Page 92 of The Stipulation
My body goes cold. “She went to see him?” My voice is quiet now. Dangerous. If he has so much as looked at her the wrong way, it will be the last thing he does.
“Yes. I tried to tell her about the call. I did. But she said her cab was already out front and we’d talk later. I told her to be careful, but I don’t think she took it seriously.”
She stops as if the story ends there, but something tells me there’s more.
“And?”
Betty looks at the floor. “This is the part that may get me dismissed,” she says faintly.
“You are not getting dismissed,” I say sharply. “Please, just tell me.”
She inhales shakily. “I put an air tag in her jacket pocket.”
“You did what?”
“I was frightened,” she rushes on. “After what he said. I couldn’t shake it. I thought if nothing happened, she’d never know. And if something did, well, we’d know where she was.” Her eyes fill up again. “I know it was wrong, and I swear I wouldn’t have done it if I could have thought of anything else to keep her safe. I wanted to be able to find her.”
For a moment, I just stare at her. What she did is beyond invasive. It’s also possibly the smartest thing anyone’s done all week.
“You’ve tracked her?” I ask, unable to believe my luck.
“Yes.”
“Show me.”
She fumbles in her apron pocket and pulls out her cell phone. Her hands are shaking so badly that I have to take it from her gently. A map fills the screen.
“She went to Sheldon’s apartment,” Betty says quickly. “You can see it here.”
I zoom in. She’s right. The dot sits squarely over his address for a time.
“And then?”
“She left,” Betty says. “About forty minutes later. I thought that was it. I thought I’d been paranoid. I figured she’d come back, I’d take the air tag back, and no one would be the wiser. But then she didn’t come back and I didn’t know what to do. I thought of calling the police, but I didn’t dare do it. I was going to wait five more minutes and then come and find you.”
My eyes track the path. The dot has moved south. Out of the residential area. Toward the industrial estate on the edge of the city. My blood turns to ice.
“Where is that?” I ask. I think I already know the answer to that, but I want confirmation.
Betty swallows.
“I googled it. It’s an old trading estate. Hawthorne Trading Estate.”
Hawthorne Trading Estate. I was right. I know it. Joseph owns a piece of property there. He had a warehouse there. I almost forgot about it because it has been unused for years. My pulse slams in my ears as I try to make sense of this.
“Sheldon might have taken her to show her the warehouse,” Betty says, automatically trying to think of something that doesn’t involve Jo being in danger. But she doesn’t sound convinced. Because at this point, I’m not either.
The dot on the screen stops. Right over the warehouse.
“And then where did it go?” I ask.
Betty’s voice is barely audible.
“It cut off.”
I look up sharply. “What do you mean cut off?”
“The signal vanished. As if the device was destroyed. Or out of range.”
