Page 40 of The Psychic

Evan gave a short laugh, then switched gears.

“If you’re really looking for somebody, you can generally find them if they’re inside the downtown River Glen city limits.

Cameras everywhere. But if you get on the edges, or the outskirts, no dice.

River Glen folks worry about the government spying on them.

They vote everything down. And they’re smart to do it.

Anyway, if she’s really missing, you might catch Shana on a Ring camera or something in town.

Otherwise, it’s a no-go. If you want, I can check the available cameras, but … ”

“You have access to city cameras?” asked Ronnie as the soft notes of “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” drifted through the rooms.

“Yeah, but I doubt there are any near her apartment. And I wouldn’t bet on any private ones there, either.

Not the right caliber of place … But I’ll give it a look.

” He stopped suddenly and snapped his fingers.

“Just remembered a name. Amy Deggars. Shana’s mentioned her a few times.

I don’t know how close they are, but she works at that law firm where your husband works. ”

Ronnie’s brows raised. He knew about Galen?

“Soon-to-be-ex, according to Shana,” he added with a smile.

“You knew she was serving me papers? I thought you hadn’t talked to her,” accused Ronnie.

“I knew she was working with that firm. Didn’t know about serving you.”

“When did you last see her?” asked Sloan. “Can you remember?”

“There you go, being all official again. Haven’t talked to her for weeks, like I said.” Then lifted his palms. “Okay, she left a message on the phone from the hospital. I didn’t call her back. That’s the last I’ve heard from her.”

“You could’ve led with that,” Ronnie let him know.

Evan’s smile was cold. “Sloan, my man,” he said with a hitch of his chin toward Ronnie. “Be careful with this one. Who knows? She might be telling the truth about that psychic ability.” He shook hands with Sloan and winked at Ronnie.

On their way down the elevator, Ronnie said, “Friends, huh?”

“Caldwell likes to play mind games.”

“He seems to revel in making himself unlikeable.”

Sloan’s mouth quirked. “Sometimes,” he agreed.

He stopped at the car and looked back the way they’d come. Then he shook his head and hit the remote to open locks. Ronnie climbed into the passenger seat as he got behind the wheel. He started the engine then said, “I’ll check with Shana’s mom and the lawyer, Deggars.”

“When? Now? I’m going with you.”

He seemed about to argue, then just shrugged.

She realized he thought he was on a wild-goose chase, but was seeing it through to humor her. Well, fine. As long as she found Shana, that was all right with her.

“Did you connect with Clint last night?” she asked as Sloan drove out of the underground parking lot.

“He was trying to dodge me, but yeah.”

“You can be … hard to talk to.”

He let that one slide as he steered, melding his Bronco into traffic. “He said he’d seen you earlier with Brandy.”

“She was going to see him and asked me to go along. He was pretty broken up over Mel.”

“How much did he tell you about their relationship?”

She shrugged and looked out the window. Now would be the time to tell him about Clint’s truck tires and the maple tree whirlies. If she really believed Clint was involved, maybe responsible, for Mel’s death. But did she?

What about when Abel Townsend calls you? What are you going to tell him?

“I’ve heard you can get DNA from plants and they’re just as individually specific as people,” she said.

He took his eyes off the road for a moment to really look at her before turning back. “What are we talking about?”

Feeling a little like a traitor, she nevertheless explained about the maple seeds that she’d seen in Clint’s truck and the mudcaked tires.

Better than telling Townsend, or holding it back from him, which was what she would do.

Like Evan Caldwell, she didn’t really trust Townsend.

Sheriffs were elected and didn’t have to listen to governors and senators and other politicians.

They had a kind of fiefdom with a lot of power.

She’d dealt with one particularly surly sheriff in the course of a lawsuit once and was leery of all of them.

Sloan flipped on the wipers to combat the drizzle quickly turning to rain. “You saw Clint’s truck at his house.”

“Yes.”

“You think he was at the site where McNulty’s body was found.”

“Maybe.”

“This wasn’t any … vision.”

“No,” she bit out. They’d driven several miles, the traffic thinning.

“Okay.”

Her cell phone rang, sparing her the smart comeback that had jumped to her tongue.

She pulled it from her purse. Saw it was Cooper Haynes’s number.

Another call she would return later. She didn’t know what Haynes wanted, but she could guess, and she didn’t want to be conversing with him in front of Sloan.

There was no explaining about Rebekkah …

She’d gotten that one right apparently. But if Haynes wanted her help finding his missing surrogate, she doubted she could offer anything more.

And now she was starting to doubt what she’d seen about Shana. There had been no body in the apartment. Was Shana’s terror, her apparent attack, even real? Ronnie had been so sure, but now, after talking with Evan …

“This the way to Shana’s mom’s house?” she asked when it looked suspiciously like he was taking her home.

“No.”

“You’re trying to drop me off?” Her temper started to rise. “Look, either I’m going with you, or I’m going by myself.”

“You know where she lives?”

She hadn’t seen the scrap of paper with the address, so no, but she didn’t bother answering. “Are you even planning to check on her?” she asked.

“Yes. Since you’re so convinced I want—”

“What? To prove me wrong?” she cut in. “Maybe you’re right, maybe I’m wrong, but I wasn’t wrong about Mel, was I?”

“No.”

“Just take me with you then,” she insisted. She had to know about Shana.

He turned on his blinker and circled back the way they’d come. With a glance in her direction, he said, “Fine. We’re both going to see Nadia.”

“Thank you.” She wondered belatedly if maybe he just didn’t want her by his side when interviewing Shana’s mother, who probably had known him pretty well while he and Shana were dating.

And Shana had made it clear that she still wanted Sloan …

and maybe her mother knew that, so Ronnie’s appearance would not be welcomed.

Didn’t matter. They were on their way now. Which was good. Because as she’d said often enough, the single important fact remained: Ronnie just needed to find Shana.