Say It Again (First Wives, #5)(23)

“So that’s why you’re back. You don’t have anyone.” Claire released a sad breath. “Jesus, I’m looking at my future. I’m never going to have a life outside these walls.”

Sasha clicked her tongue. “There’s a lot of life away from here. You never know who you’ll meet or what job you’ll take.”

Claire leaned forward, her jaw tight. “But do you still spend Christmas alone? Do you end up with some generic sweater that you’ll never wear because you haven’t worn a sweater since you were ten? Do you have a name to put on your emergency contact list or do you just leave it blank since no one cares if you’re alive or dead?”

“Someone cares that you’re alive or you’d be on the street with all the other orphans.” Everything else the girl said was painfully accurate.

“Lotta good that does me if I don’t know who they are. It’s probably guilt money, anyway. Seems to be what everyone else around here is all about.” Claire pushed away from the table and stood. “Whatever. Thanks for the look in the crystal ball. At least I know I’ll have good taste in clothes.”

Sasha watched her walk away.





Chapter Nine



The phone rang.

It was early . . . way too early after one too many beers the night before.

AJ flopped his hand to the bedside table and found his phone. “Yeah,” he said.

“Alex Hofmann Junior.”

It was too early for a quiz. “Who’s asking?”

“Not asking. It’s Reed.”

That’s all it took to wake AJ and bring his head off the pillow. “Did . . . did you find something?”

“I always find something. Are you still in bed? Isn’t it nine there?”

AJ glanced at the clock by the bed. “Eight fifty. What did you find?”

“Olivia McNaught. And guess what?”

“Too early for games.”

Was the connection bad, or did Reed chuckle? “She’s in Berlin.”

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes with a full palm, AJ said, “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. I have an address. Do you have a pen?”

“Yeah . . . hold on.” He jumped from the bed, the cool air in the room hitting every bare part of him as he searched the hotel room for a pen and a piece of paper. “Go,” he said after getting back on the phone.

AJ scribbled the address Reed rattled off.

“I only found an address. Nothing about work, a family. From what I can tell, she bought the apartment right after she graduated.”

“Are you sure it’s the same person? McNaught isn’t the name my sister mentioned.”

“Maybe Naught was an alias at Richter or McNaught is now.”

AJ rubbed the stubble on his jaw. “Only one way to find out.”

“I’ll keep digging around, see if I can find anything else.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Oh, and, AJ?”

“Yeah?”

“Try not to steal anything.”

AJ swallowed, fully awake now. “Excuse me?”

“Juvenile record. Sealed but not forgotten. PI, detective . . . remember?”

The air left AJ’s lungs.

“Ah-huh. You know what I’ve found to be an absolute truth in my line of work?” Reed asked.

“No, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me.”

“That people who let’s say . . . take cars that don’t belong to them when they’re a teenager and get away with it, go on to do the same thing as an adult.”

“I didn’t get away with it. I was caught.”

“But not punished. Which is the same thing. I did a little poking around. I can’t help but wonder if maybe someone, somewhere, might think you took something from them. And perhaps, and I’m just tossing stuff out there, perhaps this all links back to you. Hypothetically speaking.”

AJ sat taller, stiffened his jaw. “I can see how you might come to that conclusion, if there were someone out there who is missing something in their life and is blaming me. However, and I think a man with your background and expertise has already concluded this, killing my sister fits in your little hypothetical situation, but a school-age friend makes no sense at all. Which is why I have an address in my hands and a house call to make.”

Silence.

“Yeah, that’s kinda what I was thinking. But, AJ?”

“What?”

“Any new information that might change my thoughts comes up, you have my number. Sasha is family to me. We help out the good guys.”

“Robin Hood was celebrated.”

“Ha! I’ll be sure and keep looking for the charities you support,” Reed laughed.

“My halo may be a little rusty, but it’s still there. I’ll keep you better informed.”

“I’m glad we had this talk,” Reed said before hanging up.

Thirty minutes later AJ was following the map on his phone to a high-rise condominium complex that was situated far outside the city center. There were plenty of places in Berlin where graffiti littered every wall, but here, Turkish immigrants had taken up several corners on the streets, begging for handouts. AJ wouldn’t say the neighborhood Miss McNaught chose was one he would have picked.