Page 59 of Missing White Woman

Her voice trailed off when she realized I hadn’t been quick at all.

“I’m going to meet you there.”

I made sure my voice was firm, and it must’ve worked because she just stood and nodded. “What time?”

I pulled a number out of the air. “Two.”

“Great. I’ll send someone to pick you up. I know you don’t have a car.” She attempted to smile. “Don’t worry, it’ll be unmarked. You’ll be able to sit in the front.”

“Adore—” I paused. “My lawyer’s taking me. She’s already on her way.”

Calloway didn’t like that. The fake smile disappeared. She just nodded, then headed toward the door. “You’ll need to go to the medical examiner’s office.”

She rumbled off an address. I didn’t even attempt to write it down. That’s why Google was invented. I didn’t show her out, didn’t even watch to make sure she left. Just stood between the bedroom and living area until I heard the door close. It was only then that I realized she’d actually made coffee.

* * *

Adore didn’t ask how I was doing when I got in the car. She didn’t ask anything at all. That’s how I knew she and I were finally back on good terms. The silence. The lack of a need to fill the space with noise. No voices. No music. Nothing at all except for the knowledge that just being nearby was enough.

I stared out the window, until I heard a familiar voice. Adore had put on Beyoncé’s I Am… Sasha Fierce. “Halo” played over the fancy speakers, sounding so crisp it was like the singer was in the car. We’d loved that album, almost as much as we’d loved each other.

It turned out the medical examiner’s office wasn’t at the police station. It wasn’t even close to it but in a whole other city. When we got there, it looked like any old redbrick building. I’m not sure what I had been expecting. Maybe a rain cloud permanently hanging overhead? But the day was gorgeous. Ty would have suggested we go for a run.

But Ty was dead. And I wasn’t sure I’d ever run again.

The parking lot was behind the building. Adore pulled into a spot, then we hiked to the front door. We were five minutes early, but Calloway was already waiting, looking as impatient as if we’d been on CP Time.

I wanted to bolt. The only thing that stopped me was how my feet had somehow managed to fuse themselves to the cheap linoleum.

I’d already seen one dead body this week. Now that I was here, I wasn’t sure I was ready to make it two.

It had sucked not knowing where Ty was the past three days. But now that I did know, it didn’t make me feel better. Instead, I wished it had been him they’d seen in Boston. In Baltimore. All the way down in Mexico. Because then he’d be alive, not dumped on some cold metal slab waiting for me to make an ID.

I took a step back, forgetting Adore was behind me. She placed both her hands on my waist to steady me. “It’s fine.” Her voice was a whisper.

Those two words played on repeat in my head, getting louder and louder as Calloway checked us in and we followed her down a long hall of doors. I flinched as she reached for the last handle. I figured she’d say something to me or at least to the person on the other side. But she didn’t even bother to knock. Just opened the thing. I instinctively closed my eyes, like I was watching the horror movie that this was.

Ty was on the other side of the door.

No, Ty’s body.

I took a breath, bracing for impact. I looked in front of me, ready to see him laid out like on TV.

But it was just a sitting room. An eight-person conference table in the middle of it.

Calloway motioned for us to go in first like she was some gentleman. “Dr. Diaz will be here in a few minutes.”

It took him ten. I’d been too nervous to sit, just did miniature laps around Adore and Calloway. I only stopped when the door opened. Again, I was expecting Ty’s body. Like Dr. Diaz would roll it in or something. But he came alone.

He was younger than I’d expected. More attractive too. He smiled when he came into the room, like any other doctor—especially if they were bringing bad news.

“Thank you all for coming,” Dr. Diaz said. “Let’s have a seat.”

Our seating arrangement felt like a game of musical chairs. It was clear everyone was waiting for me to make the first pick. I chose the side facing the door, so I’d see Ty when they finally brought him in. Adore immediately sat next to me. The medical examiner chose the opposite side. Calloway should’ve been next to him, but she chose to sit on our side, like that would make her part of the team.

“Ms. Wright, thank you so much for helping us out,” Dr. Diaz said. “I’m assuming it’s your first time doing something like this.”

I nodded. “Hopefully my last.”

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