Page 41 of Hard Evidence
“No, not until Amie shows up dead,” Justin snapped.“Maybe when reporters start sniffing around, you’ll get off your asses and investigate.”
He marched out with Jessie hurrying behind, his heart thumping against his ribcage as he unlocked the car, slid inside, and leaned his head on the steering wheel.Dammit all to hell.Was it too much to ask for one cop—justonecop—in Northern Virginia to do their job properly?
“Are you okay?”Jessie asked.
“I could possibly have handled that better,” he admitted.
“Even if you got down on your knees and begged, I don’t think that officer would abandon his coffee and look for Amie.His mind seemed pretty much made up.Could we try speaking with Sophy again?See if she can think of any other friends who might be able to help?”
“Yeah.We’ll try that.And I have an old friend who’s engaged to a private investigator—they live out in California, but she could offer some advice.”
Or better yet, have a shady connection who could track Amie’s phone.It was ringing before it went to voicemail, which was a good sign, even if she wasn’t answering.If Amie had run off with Brett as the cop thought, Justin would be disappointed, but that was also the best news he could hope for.
An image of Ruby’s broken body flashed through his mind.No, he didn’t want to contemplate the alternative.
CHAPTER17
JUSTIN
Justin had been hoping for a call from Zach, but when the phone finally chirped during breakfast the next morning, it was Braxton Vale on the screen.Brax, with Ari sitting alongside him.Why were those two together?When Zach didn’t call back, Justin had tried messaging another old roommate, one who checked his phone regularly, but he hadn’t expected Brax to conjure up Ari Danner herself.
Justin had met her once before, at the Making a Difference Awards back in January.Brax’s wife had been nominated as an “Everyday Hero” for her dramatic performance of the Heimlich manoeuvre at a charity dinner, and Justin had won a prize for his work with the Ruby Rose Foundation.Being lauded in public made him uncomfortable, but the accolade came with a twenty-thousand-dollar cheque, which meant he had to show up.
He’d planned to take Isabel as his plus-one because she deserved the praise more than he did, but Melanie had pitched a fit, and Isabel had backed out gracefully.Then Melanie spent the evening bitching about the food, the company, the music… Justin cringed inside just from the memory.
No more high-maintenance redheads.
Brax leaned forward and steepled his hands.“Go on, I’m dying to hear this story.”
“Less of the d-word, please,” Ari said, and she sounded rough.If Justin wasn’t mistaken, her eyes were slightly bloodshot too.
“Bad night?”Justin asked.“Thanks for returning my call.”
Brax answered for her.“On the contrary.Alexa showed up with Nolan, and not only has she moved in with him officially, there’s a ring on her finger.Plus her parents happened to be at the awards dinner, and her mom got into a food fight with a gang of Lucas Collins fans.It was the most entertaining night I’ve had in years.”
“For a moment there, I thought you said Alexa and Nolan got married.”
“I’m as surprised as you are, but can you imagine any other man putting up with her?”
“No, I can’t.What happened to that blond guy?”
“Chase?The gay one?”
“Wait, he’s gay?”
“Of course he’s gay.I thought you knew that.”
“Nobody ever tells me anything.”
“Well, I’m telling you that Chase couldn’t take his eyes off Lucas Collins last night, and I suspect the feeling was mutual.But enough about them.What happened with?—”
Jessie chose that moment to slide an egg white omelette in front of Justin.She’d hummed softly to herself as she whipped up the eggs, soufflé-style, before stuffing them with asparagus and prosciutto, and he’d barely been able to tear his gaze away from her.
Now Brax’s eyes widened.“Who’s the new redhead?”
Ari elbowed him in the side.“Show some tact?”
“He split from Melanie less than a week ago.This is a record, even for Justin.”
