Page 31 of Tear Me Apart
“No, no, no, come here. I need you.”
“I need you, too. We got a match on the Crusie case. They want you in the conference room to go over the DNA with the investigators.”
Juliet tucks her hair behind her ears and stands. “Right. While I’m gone, can you do me a favor? Look into a guy named Kyle Noonan. He used to live here in Denver, moved to San Diego circa 2000, and I have an unsubstantiated report he died in Baja, Mexico. He was a lawyer with Spencer Landry. Be discreet, okay?”
“You mean don’t tell anyone what I’m doing?”
“Yes. I mean that exactly.”
Bai gives her a crooked smile. “I always love it when you rebel, Juliet.”
She pulls the Crusie file off her stack. “Yes, well, let’s not get fired over this, okay?”
* * *
Two hours later, on total meeting fatigue, Juliet staggers back to her office. Bai is gone for the day but has left a note on her desk, folded in thirds, with TOP SECRET written on it in his perfect architectural-plan block lettering.
Mighty subtle there, buddy.
She opens the note.
You know the weirdest people. See your personal email for info.
She practically throws herself at the desk. As she did when she went on Facebook, she switches to her personal server and opens her email. There is a note from Bai.
Looks like your dude is dead. All I could find was this. Sorry. Hope the meeting went well. See you in the morning.
Attached is another obituary report, this time a small news article from theDenver Post. It is dated August 31, 2000. For some reason, she hadn’t been able to find it in her searches.
Kyle Noonan, 32, a Highlands Ranch, Colorado, native, was killed last week in a diving accident off the coast of Baja, Mexico. Noonan, a member of the Colorado and California Bar, was an associate at Spencer Landry in San Diego at the time of his death. Noonan was known for his blustery court appearances. As a public defender, he had a record number of cases seen in the Arapahoe County court system. He went to Douglas County High School in Castle Rock and was briefly married to local artist Lauren Ryder. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Noonan’s
favorite charity.
There is no byline, which means this could have been written by a family member. She wracks her brain, thinking about Kyle’s family. He was an only child, and there was a great-aunt. Juliet remembers Lauren being excited they’d gotten some money when the woman passed away.
She sinks back into the chair. At some point, she is going to have to admit this is a dead end.
Still, she can’t believe Lauren has never seen fit to tell her Kyle is dead. She’s going to have to ask her about it, but at this moment, she is too tired to do anything but go home and crash. No matter what, Kyle is not going to be Mindy’s savior.
She calls her niece’s cell phone but gets voice mail. She debates trying Lauren but decides against it. Lauren will just ignore her anyway. When Lauren gets angry like this, it could be days before she’ll cool off enough to answer a call. Juliet will have to wait until the weekend, when she goes back to Vail, and talk to her then. In person.
Switched at birth.
So where is her real niece?
She has no choice. If they can find Mindy’s birth parents, there will be a better chance of saving her life. She must talk to someone about this, even if it costs her Lauren and Mindy. Mindy’s life is worth more.
Juliet knows there is only one way to investigate without anyone knowing. She picks up her phone and calls Cameron.
“Two calls in a week? Whatever have I done now?”
“I need your help. Some advice. I have a problem.”
“Want to meet for a drink and talk about it?”
“Can I come to your office instead? I need...privacy.”
His tone changes. He must hear the worry in hers. “I’m here. I’ll wait for you. Buzz when you’re at the door.”
