Page 56 of Distress Signal

She nodded. “The day before I left for college.”

“How was it?”

“Fucking brutal,” she admitted with a humorless laugh. “I couldn’t understand how she’d been gone for nearly two years and it stillsmelledlike her. How there was still a sweater discarded on her chair in the corner, like any second, she’d come back andretrieve it. How her bed was still rumpled and unmade from the last time she’d slept in it. And I couldn’t understand how I got to keep breathing while she was just…gone.”

I recognized the pain in her voice, certain the same expression that lingered in her eyes could also be found in mine.

Rolling my lips between my teeth, I fought back tears.

Focusing on the investigation, on bringing her home, was the best thing I could do for Lainey right now.

I reached over and grabbed one of Aspen’s hands, offering her the same comfort she’d provided me earlier.

Sniffing loudly, Aspen tilted her chin up, defiant even in the face of her own emotions, and squared her shoulders.

“We’ll find her.”

Three words I’d heard before—from the sheriff.

But coming from Aspen’s mouth?

This time, I believed them—believedher.

After all, you could never trust a man to do a job a woman could do better,andshe’d solved a case four decades of law enforcement in this town hadn’t been able to.

“With you working the case, I have no doubt,” I told her, grinning.

She returned my smile, and another thought occurred to me.

“Hey, is there anywhere around here I could get some posters printed?” I grabbed my phone to show her the missing person flyer I’d designed last night.

“Go to the library,” she said immediately. “Ginny is the best, and she’ll be more than happy to help you. Tell her I sent you.”

I raised a brow. “You’re friendly with the librarian?”

“Oh yeah,” Aspen chuckled. “She was a huge help to me when I first got here on the Prom Night Arsonist case last year. I spent a lot of time there, going through old newspaper articles and yearbooks. She’s lived here forever and knows her shit.”

It seemed to me like Ginny could be a great resource for information on the comings and goings in this town, as well.

Before I could press Aspen further, her phone started buzzing, jumping and vibrating its way across the table. Picking it up, she checked the screen and muttered a curse.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, quickly gathering her things, withdrawing her wallet and dropping a few bills onto the table. “It’s my agent, and I completely forgot we had this call.” Another rifle through her bag had her coming up with a business card, which she passed to me. “Call me and we’ll make a plan to sit down and get to work.”

Following her lead, I also left some money on the table and moved toward the exit. On the sidewalk outside, she surprised me by turning and giving me a hug, which was almost comical given how tiny she was compared to me, then rushing off without another word.

I added her contact information to my phone before heading back up the block to my SUV.

Once I settled behind the wheel, I noticed the piece of paper under my wiper. I glanced around at other cars, but unease slid down my spine when I didn’t spot anything similar on nearby vehicles.

Getting out, I grabbed the note with a shaking hand and pulled it free. The paper was crisp and white, free from any blemishes aside from a small smudge where it had rested under the wiper and a crease from the fold. I opened it, and my heart dropped into my stomach as I read the words printed there in a big, bold font.

WELCOME TO DUSK VALLEY, REAGAN LINDSEY. YOU’LL BE SEEING YOUR SISTER VERY SOON.

What the fuck?

Alongside the fear that enveloped me in its adrenaline-soaked blanket, so many questions ran through my head.

Who had left this?