The Girl With No Name

Chapter Forty

THURSDAY

Balancing a flimsy cup carrier with two steaming hot coffees in it, Josie walked briskly through the parking lot of the Eudora, searching the rows of cars for Gretchen’s department-issue Chevy Cruze. It was just after 6 a.m. and the sun hadn’t yet come up. She spotted the car and waved. She heard the click of the doors unlocking as she reached the passenger’s side. Inside, she handed Gretchen a coffee, took the other one and tossed the carrier into the backseat.

“Thank you,” Gretchen said.

Josie sipped her own coffee. “You’re welcome. When did you get here?”

“About an hour ago. Noah went home to get a few hours of shut-eye.”

“Did you sleep?” Josie asked.

“A few hours. You?”

“Not really,” Josie confessed. She had only gone home because she knew that Carrieann was there alone. They had discussed Eric Dunn some more. Carrieann had spent a great deal of her day online reading everything ever written about the young casino mogul. By the time Josie arrived, she was pacing the kitchen like a metronome. Neither one of them had been able to sleep, though they had tried.

“Did you check in at the station?” Gretchen asked. “Did the phone companies call yet about the triangulation?”

“No. Lamay is in. He’s going to call me the moment the results come in.”

“Any tips after the press caught wind of the reward money?”

Josie sighed. “No, and I don’t think there will be any.”

She didn’t say what she was really thinking, which was that Dunn may have already killed Misty Derossi’s baby. The thought caused a deep pain in Josie’s stomach, like the coffee she had just swallowed was boiling inside her. She put her cup on the dashboard. They watched the main entrance of the Eudora in silence for a few minutes. Then Gretchen said, “Noah told me the mayor is really putting the pressure on.”

Josie laughed. “You could say that. It doesn’t change anything though. We’ll do our jobs the same with or without her pressure. Or the reward money. I still think our best bet to find the baby and Luke are either the phone numbers from Twitch’s phone or staying on Eric Dunn.”

Gretchen set her coffee in the cup holder and continued to stare at the entrance to the Eudora. “I agree. I’ll let you know if he moves.”

“Thanks. I’m headed to the hospital to see if Misty is ready to answer questions.”