Page 12 of Our Daughter's Bones

“Yes?”

“What’s happening in there?”

“Since when are you interested in gossip?” The corner of his mouth pulled up in a mischievous grin.

“Ever since I realized that it’s what you’re supposed to do by water coolers,” she replied, deadpan. Without breaking eye contact, she pulled out a plastic cup from the stack, turned on the tap, and filled it with water. He raised an eyebrow when she offered it to him.

“Why do I have a feeling that this is poisoned?”

“I won’t kill you without any theatrics, Troy. You deserve more.”

He sighed and drank from the cup. “You really are mad. And Nick is halfway to a mental institution himself. It’s been a year since Erica went missing, and there are no leads. Bruce has totally checked out since he retired, and you remember how his notes were even before then. Nick is still playing catch-up. The Perez family has put a lot of pressure on the Mayor’s office.”

“Haven’t you been assisting Nick?”

“Sometimes. He has a lot on his plate. This is Lakemore. We have more to do than finding one missing girl.” He groaned. “No offense to her.”

“Did the name Abigail Correia ever come up? Or just Abby?”

“Abby? Sounds a bit familiar. I think she was a friend. Yes, yes, I remember now!” His eyes widened. “Nick told me that when Bruce talked to her, she fainted. She couldn’t handle what had happened. Why?”

“She’s missing. It’s in the bulletin.”

His mouth fell open. “Oh, shit. I haven’t even checked. Been chasing something down all day. Do you think it’s related?”

“Too much of a coincidence, isn’t it?”

“I guess…” he trailed off. “But why is she missing a year later?”

A knot formed in the pit of Mackenzie’s stomach. It always happened when she had unanswered questions and hadn’t solved the puzzle. It was an itch that she couldn’t scratch away.

“I have no clue. It’s possible that it’s not related.” The words felt like a lie. “Can you go over the case files again? Look for Abby? If there’s anything noteworthy there, I want to know.”

“Why don’t you ask Nick? It’s his case.”

“I don’t want to bother him. He’s already very stressed.”

Troy narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure everything is good between you two? Haven’t seen you talk for months now.”

“Yes.” She placed her hands on her waist and tipped her chin up. “We’re good. We’re both busy and don’t have time to chitchat. Just help me out. Please.”

“Well, since you saidplease.” He mocked her and started walking away. “I will!” he yelled when he reached the end of the hallway.

Troy was always about drama and jokes, but the young detective had once taken a bullet for a patrol officer. She admired his sturdiness, his ability not to mold due to the nature of the job. But maybe he was wearing a mask too. Wasn’t everyone?

The meeting inside had adjourned. Everyone was getting ready to leave. Nick stacked his papers together and his gaze collided with Mackenzie’s through the glass.

He paused. His eyes softened. Hers hardened.

Steeling her spine, she marched away with the weight of his eyes on her back.

Six

Abby Correia’s phone hadn’t been tracked yet. Either the phone was destroyed, or it wasn’t connected to a power source. Mackenzie had requested Forensics try to have it ping the nearest cell tower—but they’d had no success yet. Of course, there was the option that the phone was in a block-bag. But the likelihood of that was slim. How would a teenager have access to a block-bag? Why would a kidnapper go through the trouble of keeping a phone in it? It was easier to destroy it.

Mackenzie replied to the email from Forensics, asking them to keep her updated on the status. Abby’s cell provider could shed light on when her phone was last active. She was waiting for the court order to go through. She leaned back on her chair and stared at the ceiling.

It was eight in the evening, and her coworkers had left. A few people were working late in the building somewhere, but her floor was empty.