Page 37

THIRTY-SIX

Josie watched Trout sniff his way around the perimeter of Gretchen’s yard, carefully inspecting every inch of ground he’d already smelled and analyzed countless times since their arrival. The morning sun warmed her where she stood. Steam drifted from the mug of coffee in her hand. Voices floated through the screen door that led into the kitchen. The usual suspects. Josie’s family. Noah’s siblings. Paula. Josie had heard Gretchen somewhere in the house but hadn’t seen her yet.

“Any word?” asked Christian.

“Nothing,” Paula replied. “But it’s all over the news.”

“That doesn’t seem to be helping,” complained Noah’s sister, Laura.

“Maybe it will,” his brother, Theo, said. “If the right person sees his photo, maybe they’ll call in a tip.”

Josie sipped at her coffee. She’d slept about four hours and she didn’t feel much more rested than she had when she fell asleep. Despite that, her body clamored for a run, for her to push its limits until she was reduced to a sweaty, boneless heap, until there was only room in her psyche for breathing. Just for a few minutes. Anything to quiet the endless thoughts and questions spinning through her brain like an E5 tornado. To drive out the sense of dread skulking in the dark corners of her mind. To exhaust some of the quiet rage simmering in her blood, bringing her closer to going supernova with each hour that passed without any developments.

Thirty-five hours.

Where was he?

It didn’t matter. She was coming for him. God help anyone who stood in her way. She’d been shut out of the official investigation, and now the Gina Phelan case, but she’d carve out her own path to Noah. Using the Lila connection.

“Psst.” Trinity opened the wooden gate that led to the driveway and stepped into the yard. “You ready to do this?”

The conversation in the kitchen faded, as if everyone had stepped into another room. Josie tapped against where her phone bulged from the back pocket of her jeans. “I talked to the superintendent at Muncy a half hour ago. She agreed to let me meet with Roe Hoyt later this afternoon.”

“Oh my God!” Trinity whisper-shouted. “That’s great. Did she ask for paperwork? A case name?”

Josie shook her head and downed the rest of her coffee. “No.”

Trout waddled over to her sister, wiggling his little body against her shins until she knelt to pet him. “Perfect! Let’s go.”

Josie frowned, appraising Trinity. There was a familiar fire in her eyes. It was the look of a hungry predator just before it went in for the kill—a kill it was going to savor. “It’s too early to leave. What are you not telling me?”

Trinity scratched behind one of Trout’s ears and he leaned in to her touch. “I found Eva Owens. She’s alive and well and can’t wait to talk with us. Even better, she lives close to the prison in Muncy.”

Trinity was already gone when Josie woke up, so this was the first she was hearing about the search for the only approved visitor on Roe Hoyt’s list back in the early seventies.

“Who is she to Roe?” Josie asked.

From inside the house came footsteps, rustling, the sound of cabinets opening and closing. The kitchen was filling back up. People spoke. Josie only caught fragments but could deduce that someone had dropped off some kind of food. Paula said something about plates.

“Probably the best way to describe it is that she’s an advocate for Roe. Eva Owens joined the Pennsylvania Prison Volunteer Association in 1969 as a volunteer. That’s how they met. All she would tell me over the phone was that when she first started volunteering at Muncy, Roe was the only inmate who had absolutely no friends or family to visit or write or check on her. Once Roe’s appeal was denied and her attorney was no longer needed, she didn’t even have him. Roe wasn’t able to speak for herself, so Eva took it upon herself to make sure she received proper medical care and any services available to her.”

“How long did she do that?”

Trinity’s eyes blazed. “Over fifty years. She’s still doing it.”

“What did you tell her about why we want to meet with her?”

“The truth. That we knew Roe’s only surviving child. That she was called Lila Jensen. I told her all the things Lila had done to you, to our family. What she did to us is already out there for public consumption. Eva hadn’t seen the Dateline episodes. Doesn’t watch much television, evidently. I told her that before Lila died, she wanted you to find Roe Hoyt but you didn’t because you weren’t in a good place emotionally.”

“Did you tell her why I’m interested now?”

“Of course. I also told her that from the standpoint of a journalist, Roe Hoyt’s story was of great interest to me.”

Josie groaned. “Trin, I know you’re interested in this as a story. I don’t blame you, but Noah?—”

Trinity’s glare dried up the words on the tip of Josie’s tongue. “Everything I’m doing is for Noah. Truth? Yes, Roe Hoyt’s case is fascinating. It would make for great television or even a book. There’s no sense in lying about that. You know me too well. But I’m not pursuing her story. I just need Eva Owens to think I am so she’ll talk to us. She wasn’t receptive to talking to a police detective or even to Lila’s kidnap victim—once she found out how evil Lila was—but when I told her what I do, she changed her tune completely. You wanted to know about Roe Hoyt. This is the best way in.”

“Okay,” Josie said.

She wasn’t exactly sure what she hoped to find out from Eva Owens, but her sister had gone to great lengths to set up a meeting. Besides, if Roe Hoyt’s communication skills hadn’t improved since her arrest, Eva Owens would be the best source of information. Without an official case to link to Roe, Josie couldn’t request her prison records. She was lucky the superintendent hadn’t asked any questions when she requested the visit.

Before Josie could say anything more, the sound of Laura’s strident voice came through the screen door. “Shouldn’t there be some kind of press conference? It seems like we should be making a public plea of some kind.”

“I’m not sure whose call that would be,” Paula answered.

Trinity continued to stroke between Trout’s ears, her head canted to the side as she listened.

“I don’t see what’s stopping us,” Laura huffed.

Theo sighed. “His wife should be making that kind of decision.”

Josie could practically hear Laura roll her eyes. “Then maybe it’s best she doesn’t do it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” said Shannon, on the defensive.

Trinity frowned. Trout looked back and forth between the two of them, ears pointed. He was keying in to the tension now radiating from Josie’s body.

“Josie does great on television when she’s doing the whole cop thing but she’s not exactly warm.”

“Because she’s usually talking about killers and kidnappers. Heinous crimes,” Paula said. “Her affect is completely appropriate in that circumstance.”

“Josie’s warm,” Christian said. “You just don’t know her that well.”

“She’s married to my little brother,” Laura said. “And she’s been a robot since we got here—when we’ve seen her. What was she even doing yesterday? Just out driving around?”

Trinity glowered. “Didn’t you save this bitch and her baby from being murdered?”

“Yeah.” Josie pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. A headache started to pulse behind her eyes. She couldn’t even imagine cracking the seal on her tightly bottled emotions right now for the public to see, but she’d do it for Noah if Heather’s team thought it would help. “But Laura’s never liked me very much. The important thing is that she’s protective of Noah.”

Folding her arms across her chest, Trinity started toward the steps. “Well, I’m going to give her a piece of my mind.”

“Trin.”

As much as Josie would love to see that—or do it herself—starting a war with Noah’s sister wouldn’t be good for him or anyone.

Gretchen’s voice cut through everything, freezing Trinity in place. “It’s not really anyone’s business how Josie deals with the fact that her husband is missing—or where she goes or what she does while she’s trying to navigate this situation. If the lead investigator on the case thinks a public plea will be helpful, they’ll ask. There are some situations where it might not be beneficial.”

Meaning if Noah had been abducted by men who were chasing someone down for money and had no compunction about kidnapping a law enforcement officer, no public plea, no matter how emotional, was going to convince them to return him alive. If he was still alive at all.

Her brain pushed the thought away immediately.

Laura didn’t know any of that.

“Criticizing Noah’s wife right now is not only counterproductive,” Gretchen added icily, “it’s not welcome in my home. If you’re not here to support Josie, then you can get out.”

No more discussion came from the kitchen. Trinity sighed. Then she walked over and took the coffee mug from Josie’s hand. “I’ll take Trout inside. Meet me at my car.”

Josie didn’t bother to ask what her sister would tell the others as to why they’d be MIA today as well. Instead, she peppered Trout’s face with kisses, assured him she’d be back as soon as possible, and slipped out of the yard to go find Trinity’s vehicle.