Page 31 of Three Girls Gone (Detective Amanda Steele #14)

TWENTY-SIX

Amanda woke up the next morning with joy in her heart.

She felt more alive than she had in years.

Mom. She replayed Zoe’s little voice saying that a thousand times.

Something about it made her and Zoe even more official.

Though their instant connection and natural chemistry said they belonged together from their first meeting.

While Amanda always thought Zoe had saved her, she could see now that she had repaid the favor.

She’d given Zoe shelter from the storm, provided her a sanctuary to heal and grow.

For the first few hours lying in bed last night, she questioned whether she’d dreamed it, but the recollections were clear.

Zoe had called her Mom . And not just once, but twice.

The second time came after Becky had gone home, and Amanda had helped Zoe with her bath and tucked her into bed.

She turned out the light in her room, and Zoe had said, “Night, Mom.”

And then this morning when she dropped Zoe off at school, she called her Mom for a fourth time.

There was no sweeter sound, and Amanda would be playing it on repeat all day.

It would be what carried her through, what gave her the added strength to take down the serial killer who targeted young girls.

Anne Harrington was going to pay. Amanda would do it for Julie Gilbert, Hailey Tanner, other victims they might not know about, and to prevent others from coming to harm.

Might not know about… And just like that her light mood swerved into the darkness.

What if there were other young victims claimed by this monster?

Her phone rang over her car’s system, and the hospital showed on caller ID. She answered formally, though she expected to hear Dr.Paulsen’s voice. She was met with a woman’s voice instead, who identified herself as Lorraine, a nurse, from the hospital.

“I’m calling about a patient by the name of Anne Harrington. She’s in recovery from surgery and doing well. You can come and talk to her whenever you wish. Just check in at the nurses’ station.”

“Thank you.”

“Uh-huh.” The nurse ended the call, and Amanda was curious why the doctor hadn’t called himself. Maybe she and Trent had made a bigger deal out of his wanting her number than it warranted. And maybe that was a good thing.

She was about to call Trent when her phone rang again, and Unknown splashed on the screen. That wouldn’t stop her from answering since she gave her card out to a lot of people with the job. “Detective Steele.”

“It’s Officer Brandt. I’m here outside Anne Harrington’s hospital room. Wyatt said you wanted to know when her lawyer turned up. Well, he’s with her now, and she’s good to speak with you if you wanted to come over.”

“Thank you, Leo.” Amanda ended the call and selected Trent’s number.

“Good morning,” he answered .

“You have no idea how good it is.” She was thinking about Zoe calling her Mom .

“Oh?”

“Mind out of the gutter.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“Anne Harrington’s lawyer is with her, and she’s good to talk to us.” She’d stick to business.

“These people are up and at it early, but that news was hardly worth the buildup.”

She debated whether to share the latest between her and Zoe, but decided not to for now.

At the start of her partnership with Trent, she was much better at adhering to the line between personal and professional.

Somewhere over the years, that line had blurred, curved, and faded into obscurity.

“Early is right, but I’m already on my way to Central. ”

“I’ll be here waiting.”

“Wait’s over. I’m pulling into the lot now. Meet me outside.” She ended the call, walked to the lot with the department cars, and Trent came out a few minutes later tossing a key fob in the air and catching it.

“You know if you break that it’s going to be a couple hundred bucks to replace,” she told him.

“I won’t break it then.” He smirked at her as he got into the driver’s seat.

He got them on the road and looked over at her. “We okay?”

“Of course we are.” She smiled. The expression, a little too eager, had her pleasant mood oozing from her despite her intention to dial it down.

“Hmm. You seem uncharacteristically chipper this morning. Want to tell me why?”

“It’s a sunny day. We’re going to close this case and get justice for two girls today.”

“Even if we do, I sense there’s more than that. ”

She wriggled a pointed finger at him. “Just focus your detective skills on the case.”

“You say everything’s okay between us, but you’re acting weird. I meant what I said last night. I kind of got cut off with Becky turning up, but I was going to add, who you date or even if you do, isn’t any of my business.”

“Zoe called me Mom ,” she blurted out. Anything to end the agony of Trent’s rambling.

“Wow, that’s a big deal. That’s the first time, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Amanda’s large grin was making her cheeks ache. She probably looked like a moron, not that she cared.

“That’s incredible. Congrats? I don’t know what to say.” Trent was smiling too.

“Thanks, Trent. Honestly, I’m speechless about it.”

“Well, you’re so good with her. It was bound to happen eventually.”

His genuine words hit her heart and sank in her gut. His opinion mattered to her. Possibly more than it should. “Thanks. And as for Dr.Paulsen, we all read him wrong.”

“ Pfft. I don’t think so. That guy was drooling over you.”

She scrunched up her face. “Do people even say that anymore?”

He shrugged. “I just did.”

She loved his easygoing nature, and while he had a strong moral code and values she shared, he wasn’t about conforming to please other people. Another thing she respected about him.

“And how do you figure we read him wrong?” Trent asked as he turned into the hospital parking lot.

“He didn’t call. A nurse did. He wanted my number for business reasons.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure about that. Ask me and there’s more to it.”

They got out of the car and headed to the nurses’ station and announced who they were and who they were there to see .

“Yes, you’re interested in Anne Harrington,” the nurse said with confidence.

“That’s right,” Amanda told her.

“I’m Lorraine, the nurse who called you.

Dr.Paulsen apologizes he didn’t do it himself.

” Amanda’s confusion must have been easy to read.

“Oh, let me back up here. Dr.Paulsen finished out a twenty-hour shift at two AM, called me at six after speaking to the attending to check on Harrington’s recovery.

He sounded drunk exhausted and asked if I’d call you. Guess he was supposed to.”

Trent nudged the toe of his shoe into the side of her foot. Amanda stiffened.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Don’t mention it. She’s back in room one-twelve. Do you need me to take you there?”

“No, we’ll be fine.” Amanda set off, taking the lead.

Trent caught up and whispered to her. “Guess we didn’t misread anything.”

But did that really change things? She had Zoe. They had it good together. Her phone rang, yanking her out of her spiraling thoughts.

She stopped walking to answer. Trent stood next to her as she pulled out her phone. “It’s Malone,” she told Trent before picking up.

“Where are you two?”

“At the?—”

“You know what? It doesn’t matter. Another girl is missing.”

The world around Amanda became still for a second, then chirps from machines and soles slapping and squeaking against the linoleum flooring came into focus. Nurses and patients walked past them.

“Just hold on one sec.” She looked for a private place to put the call on hands-free so Trent could hear.

The only space within eyesight was a restroom.

She ducked inside and pulled Trent’s shirt to drag him in with her.

She checked on the stalls, and once she confirmed they were alone, she closed the door behind them and hit Speaker on her phone.

“Go ahead.” Her heart was pounding. Not just because she had Trent’s woodsy cologne lodged up her nose and on her palms.

“Eloise Maynard, seven years old, was discovered missing when her mother went to wake her up this morning. Detective McGee from Missing Persons shot this one right over to us.”

“Are we sure it’s connected to Gilbert and Tanner?” Trent asked. “Though what are the chances it isn’t?”

“Slim to none,” Malone amended. “But they’re connected all right.”

The skin tightened on the back of Amanda’s neck. “You know this for certain.”

“There was a printed note on her bed addressed to Katherine.”

“Shit.” The expletive slipped out. “Does Katherine know?”

“She does. And you should know that I’ve sent her home. The chief’s orders.”

Amanda stiffened. “None of this is her fault.”

“That’s not the point. You know the chief’s primary concern.”

Optics , but she left it unsaid. That was a battle for another day. Poor Katherine. She must be spinning out. “Tell us where you want us to go.”

“The family home.” Malone gave them the address. “Detective McGee is already there, being the first to receive the report. Obviously, he’s there with first responding officers too.”

“All right. We’ll head right over.”

“Harrington has officially been released of suspicion. Clearly, we went down the wrong path there. The search on her home and car got us nowhere either.”

“Okay, thank you,” she told him .

Malone clicked off, and Amanda and Trent were left looking at each other.

“I can’t believe this is happening again,” he said. “And so soon.”

“Me either.” Her stomach tossed. “And poor Katherine. I should call her.”

Trent nodded and headed for the restroom door. “I’ll make sure the officer on duty uncuffs Harrington.”

She nodded, with her phone to an ear. Katherine’s phone rang once before pushing Amanda to voicemail.

Rejected… “It’s Amanda. I promise you I’m going to find this guy.

We’re going to. I’m here if you need to talk.

” She ended the call, not knowing what else she could say.

Was there anything she could say that would comfort Katherine?

Amanda doubted it. To think how this day started off on such a high note, and in a matter of a few hours had crashed and burned.