Page 107 of Another Girl Lost

Tension coiled in his gut as he drove across town to her hotel room. When he arrived, he took a second to tuck in his shirt and smooth his fingers over his short hair. Not wanting to appear so stiff, he shrugged off his jacket, removed his tie, and rolled up his sleeves. He knocked.

When she snapped open the door, she was standing on the threshold wearing a raincoat and heels. “You’re late.”

He wasn’t. “Sorry.”

She nodded for him to enter her room. When she closed the door, anticipation buzzed in his body. “Why the nooner?”

Tension was building inside him. Separating the light from the dark was getting trickier. “Take off the coat.”

She moved toward the bed, carefully unknotting the cloth belt. “No sweet words or a warm-up?”

“Want me to braid your hair?”

She chuckled as she shrugged off the coat, letting it drop and pool around her black high heels. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath.

For all the power she gave him, he’d never felt more out of control. The more she gave, the more he wanted. In this moment, he understood Tanner, and that scared the shit out of him. “Get on the bed.”

Chapter Thirty

SCARLETT

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

3:30 p.m.

I drove Tiffany to her car, a small red Honda parked on a side street. Her clothes were clean and her skin a healthier pink. I feared, however, whatever good path I’d just put her on wouldn’t last.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Sure.”

“I’m going to make it to court. I’m going to do good.”

I hugged her. “I’m glad.”

I watched her slide behind the wheel and fire up the engine. I didn’t move as I watched her drive off and her little red car vanish behind a corner.

All this damage went back to Tanner. The remaining two tangible connections to Tanner were Lynn Yeats and Mike Hart. I’d start with Lynn Yeats. Next, I’d figure out what to do about Mike. Twenty minutes later, I was parked in front of Lynn’s town house.

I’d only been on the street for a few minutes. In that time several people had driven or walked by my truck. And though no one said anything, I’d been noticed.

When Lynn’s front door opened, I slid down in my seat. I watched as the woman, now dressed in jeans and a loose-fitting top, quickly got in her car and started her engine. Lynn pulled out and headed west.

I wasn’t sure what I hoped to learn from her, but she had to know more than she’d told the police. I’d been hesitant to be totally honest with them when they’d interviewed me. The detectives’ soft-spoken words had never felt totally genuine, and I found myself policing all my statements. Lynn couldn’t be that different.

I didn’t know where she was going, but wherever it was, I would find a way to cross her path, whether it was to a grocery store or a café or on a sidewalk stroll. What’s the opening someone like me can pitch to a woman like her?I’m the girl in the basement. Did you know about me? No? How did you know nothing about me?

I followed Lynn down Shore Drive, running a couple of yellow lights so I could keep pace until she pulled into the parking lot of a café. She parked by the front entrance, whereas I chose a spot in the back of the lot.

As Lynn moved inside the shop, I followed, keeping a reasonable distance. Entering the store, I watched as Lynn ordered a large cappuccino with double whip and a doughnut. As Lynn took a seat by the window, I ordered a coffee, paid with cash, and sat behind her so she couldn’t see my face.

Lynn kept her gaze on her phone, only looking up as far as the doughnut or her coffee. Several times she licked cream from her lips or wiped sugar from her fingers.

A fortysomething woman with a flushed, expectant look on her round face hurried toward Lynn. Salt-and-pepper hair was pulled back into a rushed ponytail, and her oversize T-shirt hung over jean shorts. The woman leaned in toward Lynn for a casual hug that mimicked intimacy. “Hey, girl. What’s going on?”

Lynn looked up and grinned in a sad kind of way as she stood. “Debbie, thanks for responding to the SOS. I just needed a friend and an ear to bend.”

“Of course. Let me grab a coffee and I’ll be right back.” Debbie’s voice sounded ripe with excitement, and I sensed she found Lynn’s connection to Tanner, the beautiful monster, titillating.

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