Chapter 21
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
As Duke drove them back to the hotel, Andi rested her head against the seat and let the city blur past the window.
Her thoughts replayed the day in sharp, unwanted fragments—meeting Emily, realizing Pam wasn’t who she claimed to be, the threat warning them not to mention Gina to the media, and the interview they’d just finished.
Her neck ached with exhaustion, but her mind refused to slow.
Just as Duke turned into the hotel’s circular drive, his phone buzzed.
He glanced at the screen, his grip tightening slightly on the steering wheel before he frowned. “It’s the hotel—the first one we stayed at. The one where Fake Pam met us for dinner.”
Andi pushed herself upright. Fatigue evaporated. “Why are they texting you?”
“Looks like security.” He shifted the SUV into Park and angled the phone so he could read it. “They sent over an image from last night. Lobby footage. Of Pam.”
Before Andi could ask to see it, the valet approached.
Looking at the photo would have to wait until they were inside.
Duke handed over the keys, and they climbed out.
The hotel entrance was alive with motion. Their tour bus had just pulled up along the curb, its engine idling as the doors opened and staff spilled out—Mariella mid-conversation, Ranger scanning the area out of habit as Simmy walked beside him, Matthew already focused on his laptop as he walked.
The rest of the team slowed when they spotted Andi and Duke. They clustered in the lobby, and Duke stopped near the edge of the group. He held out his phone.
“This is security footage from the hotel we stayed at last night,” Duke explained.
Andi stepped closer, her stomach sinking the moment the image filled the screen.
The footage was grainy and distant, captured from a high corner near the elevators.
Fake Pam stood partially turned away, her head angled down just enough to obscure her face—as if she knew exactly where the cameras were.
The harsh lobby lighting flattened everything, washing out details and blurring features until recognition hovered frustratingly out of reach.
Andi leaned in, studying it more carefully.
“This is the best they have?” she asked, unable to keep the disappointment from creeping into her voice. She’d been hoping for clarity—for something concrete to hold onto.
“The head of security said it’s the clearest angle from that time frame,” Duke said. He twisted his neck, then scrubbed a hand across his jaw, frustration evident in the set of his mouth.
“I tried pulling images from the venue in San Francisco.” Matthew frowned at the screen. “But I didn’t have any luck. I think this is as good as it gets.”
Andi forced herself to look again—to slow down, the way she’d learned to do when instincts wanted to leap ahead.
Fake Pam’s hair was pulled back. Her shoulders were tight, her posture rigid. Controlled. Intentional.
Nothing about her suggested someone lost or confused—or desperate enough to lie her way into help.
Who exactly was this woman?
Not missing a beat, Andi pulled out her phone, thumb hovering over the screen for half a second before she opened her messages. “I need to see if Emily recognizes her.”
She typed quickly.
This may be nothing, but do you recognize this woman?
Duke sent her a still frame of the woman, and Andi attached the image.
The gang stood in the lobby a moment longer, the quiet hum of the hotel wrapping around them. A bellhop rolled a cart past. Someone laughed near the bar.
They waited, hoping for a quick answer—hoping for some type of answer. Though they’d only been looking into this for a couple of days, this investigation wasn’t going anywhere yet. They needed a break in this case.
Then Andi’s phone buzzed.
Her breath caught when she saw the name there. “It’s Emily!”
She opened the message.
No, I’m sorry. I’ve never seen that woman before.
A pause. Then bubbles appeared on the bottom of the screen.
She was typing something else.
Another message followed.
That’s not Pam. And it’s definitely not anyone I know. I wish I could tell you more. I haven’t met all of Gina’s friends yet . . .
Andi exhaled slowly and read the message aloud to everyone.
Duke rubbed a hand along his jaw. “Whoever this woman is, I’m guessing she’s not part of Gina’s life.”
“And yet she knew enough to pose as her sister,” Andi said. “She knew how to find us. Knew exactly what to say to make us listen.”
Ranger shook his head. “This woman wants something.”
“Attention?” Mariella offered.
“Or control,” Duke said.
“Maybe both,” Simmy added.