Page 102 of Our Daughter's Bones
“Hannah, we haven’t found her yet,” Mackenzie said, gesturing for her to sit down. “I thought you took the night shift.”
“Not anymore. Did you find anything? Who’re you?” She turned to Nick. “I’ve seen you on the news, I think.”
Nick fixed his tie. “I’m the detective on Erica’s case. As you know the investigations were combined.”
“Right.” She settled on a chair.
For the first time, Mackenzie saw her restless. Typically she was defeated but defiant, lazy but bitter. Today, she was agitated. Furiously, she moved her neck around in jerky motions.
“We think Abby was taken because she found out what happened to Erica––” Mackenzie started.
“I knew that rich bitch would cause trouble one day.”
Nick’s eyes went wide before he showed her a picture of the cocktail napkin. “Recognize this?”
She frowned. “No.”
Mackenzie looked at her, feeling uneasy. “Hannah, we know you blackmailed someone from Remington’s.”
Her breath hitched. “That’s why Joe left.”
“What do you mean?”
“Joe! My manager.” She leaned forward and whisper-yelled. “He skipped town. That’s why I’ve taken over. I need to start work earlier. You went to him, didn’t you? What did he say?”
“We need to know the name of the client you blackmailed.”
“Am I in trouble?”
“Yourdaughteris,” Mackenzie said, exasperated. “We have CCTV footage of Abby being approached by Eddy Rowinski right before she went missing. He’s a former convict. A dangerous man who has been charged with aggravated assault. He works for the clientyoublackmailed.”
Hannah fell silent for a few heartbeats, like she was considering. “I… What did this Eddy Rowinski say?”
“Nothing. We’re looking into his employment, but it’s taking time. If you tell us the name, then we can move faster.”
“N-no.”
“Excuse me?” Nick asked.
“No. I… No.” Hannah wrapped her arms around her chest and rubbed her arms. “I made a mistake, okay? I was sick of struggling to pay the bills and working extra shifts. Buying Abby expensive clothes and makeup so that she didn’t feel too out of place. You saw her room. Joe came up to me with this idea of catching a rich client with a prostitute.”
“This client was a regular?”
“On and off. He’d developed a crush on this girl at the club. Joe convinced me to record them. I shouldn’t have, but you don’t know what it’s like. To be in my shoes. After the girl quit, the client threatened Joe. That’s when I backed out of this whole scheme.”
“Did the client contact you?”
“No.” She grimaced. “I didn’t know until now that he contacted Abby.”
“We need a name, Hannah.”
“He’s dangerous.”
“We’re the police.”
“Doesn’t matter. This is Lakemore. Tell me, how much corruption happens here?”
Mackenzie didn’t have an answer. She balled her hands into fists next to her thighs. She didn’t know what to feel: shame or anger. Daphne and Chloe demanded justice. She might not have been responsible for any cover-up, but she was an unwitting participant. They all were.
