The Trapped Girl (Tracy Crosswhite #4)(77)

“Look at all these big homicide detectives crying,” Shannah said, dabbing the corners of her eyes.

Tracy pushed back her chair and stood. “At the risk of killing Del . . . ,” she said.

Del smiled. “You go right ahead,” he said.

She took a breath, fighting her emotions, which the events of the past two days had put to the test. “You all know that I lost my family at a very young age. I’ve lived alone a good portion of my life, and at times I felt like I was alone—until I made my way to the seventh floor. You people have been like family to me, treated me like family. I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have you in my life. So I just want to raise a glass to all of you and say, ‘Thank you.’”

For a moment no one spoke. Vera raised her glass. “Salute,” she said.

“Salute,” the others said.

“Can we eat now?” Del said, drawing laughter.

They ate everything Vera and Faz put on the table, and it was quite the meal. By the time they reached dessert, homemade cannoli, Tracy felt full. “I’ll just have a bite of Dan’s,” she said when Faz handed her the plate.

“Get used to that, Dan,” Faz said. “She’ll tell you she’s full, then she’ll eat your dessert.”

“When have I ever eaten your dessert?” Vera said.

“Are you kidding me? How many times have I heard, ‘I’ll just take a bite’ and next thing I know, my plate is clean. Last week I ordered tiramisu. I got one bite.”

“Tiramisu is my favorite,” Vera said, giving Dan a wink. “Who wants coffee?”

“I’ll help you clear the plates,” Shannah said.

“I will too,” Tracy said, but Dan stood first. “Talk with your friends. I’ll clear.”

Vera gave a small hoot. “I like him, Tracy. A man who helps in the kitchen is usually even better in the bedroom.”

That comment brought more laughter. When the four of them were alone, Tracy said, “I hate to bring up work, but something has come up.”

“You’re not leaving, are you?” Kins said.

She looked at him like he was crazy. “No. Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know. I know Dan’s made a good living and you don’t have to put up with the bullshit anymore.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “It’s about Andrea Strickland.”

“What about her?” Faz said.

“I don’t think she’s the woman in the crab pot.”

Faz lowered his glass of port wine. “What do you mean you don’t think she’s the woman in the pot?”

Tracy shook her head. “I don’t think that’s her in the crab pot.”

The three men looked dumbstruck.

“Why not?” Kins asked. “Who the hell would it be?”

“When I first got there, to the beach, the kid who pulled up the pot—”

“Kurt Schill,” Kins said.

“Right. He said he thought the body in the pot was a woman, though he’d only had a glimpse of her hand before towing it back to shore. I asked him how he knew and he said, ‘Her fingernails are painted.’”

“Bright blue,” Kins said.

“Right. But when I talked to Andrea Strickland’s aunt, she told me Andrea compulsively bit her fingernails, so much so that they bled.”

“They could be fake,” Faz said. “Or she could have stopped.”

Tracy shook her head. “I asked Funk. The nails were real. And if you’ve ever met anyone who compulsively bites their fingernails, you know it’s as difficult a habit to stop as smoking.”

“Got an aunt that was a nail-biter,” Del said. “After so many years it chipped her front tooth.”

They all sat back, silent, considering the information. Kins said, “So if it’s not Strickland, who do you think it is?”

“I think it could be the friend. I think it could be Devin Chambers. She disappeared the same time as Andrea and they were about the same height and weight, similar hair coloring.”

“Shit,” Del said. “This is going to complicate things.”

“We don’t know nothing yet,” Faz said. “So then, what? Andrea Strickland is dead somewhere on that mountain?”

“Don’t know,” Tracy said.

“You think the husband killed Chambers?” Del asked.

“Again, too early to know. What we do know is the woman in the pot was changing her appearance, and likely using the money to do it. If Chambers knew about the money, I could see why she’d want to change her appearance.”

“So, what then? She and the husband were working together, and he double-crosses her and kills her?” Del asked.

“Possibility,” Tracy said. “If he used the private investigator to find her, it would explain why he gave him the name Devin Chambers and asked him to try to hunt her down, and why she was changing her appearance and clearly on the run.”

“She wanted the money,” Del said.

“She didn’t need to run away to get the money,” Tracy said. “If she is the woman in the crab pot, she had to know about the alias, Lynn Hoff. And she had to know the bank accounts were in that name, and the passwords. She had to be running for some other reason.”