Chapter Five

Jamie checked the time on her phone. Just past two in the afternoon. She had already received some actionable intel from Kristen’s script-dealing boyfriend. Finding Beth was next on her list, but she still had one thing to do first.

Jamie drove to Hemingway’s and pulled into the parking lot close to the side door. Cookie stood outside in the grass, and his sizeable fist dangled a leash attached to Jamie’s only true love, her bulldog Deuce.

She got out of the car and bent to give her dog’s skin-folded face a rub. “Thank you for taking him out while I was tracking down Dylan,” she said to Cookie while her attention lay fully on her pup.

“No, don’t go trying to make up to him now,” Cookie joked with her. “He loves me more. He just lives with you.”

Jamie reached down and nuzzled her face to Deuce’s. “Did you have a good time with Uncle Cookie while I was out?”

He snorted in response and rubbed his face against her leg.

“He can smell the beach on you,” Cookie chided. “He knows you went out without him.” He grinned at her, making his digs. The two were always in a battle for Deuce’s affections, which in truth, could be bought with a belly rub and almost any food product.

Jamie continued rubbing Deuce’s wrinkles while addressing Cookie’s comment. “As you know, I was at Pier 5, which isn’t the beach, and Deuce knows I can’t take him in those situations. He’s too cute, and he attracts too much attention. He’s an asset for diversionary tactics, but I needed to be discreet.” She gave him a final pat on the head. “I’ll take you the next time I need to create a scene, okay?”

Deuce sat between Jamie and Cookie, a fur baby sandwiched between two doting parents. He snorted, encouraging a laugh from Jamie. “I’m sorry, buddy. I’ll take you out again soon. Promise.” She signaled to Cookie to go back inside. “Let’s get him settled with Marty so we can get on the road.”

“Go where?” Cookie asked.

“I’ve got a lead on Kristen from her on-again-off-again boyfriend.”

“So you’re taking the case?”

Jamie hadn’t really thought of Kristen as a case, but rather a family problem that needed solving. “I’ll fill you in on the drive. Let me get Deuce something to eat.”

“I already fed him.”

Jamie’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t give him more leftover rice and beans, did you? It gives him gas.”

Cookie smiled, his ornery side showing through. He gave Jamie a playful push and took over the important task of giving Deuce some attention by rubbing his jowls. “You tell her, Deuce. Tell her that you love your Uncle Cookie more.”

“Take him back inside and see if Marty will let him hang out behind the bar for a while. The ladies love him. He’s good for tips.”

Cookie nodded and opened the side door to Hemingway’s, an excited Deuce following him. Jamie called after her friend, “Don’t let Marty give my dog any jalapeno poppers. It’s not funny anymore!”

Jamie waited for Cookie to return from dropping off Deuce to be overrun with attention from the local bar crowd. She stood outside and replayed the conversation with Dylan in her mind, wondering how to best approach the lead he had provided.

Cookie emerged from the bar and followed Jamie to the Tahoe. He snapped his fingers. “Oh, we need to stop by and see Erin on the way to wherever we’re going next.”

“Everything okay?” Jamie asked. “Nothing new on the Finch case?”

Cookie shook his head. “Nothing like that. She just said she had a problem she wanted to discuss with us. I told her I’d tell you.”

Jamie filled Cookie in on her surprise meeting with Brian and her discussion with Dylan, including Dylan’s news about Kristen mentioning an upcoming job with her dad.

“Dylan told me about a friend of Kristen’s. Her name is Beth, and she works at the Youth Activity Center. We call it the YAC. Hopefully, she can tell me where Kristen is so that I can close this case and stop worrying about her.”

“Feeling some responsibility here?” Cookie asked.

“I could claim Catholic guilt, except that I’m not Catholic… so there’s that.”

Cookie lowered the passenger’s window halfway. “My mom is the road-trip master of the guilt trip. Hers travels cross country.”

Jamie cracked a small smile but kept her focus on the road.

Jamie parked outside the YAC, and after she turned off the engine, the pair surveyed the landscape. Like almost every other building in Port Alene, the center’s façade showcased an island design with seafoam-green and sky-blue shells embedded in textured stucco. Several tables were positioned to the right of the building, each holding a deep-blue shade umbrella. Every table had a chess set placed in its center. Two of the tables were occupied. One group was engaged in a match, while the other simply used the table as a place to chat.

As she and Cookie stepped out of her vehicle, Jamie slipped her keys into her bag. At the entrance to the center, Cookie pulled the door open to let Jamie go first, and the burst of cold air momentarily startled her. You could hang meat in here.

The pair approached the young man seated behind a tall, rounded reception desk. “Hi, I’m here to see Beth. I understand she’s a tutor here.”

The man eyed the couple with slight suspicion. “And your name is?”

“Jamie Rush.” She signaled to Cookie, who gave his best nonthreatening expression. “This is Cookie Hinojosa. Beth is friends with my niece. I need to talk with her for just a few minutes.” Jamie smiled to put the young man at ease, and he seemed satisfied.

“Beth’s in the back,” he said. “I’ll walk you in.”

“We can find it.”

He was insistent. “No, really. I’ll walk you in.” His tone told her that was not up for discussion.

Jamie decided not to press it. “Lead the way.”

They followed their uptight escort down a wide hallway awash with light from numerous skylights. The walls showcased many paintings of ocean life and the sea. All seemed painted not by teenagers but by the same person as part of a series because each piece was painted using similar colors and brush strokes.

The hallway opened to a larger room segmented into several meeting spaces. The room was full but not crowded. Twenty or so teenagers, more girls than boys, sat with their attention focused mostly on their phones, with a few in the mix reading books. Jamie was happy to see that a couple of teenagers still enjoyed losing themselves in a good story.

Their escort pointed to the back room, where several kids sat, writing on notepads. “Beth is the one in the blue shirt.”

Jamie nodded her thanks and walked to the group.

Beth appeared to be giving her students an assignment. As soon as she noticed Jamie and Cookie, she moved to greet them. “Can I help you?” She smiled at Cookie but didn’t extend the warmth to Jamie, who figured Beth must like heavyset men wearing Hawaiian shirts.

Jamie nodded and stepped forward. “Yes, I hope I’m not interrupting.” She extended her hand, noting that she needed to change her approach since Beth didn’t appear to be much of a girl’s girl. “I’m Jamie.” She had considered posing as someone else, using her tracing skills to try to extract the truth, but from what she had gleaned about Beth from Dylan, it was best to play this one straight. She waited to share anything further about the reason for her visit.

Jamie’s openness seemed to work because Beth’s shoulders softened. “You’re not interrupting. They’re working on a short-story assignment. Writing fiction is always a good way to indulge some angry fantasies without a trip to juvie. Good therapy, and their imaginations go wild.”

“I’m sure. I’d hate to go back and read some of my old teenage journals.” Jamie studied Beth’s face. She was young, likely mid-twenties, but seemed in possession of a mature soul. “You seem to know an awful lot about keeping kids out of trouble, considering you’re not much more than a kid yourself.”

Beth smiled. “Well, most of my family serves as a warning for bad behavior, and I got in some trouble not so long ago. I’ve watched this movie play out ten different ways. All the endings suck.”

“I’m with you on that one.”

“So, what can I help you with?”

Jamie clasped her hands together before speaking. “I hear that you’re close to Kristen.”

Beth’s demeanor changed as soon as Kristen’s name left Jamie’s lips. The girl tensed, looking uneasy. “I haven’t talked to Kristen in a few days.”

“I know. Her father thinks there’s something wrong.”

Beth’s eyes remained focused on the ground. “I’m surprised her father noticed. He only calls her when he needs something.”

Jamie couldn’t help but grin. “Sounds like my own dad.”

“How do you know Kristen’s dad? Do you work for him?”

Jamie waved off her question. “Oh, lord no. Brian’s my half brother, but we aren’t close.” She leaned in a bit for emphasis. “At all.” She felt the need to establish as much distance as possible between her and Brian. “In fact, I usually ignore his calls, but with Kristen not answering her phone…”

“So you’re Kristen’s family?”

Jamie tried to shrug off the connection, wondering if Kristen did the same thing.

Cookie chimed in. “Yes, Jamie is her aunt.”

“Apparently, she’s been gone almost four days now without contacting anyone,” Jamie added.

“She drops off sometimes. It happens.”

“You aren’t worried about her?”

Beth sighed. “Look, I used to worry every single time it happened. She’d do this little routine before and after a job. It’s like she needed to regroup, get herself in character, or think things through.”

Jamie didn’t want to ask the question, but she knew she had to. “So she doesn’t hide out to get high?”

Beth looked at the ground. “Well, I didn’t say that. But she’s been clean for a while. I really think she wanted to stay away from that stuff. That was the problem she had with Dylan. Once she was clean, she wasn’t much fun to be around. Or so he said.”

“I take it you don’t like the guy?”

She smiled a bit. “I hate to admit it, but I actually do like him. He’s a drug dealer and not an ideal boyfriend for her, but he treated her okay. They had a good time, but I think she got tired of it. He was always happy with where he was. Live-in-the-moment kind of guy. She always had a plan.”

Jamie thought for a moment. “What was she working on lately?”

“Not sure. She wouldn’t say.” Beth shrugged it off. “It doesn’t surprise me, though. She always kept a part of herself secret.” Then Beth hedged. “There was… never mind.”

Jamie gently placed her hand on Beth’s forearm, careful with her touch. “Tell me, Beth.” She could see the indecision on the woman’s face. “What if she’s not okay? This isn’t the time to hold back.”

Beth shook her head. “It’s not that simple. She swore me to secrecy.”

“I won’t tell her you said anything.”

Cookie put his hand on his heart in mock solidarity. “Cross my heart.”

Jamie leaned slightly toward Beth, not to be combative but to foster a feeling of quiet collaboration. “We’ll be discreet. I promise.” Jamie stood close enough to simulate pressure but far enough back to respect the young woman’s personal space. Cookie positioned himself on the other side of her. Jamie took great care with such things because she knew the power of uncomfortable silence. She refused to fill the space herself so the other person had to—a tactic she’d often used to get people talking. Skip Tracing 101.

“She had a friend whose dad is a local real estate agent,” Beth began. “This guy set her up in a foreclosure so she could crash when she needs to. It’s her private hideaway. Her dad doesn’t know about it, not that I think he’d care unless he wanted to use it for a scam. Kristen said she needed someplace where she could be alone, away from people wanting something from her.”

Jamie couldn’t help but smile. That sounded like Kristen. “Where is this place?”

“It’s on Kensington in that old subdivision by the ferry. It’s a blue single-story. Nothing fancy, but it’s a place to crash. There’s a Seaside Escapes Realty sign out front. We would joke that it could be our own escape.”

Jamie extended her hand. “Thanks, Beth. I promise that if she’s there, I’ll tell Brian only that she’s fine and she’ll be in touch whenever she feels like it. I won’t tell him where she is.”

Beth nodded but said nothing else. She glanced back at her students. “I need to get them going on the next project, or else I’ll lose them.” She rolled her eyes. “Short attention spans.”

“We’ll call you if we need anything else,” Jamie said.

The pair said a brief goodbye, and Beth returned her attention to her students, who were entertaining their restlessness by playing a game of paper dodge ball.

Once outside the front door, Cookie put his arm around Jamie and squeezed. “Sounds like you found Kristen’s hideout.”

Jamie pushed the key fob to unlock her car and reached to open the door. “Looks that way.” She checked her watch. “I promised Erin I would stop by and pay off the last Cowboys game. You want to ride along?”

“Always,” Cookie said.

Jamie smiled, grateful for his friendship. Even if she didn’t tell him enough, he knew. She started the Tahoe and pulled out of the parking lot, glancing at the kids still sitting at the game tables in front of the Youth Activity Center. She tried to picture Kristen there among them, but somehow, the idea seemed too carefree for Kristen’s taste.

“Okay, let’s visit your favorite bookie, and then we can put Kristen’s case to rest.”

Jamie smiled at the idea. Reconciling with Kristen wasn’t completely out of reach, was it?