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“I haven’t been able to find her. The guys at your bar said that she hasn’t been in to work since you were arrested. It’s like she fell off the face of the planet,” Brooke said. If they couldn’t find the waitress, Mace’s alibi would be void and she’d have no case whatsoever.
“We need her as my alibi,” Mace said, almost reading her mind.
“Yes,” Brook breathed, “I’m just trying to be completely transparent with you, Mace.”
“I appreciate that,” Mace said. “I have her number in my phone since she worked for me. How about I try to get in touch with her? Maybe she’ll talk to me.” The thought of Mace talking to his former flame made her feel sick. But he was right, he might be able to get through to Julie.
“Fine, but don’t tell her what we need her to do. Set up a meeting with her and tell Julie that you need to see her. I’m assuming that you two left things on good terms,” she said.
“Um, sure,” he said.
“Great, ask her to meet you here and we’ll go from there,” Brooke ordered.
“Got it,” he agreed. “Now, let's get back to the date that I’d like to take you on.” Brooke giggled and pushed at his chest, not moving him at all.
“Let’s clear your name first and then, we’ll discuss the date that you want to take me on,” Brooke said. Mace groaned and stood up from the bed, leaving Brooke to instantly miss his closeness. He pulled out his cell phone and looked up Julie’s number.
“Put it on speaker, and remember, just ask her to come here,” she said. He nodded, holding his finger over his mouth as if shushing her. Brooke rolled her eyes at him and said a little prayer that Mace would be able to track down Julie.
“Hello,” a woman’s voice filled the room, and a part of Brooke wondered what she looked like. Brook had always felt like a mousy, tall girl who the other kids made fun of. She still saw herself that way sometimes when she looked in the mirror.
“It’s Mace, Julie,” he said.
“Oh, hi,” she whispered into the other end of the call. “I thought that you took off after the cops questioned you.”
“I did, but I need your help,” he said. “The cops wanted to ask you a few questions the night of the murder, but we couldn’t find you. Where did you go?” Brooke worried that he was going to spook Julie. The silence on the other end of the line was deafening.
“I got scared when they stormed in and took off. I told one of the cops that I had to go to the bathroom, and I climbed out of the back window,” Julie explained. Something about her story wasn’t quite adding up. Brooke wondered why the cops didn’t consider her a suspect rather than Mace’s alibi or a possible witness. Brooke quickly found a pad of paper and pen on the nightstand and started scribbling Mace questions to ask Julie. She handed him the paper and he looked it over and smiled.
“Did you know Reece Childs?” he asked.
“What—who is that?” Julie asked. Brooke could tell that she was stalling, and she just hoped that Mace could keep her talking until she agreed to meet him.
“He was the dead guy in my parking lot,” Mace said. “I’m just trying to figure out why he was there, and it was just you and me in the bar. He had to have been there to see one of us.” Brooke was impressed with the way that Mace seemed to be able to think quickly on his feet.
“Well, he must have been there to see you because I have no idea who he is,” Julie insisted. Brooke could tell by the tone of her voice that Julie was lying. She was pretty good at knowing if someone was telling her the truth or not and Julie was definitely lying.
“I would really like to see you again, Julie,” Mace breathed. Hearing him say those words to another woman had Brooke feeling every jealous bone in her body. “You know, pick up where we left off that night.”
“Oh,” Julie gasped, “I’d like that too, Mace. Where are you? I can come to you.” The only thing keeping Brooke from grabbing the phone from Mace’s hand and telling Julie to go fuck herself was the fact that she might be the only person to clear his name.
Mace quickly rattled off the address to the motel and Julie promised to be there within the hour and ended the call. Brooke just hoped that she wasn’t planning on setting Mace up. “Do you think she’ll call the cops?” Mace asked as if reading Brooke’s mind.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to stay one step ahead of her, just in case she does,” Brooke insisted.
“How do you plan to do that?” Mace asked.
“Grab your stuff,” Brooke said. “We can wait for her around the corner. My car is just outside.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Mace asked. He seemed hesitant to leave his room and Brooke wondered if he didn’t trust her.
“Do you trust me, Mace?” she asked.
“I do,” he whispered.
“Then, get your shit together, and let’s get out of here. If she shows up here alone, we’ll know it and will meet her back here. If she sends the cops, we’ll be able to get out of here before they even know that you’re not in the room. It’s a good plan,” Brooke defended.
“Give me five minutes,” Mace said. She sat back down on the bed and wondered if she was making a mistake. Taking Mace out into public was a dangerous game. If she got caught, she could lose her license to practice law—or worse, be arrested for aiding and abetting a fugitive. But her gut told her that this was the right move because the thought of letting Mace spend any time alone with Julie made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. For some reason, Brooke didn’t trust his former waitress and hopefully tonight, she’d be able to figure out why.
