They took Jimmy’s cruiser, and fifteen minutes later they were seated in a booth at Mickey’s. Owen came over to take their order. “You okay, Davis? I saw something on the news, and the woman being filmed looked a lot like you.”
For the third time that day, she said, “That’s been happening a lot recently.”
“It wasn’t you?”
“It was. And I’m fine, Owen. Thanks again for everything you did when that Honda side-swiped me.”
“Tell me that wasn’t the same guy.”
“No. It wasn’t. But they both drove Hondas. What is it with young men and their Hondas?”
Owen shrugged. “If I was younger, I might fathom a guess.”
“They’re cheap, reliable, and get you where you’re going,” Jimmy said.
“I don’t get it,” Georgia smiled. “There’s got to be something else.”
“Well, how about we figure that out later?” Jimmy said, scanning the menu. He ordered corned beef and cabbage and a beer. Georgia, her burger.
“Swimming in blood,” Owen said. He pointed to a new young woman carrying a tray to another booth. “Lemme know how she does. It’s her first week.”
“What’s her name?”
“Mindy or something.”
Georgia threw him a look. Owen already had to know her name, address and social security number. “Will do.”
Owen dipped his head and went back to the kitchen.
“So nothing positive happened today with JoBeth?” Georgia asked.
Jimmy shook his head. “No ransom call. No one lurking around her building. Or yours. But I think we can eliminate some possibilities.”
“Like what?”’
“I ran her name through NCIC. Got a couple of drunk and disorderlies in Albuquerque and one DUI in Denver. Nothing else.”
“Doesn’t tell us much.”
“Well, it means that she either wasn’t hanging out with a bunch of bad guys, or she had the sense not to get too close to them.”
Georgia shrugged. “She was married to a police captain.”
“Your father,” Jimmy said.
“Right. Oh, I almost forgot. LeJeune said he’d help. Run names through their database.”
Jimmy sat up. “I already ran them through NCIC. The FBI created the damn thing.”
“I know. And they update it 24-7. But knowing the Bureau, how much do you want to bet they have some kind of super-secret red alert system for special offenders? Offshore terrorists. Russian mafia. Even homegrown crackpots like the ones we’re looking for.”
Jimmy took a long swig of his beer. He looked like he was going to reply when a voice called out, “Georgia. That you?”
Georgia turned around. It was Matt.
“Matt. What are you doing here?”
He cocked his head. “Dropping in for a drink.” He was with a man Georgia didn’t recognize. Tall, bald, with his jacket slung over his shoulder. And sinewy, to judge from his buff arms, which his T-shirt didn’t cover. Possibly on purpose. Were they trying to pick up women? Mickey’s wasn’t that kind of place until about ten. It was only seven.
“This is one of my clients, Simon Reed.”
Georgia turned back to Jimmy, who was eyeing Matt. This was the first time the two men had met. “And this is Jimmy Saclarides, Chief of Police in Lake Geneva. Matt Singer.”
Jimmy smiled politely. He and Matt shook hands.
“Hey, Georgia, I’m glad I ran into you. Something weird happened last night.”
It was Georgia’s turn to incline her head. “Go on.”
“I met a friend—actually you know him—John Stone for a drink.”
“How is John?”
“He went private. Like you. He and Martha have two kids.”
“Wow. Send them my best.”
She looked over at Jimmy. He was eyeing Matt curiously. She got back to business. “So what was so weird?”
“The server who waited on us could have been your twin sister. She had brown hair, cropped short, but otherwise, she was you. Same eyes. Nose. Shape of her face. Even her build. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Georgia sat straight up. Jimmy folded his arms. “Tell us more,” Georgia said.
“I asked her if she was related to you or your sister, but she’d never heard of either of you.”
“Did you get her name?” Jimmy said.
Matt frowned. “It was Lisa something. Didn’t say her last name.”
“Lisa,” Georgia repeated. “You sure?”
Matt nodded. “Anyway, she seemed a little off afterwards. I saw her glance at us from across the room a couple of times. She looked worried.”
Jimmy’s brows arched. “What bar was that?”
“Callahan’s in Lincoln Square.”
Georgia nodded. “Thanks, Matt. That helps. We appreciate it.”
“Are you looking for her? What’s going on? Can I help?”
Jimmy cleared his throat. Georgia took the cue. “No. But thanks for the offer.” She turned around to face Jimmy. Matt slowly backtracked to his table.
After Matt left, Jimmy said, “Look, I know you want to track this woman, but what about finding your mother? Seems like that’s the priority now.”
Georgia raised her hand to her forehead “You’re right.” She massaged her temples. “I get that we don’t have any critical reason to chase down this Eden.”
“Your mother took a bullet for you a few months ago. She nearly died trying to save you. And now it looks like she’s risked her life again.”
Georgia lowered her hand and squeezed her eyes shut. “I know.”
“What’s going on, Georgia?”
She opened her eyes. “She wasn’t part of my life when I needed her most. She…just…disappeared. I’m not used to thinking about her as my mother and what that means. Why do you think I keep calling her JoBeth?”
“Because you haven’t forgiven her, and you want to keep your distance.”
Georgia’s eyes filled. “Does that make me a monster, especially when she needs my help?”
Jimmy was quiet. Then he covered her hands with his. “No. It just makes you human.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks. “I don’t know what to do. There hasn’t been a ransom call. We have nothing concrete.”
“Except the blood and the cell phone.” Jimmy thought for a minute. “I think they’re playing us. They want us to come to them.”
“Why?”
“So they can keep the upper hand.”
Owen brought their food. He pretended to ignore Georgia’s distress, set the plates down, and withdrew.
“Look,” Jimmy went on. “You said LeJeune and O’Malley would help.”
She brushed her sleeve across her nose and nodded.
“So call them, see if they’ve come up with anything. Brainstorm with them. And me.”
“Right.” She sniffed again. “So let’s say we do figure out where she is. How do we rescue her?”
“We’re going to have to game it out. We’ll need help. They’ll be armed. They’ll control everything. We’ll have to be careful.”
“Why did they take her in the first place? What do they want from her? Or us? And what do we do while we’re trying to figure it out?”
“Keep digging. Have O’Malley’s people check the video around the apartment. A lot of people around here have security cameras.”
“I’ll call them in the morning.” Georgia looked at her food. “So do you think we could spend an hour driving down to Callahan’s? I promise this will be the last time. Now we know where she is. I’ll work on JoBeth’s case from tomorrow on. And Vanna is home to answer any calls that may come in tonight.”
He blinked and let out a breath. “You win.” He gestured to their food. “But can we at least eat dinner first?”
“Are you really hungry?”
“Starved.”
“Then let’s get it wrapped and eat on the way.”