Find Her Alive (Detective Josie Quinn #8) - Lisa Regan Page 0,37
was the best thing that ever happened to me? What was the worst thing that ever happened to me?
Christian said, “The day you two were reunited? You knew each other for years before we found out the truth.”
“Right,” Josie said. “But we found out in March three years ago.” Turning to Patrick, she asked, “Do you know if she meant the day we were rescued in the forest or the day we got the DNA results?”
“Don’t know,” Patrick said. “Which one felt more significant to you?”
A shiver worked its way up Josie’s spine. She remembered the first time they’d talked about it—about the possibility. They’d both been tied up, prisoners of a madwoman. Shortly after that, Trinity had been marched out into the woods to be executed. A neighbor had helped free Josie so she could go after her sister. “The day in the forest,” she said. “But I don’t know the exact date.”
“Would it be in your police reports?” Christian asked.
“Yes,” Josie said. “Good idea.” Her phone buzzed. It was Gretchen, sending the photos of the message Trinity had left on the car door. Josie pulled one up and showed them. No one spoke.
Finally, Christian said, “What’s that underneath the name?”
“We don’t know,” Josie said. “Maybe she started to write something else but didn’t have time?”
There was only silence. No one hazarded a guess as to what Trinity had been trying to communicate with the strange symbols.
“There is one more thing I’d like you to see.” She pulled up a photo of the comb and showed them. “This was dropped off at my house in the early morning hours before Trinity left. That was a month ago. It came in a box wrapped in plain brown paper with her name written on it. She opened it and looked inside right before she left. I didn’t know what was in the box until our Evidence Response Team found it in her suitcase. Obviously, we’ll have it processed, but I’m wondering if it holds any significance to any of you?”
They all studied it. Finally, Patrick said, “It looks familiar.”
Shannon and Christian turned to him. Shannon gave him a wavering smile. “Familiar? You know this isn’t your sister’s style at all, right?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t say she’d wear it. I just said it looks familiar for some reason.”
“Where have you seen it or something like it before?” Josie asked.
He met her eyes. “I really don’t remember.”
Christian said, “Son, this is important. If you’ve seen this comb before, we need to know.”
Patrick took a step back. “Dad, I just told you, I don’t remember.”
“Your sister’s in trouble, Pat,” Christian continued.
“You’re not listening to me, Dad,” Patrick shot back. “You think I’m not worried about her?” He pointed to his chest. “You think I don’t care? I’m closer to her than you guys.”
Josie lowered her voice, making her tone soothing. “Patrick, when were you last in touch with Trinity?”
He glared at his father. “A little over a month ago. It was right before she rented the cabin, but she was still staying at your house. She met me at the café on campus.”
They hadn’t even invited her. That was Josie’s first thought, which was silly and childish given the circumstances. Still, as if reading her mind, Patrick said, “You were at work. She was really upset, you know, about her work situation and all. I think she just needed company.”
Shannon said, “What did you two talk about?”
“Just stuff.”
Josie noticed a vein throbbing in Christian’s forehead. His words came out through gritted teeth. “What. Kind. Of. Stuff?”
Josie stepped between father and son before Patrick could respond, before the situation could escalate. She’d never seen this kind of tension between the two of them before. To Patrick, Josie said, “Did she say anything about someone following her? Someone stalking her? Did she indicate that she was worried about anything? Besides losing her place at the network, that is?”
“She just said that she thought she was onto some big story—that she thought she could make contact with a major source—but it fell through. She was pretty disappointed. She said it would be bigger than the Mila Kates stalker story.”
“Did she give you any idea what the story was?” Josie asked.
“She didn’t want to talk about it. I asked her but she would only say it was some kind of cold case.”
Shannon interjected. “What kind of cold case would be more sensational than the Mila Kates stalker story? That happened in real time.”