Page 5 of The Hanging Dolls
His face pinched in thought. “Because once you solved a homicide with no other clues but a torn up parking ticket.Andyou need this. I can tell that you’ve been… looking for something to do. Though, I won’t send you alone. There’s a missing kid and I got a feeling about this one.”
“Why so? Kids go missing all the time.”
“There it is. The brashness.” He sighed. “Harborwood is a small town with no reports of any violent crimes in the past decade. I’ll get a profiler to partner up with you.”
She felt her face turn hot. “Okay. Give me what you got on this.”
“I’m waiting for—” Simon swung open the door to his office with Zoe tailing him when he halted, causing her to almost crash into the back of him. “Nancy!”
A slender, tall woman with a narrow, heart-shaped face, doe-like eyes and wavy dirty blonde hair. “Simon.” She smiledbut when her eyes fell on Zoe, they lingered for longer than necessary on the closed distance between her and Simon.
Simon rushed up to her. “What a surprise.”
“I was in the area so I thought we could go and grab some lunch together.” She smiled tightly at Zoe as she asked, “How’s it going?”
“Great.” Zoe beamed. “Your husband’s shipping me off to Harborwood on a case.”
“Harborwood? Never heard of it.”
“Always trying to get rid of me.”
“I’m not trying to get rid of you. You’re the best agent I got,” Simon said. “Despite your tendencies to put your foot in your mouth.”
Zoe stuck out her tongue, making him chuckle. When their laughter dissolved, Zoe noticed Nancy’s fallen face forcing a smile.
A blade of guilt twisted inside Zoe. “Send me the files when you get them. Enjoy your lunch!”
As soon as she closed the door behind her, she could hear them bickering again. Something about Nancy questioning why Simon and Zoe spent so much time together. As she walked away, Zoe’s ears burned and her eyes grew heavy.
A few hours later, Zoe was perched on the vanity countertop, whistling and swinging her legs. Outside the window was glittering blackness. No one used this washroom, especially at nine in the evening. It was quiet here, which she liked. Since she didn’t have anyone to go home to, she’d stayed behind. Simon had sent her the information he had received from Harborwood PD.
Lily Baker disappeared from a playground halfway between her house and her school four days ago at 4:30 p.m. Accordingto the sister, she had looked away only for a minute to finish paying for an ice cream for Lily but when she turned back Lily was nowhere to be seen.
Four days. The prospects were bleak. Hope was a thing of cruelty in her line of work, but it was a necessity. It was the glue that held together sanity of minds that could too easily be ravaged by violence and betrayal. It held Zoe together too.
It had been over twenty years since she’d nearly lost all hope. And still, a glimmer of it remained.
She memorized the basics quickly, but Chief Travis Hunter hadn’t sent a lot of information. Maybe Simon was right. This was exactly what she needed because digging into her mother’s past had hit a brick wall. It had sent her thoughts wayward. And she was thinking too much about the last time she went undercover. It was not only the longest undercover assignment, but also the hardest one she’d ever been on. No matter how much time had passed since and no matter how many countless showers she had, the remnants of the leader of the cult she’d infiltrated still lingered on her skin. He was like poisonous air she had inhaled that was taking forever to detox.
Zoe put the file away and stared at her reflection.
She was short but sculpted. Her dark hair, frizzy and curly, framed a squarish face with pillowy lips and dark brown eyes that were just a little far apart. Her skin was glassy, a light shade of brown. She searched for similarities between her and her mother Rachel. Other than the small nose and slightly protruding ears, they had nothing in common. It was her sister, Gina, who had inherited her mother’s green eyes and thin lips and silky, brown hair.
Zoe could only assume she took after her father—whoever that was. She washed her face and braced herself. Her eyes landed on a picture of the girl. Razor-sharp fear twisted in her stomach.
What had happened to Lily?
Her phone buzzed. It was a message from Simon.
Dr. Aiden Wesley is on the case with you.
Her eyes ballooned at the name.Aiden Wesley. A groan escaped her throat and she slammed her head against the concrete wall.
THREE
“I’ll have two Belgian waffles, two pork sausages, two eggs sunny side up and one chocolate milkshake.” Zoe placed her order with a bright smile.
The bony, tattooed waitress with piercings in her eyebrows and lips asked sarcastically, “Not two milkshakes?”
