LITMIR.BIZ

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jerked the door open.

      “There are no customers trying to rush the store. They’re all waiting at the corner of the building,” I told her, and managed not to add “dumbass.”

      “Those aren’t customers,” Colleen said, relocking the door. “That’s the volunteer search party.”

      “The—the what?”

      “For that girl that’s missing. The one that worked for the caterer.”

      I gasped and hurried away.

      How could this be happening? All of this was supposed to be forgotten. There couldn’t be a volunteer search party outside our store. Jeez, I hoped those people were just a tour group, or something.

      I headed toward the back of the store.

      Every department was a mess, thanks to the efforts of the police. All the mannequins had been stripped and were covered in that black fingerprint powder they show on all the TV crime dramas. Dozens of employees were busy cleaning, scrubbing, refolding, straightening, and restocking merchandise.

      I spotted Bella at the shelves of T-shirts. She rolled her eyes when I walked over.

      “You believe this mess?” she asked, waving her arms. “Those cops, they ought to get their butts back in here and clean this up.”

      “Did you see the store on TV this morning?” Sandy asked, popping up from behind a rack of blouses. “We made the network news shows. From New York.”

      The network broadcast? This morning? No, no, that couldn’t be. People were supposed to forget.

      “Which show was it?” Bella asked. “The one with that crazy-ass bitch who looks like she needs to easy up on her Zoloft? Or the one with that slut who looks like a talking blowup doll?”

      “They’re calling her the Missing Server,” Sandy said. “There’s a nationwide search for her.”

      Oh my God. This can’t be happening.

      “I’ve got to go punch in,” I said, and headed toward the break room.

      Where was a sensational celebrity scandal when you needed one? Or a mass suicide? Something huge needed to happen. And soon, to distract the media.

      I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. Another salacious tragedy had to strike almost immediately for this whole Missing Server thing to be forgotten. And it would. It always does. Everything would be fine—it had to be.

      Then something great happened. I spotted Ty coming out of Jeanette’s office. He looked terrific in his Armani suit. My heart did that little flip-flop and my belly felt kind of gooey, just like they did every time I saw him. I didn’t know he’d be here today, so this was a great surprise.

      Ty spotted me and walked over. He looked intense, but Ty almost always looked that way. His expression would melt any second now, as soon as he got closer.

      I pictured it in my head.

      We’ll have a private moment. He’ll lean down and whisper in my ear—just like he did with Sarah, only not as far because I’m enviably taller—something about how great it is to see me, how he misses me, how he wants the two of us to try and recapture that really hot moment in his apartment last fall before—

      “The detectives are here,” Ty said.

      Hmm. Not exactly what I’d expected to hear, but that’s okay. This was a public place, after all, and we were both at work. Having an intimate conversation wouldn’t be appropriate.

      I was surprised that Detectives Madison and Shuman were here again. I thought they’d completed their investigation at the store yesterday.

      Ty leaned down a little and lowered his voice. “They want to talk to you. Privately.”

      What?

      “They think you know something about yesterday that you’re not telling them,” Ty said.

      My throat constricted.

      His brows drew together. “You don’t know anything that you haven’t told them, do you, Haley?”

      I gulped hard, trying desperately for my innocent look.

      “I know you’re nervous, but don’t worry.” Ty grasped my arm. “I’ll go with in you, and I’ll stay right beside you the entire time.”

      Oh, crap.

      Chapter 4

      Ty looked down at me, exuding comfort and concern. I’d never gotten that look from him before, and it was nice—or it would have been if there was any way possible I could have been comforted at this particular moment.

      Still holding my arm, Ty turned and we headed toward Jeanette’s office, only to stop again. Troy and four other guys blocked the aisle. They were young, like Troy, and worked in the men’s department with him.

      Troy’s mouth hung open a bit, and all of them stared and seemed to be breathing kind of hard.

      “Hey, Haley,” Troy said, then snorted.

      The other guys clustered around him leaned forward a bit, eyes wide, jaws slack. They all yucked a goofy laugh, and kept gawking at me.

      What was wrong with those guys?

      Ty and I moved around them, down the aisle toward Jeanette’s office.

      I stopped dead in my tracks.

      I couldn’t go in there. I couldn’t. What was I going to tell the detectives? How would I explain what happened? Especially with Ty standing right next to me?

      I sure could use a Snickers bar right now.

      “What’s wrong?” he asked.

      “I need to ask you something,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t see that I was stalling.

      Should I just bolt? Jump in my car and disappear, never to be heard from again?

      That might make me look guilty.

      Ty was still watching me. I was still getting the concerned look. I had to say something.

      “Yesterday when I called you about Claudia’s death, why didn’t you call me back?” I asked.

      Ty shrugged. “I’d already heard the news from Sarah.”

      “Yeah, but I left a message saying it was an emergency. Weren’t you concerned that something had happened to me?”

      “I knew nothing had happened to you. You called me.”

      Oh. Yeah, right, I did. And it made sense, just like everything that involved Ty. But what if I’d called from the emergency room? What if I was down to my last breath?

      I would have asked Ty both those questions, but he’d already walked away. He opened the door to Jeanette’s office, swinging it wide so I had no choice but to go inside.

      I felt like I was walking into the principal’s office.

      Detective Madison sat behind Jeanette’s desk. Shuman stood behind him, off to the right.

      I liked Shuman. We had a little thing going. Nothing romantic—but maybe there could be. He had a girlfriend who worked at the D.A.’s office that he was crazy about. I liked that about him. I helped their relationship along last fall, and he helped me with those murder charges. An even exchange, I think.

      “So, Miss Randolph,” Detective Madison said, giving me a snarky grin. “You again.”

      I took the chair in front of the desk and Ty sat beside me. Why was he in here? Why did he pick now, of all times, to be the concerned boyfriend?

      “Just like old times, huh?” Detective Madison reared back in the chair. “You, me, a murder victim.”

      “Claudia was murdered?” I asked. I figured

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