“Wherehaveyoubeen? OhmyGodwhydidn’tyoucall? Iwassoworried!”
Rachel was missing for everyone.
“I’m trying to find her, too. I believe Rachel is in danger. Will you help?”
Kimberly Laird stiffened the way a sparrow stiffens as a snake glides toward its nest.
“April Bohlen gave me your name. She said you’d help. Call her. She’ll confirm what I’m saying.”
Kimberly moved farther away from her client. The client tracked her in the mirror.
“Who is this?”
“Rachel was interviewed on a podcast, In Your Face with Josh Shoe. Remember?”
“She’s been on with Josh twice. Where’s Rachel? Who are you?”
“Josh is missing, too. His parents hired me to find him.”
“Is Rachel with Josh?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible, but I don’t know. I need to talk to you, Kimberly. I believe you know something that could help.”
“I don’t know where she is. I’ve been going crazy trying to find her. I don’t know anything.”
“Kimberly, you do. You know things no one else knows. You were her safety.”
Kimberly stepped farther away and spoke in a smaller voice.
“I’m at work.”
“I know. I see you.”
Kimberly slowly turned toward the window. I raised a hand.
“Finish his hair. I’ll wait.”
She came out six minutes later and we talked in front of the cupcake shop.
“When was the last time you spoke with her?”
“A week? I was gonna do her hair. It’s a thing. She comes over, we try out different looks, we hang, but she never showed up. She didn’t answer my calls or texts, and I didn’t know what to think, like, is she mad at me? But her other friends haven’t heard from her, either.”
She pulled at her fingers as she spoke. Nervous.
“Was she having her hair done for an escort job?”
Little dimples appeared on her chin. Kimberly seemed uneasy, as if she didn’t want to discuss Rachel’s escort work.
“She likes trying new looks. She wasn’t seeing a client.”
“Would she see a client without telling you?”
“I really don’t want to talk about this.”
“She would or she wouldn’t, Kimberly. Would she risk seeing a stranger without telling you?”
Kimberly glanced into the cupcake shop and twisted her fingers.
“She tells me everything.”
“Did she mention seeing Josh?”
Kimberly looked confused.
“The podcast Josh?”
“Maybe something about real estate.”
She shook her head before I finished asking.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Rachel and I talk all the time. We tell each other everything.”
“Funny. The past few weeks, she spoke with Josh all the time, too. She didn’t mention it?”
Kimberly stared for a moment and stopped pulling her fingers.
“About what?”
“I was hoping you’d know. Do you?”
“She didn’t mention Josh.”
“She started calling him about three weeks ago. He’s been seen at her apartment. Were they involved?”
A smile kissed the edge of her lips.
“Hardly. She definitely would have told me that.”
She studied me for a moment, and cocked her head.
“Besides, he isn’t her type.”
“Because he’s heavy?”
“Because he isn’t me.”
I nodded.
She said, “Gotcha, didn’t I?”
I nodded again, but I wasn’t thinking about her and Rachel. I was working through the time line.
“If Rachel didn’t want to tell you she was seeing Josh, maybe she didn’t want to tell you she was seeing a client. Maybe she told Meredith Birch.”
Kimberly shook her head a single sharp time.
“She didn’t tell Meredith. That part of their relationship ended.”
“Meredith told me she’s still Rachel’s safety.”
Kimberly’s eyes turned cool.
“She can think what she wants. Rachel doesn’t trust her. Meredith is more concerned with her clients than her escorts.”
“So who sets up Rachel’s dates now, you?”
“Are you nuts? I hate this escort thing. I’ve been after her to quit for years.”
“Then who sets up her dates?”
Kimberly pursed her lips.
“Rachel doesn’t escort much anymore. When she does, she usually dates one of her regulars. They’re safe. It’s less stressful.”