Page 75 of Hell Hath No Fury
“Oh.”
Emma could almost hear Laurie thinking. If this had been happening 150 miles to the north, Laurie would be assigning Emma to get photos. However, a Washington County murder was of no interest to Erie readers. When the silence rolled on, Emma finally broke it. “My doctor’s office called.” She explained about the family emergency and the delayed appointment.
After several endless moments of dead air, Laurie said, “Isn’t there anyone else in the office who could see you in his absence?”
“They’re all booked solid.” It might not be a lie. Emma hadn’t thought to ask.
“I guess there’s nothing we can do about it then. Iwillsee you next Tuesday morning. Right?”
“Absolutely.” Emma prayed a week would be enough.
“Good.” The tone in Laurie’s voice as she ended the call left no room for debate. A week would have to be enough.
Emma pocketed her phone and faced Matthias with a forced smile. “We should be able to solve this case by the end of the weekend. Right?”
The smile he returned wasn’t entirely convincing. “Absolutely.” He sat up and swung his feet to the floor. “We need to track down Patrick Winslow.”
“Do you think he might be back at the construction site by now?”
Matthias appeared to weigh the options. “Let’s swing by North Star’s office first. It’s closer. If he’s there, great. If not, we’ll have to convince Tina Neidermeyer to give us his phone number.”
* * *
Matthias had just started the Jeep’s engine when his phone buzzed. He checked the screen. “It’s Cassie,” he told Emma before accepting the call and putting it on speaker.
“How are things going there?” his partner asked.
Emma grunted.
“That good, huh?” Cassie said.
Matthias told her about Eric’s trip to the ER, then updated her on the uncertain future of North Star Developing.
“Sounds promising. Follow the money.”
“We are.”
“You need to find out who Jones’s attorney is.”
“It’s on my list, but I’m out of my jurisdiction, which means no court order.”
“Unless you go through Fergusson.”
Matthias choked a laugh. “Right.”
“Well, I have no jurisdiction there either, but I still managed to get some information you might find useful.”
“Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“First, Fergusson has put out a BOLO for Nell. I was visiting the guys at Major Crimes when I spotted it.”
Be On the Lookout.Emma sat up straighter. “Any response to it?”
“Not yet. At least nothing that I saw. I asked Roth to keep me posted.”
Detective Roth—another of the detectives with the Major Crimes unit.
“Good,” Matthias said. “At least the part about Roth keeping tabs on it.”
