Semi-Psychic Life (Glimmer Lake #2) - Elizabeth Hunter Page 0,48
was driving Savannah’s car. She had to wait for a ride. Maybe say someone overheard them fighting about an affair.”
Sully nodded thoughtfully. “That’s a possibility.”
“I’m afraid for her.” Val brought two mugs out for the coffee. “Someone tried to kill her once. And if it’s who we think it is, he could try again.”
“I know why you’re worried, but staging an accident is a lot different than going after her directly. I don’t think she’s in any danger in the hospital.” Sully reached for the coffee. “I’ll do what I can, but I can’t make any promises. Are you sure you have no idea where Josh is?”
She sighed. “I wish I did.”
“Well, here’s hoping Savannah Anderson pulls through,” he said. “Otherwise ten grand is going to be the least of your ex’s problems.”
Robin and Monica drove over hours later. Val had ignored most of the calls coming in from concerned family and friends, but they just showed up with wine and cake.
Because they were brilliant.
“I can’t believe he would do this,” Robin said. “Not Josh.”
“He’s not that stupid,” Monica said. “Or that mean. Unfortunately, Bridger PD is not the most open-minded police department. Remember those arson cases that Gil was assigned years ago?”
“Vaguely.”
“It’s when he was doing his stint as the fire investigator and he was assigned to a warehouse in Bridger. He knew it was arson, but the Bridger chief of police knew the owner, so they didn’t do anything about it. It’s a total boys’ club down there.”
Robin cut a piece of cake. “So if Americano Asshole has made friends with them—”
“He could literally commit murder and they’d probably look the other way.”
“I think he tried,” Val said. “Poor Savannah.”
“Can Sully do anything?”
“I don’t know how jurisdiction works in cases like this where she’s in one city but the possible crime happened in another,” Val said. “But he thinks Anderson is involved too. He’s going to try to do something just to get Savannah some protection.”
“Good.” Monica poured three glasses of wine. “This whole situation is crazy. Josh is missing and he’s getting blamed for all this stuff, and we don’t even know if he’s okay.”
“And my boys have gone from worrying about their dad to not being able to decide if he’s a criminal.” Val rubbed her eyes and felt her phone start buzzing again. “And my phone will not shut up!” She reached for it and looked at the screen. “Huh.”
“Who is it?” Robin froze. “Is it Josh?”
“It’s West.” Val touched the number to call him back. “Hey. I didn’t expect to hear from you. Did you see the news?”
“Yeah. You know he was probably banging that lady, right?”
“I know.” She rubbed her temple. “Trust me, I know.”
“He’s a fucking mess, Val. And the police were here. Again. I’m sorry, but you gotta grab Josh’s stuff. I need it out of here.”
Fuuuuuuck. “What am I supposed to do with it?”
“Keep it in your garage. Get a storage unit. Something. But I can’t keep having the police come round here every time something else comes up with that guy. I got three employees with records and one on probation. Every time a cop pulls into the garage, they all freak out. These guys are trying to keep their nose clean. They don’t need the stress, you know?”
She felt the headache building. “Okay. I get it. It’s just… a lot.”
“Just figure it out by the end of the week, okay? I’ll loan you the truck.”
“Yeah, I can do that.” Maybe her mom and dad could keep the toolbox in their garage. She didn’t have room in her own tiny space, and she didn’t want to broach the subject with Jackson at the moment. “I can come down to Bridger tomorrow.”
“I can go with you,” Robin whispered. “I’ll see if Mark can help.”
“We’ll get it taken care of,” Val said. “Sorry about this, West.”
“I wish I could help more, but…”
“I know.” Val hung up the phone. She got it. Josh was her mess to deal with.
Chapter 16
West met Val, Robin, and Mark early the next morning at the garage. “Where’s your cute friend?”
Val took off her sunglasses. “What? We’re not cute enough for you?”
He cracked a smile. “Never gonna complain about seeing your pretty face around the garage. Sorry about this.”
“Stop apologizing,” Val said, taking a long drink of her coffee. “Josh isn’t your problem.”
West sighed. “Yeah, I know. But he shouldn’t be yours either.”
“Whatever.” She put her sunglasses back on. “It is what it is. We’ll take care