Page 61 of Hard Evidence
“Amie was too nice.She didn’t know how to say ‘no.’”
A shiver ran up my spine because hadn’t Saylor said the exact same thing about me?But I was trying to change.I’d taken the first step by leaving Maine, and today, I’d accidentally taken another when I changed plans on Justin.He hadn’t blown up.He hadn’t yelled.He hadn’t even been upset.
His reaction—or the lack of one—had been a revelation.
Growing up, it had mostly just been me and Mom.Dad was never around much, even when they were married, probably because he’d been too busy working his way onto the sex offender registry.Until Ridge showered me with attention, I’d never really had a man in my life, and I’d had no frame of reference for his behaviour.Now, I was beginning to realise that he hadn’t so much swept me off my feet as kicked my legs out from underneath me.
“So she bailed him out?”
“Bailed him out and then dumped his ass when he didn’t pay her back the money.”
“Do you think she might have turned to any of these men if she needed help?”
Sophy shook her head slowly.“I just can’t see it.”
“How about a hookup?”Ari asked from the doorway.“Was she the type to have a one-night stand?”
We both turned to look at her.
“Nuh-uh, no way,” Sophy said.“She couldn’t even ditch Brett properly.‘Better the devil you know,’ that was her motto.”
“For real?”
“I mean, she never used those exact words, but when I suggested trying a dating app, she groaned and said she’d end up with someone even worse.Why are you asking?Do you think she went on a date on Wednesday?”
“Honestly?No, I don’t think she ran off with a man.She didn’t run, period.There’s four hundred bucks in a paperback on her nightstand.I can see her panicking over pregnancy and wanting a fresh start.At a stretch, I can even see her dumping her purse so nobody could follow.But she wouldn’t have left the cash behind.”
Sophy’s voice shook as she spoke.“You think…you think she killed herself?”
“No.My money’s on her running into the wrong person in the parking lot at work, and now we have to get the police to take this seriously.They need to launch a manhunt, not perform a half-assed search of her apartment and call it a day.Do you recall the name of the female officer?The one who suggested suicide?”
A sob burst out of Sophy’s throat.“N-n-no.”
“We’ll find out.Before Amie disappeared, did she have any specific worries?Other than the pregnancy, I mean.”
“No, nothing.”
“There was Saige,” I prompted.“You said they were yelling at each other.”
Ari raised an eyebrow.“Recently?”
“Last week,” I filled in.
“She said Saige was up to her old tricks again, that’s all.But she’d had plenty of practice at dealing with it, so…”
“I heard Saige stole money from Amie?”
“Not just money—Saige stole her identity and trashed her credit score.Did you know she has a shopping addiction?She buys stuff constantly, even things she doesn’t need, and she was supposed to go to therapy, but Amie said it didn’t help much.Even now, she still gets letters asking for payments.”
“How does Amie handle that?”
“She calls the companies and explains.Most of them leave us alone now.”
“Any trouble with the neighbours?”
“We don’t spend much time with the neighbours.”
“Did she mention any issues at work?I’ll ask there as well, but if there was trouble with a colleague, she’s more likely to have told you.”
