Chapter Eleven
SEBASTIAN
I wake up alone. Simon isn’t the only one who’s been working too many hours.
A quick check of the clock tells me it’s around dinner time. The surrounding quiet tells me I’m alone. Fine. I guess Simon decided to save us the drama of an awkward exit.
Except he left his suit over the back of a chair next to the dresser. And there’s a set of keys I don’t recognize on the kitchen counter. Then there’s the front door, which is standing wide open.
“Motherfucker! I will kill you. I will take your fucking head off.”
That voice sounds like Simon’s, coming from down the hall.
I find the neighbor’s front door open too, and inside on the sofa are Simon and the neighbor’s step kid, Jacob, with their backs to me.
They’re playing some sort of video game that appears to involve sword fighting, which explains all the yelling.
Jacob cackles, shoving at Simon’s shoulder. “Haha, I got you! Did you see that? I got you good.”
There’s a strange flutter in my sternum over the easy banter between them. Over the realization that Simon felt comfortable enough to waltz down the hall to spend time with the kid next door.
One of the characters on the screen, a large knight wearing dented armor, falls to one knee. I assume that’s Simon’s character. Jacob, playing a regal-looking queen, looks down her sword at her defeated opponent.
“Kicked my ass. That was some fancy technique you had there.”
Jacob looks away in profile, and his cheeks turn red. Poor kid. Something tells me he doesn’t get a lot of praise.
Jacob lifts his controller. “You wanna go again?”
“Fuck yeah. Set it up.”
“Maybe lay off the f-bombs, Simon. He’s sixteen.”
They both jump. Jacob especially. “Oh, it’s okay, Mr. Pierce. I hear it a lot in high school. Plus, I’m seventeen now. Birthday last week.”
Oops. I didn’t notice signs of a party or anything. Then again, I’ve been practically living at the office.
I nod my head at the large flat-screen. “Who’s winning?”
“Jacob’s kicking my ass big-time. Which is only fair since I hardly ever get to play video games.”
“He said he doesn’t even have a gaming console.” Jacob looks scandalized by the idea.
Simon shrugs. “It would be a waste of money. I don’t have a lot of free time. Two jobs. And I’m almost done studying for my nursing certification. Too busy for games.”
The way Simon seems to have made himself at home in my world shouldn’t feel this right. This is all supposed to be impersonal and temporary.
“You’re gonna be a nurse? That’s awesome. I’ve been in the hospital a bunch, and they’ve always been so great. Like, some of the doctors are dicks, but the nurses take care of business, you know?”
Suddenly, Jacob looks at Simon as if he were wearing a superhero cape.
And I’m looking at him like… Well, like he’s the kind of guy who works two jobs but still takes time to play video games with my neighbor’s kid.
The kid whose mother passed away, and whose stepfather is never home.
The kid who always seems a little bit lonely.
However, the way Simon looks at Jacob is more concerning. His eyes narrow and his forehead creases. “That sucks. What’d you have to get hospitalized for?”
“Oh, nothing big.” Jacob rolls his eyes. “You know how when you get sick, and you don’t feel like eating or drinking anything, then you get dehydrated and dizzy and stuff? I’ve had some awful bouts of the flu or whatever.”
There’s a new awareness as I take in Jacob’s thin wrists and knobby knees. I figured some kids are just skinny, but Simon’s expression makes me wonder if I’ve missed something more important.
I want to ask Simon why he’s looking at Jacob with so much concern, but there’s no way to do it subtly. Then, as quickly as Simon’s worried expression is there, it’s gone again, replaced with a friendly smile.
“Hey, Sebastian. The kid and I got hungry, so I ordered too much pizza. Come eat with us.”
“Not just pizza. Simon said he was starving, so he got salads, some baked pasta, these fancy flatbread focaccia things, and a dessert pizza with fruit. I’ve never heard of this place, but the food is real good.
” Jacob is stuffing some sort of flatbread covered with roasted veggies into his mouth as he speaks.
“Oh, and there’s lemonade too. A whole gallon.
I’ll go get you some.” Jacob’s heading for the kitchen before I can politely decline.
While the kid skips out of the room, I sit beside Simon on the sofa and snag a piece of the flatbread. Jacob’s right, it’s delicious.
“I’m realizing I’ve been so preoccupied with certain things that I never did feed you. That was rude and inconsiderate. I apologize. And I’ll pay you back for the pizza.”
Simon laughs. “But you threw that can of sausages at me this morning.”
“I threw it at your friend’s piece-of-shit boyfriend.”
“My way was funnier. Don’t worry, I can handle paying for a few pizzas.” He glances toward the kitchen and leans closer. He smells freshly showered and like my bodywash. Again. For a moment I indulge the way his smell, my smell, makes me feel possessive.
“Honestly,” Simon continues, “I wasn’t lying about hunger.
Especially after all those calories we burned.
But I’m also a little worried about Jacob.
He’s skinny, which isn’t necessarily a bad sign all by itself, especially in a building that probably costs more than a year of my rent, but still.
Seemed like the kid could use a good meal.
And teenagers burn, like, a billion calories a day. ”
“I’ve done the same thing myself a few times.” I glance around. “It seems to be just him and his stepfather. I think the guy works a lot. But I never got the impression that he’s neglected, exactly. Should’ve paid better attention.”
While I’ve been busy trying to save these missing kids, I haven’t truly seen the one who lives right next door.
“Hmm.” Simon glances toward the kitchen again. “I don’t know if I’ll be back here again, so do me a favor and keep an eye on him, okay? I haven’t seen anything that definitively tells me a problem needs to be reported, it’s just a feeling that something’s not quite right.”
“Sure. I’ll try to check in with him more often.”
“Sorry!” Jacob comes hustling back in with an overly full tumbler of lemonade. “Had to wash a glass. The housekeeper stopped coming for some reason. I should be doing more around the house anyway.”
I glance at Simon and back at Jacob. Simon’s probably thinking the same thing I am, which is, once again, there’s nothing wrong with that statement exactly. Except Jacob’s voice sounds strange. Almost hollow.
Yes, I’ll be keeping a better eye out.
“You want to play a round, Pierce?”
“I have no idea how to play this game.”
“Learn by doing, Sebastian.” Simon shoves a controller into my hand and gives me one of his grins.
I play. And I lose. Over and over and over again. Still, it’s a good time. We eat pizza and talk smack, and I can see how much fun Jacob is having. Simon keeps laughing. So do I, which makes it a big day because nothing’s been funny in a long while.
Honestly, when have I had fun like this in my life? Not since my mother died.
If I could freeze this moment, I would.
So I tell the voice in my head that warns me I’m wasting time when there’s work to be done to shut up. I do enjoy myself for a little while.
Until my phone pings where I set it down on the glass coffee table.
Simon glances over. “Someone named Lemon says he needs to talk to you.”
“I think you mean Lehman.” I chuckle and reach for the phone to call him back.
Leaving Simon and Jacob to their game, I enter the hallway.
“There you are,” Lehman answers.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Who’s been telling me to take some time away from the office?”
“Yeah, but then you went and did it. It’s weird.”
“Is this what you called to talk to me about?”
“No. Check out the news article I just sent you.”
LOCAL ACTIVIST MISSING
“Who’s this?”
Lehman clears his throat. “Devon Martin. He was in town to organize a protest at the office of the mayor, who allegedly made a backroom deal to turn some local protected wetlands into a golfing resort. Parents own a vacation condo here in Belle Argo, reported missing when he failed to show up for work—his volunteer shift at the, uh…” He cleared his throat. “Toe Beans Pet Rescue.”
I’d laugh at Lehman’s discomfort if this shit weren’t heart-attack serious. “Name doesn’t sound familiar. He’s one of ours?”
“He is. You probably know him better as Dev’s Dogs.
He has a strong social media presence, mostly dog training and rescue stuff.
He does a thing where he takes dogs from overcrowded rescues, drives them to places with more room, films the whole thing, and does funny little bios for the dogs to help get them adopted.
He’s got several brand partnerships with pet stores, treat companies, and whatnot, along with a line of merch he sells himself, which all goes to charity.
Even with all the charitable giving, his net worth is eight figures. ”
Jesus. How are all these young, bright kids—kids with a public presence, kids someone would definitely miss—just suddenly gone? How do we not have more to go on at this point?
“What do we know?”
“The usual. Police don’t have much information. He was at a party. Nobody remembers seeing him leave because it was a party. Lots of substance use.”
“This wasn’t the only person to disappear after a party. I assume the police have checked that angle?”
“No good camera footage, no reliable witnesses, nothing tying any of the people together aside from being in the same social scene.”
I huffed a laugh. “And they’ve all been clients of ours. Or the family member of a client.”
“They think that’s a coincidence.”
“Coincidence, my ass.” I sigh. “Whatever. We’ll talk when I get in there.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Lehman.”
“Look, I’m actually on my way home. I need to shower and shave and eat something that wasn’t delivered by a pimply kid driving a Prius. Little shit remembers my name. Started commenting on my restaurant choices.”
“Every minute counts in these situations.”
“I’ve already alerted the team who found Cam. They’ll let us know as soon as they find anything.”
I agree and hang up when Simon sticks his head out of Jacob’s front door. “Everything okay?”
“Not really. But that’s not your problem.” I shove my phone back into my pocket.
Simon looks at me with concern. For a moment, I’m torn.
I’m angry and unable to solve the problem of all these twenty-somethings disappearing under a couple of hundred people’s noses.
I hate the sense that I’m missing something—or worse, I’m missing the entire thing, and I’m going to lose everything I’ve worked for.
Looking at Simon, I want to take this guy who’s so fantastic with the lonely neighbor kid and who I have amazing sexual chemistry with, who begs for more when I hurt him, back to my bed and keep him there all night. But that’s not what this is.
“It’s getting late. I should probably take you back to pick up your car.” Until Lehman called, I hadn’t checked the time, but it turns out we’ve been playing video games for hours.
“Yeah. Yeah, I really should go.” Simon nods too enthusiastically and swallows as if he’s trying not to say more.
Maybe it’s wishful thinking, or maybe I’m not the only one who doesn’t want him to leave.