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“We don’t have time to gossip. I need you to have Beau FaceTime me. Tell me his number, so I can put it in my phone.”

“Hey, that’s not our standard operating⁠—”

“I’m his twin, for fuck’s sake. Tell me his number.”

Bernie gave me Beau’s number.

“Now tell me about Maddie.”

Bernie chuckled. “We don’t have time to gossip,” he repeated my words back to me.

I laughed. “It was worth a try.”

I met Simon at the sheriff’s office. The officer at the front desk led us back to Nash’s office. He stood up behind his desk and gave us both a chin lift.

“Harry, close the door behind them, okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

The three of us waited for the door to close before we sat down.

“So, what have you found out from the kidnapper?” Simon asked.

“Funny, that was going to be my question for the two of you.” Nash squinted at Simon. It was as if the two of them had locked horns in the past.

“It’s not me you should look at. I didn’t touch him. You need to talk to the town’s lost son. What do you say, Kai? Feel like sharing with the long arm of the law?” Simon smirked my way.

I shrugged. “He admitted his assignment wasn’t to kill her, he was just supposed to get her phone from her and erase all recordings and back-ups of a video she had on her phone.”

“What the hell? This doesn’t make any sense,” Nash bit out.

“He said that the person who had hired him was a state senator from West Virginia. Teddy Thompson, Eighteenth District.”

“Well, that’s just great,” Nash said sarcastically. “Because I’m getting absolutely nothing. I have someone with a rap sheet as long as my arm, with an attorney whose hourly rate is more than his monthly rent. I think it’s safe to say that our friend Teddy is paying for his defense, wouldn’t you say?”

Simon and I both nodded.

“We’re not going to get the senator on jack-shit.” Nash sounded utterly disgusted.

“The only other way this was going to play out, Rivers, was that you were going to take him into custody, he would have demanded a lawyer, same suit would have come in, and you wouldn’t have known about Teddy Thompson. Don’t sit there all sanctimonious like this is an us problem,” Simon drawled. “We actually did you a favor.”

“Oh yeah, this is a big-time favor. I have some asshole in my jail, that is going to be let out on bail on Monday, and I can’t do jack about it. Meanwhile, the guy behind it all goes scot free.”

I figured it was my turn to speak up.

“I talked to Marlowe last night. She was still out of it because of the chloroform, but she explained to me why Teddy wants her phone. The long and short of it is, Teddy’s daughter could be brought up on assault charges for what she did to a student that she was bullying. According to Marlowe, the bigger problem for the senator would be for his daughter to be branded a bully. Bad for his reputation.”

“That’s not true. Tell me that’s not true. You’re saying Marlowe almost gets killed on Amber Road, then someone tries to kidnap her, and it’s all so some fucking state senator’s daughter won’t be outed as a bully?” Nash looked outraged.

“I’m just as baffled as you are,” I told Nash.

Simon sat up straight in his chair and crossed his arms. “I choose to believe that the fact that all three of us are confused makes us better people. And that’s how I’m going to raise all my kids.”

“All your kids? Not just Bella?” Nash asked. “You got something to tell us?”

Simon fidgeted for just a moment. “Apparently, I’m not supposed to tell people before the first trimester. That’s next week. But it’s been killing me. So yeah. Trenda and I are expecting.”

Nash stood up and came around his desk to pound Simon on his shoulder. “That is great news, Simon. Fantastic news. Trenda must be thrilled to death, and Bella must be over the moon.”