Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“What shade of brown? Light, like a tan color or—”
“No. Darker, like a coffee brown. That’s all I remember.”
“That’s a lot, and it’s incredibly helpful. Have you told anyone else?”
“Just my mom. I was too scared to tell anyone else.”
“Do you remember anything else about that incident? Did you see anyone else outside? Or in the hallway when you came back in?”
She paused, then frowned. “I didn’t think about it then because I hadn’t been working when anyone was abducted, but the janitor was hanging around the women’s bathroom. When I came back in those doors, he had the hall blocked off, and he looked…”
“Annoyed?”
“Startled. I didn’t know what was up with him, but I didn’t stick around to find out.”
That was the third mention of the fucking janitor. Nash made a mental note to move him to the top of the interview list. Even if the creep wasn’t involved, even if he was just doing his job, he must have seen something at some point.
The glance Haisley sent him suggested the same thing. He nodded, letting her know they were on the same page.
Damn, she was good at this. He already respected her intelligence, but tonight had taken it up another notch.
“You absolutely did the right thing, hustling back to safety,” Haisley assured the girl. “Anything else you remember?”
Abby paused again. “Not that I can think of. Sorry.”
“No, you’ve done great. You’ve helped more than you know. Do you have your phone handy? I want to give you my number in case you think of anything else.”
Abby reached in her pocket, unlocked the device, and handed it to Haisley. “Cool.”
Haisley tapped in her number as a new contact and saved it, then texted herself from Abby’s device. “Got it. I’ll pass your the info on to Nash and Ethan, too, okay?”
Good call. Her mother was probably in protective mode, and who could blame her? Given that, if a grown-ass man gave her underage daughter his phone number, she might not take it kindly.
Abby nodded. “Yeah.”
Finally, Nash leaned in. “You’ve been a big help. We appreciate it.”
The girl looked relieved. “I wanted to do whatever I could.”
“Have you thought about quitting your job until this is resolved?”
Abby winced. “My mom wants me to, but I’m saving for college. I need the money. Otherwise, I can’t go.”
She was in a tough place, and Nash understood. He’d grown up the dirt-poor kid of a coal miner. There hadn’t been money for more than the necessities when he was a kid, and he’d worn nothing but Trees’s hand-me-downs until he was an adult. “If I put out some feelers for a different job that has similar hours and pays at least as much, would you consider it?”
Haisley snapped her stare to him, clearly surprised. By his offer? That he cared what happened to the girl? God, did she think he was the kind of asshole who didn’t give a shit about anyone but himself?
“Y-you would do that?” Abby breathed.
He purposefully softened his voice. “Sure. I can’t promise anything, but this world is scary, and you shouldn’t have to feel unsafe where you work.”
Abby glanced over her shoulder to her waiting manager. When she turned back, her expression looked guilty as hell. “I hate to leave Ginger. She’s been really good to me, almost like a second mom.”
“Then she should want the best for you. I think she’ll understand,” Haisley said, backing him up.
“Yeah. Then, um…if you hear of something and I’d qualify, I’d appreciate it.”
They wrapped up the interview and stood so Haisley could don her coat. Nash insisted on watching Abby until she made it back to her unit and was ensconced safely behind the counter.
As they headed for the exit, Haisley turned to him with a triumphant grin. “I think that was a success. We have a solid lead to chase down.”
“Thanks to you,” he said, unable to keep the note of pride from his voice. “I couldn’t get her to even look me in the eye yesterday. But you? You were amazing.”
“Thanks.” She gave him a faint grin. “I’ve had a little experience. Well, it was a simulation with an online crime-solving group, but the others involved told me I did okay. It was good experience to do the real thing in person.”
“You’ve got a knack for it.”
But he wasn’t surprised. Haisley wasn’t merely amazing. She was the kind of woman who would keep him on his toes, challenge him in all the best ways. And he wanted nothing more than to support her and stand by her side in every sense of the word.
A pretty flush stole across her cheeks at the praise, but she shrugged it off. “I just approached her a little differently, and you did a really good thing, offering to help her find a safer job. Think you can pull that off?”