“No. Never. She doesn’t gamble. We don’t have enough money for it.” Leaning my head back, I stared up at the bland ceiling. I glanced back at Detective Devoe to find her eyeing me curiously.
“How did you find out about the escort work, exactly?”
“There’s a website.”
“Could I have the name?”
“Sure. I can even show you the last conversation I had with her.”
A frown rippled her eyebrows. “You had a conversation with her? And this is after she left you?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then, I’d really like to see that conversation.”
Using my phone, I browsed to the companions website, then logged in. Evie’s profile wasn’t there anymore, but my conversation with her was still there, in the message folder of my profile. And there was a tiny picture of Evie beside each of her messages.
Detective Devoe quickly read through the messages. “Do you mind if I take photos?” She said this while taking out a camera from a desk drawer.
“Go ahead.”
She snapped pictures of each screen, then she clicked on Evie’s username, which took her to an error page. “You know, Mr Harlow,” she said, “These messages could be seen as you stalking your wife.”
My breath stalled. “What?”
“I’m afraid that pretending to be someone else and then making pleas to your wife to come back does appear to be quite harassing. This message in particular—the one with all the swear words—does seem quite threatening.”
“You’re not serious?” I exhaled. “Look, I shouldn’t have sent the first lot of messages. But our kid was sick and in the hospital, and I was crushed that Evie read the messages and didn’t care.”
“It sounds like you were pretty angry with her.” Devoe’s bland expression contradicted her careful, prying tone. Sergeant Moss was quietly observing her, as if learning how the business of being a detective was done.
“Yes, I was angry,” I admitted.
“Did you talk with Evie again after that conversation you just showed me?”
“No.”
“You’re certain of that?”
“Look, why all the questions? Why is this all about me?”
“Please don’t feel that we’re focusing on you. Our focus is on finding Evie at this stage.”
I didn’t believe her. “I want to help search the grounds. Near Evie’s car.”
“I’m sorry. At this point, we’re not allowing any members of the public at the site. There might be important things there that we’ve yet to find. And we have to finish the collection of fingerprint and DNA evidence.”
“I’m her husband, not the public. I haven’t even been told where the car was found.”
“I’m sorry,” said Detective Devoe. “But we will keep you up to date. Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t even know if what I just told you helped anything.”
“It helped us build a picture.” She stretched a thin smile across her face.
Stepping around her desk, she showed me to the door.
I returned to my car, half raging and half terrified. The detective had been like a dog with a bone once I’d shown her my messages to Evie. But far worse were those photographs of Evie’s things.
Where was she?
At least if she contacted me and I knew she was okay, she could go off and live her new life for all I cared. I’d find a way of going on with the girls.
Or did something bad happen to her, after all?
A cold sweat pushed through the pores of my head. I couldn’t go straight home and let Lilly and Willow see me like this. I wanted to find Evie myself, but I didn’t have a clue where to start. I’d already called every one of her friends when I was looking for the girls.
Driving too fast through the strangled cords of laneways, I headed towards the highway. I just needed to drive. Think.
THE THIRD CHALLENGE
32. Evie
I WOKE WITH A SHUDDER, INSTANTLY wide awake and ready, my heart already racing.
Twenty minutes to midnight.
Not long to go until the third challenge.
I watched Ruth and Kara and the others rousing from sleep in the minutes that followed. They were like me, waking close to midnight in anticipation. Kara had completely recovered from her near-drowning. She was just like she had been before—aloof and unwilling to talk.
When the bells rang out, my muscles tensed. I was a racehorse, waiting at the gate.