. “I wasn’t aware those names were made public.”
“They’re not,” Janie confirmed. “Not typically, anyway.”
“Then how do you know?—”
“Let’s just say I have a friend who’s really good at finding out information that isn’t easily accessible.”
