Page 69 of Little Shattered Dreams

“When was the last time you saw her?” I asked.

“This morning, around ten, when she came to get breakfast.”

“How did she seem?”

“Fine, I guess. She wasn’t there long. Took her breakfast to go and we made plans to meet up later, like I told you.” He paused, then added, “She did say something on her way out, something I hadn’t thought of until now. She said she needed to tell me something, needed my advice. I assumed that’s why she asked me to go for a walk.”

“Did she give you any other details?”

He shook his head.

He seemed to be telling the truth, but people weren’t always as they seemed. For all I knew, he could have been trying to cover up the scene when we walked in. If so, I figured he would’ve had the smarts to close the door to her place, and he hadn’t.

A second possibility sprung to mind.

I yanked my phone out of my pocket and dialed Faith’s number. The call went to voicemail. I tried again. This time the call was answered, but it was a husky male voice on the other end.

“Who’s this?” I asked.

“Who’s this?”

“Georgiana Germaine,” I said. “Is this Faith’s fiancé?”

“Yep.”

“I need to speak with Faith. It’s important.”

“She’s not here.”

A convenient answer.

But was it the truth?

“If she’s not there, why are you answering her phone?” I asked.

“Why does it matter?”

“It matters because it’s not your phone.”

“Not my problem if she left it here. What’s it to you, anyway?”

“Cut the shit, dude, and tell me where she is right now.”

“Did you ever think she left her phone behind because every cop in this town can’t seem to leave her alone ever since her mother died?”

“Look, I don’t have time to volley back and forth with you,” I said. “You can either tell me where she is, or my next call is to the cops. I should also mention I’ll be asking them to head on over to your place to have a little chat.”

“About what … the dangers of leaving a phone behind?”

He laughed.

I didn’t.

“Do you two live together?” I asked.

“Not yet.”

“Why are you in her house if you don’t live together?”

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