Page 68 of Another Girl Lost

Della shook her head. “He’s on a mission, Scarlett. He sees this as his calling.” She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and pulled me close.

Oddly, her touch was comforting and untangled some of the fear inside me. I relaxed into her.

Another girl was a chance to get out of here. A chance at freedom.

Chapter Twenty-Two

DAWSON

Monday, July 15, 2024

1:30 p.m.

Dawson’s office chair squeaked, and the left armrest wiggled. When he’d been on administrative leave over the winter, HR had ordered him a new chair, but on his return, this outdated piece of crap was waiting for him. Someone else in the building had his new chair, and he was stuck with this piece of shit. An FU from someone. His desk had no pictures, plants, or specialty mugs. It was a blank slate. All salt in the wound after his morning at the attorney’s office and the official end of his marriage.

“Dawson.”

He looked and found his captain standing at the door of his cubicle. Chief Monroe was tall and heavyset and had wavy white hair. He was nearing retirement and doing his best to get to the finish line without stirring up too much trouble.

“How is the case?” Chief Monroe asked.

“Like them all. Bit by bit.”

“We have a new officer, and I’m partnering her with you.”

The good thing about being in purgatory was no one wanted to work with him. And he’d grown to like setting the tone for all his days. “I don’t need a partner.”

“Well, you got one. And she’s a ballbuster.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Worked human trafficking in Central and Northern Virginia. Had a bit of a reputation for catching bad guys, though some suspects were a little worse for the wear when she handed them over.”

“Terrific.”

“Time to get up and meet her.”

Shit. He rose from his chair and looked toward the bullpen. He spotted Margo Larsen immediately, talking to a uniformed cop. Cradling a cup of coffee, she was smiling. Relaxed and confident, as if she’d always been here.

Adrenaline rushed him. His heart rammed his chest.

“Officer Larsen,” Chief Monroe said.

She slid her phone in her back pocket, looked up, and smiled. “Chief.”

“Meet your new partner, Detective Kevin Dawson.”

“We’ve met,” Margo said. “At the Jane Doe crime scene.”

“Which is why you’re here,” the chief said. “Two heads are better than one. I want every and all links to Jane Doe and Tanner identified.”

His boss was pushing him to pin the case on Tanner Reed. The implied order was simple:Close the case and move on.Tanner was the logical suspect, but logic didn’t always go hand in hand with homicide. And working with Margo Larsen was ... complicated.

“The more the merrier,” Dawson said.

“Good,” the chief said.

When he walked away, Margo leaned closer to him, dropping her voice so only he could hear. “I don’t feel the love, Dawson.”

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