Find Her Alive (Detective Josie Quinn #8) - Lisa Regan Page 0,36
to ask you.”
She took out her phone and pulled up the photo of Nicci Webb she had taken from the woman’s Facebook profile. “Do you recognize this woman?”
Shannon and Christian studied it. Patrick walked over and peered at the photo as well. One by one, they shook their heads and answered no.
“Who is she?” Shannon asked.
Josie pocketed her phone. “Her name is Nicci Webb. Her remains were found near Trinity’s cabin.”
Shannon splayed a hand over her chest. “What? What do you mean ‘remains’? You found her… her body?”
Christian’s voice was husky, as though he was trying to hold back a wave of emotion. “Are you sure it was this Webb woman and not your sister?”
Josie held up her hands, gesturing for them to calm down. “Yes, we found Webb’s body behind Trinity’s cabin. It was badly decomposed. We can’t tell how she was killed, but we believe she was murdered, given the fact that she disappeared almost three weeks ago from her hometown which is located over forty miles from here, and her remains were found here.” Josie didn’t mention the fact that her bones had been pinned down in some sort of sick display. Not only did she not want to go there with them, but Mettner, as the lead detective, had forbidden it. “The remains definitely belong to Nicci Webb, a forty-five-year-old sixth grade teacher from Keller Hollow. The medical examiner confirmed her identity using dental records.”
Christian sagged with relief.
Shannon said, “You’re saying that someone took Trinity and then left someone else’s body behind at the cabin?”
Josie nodded, grimacing. “Yes, it appears that way.”
“But why?” Shannon asked. “Why would someone do that?”
“We don’t know at this point,” Josie answered. “We’re trying to find a connection between Trinity and Webb, if one exists. We are still doing everything we can to locate Trinity. There is something else I need to discuss with you.”
She told them about Trinity’s hidden message inside the Fiat.
Christian said, “Why would she write ‘Vanessa’?”
“We were hoping you guys might be able to tell us,” Josie replied.
Christian and Shannon looked at one another, then turned to Patrick, who shrugged. Looking back at Josie, Shannon said, “Honey, I’m sorry but we don’t know why she would do that. She never called you Vanessa. She always referred to you as Josie. I mean, that’s who you are—Josie.”
Josie felt some of her anxiety ease. She hadn’t expected her mother to understand this, and she felt heartened by Shannon’s words. “Give it some thought,” Josie said. “Maybe it will come to you. Let me text Gretchen and ask her to send me the photos she took of the inside of the door.”
She fired off a text to Gretchen and then she addressed the Paynes again. “We’ve got a warrant out for the contents of her phone, but it could take a while for us to get permission to get into it. Things would move faster if I had your permission for us to go through it. You’re her next of kin.”
Christian said, “Of course. Whatever you need to do.”
“Thank you,” Josie said. “Her phone is pin protected. Do any of you know it, by any chance?”
Christian and Shannon looked at one another, faces drawn. Shannon said, “I don’t.”
“Did you try her birthday?” Christian asked.
“We can,” Josie said. “But I don’t think she would use something that easy. Her birthday is public knowledge, especially after our long-lost-twin story went public. It would be too easy for someone to figure out if they got their hands on her phone. She’s a celebrity, so privacy is important to her personal security.”
Patrick said, “It’s the day you two were reunited.”
The three of them looked at him. He placed his phone on the table and shook the hair from his eyes.
“How do you know that?” Shannon asked.
Patrick rolled his eyes. “Cause she told me. She had a virus on her phone the last time she was home. She asked me to help her get rid of it. I had to do a factory reset and then download all her contacts, reinstall apps, all that stuff. Anyway, I told her I had to reset the pin. She put it in and then she said, ‘that’s the day Josie and I were reunited.’” He met Josie’s eyes. “That was a big deal to her, you know?”
Josie’s heart skipped a beat. “I know,” she said. “It was a big deal to me, too.”
She thought of the questions that Trinity had asked her before she left Josie’s house. What