Julia’s heart dropped at the words. They were stuck again.
“But,” Alex continued, “I’m digging a little further. I just need some time.”
Hope lifted in her at the words. “Oh, Alex, thank you. I’m so grateful for this. I’m really worried.”
“It does seem something nefarious may be afoot. Will you be up for a few hours?”
“Yes. I’ll wait up. If you find anything, please let me know right away.”
“Will do, Sunshine. Ace out.” The line clicked as he ended the call.
Julia leaned back in her pillows, her pulse pounding as she shook her head. “I don’t like this.”
“You’ve said,” Alicia retorted as she kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the bed with Julia. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep?”
“Because I don’t want to miss Alex’s call.”
“I’ll wait up for it,” Alicia said.
“Says the sister who kept phone calls from me by telling me my phone was fried.”
Alicia gave her an unimpressed stare. “I’m sorry about that, but I’m not going to keep this call from you. I’m curious, too. I want to know if Dr. Jekyll ran off to nurse his broken heart or if something happened.”
Julia settled in next to her sister, letting her eyes slide closed. Within minutes, she fell asleep, sheer exhaustion overcoming her.
The ringing phone awakened her. She glanced at the clock. One in the morning. Alicia slept next to her. She wondered if Grant was home or still at the office as she squinted at the display. Alex’s name glowed back.
Her heart leapt, adrenaline forcing her wider awake as she swiped to take the call, poking at her sister to wake her.
“Huh, what?” she asked, sleep in her voice.
“Alex? Anything?” Julia asked.
“Hey, kid. Nothing conclusive, but something to follow up on.”
“What is it? We’ll get on it.”
“Well, I snagged Little G’s license plate and ran it through the traffic cams in the Big Easy. Got a couple of hits. Nothing terribly telling until…”
“Yeah?” Julia asked, breathless.
“Until it showed up at a crossroads outside of the city, but then never again.”
“Maybe there are no cameras beyond that one if that was outside of the city,” Alicia said.
“He went straight through that light. Maps say there are no roads off of that one and no buildings, domestic or otherwise. The next light has a camera. Junior G-man’s car never shows.”
“So, he stopped somewhere between those two lights.”
“And it wasn’t to visit a friend,” Alex said. “That car disappeared on Silverwood Street somewhere between Fernwood and Sycamore.”
Julia’s heart leapt into her throat. “We’ll check it out.”
“I’ll keep digging around. Let me know what you find.”
The line clicked as Alex ended the call. Julia threw back the covers and leapt from the bed. “Let’s go.”
“Wait, Julia!” Alicia said.