Page 25 of Guess Again

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Wednesday, July 16, 2025

LINDSAY LOGGED OFF HER COMPUTER AFTER FINISHING HER FINAL counseling session.

Each hour-long session was taxing, and Lindsay was relieved she was finished for the day.

The New York Times interview from that morning felt like a week ago.

As she rubbed her eyes, she heard a knock on the door.

“Sorry to bother you,”

Beth said.

“But there’s someone here to see you.

I told him he needed an appointment but .

.

.

he’s a detective, I think, and said he needed to speak with you.”

Lindsay sat up straight in her chair.

Whatever fatigue she had been feeling evaporated.

“A detective?”

“He said he needed to speak with you about Callie Jones.”

Lindsay lifted her chin slightly.

She’d read the articles over the last few weeks about Callie’s dad reopening the case.

She figured it was only a matter of time before someone tracked her down.

“Show him in.”

A moment later, a good-looking gentleman walked into her office.

He was tall and fit.

Only his graying temples betrayed middle age.

“Dr. Larkin?”

he said.

“I’m Ethan Hall with the Department of Criminal Investigation.”

The man showed Lindsay a badge.

“Did Callie’s dad send you?”

She saw the man pause with indecision.

“He might be the governor today, but I still remember him as the guy who used to throw Callie and me off the dock and into Lake Okoboji when we were little.

Everyone calls him Governor Jones now, which still blows me away.

Don’t get me wrong.

I voted for him, but he’ll always be Mr.

Jones in my mind. Callie’s dad.”

“Makes sense.

I read that you and Callie were best friends.”

“Back in the day, yes.”

“To your original question: Governor Jones is the reason I’m here, but he didn’t send me directly.

I’m reinvestigating Callie’s disappearance.”

“So I’ve read.

Cherryview is vibrating with anticipation.

My folks still live in town, and they said that since word broke, everyone is hoping Ethan Hall—the renegade detective turned doctor—will be able to solve the unsolvable case of Callie’s disappearance.

Maybe if you do, Cherryview can go back to being known for its cherry trees and not a missing girl.”

“I’m just reviewing the case at the moment.

I might find nothing at all.”

“I’m curious why Mr.

Jones thinks this many years later that you’ll be able to find answers about what happened to Callie when no one could figure it out right in the aftermath.

We all waited for answers back then, but got none.”

Ethan shrugged.

“I’m not sure why the governor believes I can shed light on what happened to his daughter.

But he obviously has newly acquired clout and power, and he’s using it as a last ditch effort to find some closure.

The bottom line is that he asked for my help, and I agreed to look into the case.”

“And he specifically chose you?”

“He did.”

“Why?”

“My old partner worked the case.”

“Pete Kramer?”

Lindsay had spoken at length with the man during the original investigation.

“Yeah.

Pete and the governor are close, and Pete suggested me.”

“You were a special agent with the Division of Criminal Investigation, and then you quit to go to med school?”

“Retired, not quit. But yes.”

“Why did you retire?”

“Who’s questioning who here?”

Lindsay smiled.

“You came to my place of work.

I think I have the right to ask a few questions.”

“That’s fair.

Let’s see.

I was exposed to a lot of things while I was a special agent.

And some of those things I still see when I close my eyes.

I knew if I kept it up for another ten years, it wouldn’t have been good for my health—mental or physical. So I decided I could better help people by going into healthcare.”

Lindsay laughed.

“Is something the matter?”

“I’m not a fan of medicine.

If I break my arm, you’ll be the first person I see.

But for my overall health and mental well-being, I will stay far, far away from the U.S.

healthcare system.

But your story only explains why you left law enforcement, not why our newly elected governor pulled a physician out of the ER to help him figure out what happened to his daughter a decade ago.”

“I had a one-hundred-percent solve rate when I worked for the DCI.

I guess the governor is hoping I can keep that streak alive as I look into his daughter’s case.”

Lindsay raised her eyebrows and nodded.

“Okay.

How can I help?”