Free Untraceable by Laura Griffin

excitement fluttering in her belly. She had him, finally, after days and days of nothing. This was just the footage she needed to wrap up this project and get paid. Then, at last, she could give Melanie her undivided attention.
    The subject pulled into a lot near a lakefront boat ramp and slid into a handicapped parking space. Alex double-parked on the opposite end of the lot and fumbled for her camcorder. This was too good to be true.
    The passenger door jerked open. Alex dropped the camera in her lap as Nathan ducked his head in.
    “Hey! Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
    He smiled. “Making a movie?”
    She muted the sound on the camera. “Get in,” she said. “And don’t slam the door.”
    He obediently slid in and eased the door shut. “This a company car?”
    “It is now.” She lifted the camera and zoomed out for a wide shot of the couple unfastening the boat. The woman wore cutoffs and a T-shirt with Greek letters emblazoned across the front.
    Alex glanced at Nathan. “How’d you find me?”
    “Tailed you over here from West Campus.”
    “Bullshit.”
    “‘Fraid not.”
    Alex bit her lip. She would have noticed a tail. She should have, but maybe she’d been distracted. She needed to be more careful.
    She returned her attention to the subject of her surveillance. A few more seconds of him, and then she zoomed in on the license plate to underscore his identity for the insurance company that was paying his claim. Some collegiate-looking people wandered over from a nearby picnic table and exchanged greetings. Soon they were unloading the cooler, stowing it beneath the picnic table, and putting a pair of boats into the water.
    Alex grabbed her tote bag from the backseat. She pulled out a khaki baseball cap—her quickie disguise of choice—and tugged it down over her unruly hair. “You coming or not?” she asked.
    “I don’t know. What are you doing?”
    “My job.” She rummaged through the tote for her black Astros cap. “Here, wear this.” She handed it to him. “That eye’s a little too conspicuous.”
    Alex found an empty park bench facing the water. She placed her bag beside her and arranged the camcorder within it so that the lens peeked through the custom-made hole in the bag’s side.
    Nathan sat down next to her.
    “So what’d you want to tell me?” she asked.
    He gazed out at the shimmering water where Alex’s subject was kayaking with his friends, practically guaranteeing a big paycheck in Alex’s future. But she couldn’t have cared less at the moment. Nathan had something to say, and she could tell from his suddenly grim expression that she wasn’t going to like it.
    “I checked out Coghan today,” Nathan said. “It was real interesting.”
    Her shoulders relaxed a little. They hadn’t found a body, thank God. “And what did you come up with?”
    He stretched an arm out over the back of the bench. “Well, for starters, he just received a commendation from the chief of police. He got promoted last fall to head up the anti–drug task force—no small achievement—and he’s got a pristine record.” He paused, as if wanting this to sink in. “I checked with Human Resources, too. Not a single complaint about him in fifteen years of service.”
    Alex’s mouth dropped open. “You checked with Human Resources ?” Of all the places to check…
    “I also checked police reports. Coghan’s got nothing linked to him about domestic abuse. No calls from Melanie or the neighbors, nothing. Not even a noise complaint.”
    “You don’t believe me.” Alex’s breath caught. “After everything I told you, you still don’t believe me.”
    “Melanie Coghan never reported any kind of abuse. Not once.” He rested his elbows on his knees and gazed at the lake. “But that’s not to say APD hasn’t heard of her. Your client’s got an interesting reputation, did you know that?”
    She couldn’t believe she was hearing this. He didn’t believe her.
    “Rumor is, Melanie