The Murder That Never Was (Forensic Instincts 5)

“Damn straight.” Emma high-fived Ryan. “And this one’s mine.”

Julie was practically twitching in the train.

“I hope we’re doing the right thing. I hope this isn’t some kind of trap.”

“It isn’t.” Milo shook his head. “I did enough research on Forensic Instincts. Not only are they phenomenally successful, they’re the real deal. We might not want to trust them, but we’re going to have to. And, for what it’s worth, I believe Ryan McKay.”

“Why? Because he’s AdrenoJunkie?”

Milo had filled Julie in on pieces of his escape plan. He’d left out the part about not having a second backup.

“No, because he’s been straight with me from the beginning—even when he was trying to figure out my motives for wanting to disappear.”

“We could have run, again,” Julie muttered, knowing she was being utterly ridiculous.

“With the cops on our tail? Great idea.”

“Okay, you’re right.” She dragged her fingers through her hair. “We’re up against the wall. So we’ll talk to Ryan McKay and that other guy—Marc something.”

“Devereaux,” Milo filled in. “I’ll give you a full rundown now on all the team members and what to expect.”

“Good idea.” Julie frowned as her iPad made a binging soun

d. “The damn thing won’t shut up.”

Milo’s brows shot up. “And you’ve ignored it? Check it right away. It could be that Shannon kid.”

“Yes. I know. Why do you think I’ve been avoiding it?”

“You can’t run away from this one. The only way I can keep us protected is if I know what’s going on.” He pointed at the iPad. “Read.”

Nodding, Julie opened her iPad and saw she had three Facebook messages—all from Shannon Barker. “Don’t you ever get tired of being right?” she asked Milo.

“I don’t want to be right. I want us to be safe. What does she say?”

“Checking now.” Julie opened the Facebook Messenger app, seeing that the second and third messages were begging her to read and answer the first one.

Her chest tightened.

Quickly, she read the contents of the first message, shooting up in her seat. “Oh, no.”

“What is it?” Now Milo looked concerned.

“Apparently, that trainer, Jim Robbins, disappeared off the face of the earth five days ago. Shannon is hysterical. She thinks he’s dead and she’ll be next.” Julie lifted frightened eyes to Milo. “With me close behind.”

“Given the timing? It’s possible,” Milo responded, speaking as calmly as he could so as to minimize Julie’s panic. “What else does she say?”

Julie’s eyes returned to the lengthy message, and the fear in her eyes turned to panic. “Milo—we’re out of time. She’s coming here. She’s not going to be put off, not this time. She’s too young, too afraid, and too alone. She’s already packed, taken a few hundred dollars from her parents’ emergency cash drawer, and written a note to them saying she’s heard from me. She told them I’m running a gym in New Jersey, and that she’s heading over here to stay and work with me for a while to heal.”

Milo’s wheels were turning. “Okay, the New Jersey slipup isn’t a big deal. Even the cops know we’re here. Does she say when she’s coming?”

“Now. She bought a ticket from Union Station to Penn Station. She plans on leaving tonight and getting in around six tomorrow evening. She wants to know what time I can pick her up. Oh my God…what am I going to do?”

“You’re going to message her back ASAP.” Milo leaned forward, elbows on his closed laptop. “You’re going to tell her to take the train from Penn to Upper Montclair. You’re going to instruct her to message you as soon as she gets in so that you can pick her up and get her to your place. Don’t mention any landmarks or street addresses, and especially not Excalibur’s name. I don’t want her knowing any of that until she’s here, far away from her friends and parents, where she can’t blurt it out. The police are one thing. A chattering sixteen-year-old is another. We want to keep this quiet.”

“What are you talking about?” Julie demanded. “You’re telling me to welcome her here with open arms? Are you crazy?”

Milo looked up, meeting her flabbergasted eyes over his computer screen. “I’m practical,” he replied. “She’s coming whether we like it or not. She’s reached the out-of-control point. Not good. We have a much better shot at keeping her in check here than we do if she’s in Chicago. We still don’t know the full extent of this nightmare we walked into, and we’ve got to find out. Most of all, we need to keep a lid on the whole situation.”