On the Way Down

Chapter Thirty-One

What do I do? I have about an hour on the road to figure it out, unless I'm able to lose the Prius when I get on the freeway.

But stunt driving isn't my forte, and the panic surging through me already makes it a challenge to divide my attention between figuring out my next actions and staying aware of stop signs and traffic lights, especially since I see the Prius behind me each time I glance at my rearview mirror. Phoenix must have hired the driver to keep an eye on me. Nothing else makes sense.

Inhale, exhale, and think. Inhale, exhale, and think. Inhale, exhale, and--

I brake hard before I zip through an intersection with a stop sign. My tires screech against the road, then the car comes to a stop. That was close.

After I check all sides of the intersection for traffic, I lift my foot from the brake and gently apply it to the gas pedal. My car moves forward again, and so do my thoughts. What do I usually do when I need advice, a problem solved, or someone to calm me down? I talk to Ava.

"Siri, call Ava Sinclair."

There's confirmation from Siri, then a pause. One ring. Two.

"You're psychic," Ava says when she answers. "I was just about to call you. I think I'm being followed."

"Wait, no. You're being followed, too?"

My theory that Nash knows something and Phoenix is worried about him telling Ava and me seems even more likely now. He's covering all bases and has people watching both of us, so he knows our every move if that happens.

"What do you mean?" she asks. "Someone is following you?"

"A blue Prius has been everywhere I've been since Friday. It might have started before then and I didn't notice, but the car was parked outside my building when I left to meet you for lunch on Friday, and then it was parked near Granville while we were there. I saw it after we said goodbye. Now it's tailing me home from Laguna Beach. Who's following you?"

"A white Ford Escape driven by a man whose face and hair I can never see, because he's always wearing a hat and sunglasses. I noticed it outside of my building the day after I got home from Vegas, because my neighbor always has their motorcycle parked where the Escape was parked. It seemed odd, because Zach almost never takes his motorcycle out and blocks the space with a traffic cone he stole during road work a few years ago when he does. I laughed about it, since I knew Zach would be upset about having to park somewhere else, and it probably meant someone swiped the traffic cone. But then I noticed the same Escape in my office building's parking lot after work the next day. It was on my street again this morning when I left to do errands, and behind me when I drove home from the grocery store just now."

Tightness takes over my chest and airways. "This is bad."

"Why are we being followed?"

"I have a theory. It involves Phoenix." I pause to pull my thoughts together in a way that will let me even semi-coherently explain everything to Ava.

"Phoenix?" she repeats.

"I think he had something to do with Elenna Ilke's disappearance. He got weird after hearing the news about a break in her case last weekend, and it caught him off-guard when he found out Nash talked to me about my book and her before his show. He's also been hung up on not wanting you to get involved with Nash. My guess is Nash knows or suspects something, and Phoenix is worried he'll say something to one of us that would help me connect the dots between the disappearance and him. He knows how much research I do when I'm writing a book and that I would have examined her case from every angle. It could also be why he surprised me at the show last night. He doesn't want Nash to get me alone."