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When we got back to Wilkins’ Gap, I dropped Jim and Tom at the fire station where they left their cars.
"Jim, I'll be in touch to set up another meeting with the four of us as soon as anyone has new information to share."
"Thanks," Jim said. "You and Chance should write or record statements about everything that happened at the convention. If you want me to do that we can. Talk it over with him and let me know."
Once Jim pulled out, I walked over to Tom's truck. "Can you come over for dinner tonight. You said we needed to talk in private."
"Would you mind coming to my place tonight?" I asked.
"Sounds good. See you about seven?" He stepped in and hugged me while he whispered. "Until tonight. Don't want to make things more awkward with Chance."
Chance had left his truck at Hairy's so, I pulled into the empty space beside it. "Are you doing OK? The coughing seems better," I said as I opened the back hatch to help Chance transfer his stuff.
"I'm tired and confused, but physically I'm fine."
"Jim said you and I should write up statements or record what happened at the convention. He said we could do it ourselves or he could handle it like a deposition if that was easier."
"Let's record our own statements. It might help us to talk through it again, just the two of us. Want to come over for dinner tonight?"
"Sorry. I've got plans. How about lunch tomorrow?"
"Great. Maybe we'll have some news by then. I want to poke around online and see if I can figure anything out. I think we've got too much going on at once."
"I feel the same way. I'm trying to focus on Helen. I feel like she's the key to solving at least some of this?"
"Thanks for coming to my rescue, City Girl." He leaned in close, and I thought he might kiss me. I was prepared to turn away, when he whispered, "Have fun on your date with Tom tonight."
I'm sure my mouth was open in surprise as I watched him drive away. Along with the mysteries of Helen Kepler, the secret lab, and the bigfoot family, I needed to figure out how to handle my guyumvirate. I was beginning to think I might not be able to date any of them because there was no way to do so with even a hint of privacy.
I unpacked my gear, did some laundry and tried to wrap my head around what I needed to do. I ate lunch at the cafe catching up with my staff. This was Gus's first day, and he seemed to be doing well. After I ate, I went into the kitchen to see how things were going. "Did day one go OK, Gus?"
"I think so, but you'd better ask Rick."
"He did good,” Rick said. "No problems. A few more days, and I'll be able to sleep in."
Back in my apartment, I made a cup of Earl Grey and set up my workspace on the sofa—pad, pen, laptop, cell, all within reach. On my pad, I made a list of what I knew about Helen Kepler. As I'd hoped, once I could focus on just one thing, I had an idea. I picked up my phone and dialed Chance. "Hi, Chance."
"Hi, City Girl. Miss me already?"
"Always, Chance. I hate to admit it, but you're becoming a habit. Maybe a bad one, but a habit. I just sat down to make my to-do list and had an idea. You know all those people taking selfies at the convention?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe someone caught Helen in the background of one of the pictures."
"That's a good idea. I'll look at what's posted on the convention website and do some searches on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media. You do the same. Call if you find anything."
I found a photo which I thought had a blurry, distant Helen in the background, but I was getting sleepy just looking at photo after photo. I needed to move. Another thought I had was that somewhere in all of Harry's stuff, should be something about the only woman I'd ever heard him linked to romantically.
Checking my watch, I realized I could catch Sally and Rita both in the cafe. I sat down on a stool at the counter. "Hot or cold?" Sally asked.
"Cold, please." She poured a large to-go cup of sweet tea over ice and set it down in front of me on the counter. "Thanks. Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, Everly. Did you decide you need my help choosing which of those gorgeous men you should hook up with?"
"I may need your help with that too, but that's not my question for today. I've heard that Harry was involved with a cryptid hunter named Helen Kepler." The minute the words were out of my mouth, I remembered that Rick had said Helen was in some of the pictures.
Before Sally could answer, I was through the kitchen door. "Rick, didn't you tell me that Helen Kepler was in some of the photos in the dining room?"
"Hi, Boss. Yeah. I think there's a couple pictures of her. Why?"
"Show me."
He set a plate with a burger and fries in the window before heading for the door. I followed him to an empty table along the side wall. He looked over the pictures and pointed out the one that showed Helen Kepler with Uncle Harry and Dutch Monroe. It was a picture that was supposed to show the broken twigs of a bigfoot path through the forest. I carefully took the photo off the wall along with the information card beneath it.
"I think there's another one," Rick said, "but I don't remember where. Sally might know."
There were only a few customers in the cafe, so I decided to take a more direct approach. "Everyone, I need your help. Hi, I'm Everly Mason, the new owner of Hairy's. I'm trying to find a photo that's on the wall here someplace. It has a woman in it. She's a female cryptid hunter named Helen Kepler. Look around and raise your hand if you find it."
Everyone seemed to think the hunt was fun. It wasn't long before an older man raised his hand. Sure enough, it was a photo of a bigfoot print with Harry and Helen. I took it down, comped the finder's meal, and headed back upstairs with my finds.
"Chance, I found photos of Helen."
"Great. Send me the links."
"Can't. These are actual pictures that were on the wall in the cafe."
"OK. Any idea how old they are?"
I read him the dates from the description cards.
"It sounds like Harry and Helen were friends for a few years."
"Yeah. How does that help us find her?"