Chapter 50 Fitz
FITZ
“It has to be one of the guys she dated or one of the ones she’s talking to online,” Carolina adds.
“Mom was giving her picture out to every guy on the street.” Kathy shakes her head.
“Dammit, April!” their grandmother swears.
“Your son gave her number to one of your creepy friends.” Winnie’s mom is upset.
“That wasn’t for him, that was for his boy,” Mark cries. “They play golf!”
“Let’s make a list of all the men Winnie’s been talking to in the last few months.” Frances orders.
“What did you do with that other stalker you caught?” Carolina asks me.
“There was another stalker?” Kathy narrows her eyes at me.
“I got rid of him,” I say vaguely.
“Got rid of him how?” Carolina demands.
“Girls, a man says that, you don’t ask questions,” Granny Frances warns. “Moving on. I need a list of everyone you know.”
“I’ll take the dating apps,” Kathy says.
“What about the escort service?” Carolina adds.
“What about those elderly men your grandmother dredged up?” I add.
“Bob couldn’t even find his own dick. He didn’t kidnap Winnie. And Ernie’s in love with me.”
“What if it was someone who came into the café regularly?” Carolina types into her spreadsheet. “Call Olive and see if she can think of anyone suspicious.”
Kathy tucks her phone to her ear.
Fidget is whining on top of the blanket where Winnie used to sleep. She has her slipper in her mouth.
“Poor Fidget.” Kathy pets her ears.
I peer at the dog. She stares at me, eyes rolled back in anxiety.
“The dog knows,” I say abruptly, cutting off the arguing.
“What?” Carolina squints.
“Fidget knows. Where are the pictures of the guys? Where’s her bell?” I grab Fidget, put her on the floor, and hold up the tablet with the photos of the men from the dating app.
“Fidget, ring the bell when you see who it is.” I slowly flip through them on Carolina’s tablet.
“What about this one, Fidget? He looks sus,” Kathy prods.
Nothing from the dog. Just her ears back, the whites of her eyes showing, panting.
“I don’t think it’s working…” Carolina chews on her lip.
“Pull up Knox’s photo just in case,” Brinley urges.
Nothing.
“Do the rest of the hockey team,” Kathy says.
Fidget licks her nose.
“I don’t think this is going to help us find him. We need to call the police,” Carolina declares.
“The first thing they’re going to want is the Ring camera footage, and honestly, the fact that it’s not there is going to make Fitz look awfully suspicious,” Frances says.
“My daughter is out there all alone somewhere!” April wails.
“Fidget, let’s look at some of the neighbors’ sons,” Kathy says soothingly. “Mom, who else did you give Winnie’s number to?”
“I don’t know. The cashier at Trader Joe’s looked nice.”
“Mom!”
“Winnie likes Trader Joe’s,” April says defensively.
“Pull up the GM’s photos that we went on a date with,” Carolina tells me.
“Okay, here’s the NBA team’s GM. Fidget, anything?”
The dog ducks her head.
The tablet starts ringing.
“Ugh, Loony Laura.” Carolina makes a face.
Her photo pops up on the tablet.
Carolina reaches for it. “I cannot deal with her right now. She’s dead to me.”
“We are not doing the rest of her wedding, are we?” Kathy asks, eyebrow raised.
“Yeah, no way.” Carolina scowls.
Ring.
Ring ring ring.
Fidget’s tapping the bell.
The call ends, and Laura’s photo disappears.
My eyes narrow at the dog.
She stops ringing the bell.
“You don’t think…” Kathy is uncertain.
“I don’t think the bell thing is working,” Brinley says.
“Yeah, she rings the bell for food, not people,” Kathy says.
“She’s not stupid.” I pull up Laura’s LinkedIn profile.
Ring ring ring.
“Well, shit.” I suck in a breath. “Loony Laura kidnapped Winnie?”