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She averts her eyes to dart around the office, searching for so An answer Or an escape Her eyes suddenly widen as panic flies through theive him your name?"

"Yes, I did," I answer calmly

Somehow, her face pales even more "Why?"

"Why not, Charlie? Why wouldn’t I?"

Her head shakes back and forth, ridding itself of panic and fear andeverything "You had no right going through ently place the phone back in the purse "I guess not"

I turn my back on her and walk out to the club

"Soily

"Then don’t sleep with your phone by the bed," I retort

With a loud groan, followed by a coughing fit that leaves s, my PI demands, "What do you need?"

"Is there any chance that her ID is fake?"

"I assume you mean Charlie?"

"Yes," I snap with impatience When I caone She took either a bus or a cab, because she didn’t have her truck here

I have half a mind to drive over to her place and force the truth out of her I can’t bring h

"It’s daot a valid passport, birth certificateeverything Maybe it’s a stolen ID You’d need a ton of cash and major connections to pull that off"

"But it’s possible" Is everything that I know about Charlie a lie? Has she been lying to me all this tiuess"

"Okay Can you see what else you can dig up on Charlie Rourke? Old school pictures, gy And find out if there’s anyone by the na up I stare atI want to call her But, right now, I’ I haven’t felt in years

I’

I’ve sat on a park bench overlooking the water for hours, staring out at all the people who live their own lives, orry about paying their rent and what bar they’re going to go to on the weekend

Waiting for"unknown caller"

He’s anything but unknown

My stomach twists into knots as I answer

"Hello, little mouse"

"Hi" I’istered under "Charlie Rourke" and I’ one of his rules

"How are things?"