Page 78 of Before She Disappeared

CHAPTER 20

I sit in a booth at Stoney’s. On the table in front of me: a mug of coffee, a glass of water, and a giant box of Munchkins that Charadee shoved into my hands as I was leaving. The box is open. I’ve managed to eat two, which explains the powdered sugar on my fingers, lips, and cheek. Lotham disappeared long enough to retrieve a damp washcloth. Now, he uses it to wipe gingerly at my snot- and tear-stained face. I don’t make a move to stop him or assist.

My brain has short-circuited. My heart has exploded in my chest. That nothing actually happened to me is the least of my worries.

“Coffee,” Lotham orders.

I lift the mug, take a sip.

“Sugar.”

He provides a chocolate Munchkin. I chew obediently.

“Water.”

I move on to the glass.

“Repeat.”

So, I do. Two, three, four more times. Till my coffee mug is dry and the water gone and a suspicious number of donuts missing as well. Judging by the smear of red jam at the corner of Lotham’s mouth, I’m not the only one using pastries to self-medicate.

“Start at the beginning.”

I try. I’m not really sure what there is to say. I met with Mrs. Samdi. I asked her a variety of questions about her daughter, Livia, most of which she couldn’t answer. Meaning I basically learned what Detective Lotham had surmised the day before—Livia’s family wasn’t exactly the loving sort.

“She ordered you to leave,” he repeats now.

“Someone arrived. At the front. I could hear a commotion. I never saw who, but Mrs. Samdi’s demeanor changed. She shoved me out the back. She said...” I draw a shaky breath. “She said the house wasn’t safe for girls. She told me if I found her daughter, not to bring her home.”

“Why isn’t their house safe for girls?”

“I don’t know.”

“The son, J.J.—”

“Johnson.”

Lotham arches a brow.

“You should call him that,” I insist. “Really pisses him off. Apparently, you can’t score any street cred as a Johnson.”

“Definitely not.”

“But she also implied he wouldn’t hurt his sister. Family doesn’t go after family. Someone else, I’m guessing one of Johnson’s acquaintances, bosses, I don’t know. Higher on the criminal food chain.”

“Okay. So Mrs. Samdi shoves you out the rear door. You take off and they—”

“I didn’t see.”

“—give chase. And fire a gun?”

“I heard gunshots. But I didn’t stop to look. Firing at me, firing at someone else, someone else firing at them firing at me. Your guess is as good as mine.”

“And guess is as good as we got,” Lotham grumbles. “Uniforms already canvassed the area. As the saying goes, nobody saw nothin’. On that block, that’s how it goes. Crime techs recovered a fresh slug from the side of a porch probably two feet from where you passed. Trajectory indicates it didn’t come from behind you, however, but from across the street.”

“Oh goody. So it was one of the neighbors who wanted me dead.”

“First time being shot at, Frankie?”

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