Page 68 of Missing White Woman

“Bree,” Adore said.

“It doesn’t make sense for Ty to go all the way to Caven Point, then back to the house, then back to Caven Point—to kill himself. I don’t think he ever came back to the house.”

“Maybe she was already dead when he left.”

“Uh-uh. There was someone in the house when I woke up. They turned off the light.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t a timer? My Alexa can do it.”

“Why would anyone time a light to turn off at four in the morning?”

“To make you think someone is there.”

I’d stayed there for three whole days. Never saw an Alexa. Never saw any directions for timers. Never saw any lights randomly going off and on. Someone had been there. The killer—and they’d heard me.

I opened my mouth but thought back to our earlier convo. Adore wasn’t going to listen to me. I had to find someone who would. “You have a point.” I resisted the urge to wipe my eye. “I didn’t think about that. I’m just tired.”

She smiled. “Guest bed’s already made up if you want to stay here.”

“Tempting, but sadly, the hotel is kinda feeling like home.”

I stood and she followed. “Yeah, not gonna pretend like I went all out on the guest-bedroom mattress.”

“Definitely going to the hotel, then. That bed’s really comfy.”

She giggled, and I could tell it’d worked. She believed me. The car ride was short. I was proud of how normal I acted, nodding along to Beyoncé’s “Diva” like I wasn’t consumed with thoughts of Ty.

I didn’t pull out my phone until after I watched her drive off. Then I looked up the number for the nearest Jersey City police station.

I took in a breath, held it for as long as I could. I’d do this. I’d click on the Call option Google gave in its search results. Once they answered, I’d ask to speak with Calloway—Randle if she wasn’t there—and share my suspicions.

Finally letting the breath out, I pressed Call.

It was busy.

I hung up, paced the lobby a few times, then tried again.

Still busy.

I sat, gave it five minutes, and called again. Same damn result.

I went back to my room and tried again over the next half hour. The busy sound taunting me each time. Part of me wanted to take it as a sign that I’d tried and clearly something somewhere didn’t want me to talk to them.

It hadn’t been a lie when I’d told Adore how comfortable the mattress was. I could get in bed, burrow under the covers like I used to do when I was afraid as a kid. Of course back then it’d been all make-believe. Now I knew real life was much scarier than any monster hiding under the bed.

But when I hung up the last time and swiped to make my phone app disappear, I found Ty smiling at me. My wallpaper was still the photo of the two of us. A time when I’d thought the worst thing that could happen to us was him taking a work call during our romantic carriage ride.

His smile had always been my favorite feature. He knew it was a winner too, which is why he spent so much time on it. White strips. Cocofloss. Brushing after every meal. Carefully applying the ball of Eos he stole from me under the guise of wanting his lips to be in tip-top shape for my benefit. Up until a few days ago, he’d been the man of my dreams.

He still was.

I glanced at my phone, but it’d already gone black. Tapping it, I checked the time. Not even close to 5 p.m. There was a good chance Calloway would still be at the station. Before I knew it, I did another search, then opened the Uber app I’d used only one time before. They found me a driver—Ralph—and promised he’d be here in five minutes. I went back outside to wait for his gray Camry with Jersey plates. He got there in four.

He was super friendly, rushing out of the car to open my door like some rich-people chauffeur. I smiled through the face mask I’d brought with me, a convenient disguise. The Camry was spick-and-span. A bottle of water and a tin of unopened Altoids were in the seat back in front of me. Guess if I was going to get laid, Ralph wanted me well hydrated with breath smelling fresh.

“So, Breanna, you been visiting long?”

“Little over a week.”

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