Page 40 of Guess Again

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Sunday, July 27, 2025

ETHAN PULLED INTO THE PARKING LOT OF THE DISTRICT 2 HEADQUARTERS of the Milwaukee Police Department.

Maddie met him at the front entrance of the white stone building.

She walked him through the office until they arrived at her desk, which was located in a cubicle set amongst the other detectives’ workspaces.

“Portia Vail,”

Ethan said.

“You know anything about her?”

Maddie nodded.

“Yeah.

She’s missing.

We’ve got two detectives on her case now.

Four weeks gone, no breaks. Why?”

“I went to see Francis again.

He offered more information on Callie Jones in exchange for my help with something.”

“With what?”

“We didn’t get that far.

I told him to piss off.

That’s when he sent me back to the warehouse in Menomonee Valley, which is where I found these.”

Ethan dropped the Ziploc bags onto Maddie’s desk.

Maddie lifted the one that held the 8×10 photo.

“What the hell is this?”

“Somehow, the son of a bitch knows where Portia Vail is being held.”

Maddie examined the photo of the woman handcuffed to a door and holding a newspaper to display the date.

“How is that possible?”

“Someone has to be helping him.

I called Pete Kramer and told him everything.

He put the warehouse under surveillance.

If that’s Francis’s drop site and someone is working with him, we’ll know about it soon enough.

But right now, I need everything the Milwaukee PD has on Portia Vail.”

“Let me make some calls.”

“Maddie, I don’t want to put you in a bind, but we need to keep this quiet until we know how Francis fits into it all.”

Maddie nodded. “Got it.”