Justin
“The whole purse?”
On screen, Ari and Brax looked at each other. They’d been joined by Nolan, Dawson, and a platter of pastries, and wasn’t this the most awkward reunion ever?
“Yeah, the whole purse—phone, wallet, make-up, everything. And it was stuffed right into the undergrowth.”
“Keys?” Ari asked.
“Uh…”
“There are no keys,” Jessie said.
They were calling from his office, the purse sitting on the desk beside them.
Outside, the sky was darkening and it felt as if the heavens were about to open, and inside, Jessie had made coffee and put down a bowl of water for Shiro.
But Justin wasn’t thirsty. No, dread was pooling in his stomach, nausea making its presence known as he quietly freaked out.
How was this supposed to end well? Any of it?
Justin was supposed to be taking care of Jessie, but today, it felt like the other way around.
She’d been his wingwoman through the search for Amie as well as cooking for him, and her dog deserved a steak for his trick with the purse earlier.
Although Justin almost wished they hadn’t found it.
He was struggling to think of any kind of good scenario for the discovery.
Ari’s worried expression mirrored his thoughts. “No keys makes sense if the car is missing too. I hate to say this, but…”
“I have to go back to the police,” Justin finished.
“At this stage, her disappearance is concerning. But as I understand it, you were the last person to see her, so you should be prepared for questions.”
“Tell me you at least have a good alibi this time,” Brax said.
Justin’s blood ran cold. Not because he didn’t have an alibi, but because of how close he’d come to not having one.
If some scammer hadn’t targeted Jessie, if they hadn’t swiped pictures of the model home from the property listing, hell, if his duplex hadn’t burned down and he’d still been living there…
Justin would have been alone on Wednesday evening, and this time, on a fast track to becoming the main suspect in what he feared might be a serious crime. Abduction or…worse.
“I have an alibi for Wednesday evening.”
Amie was on video leaving the office a few minutes ahead of Justin, and after he locked up, he’d driven straight home.
During the afternoon’s site visit, he’d grabbed a power saw because Diego was away at his sister’s wedding and they were working to a tight timeline, which meant he was sweaty, so he’d jumped in the shower right after he arrived.
Jessie had shown up as he shut off the water.
He didn’t have more than, say, fifteen minutes unaccounted for. Sixteen at a push.
The problem? Having to provide an alibi would mean dragging Jessie even deeper into this mire, right when Justin needed to show her the grass was greener away from that husband of hers.
The bruises were fading, and he knew from watching his mom that if life got tough, she’d start having second thoughts.
Ari spoke up again. “And there’s another suspect, as we know. Brett Tandy conveniently left the state around the time of Amie’s disappearance.”
Which had to be more suspicious than Justin going home for a shower and Chinese takeout, right?
“I’ll tell that to the cops.”
Ari turned to the side, Justin assumed to confer with someone off screen, and Nolan put his head in his hands. Dawson frowned.
“What?” Justin asked. “You think I shouldn’t speak with the cops?”
Brax didn’t seem particularly happy either. “Alexa wants to check out the phone first.”
“The battery’s dead.”
For only the second time in almost ten years, Justin got a good look at Alexa Stone, or Alexa de Luca as she’d just become.
Tiny, blonde Alexa. Their paths had crossed briefly at the Making a Difference Awards, but she’d been on her way out to “take a call” as he arrived late, and she hadn’t returned until dessert.
He had no doubt she’d lied about her age back in their Blackstone House days, but even so, she had to be in her mid-twenties by now.
And she didn’t look a day over eighteen.
She sat on Nolan’s lap, and he draped an arm around her waist. Hot damn.
In their Blackstone days, he’d been very clear that she was off-limits to everyone because of her age, not that any of the men in the house would have touched her.
They’d all been very protective of their teenage runaway, even Levi.
But with time had come change, and none bigger than this one.
“Congratulations on the wedding,” Justin said.
She ignored that. “Haven’t you heard of a charger?”
“Yes, but haven’t you ever heard of a PIN?”
She rolled her eyes. “You think that will stop me?”
“I guess not, but the phone is here, and you’re in…California?”
“Airplanes are a thing, Justin.”
“Even so, it’ll still take you hours to get here, and we don’t have time to wait. Amie’s been missing for almost three days. If some psycho abducted her, then every hour counts. Every minute.”
“I’ll still be faster than the cops.”
“But you can’t organise a statewide manhunt.”
“You think the cops in Virginia will? Half of them are committing crimes as well as solving them.”
“That’s a bit harsh,” Brax said.
“Oh yeah? I heard a bunch of them are tangled up in a sex ring, and one of them apparently shot himself.”
What the fuck? “Where did you hear that?”
“From a friend of a friend.”
“We’re getting off topic,” Dawson said. “Finding Amie is the priority here, and I know you don’t think much of the police, but in this instance, they’re in the best position to help.”
Nolan spoke softly in Alexa’s ear, and she folded her arms. “Fine. Do whatever you want. Just don’t blame me when they act like assholes and still don’t find her.”