“Can I put my number straight into your phone?” He nodded, handing it over. It felt strange. This was normally a thing a girl did when she wanted to sleep with a guy. And this couldn’t be more different a situation. I entered my number, and then sent myself a text with his name, Jeff Clarke.
“Here. I’ve put myself in. Julie. Uh… I sent myself a text, so I have yours too. And now you have a text window for us, if you want to message.” What the hell was I saying? He’d think I was hitting on him.
“I really need to find my friend, Mr Clarke. She’s really important to me. I’m thinking that this has to be connected. Um… oh... when I get back to work, I’ll text you the incident number for Cassidy’s missing persons case, in case you need it when you report Harvey missing.”
He blinked. “Uh… good idea. Thank you. I’m sorry I’m so bloody useless. I guess I’m in shock.”
I nodded. “It’s understandable, sir. Really. I, uh… I wish I didn’t have to run and leave you.”
“I’ll message you when I’ve spoken to the police.”
I patted his hand, and then turned and hurried back to work. I suddenly felt a wave of hope. As odd as that sounded, having seen the mess of the shop, but it meant I had an ally at last. Someone who might also care that Cassidy was gone.