32. Diner
THIRTY-TWO
Diner
CJ
CJ met Mac and Jenny at a diner after he checked out of his hotel room.
Mac ran a finger around the water ring left by his glass. In the five years, they’d worked together, CJ couldn’t remember Mac drinking anything other than water. Perhaps he should ask why someday.
Jenny ordered a complex concoction of coffee, milk, sugar, and cream. She clutched the warm brew and held it below her nose, sniffing it like a lover. Their waitress deserved a double tip for being a good sport about Jenny’s insane order.
He tapped his foot against the bench seat, nervous about leaving Melissa alone. But Mac and Jenny requested a sit-down session to strategize on the kidnapping case. Hotel security had eyes on Melissa’s room.
She was safe.
“It makes little sense with Henrietta Jones.” Mac updated him on what little they’d discovered.
CJ looked across the table at the design Mac created from the water ring, an elephant, or a rhino. It was hard to be sure.
“What doesn’t make sense?”
Mac stopped his water doodling. “I don’t see someone snatching her off the street in between shopping runs in this town.”
“She could’ve been targeted,” Jenny said.
CJ shook his head. “As a kidnapping victim, she doesn’t have much to offer. Not much money, and no real family to pay a ransom.”
Jenny blew on her coffee. She had yet to sip the foamy mess but seemed content to inhale its aroma. “We were thinking about a sex crime, but you’re right. She falls out of the usual age range for that. Not that it doesn’t happen, but…I’m grasping at straws here.”
CJ leaned back and stared out the window of the small diner. “Something new must have happened. We need to trace every detail in the days leading to her disappearance. I want every second accounted for. Who she spoke to. What she was doing. Where she shopped. What she wore. Everything.”
Mac looked up from his newest creation, a stick figure of a Jedi Knight. He frowned. “That will be hard. Most of her days were spent with her girls. And from what everyone says, not only wouldn’t she let anyone near her daughters, but the woman didn’t date.”
CJ shook his head. “That may be. But don’t you think little Miss Perfect might have gotten lonely over the years? Maybe someone talked to her? It doesn’t have to be a date or a lover. We’ve solved cases with much less to go on than this. Talk to the girls.”
Jenny and Mac exchanged glances.
“They won’tspeakto me.” Mac used air quotes. “I’mscary.”
Jenny rolled her eyes. “I hate kids, and little girls are obnoxious. They were kind of skittish with me too. I don’t think they’ve ever talked to a Black woman.”
“They’re kids.” CJ had never met a woman less in touch with her feminine side than Jenny. “They’ll talk to you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You think because I’m a woman, I’ll relate to them?” Her shoulders twitched. “Kids annoy me.”
CJ took a long pull from his coffee, needing a moment to compose his next few words. Jenny could get touchy. The more conversation centered on her femininity, the jumpier she got, and the more likely he’d wind up with a black eye. Frankly, he didn’t understand. He’d never met a more stunning woman, except maybe for Melissa.
The waitress arrived with their meals. Jenny poured half a bottle of syrup over her pancakes and shoveled a large bite into her mouth. CJ sprinkled pepper on his eggs and toyed with them, while he considered the plight of their investigation.
It had been too many days since Henrietta Jones’ disappearance. Chances of them recovering her alive had taken a sharp nosedive south, and with each passing day, those odds worsened. The best they could hope for was a rapist. A rapist would play with her first, giving them more time. Murderers tended to be more impulsive and dispose of their victims quickly.
Briefly, he considered the possibility Scott Patterson abducted Henrietta Jones. Still, the timeline didn’t fit, and theFairytale Killerhad a particular type—the promiscuous college coed. He ground his teeth.
If only his sister had listened. If only she hadn’t trusted too easily. His sister couldn’t have fit Patterson’s mold any better. Scott Patterson never deviated from his set type: young, blonde, and the girl next door. How had Melissa ever wound up with that freak?
Jenny demolished her pancakes while Mac stirred the food around on his plate, mixing grits, pancakes, and eggs into one disgusting mess.
She angled her fork at CJ, dripping syrup on the table. “You should talk to her daughters. You’ve got a kid vibe. Kids love you.”
“I will, but let me get back to the hotel. I told Melissa I’d be gone for an hour, and it’s already been at least that long. Then I’ll speak to the girls.”
Mac shoveled some of the disgusting mess on his plate into his mouth and spoke with his mouth full. “The kids are meeting with a potential foster family for placement. They should be free by noon.”
“Perfect. I can take them out for lunch, build up a rapport.” He ran a hand over his head. “Hmm, have you heard from the rest of our team?”
Mac nodded. “They’ll be here around noon.”
“That’ll be perfect. I can stay until they arrive, then meet with the girls. Let me tell Melissa.” He fished out his phone and dialed Melissa’s number.
No answer.
With concern, he dialed again.
Nothing.
“Goddamnit.”
He dialed the direct number to the room, but it rang and rang. Had she not listened to a word he’d said? Surely Melissa wasn’t stupid enough to walk down to the lobby and grab a coffee, or worse, the local drug store for condoms.
No. She would’ve brought her phone. He rubbed at his jaw. Maybe she was in the shower, exactly where he told her not to be.
Damn. He refused to consider the other possibility, but Scott was out there.
He bolted out of the booth, laying two twenties on the table.
“What the hell?” Jenny looked up to him, confused.
“She’s not answering.”
“Fuck,” Mac said with a growl.
Mac and Jenny knew the drill. They hopped into Mac’s SUV and hauled ass back to the hotel.