by Regan, Lisa
Shannon splayed a hand over her chest. “What? What do you mean ‘remains’? You found her… her body?”
Christian’s voice was husky, as though he was trying to hold back a wave of emotion. “Are you sure it was this Webb woman and not your sister?”
Josie held up her hands, gesturing for them to calm down. “Yes, we found Webb’s body behind Trinity’s cabin. It was badly decomposed. We can’t tell how she was killed, but we believe she was murdered, given the fact that she disappeared almost three weeks ago from her hometown which is located over forty miles from here, and her remains were found here.” Josie didn’t mention the fact that her bones had been pinned down in some sort of sick display. Not only did she not want to go there with them, but Mettner, as the lead detective, had forbidden it. “The remains definitely belong to Nicci Webb, a forty-five-year-old sixth grade teacher from Keller Hollow. The medical examiner confirmed her identity using dental records.”
Christian sagged with relief.
Shannon said, “You’re saying that someone took Trinity and then left someone else’s body behind at the cabin?”
Josie nodded, grimacing. “Yes, it appears that way.”
“But why?” Shannon asked. “Why would someone do that?”
“We don’t know at this point,” Josie answered. “We’re trying to find a connection between Trinity and Webb, if one exists. We are still doing everything we can to locate Trinity. There is something else I need to discuss with you.”
She told them about Trinity’s hidden message inside the Fiat.
Christian said, “Why would she write ‘Vanessa’?”
“We were hoping you guys might be able to tell us,” Josie replied.
Christian and Shannon looked at one another, then turned to Patrick, who shrugged. Looking back at Josie, Shannon said, “Honey, I’m sorry but we don’t know why she would do that. She never called you Vanessa. She always referred to you as Josie. I mean, that’s who you are—Josie.”
Josie felt some of her anxiety ease. She hadn’t expected her mother to understand this, and she felt heartened by Shannon’s words. “Give it some thought,” Josie said. “Maybe it will come to you. Let me text Gretchen and ask her to send me the photos she took of the inside of the door.”
She fired off a text to Gretchen and then she addressed the Paynes again. “We’ve got a warrant out for the contents of her phone, but it could take a while for us to get permission to get into it. Things would move faster if I had your permission for us to go through it. You’re her next of kin.”
Christian said, “Of course. Whatever you need to do.”
“Thank you,” Josie said. “Her phone is pin protected. Do any of you know it, by any chance?”
Christian and Shannon looked at one another, faces drawn. Shannon said, “I don’t.”
“Did you try her birthday?” Christian asked.
“We can,” Josie said. “But I don’t think she would use something that easy. Her birthday is public knowledge, especially after our long-lost-twin story went public. It would be too easy for someone to figure out if they got their hands on her phone. She’s a celebrity, so privacy is important to her personal security.”
Patrick said, “It’s the day you two were reunited.”
The three of them looked at him. He placed his phone on the table and shook the hair from his eyes.
“How do you know that?” Shannon asked.
Patrick rolled his eyes. “Cause she told me. She had a virus on her phone the last time she was home. She asked me to help her get rid of it. I had to do a factory reset and then download all her contacts, reinstall apps, all that stuff. Anyway, I told her I had to reset the pin. She put it in and then she said, ‘that’s the day Josie and I were reunited.’” He met Josie’s eyes. “That was a big deal to her, you know?”
Josie’s heart skipped a beat. “I know,” she said. “It was a big deal to me, too.”
She thought of the questions that Trinity had asked her before she left Josie’s house. What was the best thing that ever happened to me? What was the worst thing that ever happened to me?
Christian said, “The day you two were reunited? You knew each other for years before we found out the truth.”
“Right,” Josie said. “But we found out in March three years ago.” Turning to Patrick, she asked, “Do you know if she meant the day we were rescued in the forest or the day we got the DNA results?”
“Don’t know,” Patrick said. “Which one felt more significant to you?”
A shiver worked its way up Josie’s spine. She remembered the first time they’d talked about it—about the possibility. They’d both been tied up, prisoners of a madwoman. Shortly after that, Trinity had been marched out into the woods to be executed. A neighbor had helped free Josie so she could go after her sister. “The day in the forest,” she said. “But I don’t know the exact date.”
“Would it be in your police reports?” Christian asked.
“Yes,” Josie said. “Good idea.” Her phone buzzed. It was Gretchen, sending the photos of the message Trinity had left on the car door. Josie pulled one up and showed them. No one spoke.
Finally, Christian said, “What’s that underneath the name?”
“We don’t know,” Josie said. “Maybe she started to write something else but didn’t have time?”
There was only silence. No one hazarded a guess as to what Trinity had been trying to communicate with the strange symbols.
“There is one more thing I’d like you to see.” She pulled up a photo of the comb and showed them. “This was dropped off at my house in the early morning hours before Trinity left. That was a month ago. It came in a box wrapped in plain brown paper with her name written on it. She opened it and looked inside right before she left. I didn’t know what was in the box until our Evidence Response Team found it in her suitcase. Obviously, we’ll have it processed, but I’m wondering if it holds any significance to any of you?”
They all studied it. Finally, Patrick said, “It looks familiar.”
Shannon and Christian turned to him. Shannon gave him a wavering smile. “Familiar? You know this isn’t your sister’s style at all, right?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t say she’d wear it. I just said it looks familiar for some reason.”
“Where have you seen it or something like it before?” Josie asked.
He met her eyes. “I really don’t remember.”
Christian said, “Son, this is important. If you’ve seen this comb before, we need to know.”
Patrick took a step back. “Dad, I just told you, I don’t remember.”
“Your sister’s in trouble, Pat,” Christian continued.
“You’re not listening to me, Dad,” Patrick shot back. “You think I’m not worried about her?” He pointed to his chest. “You think I don’t care? I’m closer to her than you guys.”
Josie lowered her voice, making her tone soothing. “Patrick, when were you last in touch with Trinity?”
He glared at his father. “A little over a month ago. It was right before she rented the cabin, but she was still staying at your house. She met me at the café on campus.”
They hadn’t even invited her. That was Josie’s first thought, which was silly and childish given the circumstances. Still, as if reading her mind, Patrick said, “You were at work. She was really upset, you know, about her work situation and all. I think she just needed company.”
Shannon said, “What did you two talk about?”
“Just stuff.”
Josie noticed a vein throbbing in Christian’s forehead. His words came out through gritted teeth. “What. Kind. Of. Stuff?”
Josie stepped between father and son before Patrick could respond, before the situation could escalate. She’d never seen this kind of tension between the two of them before. To Patrick, Josie said, “Did she say anything about someone following her? Someone stalking her? Did she indicate that she was worried about anything? Besides losing
her place at the network, that is?”
“She just said that she thought she was onto some big story—that she thought she could make contact with a major source—but it fell through. She was pretty disappointed. She said it would be bigger than the Mila Kates stalker story.”
“Did she give you any idea what the story was?” Josie asked.
“She didn’t want to talk about it. I asked her but she would only say it was some kind of cold case.”
Shannon interjected. “What kind of cold case would be more sensational than the Mila Kates stalker story? That happened in real time.”
Patrick said, “I don’t know, but she said she wouldn’t only solve it, but she’d be part of it. I didn’t really get what she was saying, but whenever I asked a question, she just told me to forget it since it wasn’t going to happen anyway.”
“Her research was in the boxes that she had with her,” Josie told their parents. “They weren’t in her car or in the cabin. We’re operating under the theory that whoever took her also took the boxes. Her assistant might be able to help us with what was in at least one of them. She’s on her way here now.”
Josie turned toward the conference room door. Christian filled the space where her body had been, eye to eye with his son. “Why would Trinity be telling you all these things?”
“Christian,” Shannon said, her tone a warning.
“Because I’m her brother,” Patrick said, exasperated.
“But you’re just a—” he broke off.
“Christian, that’s enough,” Shannon said.
Patrick’s face flushed. “Just a kid? Is that what you were going to say, Dad?” He said the word ‘dad’ with sarcastic emphasis.
“This is not the time,” Shannon said, looking back and forth between them.
“I’m an adult now, Dad,” Patrick told his father. “Not that you would know, or care.”
With that, he stomped out of the room.
Immediately, Shannon whirled on her husband. “What were you thinking? Our daughter is missing, and you’re choosing now to pick a fight with Patrick?”
“I wasn’t picking a fight,” Christian exclaimed.
“You were.”
“You know what? I need to make some calls.” He stormed out, heading in the opposite direction to Patrick.
Alone with Josie, Shannon hugged herself. Tears streamed down her face. Josie walked around to the far end of the table and picked up a box of tissues which she handed to Shannon.
“I’m sorry about this,” Shannon said, pulling a tissue from the box and dabbing her eyes. “They haven’t been getting along… well, pretty much since Pat hit puberty.”
“It’s okay,” Josie said.
“There are fourteen years between you girls and Patrick. When Patrick was a boy, we used to have problems with Trinity talking to him about adult subjects, letting him watch movies that weren’t appropriate for his age, giving him books he was too young to read.”
Josie laughed. She could imagine Trinity doing this, and she had noticed from the start that Trinity had a very special bond with their little brother. It hurt her heart a little that she didn’t have the same relationship with him. She barely had any relationship with him. He’d been a teenager when Josie came into their lives. It was tough finding common ground with Patrick. But Trinity had a shared history with him. “Patrick’s right, though,” Josie told Shannon, “They’re very close.”
“I know. They always were. Trinity adores him. She was so excited when we told her we were pregnant. She couldn’t wait for him to arrive. She helped me with him and as he got older, she did more and more with him. She always—” Shannon didn’t finish.
“What is it?” Josie said.
Shannon used another tissue to swipe at the fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. “She always wanted a sibling. We never kept you a secret from her, and she felt cheated by your… death.”
“No one ever told me that,” Josie said.
“Well,” Shannon said, sucking in a deep breath. “Why would we? Remember how overwhelmed we all were when we were reunited? Instead of trying to catch up on lost time, I was the one who suggested we should start from where we are, wasn’t I?”
Twenty-One
Josie told Shannon that they could all go back to her and Noah’s house to wait for news, but she insisted on staying at the station house for the time being. Josie assured her that they could remain in the conference room as long as they liked. She went back upstairs to the great room, excited to see Mettner at his desk, scrolling through some documents on his computer.
“What’ve you got?” Josie asked as she approached.
“This is the dump from Trinity’s laptop.” Mettner sighed, his finger clicking the mouse repeatedly. “There’s a lot of stuff on here. I mean, a lot. This has got to be notes and research on every story she ever did.”
“Emails?” Josie asked.
Mettner said, “Those weren’t saved to the laptop, so no, but if she’s logged into her email on her laptop, and we can get it open, you could probably just open the browser or the app and access it.”
“Did you try to get into it?”
Mettner stopped scrolling and looked at Josie. “It uses facial recognition to open it.”
Josie smiled. “I can help you with that.”
“First help us get into her phone, would you?” Gretchen said. “We had to charge it since it was dead. There should be enough juice in it now for you to go through it.” She stood and retrieved Trinity’s phone from her desk, handing it over to Josie.
Josie placed it next to her keyboard while she used her computer to access the police reports from the Belinda Rose case from three years ago. That was the case during which they’d been reunited. The exact date, which Trinity used for her passcode, would be in the reports. It took a few minutes of sifting through the file to find the date that she and Trinity had first discussed the possibility that they were sisters. March 23, 2017. Josie picked up the phone and typed in 03232017. Incorrect passcode. She tried a few more variations before hitting on the correct one: 32317. The screen came to life, its wallpaper aglow with a photo of Trinity sitting in her spot at the morning anchor desk at her network. The photo had been taken from an angle, so Trinity wasn’t looking directly at whoever had taken it—probably her assistant. Instead, she smiled confidently at a studio camera beside a teleprompter. Her back was straight, her legs crossed at the ankles. She wore a tight-fitting, muted pink, peplum dress with matching pale pink stilettos. As ever, her hair and make-up were perfect.
Most people might have thought that Trinity was self-absorbed for having a photo of herself as her cell phone wallpaper. She could come off as self-centered, Josie knew, but if you looked more deeply, you’d understand it was merely her ambition that made her seem that way. It was her drive, pure and simple. In the past six weeks, Trinity had been in freefall, with not just her job at risk, but her identity. This photo was Trinity in her element, at the top of her game. It was her reminder that she had been there once, and she could get there again. Even if she didn’t believe it.
The phone and text icons had several notifications hovering over them. Josie ignored them and searched Trinity’s contacts first, looking for Nicci Webb’s name. It wasn’t there. She then pulled up the call history and scrolled back a month, finding incoming and outgoing calls from Shannon and Jaime, Trinity’s assistant. There were two calls to her co-anchor, Hayden Keating and two calls to someone listed in her contacts simply as Drake. The last call to him had been only days before Trinity packed up and left the cabin. Josie didn’t recognize the name. She closed the call list and opened Trinity’s texts.
There were text messages going back four months between her and Drake, most of them brief and to do with when and where to meet. There was a single message from Trinity to Drake a week before Trinity left the network for Denton that hinted at the nature of their relationship.
Last night was fantastic.
Minutes later,
Drake had answered:
Let’s do it again soon.
Had Trinity been seeing someone?
Josie hadn’t seen Patrick on her way back up to the second floor. She had no idea if he was still in the building or if he’d gone back to campus, so she texted him:
Did Trinity ever mention a guy named Drake?
His response came back seconds later:
No, sorry.
She found Shannon and Christian in the conference room and asked them, but neither of them had ever heard Trinity mention someone by that name. Back upstairs, she ran Drake’s phone number through one of their databases, coming up with his full name, age, and address. Drake Nally, thirty-seven years old, a resident of New York City. She tried looking up more information on him but found nothing of use.
“You got something from the phone?” Gretchen asked.
Josie told Gretchen and Mettner what she’d found. “I’m going to call him,” she said. “See what he can tell me. It may be nothing, but at this point, every angle is worth looking at.”
Mettner nodded. Josie used Trinity’s phone to call. On the sixth ring, a man’s voice answered. “Trinity,” he said. “I haven’t changed my mind.”
For a split second, Josie considered trying to impersonate her sister to find out what he hadn’t changed his mind about, but as quickly as the thought flitted through her head, it was gone. Instead, she said, “Drake Nally? This is Trinity’s sister, Detective Josie Quinn.”
A beat of silence.
“I know who you are,” he said. “She talks about you all the time. Why do you have her phone? Is she okay?”
“Have you watched the news at all today, Mr. Nally?”
“No, I’ve been in meetings all day. Why? What happened? Is she okay?”
“How do you know Trinity, Mr. Nally?” Josie asked.
He made a noise of frustration. “Agent Nally.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Special Agent Nally. I’m an FBI agent with the New York field office. I know who you are, and I know what you’re trying to do here, so let me save you some time. Trinity and I met last year while she was covering a story. We’ve been seeing each other, sort of, for the last few months. You didn’t know who I was which means she didn’t tell you about me. If you’re calling me on her phone to get information from me then something bad has happened to her. I’d really like to know what.”
