Page 23 of Guess Again
“He might be the governor today, but I still remember him as the guy who used to throw Callie and me off the dock and into Lake Okoboji when we were little. Everyone calls himGovernorJones now, which still blows me away. Don’t get me wrong. I voted for him, but he’ll always beMr.Jones in my mind.Callie’s dad.”
“Makes sense. I read that you and Callie were best friends.”
“Back in the day, yes.”
“To your original question: Governor Jonesisthe reason I’m here, but he didn’t send me directly. I’m reinvestigating Callie’s disappearance.”
“So I’ve read. Cherryview is vibrating with anticipation. My folks still live in town, and they said that since word broke, everyone is hoping Ethan Hall—the renegade detective turned doctor—will be able to solve the unsolvable case of Callie’s disappearance. Maybe if you do, Cherryview can go back to being known for its cherry trees and not a missing girl.”
“I’m just reviewing the case at the moment. I might find nothing at all.”
“I’m curious why Mr. Jones thinks this many years later that you’ll be able to find answers about what happened to Callie when no one could figure it out right in the aftermath. We all waited for answers back then, but got none.”
Ethan shrugged. “I’m not sure why the governor believes I can shed light on what happened to his daughter. But he obviously has newly acquired clout and power, and he’s using it as a last ditch effort to find some closure. The bottom line is that he asked for my help, and I agreed to look into the case.”
“And he specifically choseyou?”
“He did.”
“Why?”
“My old partner worked the case.”
“Pete Kramer?”
Lindsay had spoken at length with the man during the original investigation.
“Yeah. Pete and the governor are close, and Pete suggested me.”
“You were a special agent with the Division of Criminal Investigation, and then you quit to go to med school?”
“Retired, not quit. But yes.”
“Why did you retire?”
“Who’s questioning who here?”
Lindsay smiled. “You came to my place of work. I think I have the right to ask a few questions.”
“That’s fair. Let’s see. I was exposed to a lot of things while I was a special agent. And some of those things I still see when I close my eyes. I knew if I kept it up for another ten years, it wouldn’t have been good for my health—mental or physical. So I decided I could better help people by going into healthcare.”
Lindsay laughed.
“Is something the matter?”
“I’m not a fan of medicine. If I break my arm, you’ll be the first person I see. But for my overall health and mental well-being, I will stay far, far away from the U.S. healthcare system. But your story only explains why you left law enforcement, not why our newly elected governor pulled a physician out of the ER to help him figure out what happened to his daughter a decade ago.”
“I had a one-hundred-percent solve rate when I worked for the DCI. I guess the governor is hoping I can keep that streak alive as I look into his daughter’s case.”
Lindsay raised her eyebrows and nodded. “Okay. How can I help?”
CHAPTER 26
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Wednesday, July 16, 2025
“I’M HOPING YOU CAN TELL ME ABOUT THE SUMMERCALLIE WENTmissing,” Ethan said. “Callie’s mom has passed. And her father, although desperate and willing to help in any way he can, hasn’t provided much useful information in the couple of times we’ve spoken. Also, I learned during my years investigating crimes against teens and young adults that parents have a skewed view of their kids. When it comes to teenaged victims of crime, it’s much more likely that their friends can offer useful information than the victims’ parents.”
Lindsay nodded. “I spoke with the police and detectives, including Pete Kramer, after Callie disappeared. But I’ll tell you everything I know about her and about that summer. Ten years later, my memory is likely not as good as when this all happened.”
