Page 11 of Husband Missing

“Take me to see her,” Clint said. “Take me to see my girl.”

Tilly reached up to where his fingers dug into her shoulder and patted his hand. “You can’t see her now. Not yet.”

“Why?” he said, voice tremulous. “Why can’t we see her now?”

Tilly ignored him again, focusing on Josie. “Mace didn’t know anything. He just said when he saw her on the ground, she was bleeding, and that she didn’t make it.”

As if conjured by his mother’s words, Mace finally stepped into the trailer. Josie knew he was younger than Gina, but his weathered skin made him seem much older. His hair was thick like his father’s but still dark although he was grayer than his sister. Like Gina, he’d foregone the expensive suits he wore for media appearances in favor of a fleece with the Phelan logo embroidered on the left side of his chest and a pair of jeans.

Of the three of them, Mace looked the most broken and weary. Locks of his hair stood up in multiple directions like he’d been pulling at it. His shoulders sagged. The skin under his eyes was puffy. He squeezed in beside his mother for another round of condolences and introductions.

There was movement at Josie’s back. Shirley squeezed past Turner, mumbling words of sympathy to the Phelans. Tears streamed down her face.

“Thank you, Shirley,” Mace said. “Why don’t you head on home? I’ll handle things from here. If I need anything or if the police want to talk to you again, we’ll give you a call, okay?”

With a nod, she raced out the trailer door.

Mace turned back to Josie and Turner. “Please. Tell us what happened to my sister.”

Turner delivered the news that Gina had been stabbed while walking along the sidewalk outside the site, half a block from the protests, and that her body had been transported to the morgue for an autopsy. Josie watched as a new, more painful form of grief washed over the Phelans. Clint’s breath came in short gasps as more tears fell from his eyes. Tilly’s expression went blank momentarily, as if she had mentally shut down, before she, too, cried. Her sobs were silent. Josie could tell from the way her body went completely rigid that she was trying hard to control her emotions. Maybe she didn’t like crying in front of other people or maybe she was trying to project strength. Regardless, she let her son gather her against him. With his other arm, Mace pulled his father into the hug. He whispered reassurances into his parents’ ears, telling them they would get through this, but Josie could see by the way his lower lip quivered that he was barely holding it together.

Turner tugged at his beard, grimacing. Once the family had composed themselves, stepping apart from one another, he addressed Mace. “Did you check the security footage?”

Tilly looked at her son, waiting for his answer.

Mace pushed a hand through his hair. “No. I just told Shirley to make sure it was ready for you guys as soon as possible, as soon as you were ready for it.”

“You didn’t check it right away?” Tilly asked.

“Mom,” Mace said, exasperated, eyes glassy with unshed tears. “I just found my sister dead on the ground outside, bleeding! I wasn’t thinking about footage. Besides, I didn’t want to…I couldn’t…”

Josie said, “It’s often extremely difficult for family members to watch surveillance footage of what might be their loved one’s last moments, especially when they’re in shock. Detective Turner and I have reviewed it.”

Turner explained what they had found while Josie pulled up the clearest photo they had of the blonde woman. Her face was obscured by the hat, but it was the best they could do.

All three Phelans leaned forward to peer at it. Josie watched their faces but saw no flickers of recognition.

“I don’t understand,” said Clint. “This woman stabbed my Gina?”

“We don’t know that,” Josie said. “Right now, we’re working to locate her so we can question her.”

Mace extended his hand and Josie let him have her phone, watching as he zoomed in. His brow furrowed.

“Does she look familiar to you?” Josie asked.

“No,” he said. “I can talk to my guys and see if anyone on the site has seen her before. Some of them walk down to the deli a couple of blocks away for lunch. If she’s local?—”

“We’ll interview them,” said Turner. “If you don’t mind us using this space when we’re finished here.”

“Of course,” said Mace. “Whatever you need.”

Josie took her phone back. “What was Gina doing at the site today?”

“Preparing to be sued,” he answered honestly. “She wanted to tour the site personally. Document some things. Look over the additional security I put into place. Make her own recommendations.”

Clint sniffled. “Maybe you should have let her inspect the sites regularly once they got up and running and that boy wouldn’t have died.”

Mace rubbed the back of his neck. “Dad, not now.”

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