Honor Read Free Page A

here’s my copy,” the clerk muttered behind the glass. “The day person keeps moving my files.”
    The supervisor frowned at her and turned to speak to him. Linc was getting the feeling that she was on his side.
    “So—you said you recognized the car and the plates, but you didn’t see her. Is it possible that she wasn’t driving?”
    Her remark startled him. “What?”
    “A teenager could have swiped her car for a joyride. Unfortunately, they often wreck what they steal. So do car thieves, though they’re a little more careful. Anyway, we get both now and then.”
    Linc blew out the breath he’d been holding.
    “Try calling your friend first, just in case. Then try the Summer River police department. They wouldn’t necessarily have been the first responders, but they can run her name through a statewide database, and also connect you to the highway patrol.”
    The voice of sanity. It worked. Linc got a grip. “That makes sense. Okay. I’ll do that. Thanks.”
    She nodded to him as her pager went off. “I’m sure you’ll find her.” She walked quickly away without a backward look.
    Linc caught a glimpse of himself in the wire-mesh glass around the clerk’s cubicle. His hair had turned into a scruffy mess and dark stubble was putting in an unwanted appearance. The damp, wrinkled tuxedo jacket and the dangling ends of his silk bowtie didn’t help.
    The intake clerk had her head down again, ignoring him. He jammed his hands in his pants pockets and walked quickly toward the wide double doors. The steel-framed glass panels opened with a hiss and out he went into the sluicing rain.
    Chilled to the bone, he got back into his truck and slumped in his seat, reaching wearily for the smartphone, not seeing any messages on the little glowing screen.
    Apparently his absence hadn’t been noted. No one who knew him had seen him enter the bar or leave it. No texts, no e-mails. He found Kenzie’s number and tapped the screen.
    His call went straight to her voicemail. Maybe she’d shut off her phone, maybe her battery was dead. Given the uncertainty of her whereabouts, that didn’t reassure him.
    Linc gave it a minute and tapped her number again. The recorded message was twice as irritating the second time around. The hell with it. He was going to drive to her place and see for himself if she was there or not.
    He entered her address into the GPS search bar. It wouldn’t take that long to get there, unless the highway was under water. He sped out of the parking lot, spraying through puddles on either side.
    Not slowing down until he went down the exit ramp, he pulled around the back of her apartment building a few minutes later. Her spot was empty. No surprise. The wreck wouldn’t have been towed here. He craned his neck and looked through the windshield. Her windows on the third floor glowed amber.
    Maybe the ER supervisor had guessed right. But he hadn’t seen or talked to Kenzie yet.
    He got out and made his way to the rear entrance. If she was there, he wanted to actually set eyes on her.
    There was a long rectangle of opaque glass just above the entrance, meant to illuminate the stairwell during the day. Right now it was lit up, but not brightly. He saw a shadow move quickly down from the third floor to the second, then disappear.
    No one came out.
    He didn’t think too much about it. Linc pushed open the door and glanced at the security camera, an old clunker, positioned high in a corner. It didn’t move. The lens was flat black, with no gleam to its glass. Painted over, he thought distractedly, taking the stairs two at a time. No one was going to see him, as if that mattered.
    He reached her floor and opened the fire door onto a long hall. Another shadow appeared at the other end, then vanished so swiftly he thought he’d imagined it.
    He was dead beat by now. Tired wasn’t the word. The mad dash down too many roads and the stop at the hospital had disoriented him. Linc didn’t like feeling so off