Page 66 of Girl, Unknown

“He saw me,” Ella said. “I didn’t piece it together until afterward. Hedidcome to the motel but it was right at the time we were escorting Jeff out of there. I saw him in his car. I just assumed he was watching the show, like loads of other people.”

“So he chose the lamb over the sheep,” Ripley said. Her cell buzzed with a new message. “Can’t blame him.”

“Is that the director?” Ella asked.

Ripley shook her head. Ella got the picture.

“Martin?”

Ripley said, “Yup. I’m still not sure about it all.”

“Why not?”

Ripley pocketed her phone and said, “I’ve been single too long. It doesn’t feel right.”

“Mia, that’s a load of crap. You know why you’re hesitant so just admit it.”

Her partner sat back and folded her arms. “Don’t go all relationship counselor on me. This is new territory for me.”

“Woman, you were married for twenty years. How is this new territory?”

Ripley hid her mouth with her coffee cup. If this was an interrogation room, Ella would assume the interviewee was either going to lie or confess to something embarrassing.

“Because I’m old now. I got with my husband at twenty-two and we grew together. I’m fifty-six now; Martin is fifty-eight. We’ve both got our own things going on. He’s a retired cop too, still struggles with a little PTSD. Throwing me into the mix; doesn’t it seem like it could blow up? Then what? I’d be a single, retired sixty-year-old.”

Ella couldn’t believe she was hearing these excuses from Mia of all people. The woman who never backed down. The woman who’d consider herself an alpha female if such a thing existed. “Christ almighty, listen to you. You’d think you were about to attach yourself to this guy at the hip. All you have to do is see him a few times a week, watch TV, hang out. And hey, if you like doing that, do it some more.”

“It’s that easy, huh?”

“For a woman who can tell someone’s job by looking at their thumbs, you sure are clueless sometimes. And besides, you’re going to have alotof free time soon. Trust me, you’re gonna miss this job despite what you say, so maybe hanging out with your George Clooney lookalike might help you transition a little easier.” Ella leaned back and stretched her spine. Her knife wound stung a little, but then went back to numbness.

Ripley said, “You talk a lot of crap, but you do talk sense sometimes too. Thanks for putting me in my place.”

“You’ve given me enough lectures, time to taste your own medicine, woman. Martin seems like a great guy by the way, and do you have any idea how hard it is to find genuine men? Just look at the assholes we’ve met out here.”

“Can’t argue there.”

“Just let him in. It’s not a weakness to let someone get close. That’s something one of those alpha douchebags we arrested would say, and do you really wanna adopt the same mentality as them?”

“Definitely not.”

“So give him a shot. Be the best version of Mia Ripley you can be. Have fun. Start a new chapter. Skip the ads when he’s showering.”

Ripley furrowed her brow. “What?”

“Never mind. Are we getting out of here or what?”

“No chance, sweetheart. You’re in here for the night. Get comfortable.”

Ella shot up in her bed, clutched her stomach and said, “I’m fine. I’ve got things to do back home.”

“We’ll head back tomorrow night. No compromise. I know what you’re planning on doing back in D.C. Do you really want to be crippled for that?”

Ella lay back down. “Fair point.”

“Any advances on all that stuff yet?”

Since she’d spoken on the phone to Logan Nash, she’d gone from a dead body to a press conference to a stake out to fighting two serial killers all within one evening. Ella realized she hadn’t told Ripley about Logan’s threats.

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