Page 20 of Girl, Unknown

Ella’s heart pounded like a bass drum as she thought about whose voice was going to appear on the other line.

Four rings in, she got her answer.

“Hello, Agent Ella Dark.”

A woman’s voice.

Not what Ella expected.

“Hello, who’s this?” she asked.

“You’ve been ducking me,” the voice said.

“Yes and no.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t know who you are.”

A silence that seemed to last forever. Ella wondered if the mystery woman hadn’t hung up.

The woman coughed, then said, “How rude of me. My name’s Clarissa. Clarissa Reed.”

Ella felt a spark, like two pieces of electrical wire rubbing together in her brain. She knew the name, and the surname suggested she was closer to this than she expected.

“You’re… Robert’s wife?”

“I was indeed. Used to work as a Security Specialist in Quantico. Still do, part-time in retirement. I know all about you.”

Relief hit Ella like a tidal wave, followed by an aftermath of confusion. She still didn’t understand what was going on.

“I’ve heard your name too, but why are you calling me from Robert’s old number?”

“It’s my number now. When Robert passed away, I took it to ensure all his files would remain safe. I still do, which brings me to you.”

Ella let it out. “Yes, I tried to access one of Robert’s old files.”

“I know. I received a prompt saying so. Can I ask why?”

Ella felt her secrets becoming less secret with every word, but she wasn’t about to start lying. “I’m looking into someone. Robert had a file on him and I wanted to see what he had.”

“The offender’s name?” Clarissa asked.

“Logan Nash.” The words felt odd leaving her lips.

“Is this for an active case?”

“No.”

Another extended silence, punctuated with some heavy breathing. “Miss Dark, could you hold on for a moment?”

“Yes.”

The line went dead. Ella double-checked that she hadn’t accidentally ended the call with her ear.

No. Clarissa Reed had hung up on her.

Ella went to call back, but suddenly a different number flashed up on the screen. Ella began to feel a knot in her stomach.

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