Page 90 of Another Girl Lost

“She make any calls?” Margo asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“What doesmaybemean?” Dawson asked.

“I don’t know. She could’ve made a call. There was a lot going on.”

Calling from a location like this was smart. With no cameras, a good defense attorney could argue any number of people could’ve placed the call. “Okay.”

Tiffany leaned toward Dawson, bloodshot eyes wide with drugs and fear. “Scarlett’s got a portrait in her warehouse. It’s weird.”

“What’s it a portrait of?”

“Some girl. Bizarre. Dark curly hair. Pale skin.”

Sounded like Scarlett’s description of Della. “Did Scarlett say who it was?”

“No.”

“Why were you at her place?” Margo asked.

“I needed money. Thanks for that, by the way.”

He put his hand on Tiffany’s head and guided her into the back seat. He’d be doing paperwork for an hour. “We’ll talk tomorrow. I’ll wait until you sober up.”

When he tried to close the door, she balked. “I don’t want to be put in a box.”

“You’ll be in a holding cell.”

“I don’t want to be locked up.”

Dawson closed the door and looked at Margo. “Sounds like you were busy today.”

“I was measuring for curtains at my new place,” Margo quipped.

“Which happens to be right across from Scarlett Crosby.”

“Didn’t realize Scarlett Crosby lived in a no-go zone.”

“She doesn’t. But it’s usually not that small of a world.”

“I’m having drinks with her tonight,” she said. “Have any questions you want me to ask?”

Could any of Margo’s conversations with Scarlett be used in court one day? A good lawyer would get them thrown out, citing entrapment. But he didn’t care. He wanted answers. “You move fast.”

A brow arched. “You just noticed?”

“Keep me posted on the conversation.”

“Of course.”

Trust with a partner took time, and he and Margo didn’t have much history. She’d slid into his personal life and his work world so easily. And if life had taught him anything, it was to be suspicious of easy.

Chapter Twenty-Six

SCARLETT

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

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