“I’ll talk to my informants,” Nikki said. “Someone might know who’s selling ketamine on the street.”
Right around noon, a uniformed officer escorted Danielle over to Emerson’s desk.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Emerson asked.
Danielle folded into the chair. “I’m trying to be chill about this, but a coworker at Claire-Marie’s office called me this morning. She hasn’t shown up for work all week.”
Not wanting to panic her friend, Emerson asked, “Have you talked to her this week?”
“No. I called and texted her a bunch of times after I talked to her coworker, but she hasn’t called me back.”
Oh, boy. This isn’t good.
“Let’s swing by and check on her,” Emerson said, while shouldering her bag. “Do you have a key to her condo?”
“Yeah.”
On the way out, Emerson asked, “When was the last time you guys talked?”
“We texted over the weekend.” Danielle checked her phone. “Saturday.”
“Was she okay?”
“As far as I could tell.”
Emerson read the text exchange between the sisters. Nothing looked unusual about the messages. “Was she seeing anyone? Could she have gone out of town, maybe camping, and doesn’t have cell signal?”
Danielle paused. “She didn’t say. The last time I saw her was when we went to dinner at Raphael’s.”
“Do you guys use a location app like Find a Friend?”
“No.”
They left the building. Danielle hugged herself and Emerson stroked her back. “We’ll find her.” Emerson’s gut roiled as Danielle unlocked her car.
“I know she’s a free spirit and all, but it’s not like her to ghost on her job.” Danielle’s brows were pinched together.
“Have you talked to your mom or dad to see if they’ve heard from her?”
“No. I didn’t want to worry them. Knowing them, they’d jump in the car and be here this afternoon.”
While Danielle drove, Emerson called Claire-Marie, then put the call on speaker. It rang several times, then went to voicemail. Emerson hung up.
“I’m trying not to let my imagination get away from me,” Danielle said. “She could be sick and not able to call for help.”
Though Emerson tried to calm her friend, she didn’t want to tell her Claire-Marie was okay, because she didn’t know. Fifteen minutes later, the two women hurried inside the condo building.
Danielle inserted the key and opened the door. The dreaded odor smacked Emerson in the face.God, no.Adrenaline pumped through her and she pulled the door closed.
“What are you doing?” Danielle said.
Emerson stood in front of the door, blocking her friend from going inside. “You can’t go in there.”
“Why not? That’s ridiculous.”
Dread curled around Emerson’s heart. “She’s not okay. Stay here.”
The color drained from Danielle’s cheeks. Emerson went in, but before she could shut the door, Danielle flew into the apartment.
