Page 72 of The Perfect Divorce

I hear him let out a long sigh, maybe out of frustration, maybe out of exhaustion. I’m not sure. But it rattles the speaker, forcing me to pull the phone from my ear for a moment. He sounds desperate, and I’m not surprised based on everything he’s dealing with—or attempting to deal with. I take a short, deep breath, deciding that I’ll throw him a bone.

“What do you need, Sheriff?” My tone changes from defensive to agreeable, so he knows I’m willing to go out on a limb for him just this one time, regardless of attorney-client privilege.

“Do you know if Carissa had any family out of state she could turn to?” he asks.

“Not that I can recall. All I know is she had an ex who treated her like a punching bag.” My free hand balls up into a fist at the thought of that poor excuse of a man. And I’m aware that’s ripe coming from someone like me. But we all have a moral code. Some are just more lax than others.

“And your foundation helped Carissa get a protective order against her ex, George Carrigan?”

“Yes, twice actually,” I say, spinning in my chair.

“And it was set to expire next month, is that correct?” Sheriff Hudson asks.

“That sounds about right. They’re good for two years, so yes. I’m not sure on the exact date though... Actually, I’m surprised I haven’t heard from her. I assume she’d want to file a motion to extend it again.”

“When’s the last time you heard from her?”

“Around the time we filed the last one. I mean, I’ve seen her around town since then and waved and said hi, but I haven’t had a conversation with her regarding the protective order... Why? Is she okay?”

He lets out another heavy sigh. “I don’t know, but she’s missing.”

“Missing!? Have you talked to her ex? If something happened to her, he had something to do with it.”

“We have talked to him. He doesn’t have a solid alibi, but we’ve got nothing tying him to it yet.”

“Tying him to what?”

Sheriff Hudson is quiet, and for a second, I think the call has disconnected. I pull the phone from my ear, checking the screen. The timer for the call length is ticking up. “You still there, Hudson?”

“Yeah,” he says. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this since it’s an active investigation, but you were her attorney, so you know more about the relationship between her and her ex than anyone else.”

“What is it?”

“Carissa’s salon was ransacked late Sunday night. Nothing was stolen. Her car, purse, and cell phone were left behind, and... there was blood everywhere.”

“Jesus! You’ve gotta go after that fuckface ex of hers.”

“I’m with ya, but here’s the thing though: We don’t know if the blood we found in the salon even belongs to her because she’s not in the system and we’ve got no family to compare it to.”

“At the very least, you know she’s missing.”

“Yeah, we do, and if her ex had anything to do with her disappearance, we’ll find out.”

“Good. You better.”

“I appreciate your cooperation, Sarah.”

“I’d say anytime, Sheriff, but you know that’s not the case.”

“Oh, I know,” he says, and I can practically hear him smile on the other end of the line. “Take care.”

“You too.”

Before I can even set my phone down, there’s a knock at my office door.

“Come in,” I call out.

It opens slowly, revealing Alejandro on the other side, dressed in a button-down and a pair of jeans.