Page 35 of Three Girls Gone

Libby dipped her head.

“I should have her back within the hour,” Amanda said and turned to leave. Summarizing her limited time with Zoe drilled an ache into her chest.

“See you soon.” Libby shut the door behind her.

Amanda returned to the Jeep to find that Zoe had climbedinto the front passenger seat. She slipped into the back. “Hey now, what’s going on here?”

“Trent said I could ride shoe gun.” Zoe giggled.

“Shotgun,” Trent corrected.

“Yeah, that’s it. Close enough.” The girl was grinning, her head turned toward Trent. He might be her first crush.

The girl has impeccable taste…The thought fired through Amanda’s head at lightning speed. Then she spent the next forty-five minutes telling herself dinner with Trent and her daughter was normal. Platonic. Nothing to it. If only her heart was listening to her head.

They ate cheeseburgers and fries and laughed like a family of three in a corner booth. None of that imagery was helping Amanda stuff her romantic feelings for Trent deeper down. But she wasn’t in any position to offer him anything. Kelsey aside. She had her own life to sort out. She was just months out of a long-term relationship. They’d been living together, but when Logan had wanted to take it to another level, Amanda had to face reality. They weren’t a great match. Good, but not great. He was a solid father figure for Zoe, but he didn’t respect Amanda’s work despite his lip service when she cornered him. To him, her being a cop was an inconvenience.

They dropped Zoe back at Libby’s, and Zoe waved from the front window as Trent pulled out of the driveway. She was sure most of her daughter’s attention was on Trent, not her.

“Zoe’s incredible and so sharp for her age,” Trent said, waving back.

“Too sharp, sometimes.” Amanda smiled. “And stubborn.”

Trent grinned. “Makes life more interesting. She seems to be doing good though.”

Amanda looked over at Trent, not lost for a second on the meaning. “With Logan gone?”

“Yeah. I know they were close. He ever…?”

She shook her head. “I heard a rumor that he left town. Don’t ask me where he went.”

“That’s too bad.”

She studied his profile, unsure whether that was genuine from Zoe’s perspective or sarcastic from his own. The tension between the two men wasn’t a well-guarded secret. “Zoe was upset at first, but she’s doing fine. We had a long talk about him and our decision to split up. She seemed to understand it wasn’t about her and said it was like her with Maria. She was one of Zoe’s first friends. Zoe said Maria changed, and she doesn’t like her anymore.”

“Wow. That is smart and rather astute. How old is she now?”

“Nine.”

“Wow. That’s impressive.”

“I swear she’s an old soul in a little person.” With that said, Amanda’s thoughts turned to Hailey Tanner. What had that sweet girl been like? Most of the world lost the chance to know.

Amanda and Trent swung past the Eastern District Station, and after she introduced herself, the officer at the front desk lifted a banker box up from behind the counter. “Here ya go.”

“Thanks.”

Less than five minutes later, she and Trent were back in the car on their way to Central. Her phone rang, and Malone’s name flashed on the screen. She answered on speaker.

“Where are you guys?”

“We just left Eastern with the files for the Tanner case, but we’re on our way back now.”

“All right. Well, I’m calling to let you know that Chief Buchanan gave Katherine the green light.Butshe’s to assist on a consultation basis only.”

“Meaning?” Amanda asked.

“She can help us in the background. No field work, but she can help by making necessary phone calls and serving as liaison with the NYPD.”