Her Silent Cry (Detective Josie Quinn #6)- Lisa Regan Page 0,87

all her words but only caught some of them. “… next door… thought I would say hello… need any help…”

Without a word, she slammed the door on the silver woman, turning and pushing her back against the door as if the silver woman might try to get in. But we both heard her steps fade.

Her fingers trembled as she turned the locks. Over her shoulder, she said, “She didn’t see you. She didn’t see anything.”

I ran out from behind the chair. “Cause you didn’t let her in. You have to let her in. She can help us, maybe.”

“No,” she insisted, shaking her head. “No. No one can help us.”

Fifty

Bodies packed the mobile command tent: two dozen FBI agents, Oaks, Chitwood, Josie, Noah, Mettner, Gretchen and several uniformed Denton officers. Closer to the entrance of the tent were officers from the state police and the county sheriff’s office. The energy in the room was electric. There was a hum of anticipation. Bodies rustled; feet tapped against the ground. In one corner of the tent, Amy and Colin stood with the agents they’d each been assigned to fit them with bulletproof vests beneath their clothes. Next to them were two large duffel bags filled with money. Oaks gave a briefing and handed out assignments, and the crowd dispersed. Josie waited until Amy had been left alone before sidling over to her.

“Amy,” she said quietly. “Before you do this, we need to talk. Even if we get Lucy back tomorrow, you have to understand that without straight answers from you, everyone here is going to look at you hard for involvement in this. This guy murdered two people in cold blood—and he may have killed Violet as well.”

“I—why are they letting me do this if they think I was involved?” Amy asked.

“Because Lucy’s life is in jeopardy,” Josie said. “And right now there is no proof that you’re involved, only suspicion. I can put that suspicion to rest if you tell me the truth about your past. You said Tessa Lendhardt was a fiction, and we can’t find any record of her ever having existed. You were someone else before you were Tessa, weren’t you? That’s what’s going on here. What is your real name? Not Tessa Lendhardt. Who were you before that?”

Amy looked around the room and when her gaze landed back on Josie’s face, her eyes were wide and afraid. “You won’t believe me,” she whispered.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Josie asked.

“Because I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember? What are you talking about?”

Before Amy could answer, Oaks’s voice boomed across the tent. “Mr. and Mrs. Ross, over here, please.”

Amy raced past Josie, following Colin over to where Oaks waited to brief them, leaving Josie alone and more frustrated with the woman than ever. She took in some deep breaths and counted to ten. Mettner walked over and started talking to her, but she didn’t hear anything he said. When he waved his hand in her face, she snapped to attention. “Sorry, Mett,” she said. “What was that?”

“I’m going with the team headed to Lover’s Cave since I’m familiar with it and the park.”

“That’s a good idea,” Josie said. “I’ll go with Amy and that team to the football field—I went to Denton East High School. Is Gretchen coming with me?”

He nodded. “Oh, and Lamay is outside for you.”

“Perfect,” Josie said.

She walked outside the tent, eyes tracking the crowd until she spotted Dan Lamay, their desk sergeant. He had been with the department over forty years and had seen the coming and going of five chiefs of police—Josie included. He was now past retirement age, with a bum knee and an ever-increasing paunch. Josie had kept him on as a desk sergeant during her tenure as chief because his wife was recovering from cancer and his daughter was in college. He was fiercely loyal to her, helping her when she needed it most. She had worried that Chief Chitwood would let him go, but so far, he had stayed off Chitwood’s radar.

“Thanks for coming, Dan,” she said. “Did you get the kids from the college?”

“Yeah,” he said. “The ones with the drones? They’re in.”

Josie felt a thrill of excitement run through her. “Fantastic.”

Lamay shifted from one foot to the other. “Boss, I, uh, I’m not sure I understand exactly what you want me to do.”

Josie said, “I want you to find Violet Young.”

Lamay looked around them as if to make sure that no one else was listening. “Boss, I don’t get around so well these