Page 53 of Hell Hath No Fury

Instead of the argument she expected, he said, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

* * *

Matthias spotted Emma exiting the hotel as he pulled into the lot. She must’ve been waiting in the lobby, watching for him. He drove up to the front door, and she jumped in. “Which way do we go?”

She pointed down the hill in the opposite direction from which he’d come. “That way.”

He drove in silence. He’d intentionally withheld the information about the young tire thief pulling a gun on him, as well as the part about Fergusson and Lukan and the task force investigating the Highlander. If Nell hadn’t gone there, none of it mattered, anyway.

Less than five minutes later, he parked in the lot and barely shut off the engine before Emma opened the door. “You can wait here,” she said.

“Not happening.” He climbed out.

Instead of heading for the main entrance, she strode to a revolving door at one end of the building beneath a Starbucks sign. Silently, Matthias followed her inside. She didn’t approach the counter but made a sharp right into a section of the store holding several rows of wine bottles and refrigerated units holding beer. This is why Emma was on edge.

“You told me the trucker dropped her off at the Save Rite Market. Did she tell him she intended on buying liquor?”

“She said she wanted a bagel. That was after he refused to take her to a liquor store.” Emma hurried along the wall, scanning each row.

“Did he not know they sell alcohol here?”

“I have no idea, but this is Nell we’re talking about. She probably charmed him into believing a bagel was all she had in mind.” Emma reached the last aisle. “Looks like we missed her.”

Matthias wasn’t surprised. She had a good head start on them.

Emma crossed to the cash register, which was manned by an older woman. “Hi, I hope you can help me. My younger sister was in here earlier.” Emma held up her phone with a photo of Nell on the screen. “Did you happen to see her?”

The woman squinted at the picture. “Oh, yeah. Is she all right? She looked ill.”

“She is. That’s why I’m trying to find her. Did she buy anything?”

“A bottle of wine.” The woman’s expression turned guarded. “She had her ID that stated she was of age.”

Emma shot a look at Matthias.

“Don’t tell me her ID was fake,” the cashier said. “It looked legit.”

“No, no. It’s fine. She’s twenty-four.”

The woman appeared relieved.

“Did she happen to mention where she was going next?”

“Sorry.”

Emma thanked her and turned to face Matthias without meeting his gaze. “Now what?” he asked.

She thought for a moment before looking at him. “I know someone who works here. Or used to. Come on.” She took off toward the main part of the store with Matthias on her heels.

Emma stopped in front of the customer service desk and studied the women behind the counter. Apparently not finding who she was looking for, she started across the front of the check-out lines. She paused, then strode toward a young woman at a podium, thumbing through a stack of papers. “Betsy,” she called out.

The woman lifted her gaze and smiled. “Emma. It’s been a long time. I spotted Nell in here a couple hours ago. How are you both doing?”

Emma ignored the question. “You saw Nell?”

“Yeah. I didn’t get a chance to talk to her or anything. She seemed in a hurry.”

“Where exactly did you see her?”