“No. Kate was in the dark—is in the dark—just like I was.”

“Well, not anymore. Antonio is on his way over there to tell her Vanessa is alive.” He rested his hands on his hips. “So, I guess Vanessa was fine letting her sister suffer all this time.”

Leigh gritted her teeth. Vanessa’s blithe attitude toward Kate was one of the main reasons she was on Leigh’s shit list right now. A simple text or phone call could have saved Kate from eight solid days of heart-wrenching stress.

“That’s between them,” Leigh said. “I’ve told Vanessa—in no uncertain terms—that she needs to come forward. When she sits down with you and explains what happened, I think you’ll see that you haven’t wasted your time.”

Brandon’s gaze narrowed.

“There is, in fact, a crime here. It just happens to be a lot more complicated than you thought. She has valid reasons for not trusting the police.”

“Such as?”

Leigh weighed how much to reveal. If she wanted to help Vanessa, she needed law enforcement on her side. Or at least not against her. Right now Brandon had every reason to be pissed off, but he didn’t know all the circumstances.

“Vanessa is scared. Scared enough to abandon her car and go into hiding. She was harassed and stalked for months—”

“You’re talking about Mason Lloyd.”

“Yes. He made her life hell, and when she threatened to go to the police, he sent them to her door with some made-up story about her slashing his tires and being crazy with jealousy after he dumped her.”

Brandon’s brow furrowed. “A cop went to her house?”

“Yes. Detective Akins.”

“Never heard of him. Is this APD?”

“I don’t know. He had a badge and a gun, supposedly. He threatened to charge her with felony mischief if she didn’t leave Mason alone.”

Brandon shook his head. “All the more reason I need to interview Vanessa. You need to bring her in.”

“I can’t.”

“If you want to help her—”

“It’s not a matter of want. I don’t know where she is. She’s not responding to my calls.”

He watched her closely, and she could tell he didn’t believe her.

Leigh’s heart squeezed as she looked at him. Something between them was different now. Broken. The man who’d walked her to her car Sunday morning and kissed her gently on the forehead was gone.

She let her hands fall to her sides. “I understand you’re upset.”

He laughed. “ ‘Upset’?”

“I really had no idea what was going on until she contacted me.” She eased closer, and he stiffened. “You need to believe me.”

He gazed down at her, and the disappointment in his eyes made her stomach ache.

He stepped around her.

“Where are you going?” she asked.