Page 32 of Last Seen Alive

“I don’t think so either. That means that Claire was close to at least one other person. And close enough to potentially hang on to this for years. I doubt she picked it up recently. If we can find the person with the other half, we might get some answers we’re looking for.”

“Just how do we find that person?”

“Oh… Logan had said that Claire’s best friend got her on the dating app. That person could have the other half of the charm. I’ll ask about the friend. Now, you mentioned Claire had two keys, including one belonging to a hotel?”

Trent brought up the picture of the key card. “Lux Suites. Right here in Dumfries.”

“As its name implies, that hotel isn’t exactly the place you go when money’s tight. Guessing she’s got more than the fifty bucks somewhere.”

“But where?” He smiled. “And we have more questions.”

“It’s time to get some answers. Let’s have a talk with Claire’s sister. Logan asked that I notify her anyway. She could also ID the body as Claire, to support what Logan’s already told us.”

“The sister’s name? I’ll get the address, and we can hit the road.”

“Michelle Maxwell.”

Trent’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“Ah, no. Why are you looking like you’ve been sideswiped by a Mack truck?”

“Michelle Maxwell is my buddy’s wife and a friend of mine.”

TWELVE

That heart charm had looked very familiar to Trent and upon hearing Michelle’s name, he knew why. But, boy, had the world just gotten smaller. Trent had stood up as best man for Michelle’s husband, John, and he still hung out with them once or twice a month.

He looked over at Amanda from behind the wheel of the department car. They were parked out front of his friends’ house. “Let me handle this in there, okay.”

“Absolutely.”

Trent had already called his friend at work and told him to get home and round up Michelle too.

“So you never met Claire?” Amanda asked.

“I was more John’s friend first. Still, I never knew Shell—Michelle—had a sister.”

“She wasn’t at their wedding?”

Trent shook his head. “No, and maybe given what we know about Claire, Michelle likely didn’t know where to reach her. They just got married a couple of years ago.”

“When Claire was who-knows-where. That must have been hard for Michelle not having her own sister at her wedding.”

“Must have been, but as I said I didn’t hear about her sister before.” All Trent really knew about Shell’s past was she hadn’t had an easy childhood. All that entailed was never disclosed to him, and he respected his friend’s privacy too much to pry.

Trent and Amanda got out of the car and headed to the front door. He lifted the brass knocker, but the door was opening before he let it go. John was standing there, and he let his gaze fall over Amanda.

“This is my partner, Detective Amanda Steele,” Trent told him.

John bobbed his head. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“All good, I hope.” Amanda smiled, passed a glance to Trent.

“Amanda, John Maxwell,” Trent rushed out, not wanting Amanda to make more out of his friend’s reaction than necessary. But, of course, he’d talked about Amanda. She was a huge part of his life. “Michelle’s here?” Trent asked. He just wanted to make sure. He hadn’t seen her car in the driveway, but it could be tucked away in the garage.

“She’s in the living room.” John stepped out onto the porch. “What’s this about, Trent? You’re starting to really scare me.”

There’d be no easy way to break this news, but it didn’t feel right telling John first. “We need to talk to Michelle. You can be right by her side while we do.”