Page 36 of Forbidden Wish

“You have questions? Come this way.”

He took them into a glass-fronted conference room and closed the blinds while gesturing at the long table.

“Sit down,” he said. “Is there news? Do we know something?”

Oh no, had she given this guy false hope?

“I don’t,” she said, seating herself next to Mila. “Sorry.”

“You have questions? Yvonne was a hard worker. Smart. Comfortable with clients… not too comfortable. Good at her job. I didn’t know her much outside of work. She came to functions, she was closer with other members of her team… Everyone spoke to the cops.”

“I know,” she said, addressing his confusion. “We just want to go over a few details. Did she leave at the normal time?”

“Yes, everyone was out on time. There was talk of meeting later for a drink. Everyone, you know, not just her and… She spoke to her boyfriend. He said they were going out for dinner.”

Interesting. “Did you see him? Did he come here to pick her up?”

“No, she called him on the phone.” Damnit. “On the street, while Yvonne flagged a cab, Claudia invited her to come for a drink later. Them, I suppose.”

Yvonne and the boyfriend. “And did they? Come for a drink later?”

He shook his head, clasping the back of a chair. “I don’t believe so. I didn’t go out with my colleagues that night. I have a wife. A home.” So even if he wanted to party with any of the underlings, it might be forbidden… The bead of sweat on his brow gave the impression his wife held that leash tight. “None of this is good for our company’s image. I hired her. I thought she was… I never got the impression that she was flighty.”

Blaming the victim? In his defense, he didn’t know she was a victim. They didn’t either. Confirmation would be difficult to come by without a body, and they didn’t want it to get that far.

“We have no reason to believe she intended to cause anyone distress.” Again, neither true or false. “Or that her disappearance was premeditated.”

“Claudia would’ve known if Yvonne planned to leave. They were close… as close as colleagues are, I suppose. I believe it was her who first raised the warning flag.”

“The warning flag?”

“That Yvonne was unreachable… Her family was immediately worried, I’m sure.”

Was that fact or fiction? “Would it be possible to speak to Claudia?”

“She’s off this week. I gave her some time… seemed the reasonable thing to do.”

“Yes.”

“Her number should be in your files.”

If they were cops, it would be. “Thank you,” she said, standing up with Mila at her side. “We appreciate your time.”

They started for the door, which Langspring opened for them.

As they passed, Mila stopped. “Before she disappeared…” Mila said. “Was she different? Did you suspect anything had changed in her life?”

“No,” he said, though he maybe wasn’t the best man to ask. “I didn’t.”

Mila’s expression didn’t change as she walked out. Imogen offered a smile and hurried after her.

She caught up to her on the street. “What was that about? Was she different?”

“I worry, you know,” Mila said, slipping her phone from her pocket. “Maybe I missed something.”

“You can’t do that to yourself,” she said. “You were Steph’s closest friend.”

“And I didn’t see anyth—”

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