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said. “Of course we should keep meeting. It’s not like we aren’t still friends because Payton isn’t here anymore.”

      Jaslene leaned forward, putting her hand on the table. “I’m going to find Payton. Dead or alive.” She straightened. “You two don’t have to help.”

      “Jaslene...” Tatum protested.

      “Don’t go like this,” Catherine said.

      Jaslene turned and walked away.

      Neither Catherine nor Tatum tried to stop her. Maybe she was overreacting. But all she had to do was think of how Payton must have, or possibly still, suffered and she had no question in her mind. She would not, not ever, give up. If Payton was still alive, her friend would not want anyone to stop looking for her. And while she most likely was dead after being missing for so long, Jaslene had to know for certain. She would not quit until she did.

      She would make the police keep looking and she would push and push and push until they worked as hard as they could to find her. The police assumed she had been abducted somewhere in the park, but there had been no witnesses. No one had seen her there and no one had seen her arrive there.

      * * *

      “Chief wants to talk to you.”

      Calum Chelsey looked up to see the Chesterville chief of police’s assistant standing in front of him, with a cup of coffee.

      “What for?”

      “Didn’t say.” She turned and walked away. Alice was a prickly sort, tall and skinny with black-rimmed glasses and hair that was always in a tight, black ponytail. He’d heard she was married and had two kids and hoped she was a different person outside of work. Happier.

      He stood from his desk and walked to the chief’s office, knocking on the open door.

      Chief Moran waved him in. “I emailed you a new case.”

      Cal stopped before Moran’s desk. Great. Another case to add to his already full workload. He didn’t mind the amount of work; in fact, most of the cases would be easy to close.

      “The mayor wants it resolved as quickly as possible. You know Christopher McBride? He owns that coal-to-fuel plant south of town?”

      “I know the plant.”

      “His son was killed two nights ago. Shot after leaving a bar. I’m putting you on the case. Only work this, no others.”

      “What about the missing person case?” That was the only case that interested him. In truth, he’d been feeling under-challenged in the department.

      “I’ve reassigned it.”

      That came as a shock to Cal, and a huge disappointment. Had the chief done so because it had gone cold the week after Payton had gone missing, or was it because the request came from the mayor? “Why me?”

      “You’re the best detective I have. I know I can count on you.”

      “Why is it so important?”

      “The mayor wants it solved ASAP.”

      Cal didn’t like that. He didn’t respect anyone who put a person’s social standing ahead of crime solving, ahead of victims. “In other words, this Christopher McBride thinks he’s more important than Payton Everett and her family?”

      The chief pointed at him. “Don’t start with me.”

      “I can work the Everett case, too.” Cal turned and would have left.

      Chief Moran said, “Only the McBride case.”

      This was what he hated about working for a police department: orders. That and lack of integrity. He’d voiced his honest opinions more than once and knew he’d brushed close to getting fired. He was never fired because he was one of the departments top detectives.

      Cal slowly faced the chief. He could not back down now. “I’m not going to stop investigating the Everett case.”

      The chief stopped shuffling papers on his desk and met Cal’s eyes squarely. “What’s that I just heard?”

      “Who’d you assign the case to?”

      “Walsh.”

      Walsh didn’t have the experience to take on a case like that. “Don’t bother. I can handle both the McBride and Everett cases.”

      “This isn’t about what you can and can’t handle, Chelsey.” The chief’s voice rose with his triggered temper. “This is about what the mayor wants. Now go get to work. I’ve already told McBride you were the best man for the case. He’s waiting to talk to you in the conference room.”

      Cal didn’t move. A few days ago, he’d received an offer to join a private firm: Dark Alley Investigations. They had just opened a satellite office in Chesterville and thought that Cal would be a valuable addition. They had contacted him in the past as well, but Cal hadn’t seriously considered it until lately. This was the final nudge to push him over the fence.

      “Then you’ll have my letter of resignation by the end of the day. I’m working the Everett case.” Turning once again, he left the office with a wave of relief and the sense that this was the right thing for him.

      “Chelsey.”

      The chief went to his office door. “Chelsey!”

      Cal kept going, noticing other workers stop what they were doing to look and see what the commotion was about. He ignored them all. As he reached the conference room, he saw a man in a black suit standing inside. He spotted Cal and walked to the door as though to greet him.

      “Detective Chelsey?”

      Cal could see the arrogance in McBride’s brown eyes. He didn’t smile and definitely seemed grief-stricken. Losing his son to murder put the darkness there but hadn’t dimmed the aggression.

      “Detective Chelsey?” a woman suddenly called.

      He recognized the voice and almost closed his eyes in annoyance. They were coming at him from all directions.

      “Chelsey’s going to win a popularity contest today,” one of the other detectives quipped.

      He heard Jaslene Chabot rushing his way. He turned to see her marching toward him, golden-blond hair flapping behind her sexy body.

      “I’ve just been told nothing will be done on Payton’s case. It’s been moved to another detective?”

      He doubted she’d been told nothing would be done. She must have made that assumption. “The case has been reassigned, yes. The new detective will work on it.”

      “Why not you?”

      Cal glanced at Mr. McBride. “I’ve been assigned to a new case.”

      “But...it was my understanding that you have the most experience in this department.”

      “That’s why he’s working on my son’s murder,” Mr. McBride said.

      Jaslene’s pretty blue eyes moved to that man and then back to Cal. “Payton could have been murdered, too. Why is this case more important?”

      “It’s not.”

      “He’s already said another detective is working your case,” Mr. McBride said impatiently, then turned to Cal. “Now, if we can get started. I’d like to go over my expectations.”

      His expectations?

      “Who the hell do you think you are?” Jaslene said. He’d gotten to know her fiery side the very first time they’d met. At first he had been struck by her attractiveness and then they had fallen into a professional relationship, with Jaslene determined to find her missing friend and concerned only about that.

      Cal held up his hands. “Hold on a minute. First.” He looked at Mr. McBride. “I’m turning in

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