Page 37 of Perfectly Matched

“Oh, stop being so dramatic. How bad could it be?” she said as she opened the folder, pulled out a piece of paper, scanned it, then flipped it over. “I don’t understand. There’s nothing here.” She tilted her head toward Tegan. “Every category is blank.”

“Exactly. Seems we have a bit of a mystery on our hands. Hannah is a ghost.”

“A ghost?” The word struck her face like a slap. It was the exact word Tegan had used to describe Julie after she’d asked Tegan to track her down.

“She doesn’t exist.” Tegan continued. “She listed her last name as Archer, and the address Gimbauld’s has on file for her isn’t a real one. But as we know, giving a fake name and addresses to a hotel isn’t unusual for this town, based on some of the clientele that come here and wish to remain anonymous.” Tegan paused. “Should I continue?”

Payson heard the words through a thick fog forming around her brain as she barely nodded.

“Her room was prepaid in cash for three days only, so there’s no credit card information there…oh, and she hasalready checked out. I also couldn’t find a driver’s license, birth certificate, email, or social security number that links to her. No criminal record, which is good, but also nothing when I did a job history search. And get this, I called a contact over at corporate, and she said she didn’t know anything about an experimental temp project. She said they wouldn’t do that sort of thing.”

“Wait,” Payson said as each word pounded in her head. “Back up. Jason said he talked to someone at corporate who set her up as my temp.”

Tegan shook her head. “He talked tosomeone…but not someone at corporate.”

Payson sank deep into her chair. Her mind volleyed between disbelief and numbness. “But that makes no sense. Why would anyone fake being a temp?” And why a temp assigned to her?

“I don’t know, but all I’m saying is that when someone uses false names and addresses, there’s a reason…and usually that reason is never a good one.”

The walls began to spin, and Payson’s stomach bottomed out as she doubled over in her chair. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Tegan’s caring hand gently squeezed her shoulder. “Sorry, Payson, I know you were into her. And hell, I liked her too.”

Her face flushed with heat. Did she really fall for another drifter? A con artist who wasn’t who she said she was? When she could no longer breathe through the suffocating feeling, she bolted out of her chair and ran to the bathroom. She crashed through a stall door and bent over the toilet. She placed her hands on her thighs as the saliva in her mouth started to build. She spit a few times, but nothing more came up.

After a few minutes, she leaned against the stall door, took a few shaky breaths, then walked to the sink. She dampened a paper towel with cold water and ran it over her forehead. She felt like she had been duped once again. She glanced in themirror as she studied the face reflected back. What was it about her that seemed to attract these types of women? Or was it this town? Vegas was a double-edged sword. The glamor and glitz designed to lure with hopes and dreams of striking it rich also attracted the desperate and dishonest.

The squeak of the bathroom door made her turn.

“You okay?” Tegan asked.

“Mm-hmm,” she lied as she tossed the wet towel in the trash and leaned against the counter. Was she okay? No, not even close.

“I need to head over to the welcome sign for the mayor’s speech, but I don’t want to leave you like this,” Tegan said as she approached.

Payson waved her off as she wiped tears from her cheek. “I’m okay, really.”

“You don’t look okay.”

Payson pushed off the counter. “I’m fine, really. Now, go on. Jason will have your head if you miss that press conference.” She turned and checked herself in the mirror as she fidgeted with her shirt. Her eyes were puffy, and her skin looked oxygen deprived, but it wasn’t like anyone would notice. They were an hour out from the show, so everyone would be in scramble mode. “Come on. We both have a job to do.”

Tegan pulled her into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. I really thought she was the real thing too.”

“Well.” Payson pulled out of the hug as a fresh tear escaped. “At least it was short-lived, and she didn’t clean out my bank account.” She smiled, even though her heart was breaking.

“Yeah, I guess there’s that,” Tegan said. “But I’m still gonna worry about you.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ve worked my way out of disappointment and heartache before.” She waved her hand. “Now go, be the amazing reporter that you are.”

Tegan laughed as they shuffled back into the newsroom. “You might want to remind Jason of that from time to time. I could use a raise.”

“You and me both,” Payson said as she returned to her cubicle. She sank in her chair, her gaze far away. A fog of numbness surrounded her as she tried to bring her world into focus. She closed her eyes and began massaging her temples. The heavy weight of her emotions was causing a migraine to settle in. She let out a long shaky breath. In less than forty-eight hours, her world had turned upside down, and she knew it was going to take some time before she was able to turn it back. “Get it together,” she whispered, the same words she used to tell herself on a daily basis after Julie left. “Just get it together,” she repeated as the police scanners began loudly squawking.

“Someone’s threatening to jump off the dam,” the person behind the assignment desk called.

“Payson,” Jason yelled across the newsroom as he stepped out of his office. “That’s your lead story for tonight. Get Tegan on it. I want a cut-in as soon as she gets set up. The other stations will be all over this, so tell her to sniff out an exclusive angle.”

“Tegan’s headed to the mayor’s conference,” she called back.

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