“We’re glad you called, or your man did.”
Julia spoke as everyone found a place to sit. Her voice was soft as if she were only speaking to Officer Howard, yet I heard. “The card you gave me.”
“Do you need our help?”
“No.” Julia shook her head. “I was looking at it before Albert called you. I wondered if perhaps Madison had utilized services at the Women’s Resource Center in Ashland.”
“Why do you wonder that?”
“Because the first time I saw her was in the café on Main Street. Then the next time, she was working in the consignment shop. Could she have gotten that job through the center?”
“I’m going to check with Sally Coopmans, the owner of the consignment shop,” Lawson volunteered. “If she was working there, we may be able to figure out if she had help executing her plan.”
Officer Howard nodded. “It would be beneficial for our departments to work in unison. We’ll recommend a call to your captain.”
Lawson replied, “I agree.”
That was what Julia and I wanted, cooperation.
Once everyone else was seated, I stood at Julia’s side and explained what I’d just said to Lawson, adding, “No one has seen Phillip or the private investigator I hired in three weeks. After Phillip took Julia’s phone, he sent text messages pretending to be her. The cell phone was pinging in Ironwood.”
“We didn’t pursue that,” Officer Stewart said. “Miss McGrath, you said you were fine.”
“I am. I was,” Julia replied. “Madison told Van…” She turned to me, her complexion growing increasingly paler by the second.
I spoke, “Madison told me that Phillip couldn’t sign the divorce papers. She asked me to pretend to be him.”
“Have you done that before?” Stewart asked.
“We were identical. It was fun to fuck with teachers.” That wasn’t the complete answer, but it worked.
“What do you want from us?” Officer Howard asked.
I swallowed and straightened my neck. “I want to know that Julia is safe—that we’re safe. I’d like confirmation of Phillip Thomas’s whereabouts. I’m concerned for his daughter.”
Julia’s hand reached up to mine.
That second, turning and looking into her blue kaleidoscope eyes, was a fucking miracle. Never had I imagined saying aloud that Brooklyn was Phillip’s daughter, but now I was. I said it aloud with Julia at my side even knowing my dark secrets. The emotion was indescribable.
“How old is Mr. Thomas’s daughter?”
“Ten,” Julia and I said in unison.
“Do you know her whereabouts?”
“My sister,” I said, “told me that she was taking care of her, in San Antonio.”
“The city where Mr. and Mrs. Thomas reside,” Lawson said.
“Yes. Where they did reside. And I can give you the name of my private investigator. He was supposed to be watching Phillip, but he’s stopped communicating.”
“Didn’t you say,” Julia asked, looking up, “that his last report was erroneous?”
I nodded. “Things aren’t adding up.”
“Could you provide contact information,” Patrol Officer Howard asked, “for the three of them—your sister, Phillip Thomas, and your private investigator?”
“His name is Rob, Robert Landon. I have his information on my phone,” I said.