At least that was something. “Where are these places?”

“One’s a bar in Alabama. The other’s in Canada.”

“Would Canada be a good place to hide out?”

“It’s not where I would go.”

“And where would you go?”

“In January? Somewhere with sunshine and beaches.”

We hung up, agreed that we should both keep searching.

My plan for the day was to hunt down Ella and insist she speak to me one more time. Sophie felt there was more she could tell me if she just would. I wasn’t sure that anything my sister had done at Gracey Group was relevant to her disappearance, but as always, I wasn’t sure it wasn’t.

I hadn’t paid close enough attention when my mother had mentioned the name of the dentist whom Ella worked for, but I did remember he was an orthodontist because my teeth had ached in tribute. Now I checked online and recognized Borgman’s name at the head of the directory.

I called the office and Ella answered. Her greeting, a little too high, a little too precise, was easy to identify. I cleared my throat, mumbled “wrong number,” and hung up. Then I changed into something more presentable than the leggings and T-shirt that had gotten me this far, and hopped in my Civic.

Dr. Borgman’s office wasn’t far from the grocery store where I’d learned Ella was no longer working for my father. Luckily, Borgman had not been my orthodontist, so I didn’t have to resort to yoga breathing.

Inside, Ella was sitting in the front behind a counter, and she rose to greet me, until she realized who I was.

“Why are you here?” she said.

“I need to talk to you.”

She leaned over the counter and lowered her voice. “I don’t need to talk to you.”

“I’m sure you’re busy. I’ll wait.” I glanced behind me where an older man was sitting in an armchair. “You have Women’s Health. I forgot to renew my subscription. And InStyle. I really am in luck. I could hang out here all day.”

“Don’t plan on it.”

“I could really use your help.” I leaned closer, too. “And for the record, I know my sister manipulated my father to fire you.” I didn’t really know, not unequivocally, but it was more than a stab in the dark.

“Will this get you off my back for good?”

“I certainly hope so.”

She considered. “The office is closed from one to three. I’ll meet you out front at one.”

Other than snatching her by her pretty lavender scarf and hauling her over the counter, I had no options. “Please be there, Ella. I really need your help.”

She narrowed her eyes. My work was done.

The closest coffee shop, Eyes Wide Open, was featuring buy-one-get-one-free lattes. I took my laptop inside, and by the time I’d roughed out an introduction for the first episode of Out of the Cold’s interim podcast, I was tuned for takeoff. An email from Glenn came in just as I was shutting down my computer. The subject line read: “Secure connection needed.”