Chapter 19
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Andi stared at the phone in Emily’s hand, her mind scrambling to catch up to what her eyes had already accepted.
That’s the real Pam.
The words kept looping in her head, blunt and disorienting.
Emily shifted in her chair, her eyes narrowing with confusion. “What’s going on? Why are you both looking at me like that?”
Andi forced herself to breathe. “The woman in that photo isn’t the same woman who came to us asking for help.”
Emily blinked. “What do you mean?”
Duke leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Someone approached us at our event in San Francisco. She introduced herself as Gina’s sister, Pam. She knew details about the break-in, about Gina, about Gina’s apartment.”
Emily’s brow furrowed, and she gestured at the phone. “But . . . that’s Pam.”
“That woman,” Andi nodded at the photo, “is not the one we met.”
Silence settled over the table, thick and uneasy.
Emily glanced between them. “Are you saying someone pretended to be Gina’s sister?”
“Yes.” Duke offered a quick but definitive nod.
Emily’s mouth fell open. “Why would anyone do that?”
“That’s what we need to figure out,” Andi said.
“Did she have a key? Did she let you inside Gina’s apartment?”
Andi paused before answering. “She said she had a key, but the door was already open when we got there. So I’m not sure if the key she had really fit the lock.”
Duke straightened. “We don’t have photos of the woman who approached us.
But the venues should. We can try to pull footage, see if you recognize her.
Based on everything this woman knew, she had to know Gina on a personal level.
She mentioned Tuesday dinners with her sister—things a stranger wouldn’t know. ”
Emily pulled her arms across her chest and shivered. “That’s unnerving, to say the least.”
Yes, it was.
Andi’s thoughts raced now. “Emily, where is the real Pam right now?”
“In Italy. She’s been working overseas for a few months. Consulting job. She’s actually on her way back now.”
Andi’s pulse skipped. “You’ve talked to her?”
“Yes. I called as soon as Gina went missing. She wanted to fly back immediately, but her passport was damaged when there was a leak in her rental. It’s taking forever to get the issue resolved.”
The pieces shifted again.
The woman who’d come to them must have known Pam was out of the country. It was the only way her ruse would have worked effectively.
But still—why go through all this trouble?
Andi exchanged a look with Duke, the weight of this new revelation settling between them.
They described the fake Pam to Emily.
Emily listened carefully before shaking her head again. “That doesn’t sound like anyone I know. I’m sorry. I want to help. But I have no idea.”
Andi looked at Duke, the realization taking shape even as she resisted it. “We’re not just looking for Gina. Now, we’re trying to figure out who wanted us involved in this case enough to lie in order to get our attention.”
Emily’s hands trembled slightly on the table. “Does that mean . . . ?”
Duke nodded slowly. “It means our podcast’s connection to what happened isn’t random. Someone wanted us to be involved for some reason.”
“And it means we have a second mystery on our hands,” Andi added.
Whoever was behind Gina’s abduction was already several steps ahead.
For now.
The weight of what they’d just learned followed Andi all the way back to the SUV.
She slid into the passenger seat and shut the door harder than necessary. For a moment, neither she nor Duke spoke. They sat there. Duke started the engine and let air flow through the vents.
The city moved around them—traffic rumbling, a bus sighing at the curb, someone laughing on the sidewalk—but Andi felt suspended, caught between what she knew and what she still couldn’t explain.
“Emily wasn’t lying,” Andi finally said. “You saw her face. She had no idea who that woman was.”
Duke ran a hand across his jaw. “Which means whoever approached us knew enough to be convincing.”
“And this woman was bold enough that she didn’t bother to hide her face.” Andi shook her head. “She fully jumped into this and pretended to be a missing woman’s sister. That’s not desperation. It’s crafty.”
She pulled out her phone and scrolled to the contact labeled Pam James—the number Fake Pam had given her.
“You’re going to call her?” Duke asked. “What are you going to say if she answers?”
“I’m going to pretend like everything is fine and see if she can meet. Then I’m going to confront her.” Her thumb hovered a second before she hit Call.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Then the call went to voicemail.
Andi exhaled sharply and hit End. “No answer.”
“She mentioned she’d be in meetings all morning.”
“I know.” Andi leaned back against the seat, staring at the windshield. “But she also told us she was Pam.”
“True.”
“I don’t like this. I don’t like that this woman knew where to find us. I don’t like that she knew enough about Gina to sound real. And I really don’t like that she disappeared at just the right moment—as if she knew we’d find out the truth quickly.”
Duke didn’t argue. He put the SUV into Drive and merged into traffic, his jaw set. “We’ll figure this out. But right now, we need to move.”
Her stomach tightened. “We do. If we’re late, Rupert is going to have an aneurysm.”
“Or at least send us several strongly worded texts.”
Despite herself, Andi let out a short, humorless laugh. She tucked her phone away. “Okay. News station first. Fake Pam can wait.”
As Duke pulled away from the curb, Andi’s phone buzzed. “Maybe it’s Matthew with an update on that cabin.”
But an unknown number stared back at her, and she frowned.
“What is it?” Duke asked.
“I just got a text message.” As she read the words, she sucked in a breath. “Whoever sent it warned that if we go public with any updates about Gina that he would kill her.”
“What?”
Andi nodded. “It’s like this guy knows we’re about to go on air, and he doesn’t want any media attention on this case. What are we going to do?”