Chapter 2 #2
A look of genuine concern filled the beautiful eyes staring back into his. “For the past two days. But if you ask the cops, Amy has never even worked for the White House, and I’m just an idiot tourist. But the thing is, I’m not an idiot, and I know for a fact that they’re wrong.”
“How do you know that for a fact?”
“Because two days ago, Amy Weaver was listed on this year’s roster of White House interns. But now . . .” She shook her head with a frown. “Now, her name isn’t there, and it’s as if the woman herself has vanished into thin air. For some reason, I seem to be the only one in this city who cares.”
He should wish her well on her quest to find her missing friend and bid this woman a good night. Or perhaps, he should encourage her to give the Capitol Police another go or direct her to one of the private investigators in town.
But rather than do any of those things, Emmett motioned toward the chairs behind them.
“Why don’t we have a seat so you can tell me a little more about your missing friend?” he offered. “If I think there’s anything we can do to help, I’ll bring the case to my team in the morning.”
Excitement flashed through her widening gaze. “Really? You’ll really help me find Amy?”
“I said if,” he reminded her bluntly.
“Right.” She nodded. “Of course. I’m just happy to have found someone who’s actually willing to listen. I’m Janie, by the way.” The woman held out her hand. “Janie Reynolds.”
“Emmett Shaw.” He slid his palm against hers.
A jolt of electricity raced through his veins the very moment their hands met. It was different than those tiny sparks one felt from the static in the air. This was stronger. It traveled deeper. And for the briefest of seconds, Emmett struggled to pull himself free.
Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how he looked at it—Janie made the decision for him. She dropped her hand back down to her side and waited for his lead.
“After you.” He forced his gaze from hers to look back at the chairs once more. “I can make us some coffee if you’d like. We also have bottled water or a few different types of soda—”
“I’m good, but thank you.” She walked past him without hesitation.
Emmett followed her from a few feet behind, doing his best to keep his focus straight ahead despite the temptation to stare at her feminine form. He chose the chair directly facing hers, and when he was settled against the smooth, black leather, he prompted her to begin.
“Why don’t you start by telling me a little more about yourself,” he suggested. “You mentioned the cops called you a tourist. I take it you aren’t from the area?”
“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 real fear 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.”
“You’re talking about a hacker.”
“I prefer to think of her as a computer mastermind.”
The corner of Emmett’s lips twitched with the urge to smile. “So this friend of yours gained access to the White House intern list and confirmed Amy’s name was there?” When she nodded, he asked, “And when was this?”
“Right before I left to go to her apartment.”
“And when did your friend discover her name had been removed?”
“After I called the White House asking to speak to her.”
Emmett blinked. “You called the White House directly?”
“Not at first.” Janie frowned. “I tried her cell a bunch of times that night and again the next morning, but the calls never went through. When I didn’t hear back from her the following day, I had Dev, er, my friend try to ping Amy’s location.
But the phone was turned off, so there wasn’t a signal to find. ”
“Smart watch?”
The beautiful woman gave a slow shake of her head. “I remember seeing it on the charging station next to Amy’s bed when I was there the other day.”
Silence stretched between them as he took a moment to consider all she had shared. When he spoke again, it was to offer an alternative scenario. One that didn’t involve foul play.
“Let’s say you’re right, and Amy knew something that could put her life in danger. Aside from being jerks, the cops weren’t necessarily wrong in what they said. Amy is an adult, and maybe—”
“I get that, but that doesn’t mean she—”
Emmett lifted his palm and purposely spoke with a gentle tone.
“Let me finish.” When she motioned for him to continue, he picked up where he’d left off.
“I was going to say maybe she got scared and ran. Maybe she’s an obsessive neat freak.
Or it could be, she hurried to clean her apartment, knowing she planned to invite you over. ”
“Why go through all that trouble and then leave?”
“Who knows?” He shrugged. “Maybe she thought about it some more and decided it was too risky to tell you whatever it was she’d planned to share. She got scared, told herself she’d messed up by talking to you, so she took the bare minimum of what she needed, left her watch, and ditched her phone.”
“My friend tried tracking Amy’s computer.” Janie showed no signs of backing down. “The signal was active up until twelve minutes before I got to her apartment. After that . . .” She waved a hand in the air. “Nothing.”
With the right people working clean-up, the time frame was tight but wasn’t impossible. If something did happen to Amy Weaver inside her apartment that night, the scene could have been scrubbed and the body removed before Janie ever arrived.
There wasn’t a lot to go on, and Emmett wasn’t convinced there was even a case. But there was enough there to at least mention it to the team when they met back here in the morning.
“I can’t promise you anything, Miss Reynolds—”
“Please, call me Janie.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “I can’t promise you anything, Janie, but my team and I are meeting first thing in the morning. I’ll share with them what you’ve told me, and together we’ll decided whether this is something we can pursue.”
“That’s more than anyone else has been willing to do.
” She pushed herself to her feet. “So thank you. And here.” Janie began searching for something in her purse.
“This is my number.” A business card came into view as she pulled her hand free.
“Please call me as soon as you’ve spoken to your team.
I’ve extended my stay in D.C. to look into this more, so I’ll be around. ”
Emmett followed suit and got up from his chair, taking the card from her hand. Together they walked across the reception area to the door. He held it open with one hand while offering her his other.
“It was nice meeting you, Janie.”
“You, too, Emmett. And thank you.”
He frowned. “I haven’t done anything yet.”
“You listened,” she countered. Her blue eyes—with specs of brown he hadn’t noticed until now—held his captive for several beats of his heart before she offered a soft, “Goodnight, Emmett. I look forward to talking with you tomorrow.”
He dipped his bearded chin with a rumbled, “Goodnight.” And then, for some reason, he felt compelled to add a belated, “Be safe out there.”
Janie’s response was a slight wave and a quipped, “Always am,” as she kept her back to him on her way to the elevator.
But as Emmett watched her disappear behind the sliding, metal doors, he had the instinctual feeling that wasn’t always the case. Something in his gut said the enticing brunette made a habit of walking right into trouble.
And this time, she wanted to take him and the rest of Echo Team with her.