Page 35 of My Heart to Find

I nod, then realize he won’t know I’ve nodded. “Yep. Anastacia Hargreaves,” I say. She and I never really got on at school. I was Jana’s friend, not hers. It was only really River who flitted between our group and Anastacia’s. Jana and Anastacia had this huge rivalry thing going on because they’re cousins and apparently that means they have to compete. I was surprised when Anastacia invited me to her birthday celebrations. Very surprised, given I don’t think I’ve said more than ten words to her since we left school. I hope it won’t be awkward if Damien and I end up talking to her.

“Related to Jana?” Damien asks, and I hear the way his tone lightens as he says her name.

“Cousin,” I say, and I don’t want to talk about Jana. “So, I also saw on Facebook that Anastacia’s been tagged in a lot of photos with Marnie. They’re from a year ago, but maybe they were friends.”

Damien makes a sound deep in his throat. “Great. We can question her about Marnie then.”

“Question her? It’s not an interrogation,” I say, but just the thought of doing some sort of police role-play thing where Damien and I are playing good-cop-bad-cop, working together, has my heart pounding.

Damien laughs. “I know. But that is our goal, to get questions answered. Hmm. I wonder if maybe you should stick to questioning Anastacia and I go straight for Trevor—he’s trying to get media attention, right? So, he’s not going to be suspicious if a reporter visits him, right?”

My eyebrows shoot up. “You’re going to pretend to be a reporter? He’ll see right through you when you’re not attached to a paper.”

“Can still try,” he says. “Can even set up some kind of online blog.”

My mouth dries. “Well, okay then. Um...” I blink and look around my room. “I think we should also walk that last dog-walk route too that she took.”

My mouth gets even drier at the thought of another walk with Damien. A walk where we’re so close, just the two of us. And in the safety of my room it’s easy to forget that in such a scenario my OCD would be going crazy. That I’d constantly be on high-alert, trying to avoid brushing against Damien or any trees or whatever. But in my imagination, I haven’t got OCD—Damien and I would hug, and we’d both feel it, the connection we had in Mallorca, because we’d know it hadn’t gone away, and then he’d realize it’s me he wants to be with, not Jana.

But what am I doing, trying to ruin my best friend’s happiness? Jana would be devastated if she knew.

“Already done it,” he says.

“You have?” I grip the phone harder. “Did you find anything?”

“No. But I didn’t expect to, not really. Tends to only be forensics that find things at the scene, right? So.” He clears his throat. “Can you talk to Anastacia today?”

“I’m not sure when she’s working.”

“Where does she work?”

“Post office,” I say. I blink. It’s Friday. I think she works Fridays.

“We can call in there today,” Damien says. “And I can check in with Trevor, too. I’ve found his address.”

“You have?”

“Media contact page on his blog,” he says. I hear him exhale. “And he’ll be home today. Works from home most of the time for his firm, anyway. Actually, can you come with me when I’m seeing Trevor?”

“With you?” My voice is breathless.

“Looking inside Marnie’s room could be helpful. You know, some abduction victims know their abductors. Could be an ex. Would also be helpful to look at Marnie’s laptop.”

“Uh, how will you manage that?”

“Well, if you’re talking to Trevor, I can slip upstairs.”

My heart pounds. “Damien, that’s too risky. And illegal?”

“It’s what all the detectives do on the true crime programs though. So, can we meet outside the post office in a couple hours?” he asks. “Can interview Anastacia, then we can go from there.”

*

IMEET DAMIEN AT THEplanned time outside the post office. He waves and smiles, doesn’t attempt a hug. I breathe a sigh of relief. My head’s pounding, and I’m feeling the effects of the Lyme more now than when I first got up. It’s a general light-headedness that threatens to get heavier.

“Just strike up a casual conversation,” he tells me. “And then see if you can steer it to Marnie and her exes. Exes—or current partners—are responsible for a lot of cases like this.”

I nod, but my stomach’s tightening and the nerves are making me sick.

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