Daniels caught up with us in a hallway. “I need you two nitwits to get over to the Delphine and talk to Tracy Vaughn. She called in a missing persons report on her roommate, Riley Reynolds.”
“We’re on it,” I said.
24
“I’m really worried about her,” Tracy said, standing in the doorway of her apartment.
She was a wholesome brunette in her early 20s with brown eyes and wavy hair that hung around her shoulders. Torment twisted her face.
“How long has she been missing?” I asked.
“She didn’t come home last night. I started to get worried when she didn’t call me back. I left a voicemail and sent a few texts. It’s really not like her.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“Yesterday morning. I pulled a double and didn’t get home until late. We were supposed to go sailing today. She said we could take out her boss’s boat.”
“Who does she work for?”
“The Pearsons.”
I shared a look with Jack.
“What, do you know them?” Tracy asked.
“Yes. What does she do for the Pearsons?”
“She’s the nanny, but she likes to call herself an au pair. Thinks it sounds more sophisticated.”
“Was she working last night?”
“I don’t know. She’s usually there during the day.” Then she added, “I thought she might have been with her boyfriend last night, but I called Caleb, and he hasn’t seen her either. Said they got in a fight and broke up.”
“Are you close?”
“Yeah. For sure.”
The pieces all came together. “Can you tell me what her relationship with Mr. Pearson is like?”
Her eyes narrowed at me. “What do you mean?”
“Were they having an affair?”
Tracy looked stunned. “No. No way. She wouldn’t do something like that.”
I gave her a look.
She frowned, then admitted, “Well, okay, yeah. But she swore me to secrecy.”
“Is that why she broke up with her boyfriend?”
Tracy nodded.
“I’m guessing she wanted something more with Mr. Pearson.”
Tracy hesitated a moment, and her mouth scrunched as she debated. “Well, she was pregnant.”
That hung there for a moment.
