I glanced over my shoulder to see Mr. Black standing there. “Yeah, everything is . . . um . . . it’s fine. I’ve got it under control, Dad.”
Shooting me a dirty look, Mr. Black took two steps back. “I’ll be right out here if you need anything, son.”
Joshua ran his hand through his hair and nodded.
When the door shut, I walked up and got in his face. “What did you have to do with the murders?”
His mouth dropped open. “W-what? Nothing!”
“Why were you so interested in them then?” Derrick asked as he walked around Black’s office.
“Wait. Someone please just tell me what is going on. You mentioned Meagan, is she okay?”
My heart jumped to my throat as I fought to say the words. “She’s missing.”
Joshua’s eyes widened in shock as he closed them and shook his head. “Oh God.”
“I’m not going to lie and tell you that I wasn’t planning on finding you sitting in your office playing around with your girlfriend.”
Pulling his head back, he asked, “You think I had something to do with this?”
“I think you have a lot to do with a lot of things, Black.”
With a shake of his head, Joshua walked around his desk and pushed a button on his phone. “Yes, Mr. Black.”
“Lacy, get me Bob Freeman on the phone please.”
Taking a quick peek over in Derrick’s direction, I noticed him writing something down; I was guessing the name Joshua just used.
I was running out of time. The longer we stood around and played games, the more dangerous it was for Meagan. “Who is Bob Freeman?” I asked.
Joshua took in a deep breath and pushed it out. “Let me start from the beginning.”
“I don’t have fucking time for you to start from the beginning. My fiancée is missing and the longer we stand here the more of a chance that whoever took her his going to hurt her.”
My cell phone rang as I pulled it out, praying to God it would be Meagan.
It was Meagan’s parents. I hated doing it, but I sent them to voicemail. I needed more information before I talked to them.
“Listen, I understand, detective, but please let me talk.”
Anger was beginning to mix with the fear and I knew that was a bad combination for me.
With my hand, I motioned for him to go on.
“Bob Freeman is a client of mine. He’s been in and out of jail for the last two years for different reasons. Usually being hauled in for public intoxication. I started to get suspicious of him several months ago.”
“What do you mean?” Derrick asked.
Joshua shrugged. “He made a few comments that bothered me. They were always about the girls who were found raped or murdered. I started trying to piece information together, get as much information on the cases as I could.”
Pinching my eyes together, I asked, “Is that why you always asked us all those questions?”
Joshua nodded. “Yeah, I was trying to see if you guys had any leads, anything that might confirm my suspicion.”
“Why didn’t you just tell us about this Bob Freeman?” I asked with frustration lacing my voice.
“Well, this might come as a surprise to you, but my job is to defend people until proven guilty, plus he’s still my client.”