“You’re from San Francisco,” she’d said, and when he’d denied it, she’d pointed out that his family had been. Which was true.

He’d refused to talk to her, and now . . . now she was dead? Killed in the very city she’d mentioned? His blood ran cold. What was this? He knew in his gut that Charity’s death was linked to Megan’s disappearance.

Had to be.

His cell phone vibrated on the desk.

Rowdy Crocker’s name came onto the screen.

James answered in a heartbeat. “Yeah?”

“And ‘hello’ to you too.”

James wasn’t in the mood for games. “Did you hear about Charity Spritz?”

“Christ, yeah. I’m all over it.”

“Jesus.” James stared through the glass to the shop below, but he didn’t see his employees working on trusses or planing rough wood or mudding Sheetrock; instead, he saw Charity Spritz, her gray eyes assessing him beneath a fringe of dark bangs. She’d stood on his porch as if she’d owned it a week earlier.

“Hey, man, you okay?” Rowdy asked.

“No,” James said, then focused on the conversation. “What’ve you got?”

“Too much to discuss on the phone. I’m already in my car. I’ll meet you at your place in fifteen. That work?”

“Yeah.” James reached for his jacket, searching for his keys. “I’ll be there.”

* * *

“We got a hit,” Mendoza announced as Rivers strode into the station. He’d gone outside, walked around the block, and returned with a coffee for himself and a “skinny vanilla latte with light whip,” which he’d heard Mendoza order several times when they’d stopped in for coffee at the local shop.

“A hit?”

“Response to the press conference.”

“Legit?”

“Maybe. A couple from Tacoma called in—on speaker phone so they both could talk, very confusing—but they think they spied Megan’s car that night, but not on the main road to Seattle. They were staying at a friend’s cabin and met a car coming the other direction, and the husband swears it was a black Toyota Corolla, but he couldn’t be certain of the year.”

“Where have they been?” Rivers asked, handing her the cup as they made their way to her desk. “I mean, how could they be in this state and not know we were looking for her?” Megan Travers’s disappearance had been all over the news.

“That’s just it. They’ve been out of town. They flew out the next morning and have been on a family vacation in Mexico, and after that they spent a week with their son and his family in Salt Lake. They just got home last night and caught up on the news, saw the press conference, and put two and two together.”

Rivers asked, “So where did they see the car?”