“Why did you ditch class?”

Now that she was no longer hungry, she could think. “It was just an assembly. They took us out of class to tell us to stay in school. How stupid is that? And jocks… like they know anything about school.” He was smiling at her. “What?” she demanded.

“I’m one of the jocks from the assembly. I graduated with a 4.0,” he added helpfully.

Liza’s face burned. “God. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Mostly you’re right. But that’s why I come to the schools. If the kids will listen to me, even one, it’s worth it. Why are you going to the police station?”

She studied him. He was handsome, blond with clear blue eyes. A basketball player, she remembered from the assembly announcement. A big-time college player. Some of the boys in class were drooling at the thought of seeing him. “Why do you care?”

He shrugged. “My mom’s something of a social worker. It’s ingrained. Look, I have a baby sister. Her name is Grace. If she were in trouble, I’d hope someone would help her. I won’t hurt you. If nothing else, I’m a damn good listener. So why were you crying, Liza?”

She let out a breath. “My sister’s missing.” And she told him the whole story, everything except living alone. “Yesterday I got that police report and last night I asked every hooker I could find and nobody knew her. I started thinking today that maybe somebody was arrested with her, in a raid, or maybe somebody bailed her out.”

“So you want to know if the police can tell you that?”

“I have to try. Nobody’s going to look for a missing hooker. Nobody but me.”

He frowned. “You went looking for your sister? Where did you find hookers?”

“Internet. I googled and found where they hang.”

He looked pained. “O-kay. I know a few cops. Let’s take a cab to the station, see what we can find out.”

“The city bus goes to the station. Give me the cop’s name and I’ll ask him.”

“You missed the bus again. But you were eating, so I didn’t want you to stop.”

She sighed. “You’re not going away, are you?”

“Not just yet. Come on, let’s go.”

Tuesday, February 23, 4:45 p.m.

Noah stopped in front of the fifth and last waffle house on Jack’s list. It was a diner off the interstate, next to a gas station. He hoped this had been Christy’s last meal.

They’d missed Donner and Lyons. Neither had been at their desks, nor at home. They’d go back later, now turning their attention to Christy’s last movements. Four waffle houses had been busts and his partner had been silently surly.

Noah’s patience was fraying around the edges. “Let’s just get this done.”

But Jack didn’t move. He sat, staring at the waffle house. “I’m sorry, Web.”

The quiet words were the first his partner had uttered in hours. “About?”

“I was out of line. I knew Eve wasn’t trying to save her own skin.”

“That apology should go to Eve. I don’t understand why you said it in the first place.”

“It’s not that complicated. I told you I’d been trying to get her attention for months.”

“Let me get this straight. You are jealous of me? You told me to ask her out.”

“Thinking she’d say no. I never expected her to fall all over you in less than a day.”

“That was just an act.” No, it wasn’t. Not for me. And when Eve was able, she’d say it hadn’t been for her either.

Jack opened his car door. “Not from where I was sitting. Let’s go.”

Noah followed him into the waffle house, forcing his mind to think about killing, not kissing. Jack had Christy’s driver’s license photo in his hand, showed it to the hostess.

“We’re with the police, ma’am,” Jack said. “Have you seen this woman?”

“No, but I’ve seen you.” She pointed to the magazine rack. “You’re Phelps.”

Jack winced. “Can we talk to the manager or some of the other servers?”

“Have a seat, Detectives. Can I get you some coffee?”

“No, ma’am,” Noah said. “We’ll wait.”

The manager hurried out. “I’m Richard Smith. Please come back to my office.”

“We’re looking for anyone who saw this woman early Monday,” Jack said.

“This shift wouldn’t have been here during the night. You should come back tonight.”

It was what they’d heard four times before. “Thank you, we’ll do that,” Noah said.

“Or,” Smith continued thoughtfully, “we have security video of the cash register.”

They’d also heard that four times before, but three of the cameras were pointed toward the cashier, management more concerned about employee theft than robberies. The fourth video quality was so bad they couldn’t see anything.

“That would be a big help,” Jack said. “Thank you.”

Smith went to his computer and began typing. “Sunday between midnight and four?”

Noah and Jack exchanged impressed glances. “You have it digitized?” Noah asked.

“We just invested in a new system about a year ago. There was a robbery next door. A kid was shot pretty bad. They had an old system and you couldn’t see the shooter’s face. We’re open all night, too. All of our people were at risk. So me and the manager next door went in together, got a better system and made sure everybody knew it. So far so good. Nobody’s hit us again.”

After a few minutes of stopping and starting, Smith looked up. “This might be her.”

“It’s Christy,” Noah said, when he looked at the screen. “Time was 3:24.”

“Here’s the crew that was on that night, with their phone numbers, in case you can’t wait until tonight to interview them. You’ll want the original digital video file, I assume.”

“Thank you,” Noah said, with relief. “Not many shops put this much into security.”

Jack’s eyes lit. “You have cameras in the parking lot. Here and the gas station?”

“Yes, sir,” Smith said proudly. “We sure do. You want video of the same time?”

“Plus two hours on either end, please,” Jack said, then turned to Noah. “If somebody followed her home, we’ll be able to find them.”

Tuesday, February 23, 5:00 p.m.

“Tom.” Olivia stood with a big smile for the young man crossing the bullpen. He was the son of one of her sister Mia’s best friends, accompanied by a girl with a sober, terrified look, and Olivia was instantly curious. “You played a great game on Sunday.”

“Thanks. We need your help. This is Liza Barkley. Liza, Detective Sutherland.”

“Pull up some chairs,” Olivia said and listened as Liza told her story, haltingly. Heartbreakingly. “It must have been hard to learn your sister was in the life.”

“I am so scared,” Liza whispered. “What if one of her… customers hurt her?”

Olivia weighed her words. “Liza, you seem too smart for me to try to sugarcoat this. Prostitutes have a high mortality rate. If she’s been missing for two days and she hasn’t called when she always did before, it’s not good. After two days, her trail may be cold.”

Liza had gone paler, if possible, but her chin went up. “Do you have a sister?”

“Yes, and I wouldn’t take no for an answer either if my sister was in trouble. Let me check for you. I’ll find out if she was arrested in a group and who posted her bail, but I want something in return. Your promise you will not go hunting at night.” Liza nodded dutifully. “You’re going to do it anyway, aren’t you?” Olivia asked.

Liza nodded and Olivia sighed.

“Olivia?” Tom asked and she knew what was coming.

“No. I’m not going with you.”

“Why not?” Tom asked. “Come on,” he wheedled, then shrugged. “Mia would.”

Olivia shook her head. “That is a low blow.”

“But effective,” he said.

“If I can, I’ll go with you. Once. But I want your promise, Liza.”

Liza nodded. “I promise.”

Tuesday, February 23, 5:30 p.m.

Tom took Liza’s bag and hailed another cab. “I’m taking you home.”

“What if I don’t want you to know where I live?”