Nico
NICO
I started up my satnav and plugged in motels within a three-mile radius. There were nine. I ruled out four as too expensive, even though each one was less than a hundred dollars a night, and headed for the cheapest one first, a forty-nine-dollar delight.
I pulled off the road into the parking lot. “Wait here,” I said. Then, as I glanced around and caught sight of a bunch of young guys hanging out on the street corner, I changed my mind. “On second thought…”
Everly caught my drift and climbed out. I held her tightly to my side and pushed open the door with a rusty sign to the side that read “Office.” A man sat behind a battered old desk, his feet resting on the top and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. He didn’t even look up as we entered.
“Rooms are forty-nine plus tax. Checkout is at eleven.”
“We’re looking for someone,” I said in my best clipped English.
Everly removed Paul’s photograph from her pocket and gave it to me. The motel owner, or manager, or whatever the hell he was, huffed, spun his baseball cap around, and peered up at us. His eyes lit up, and he gave Everly a full top-to-toe appraisal.
I growled, shoving her behind me. “This guy.” I held the photo in front of his face. “Have you seen him?”
He squinted, burped, rubbed his stomach, and then peered at the photograph. “Nah, never seen him.”
“You sure?” I asked. “He might have had a kid with him. Six years old.”
“I ain’t seen him,” the man repeated. “Try the Castle a couple blocks over.”
“Thanks.”
I turned Everly around, and we left the office. She blew out a breath.
“What a charming man.”
“World’s full of them,” I said, shooting her a grin.
She smiled, but it didn’t hold. I drew her in for a brief kiss. “We expected to strike out on the first one, yeah? Let’s keep going.”
We stopped by three more motels. None of them had seen Paul, either with or without Rhett. The more time passed, the lower Everly’s shoulders dipped. She kept checking her phone, then sighing when it remained stubbornly silent.
It had turned six in the evening, and Rhett had been missing for an estimated five and a half hours when I parked at our fifth motel, a marginal improvement on the other four. I shifted in my seat to face Everly. “Why don’t you wait here?” I said, satisfied there weren’t any gangs hanging around. “I’ll be two ticks.”
“Okay.” Her eyes went to her phone again as if, by sheer willpower, she could make it ring with positive news about Rhett’s whereabouts.
I kissed her on the cheek and ducked out of the car. This time, I came face-to-face with a woman, probably in her late thirties. She sat up straight when I walked in, and smoothed her hair, blinking about ten times a second.
“How may I help you?”
I gave her a megawatt smile and held up Paul’s photograph. “I’m looking for this man. Have you seen him?”
She leaned forward and, to her credit, gave the picture a thorough look. “Yeah, I think I do remember this guy. He came by a few days ago looking for a place to stay. Short-term. I told him we were full, but that Belview might have rooms.” She puffed out her chest. “It’s not quite as nice as my place, but it’s better than a lot of the fleapits around here.”
“Belview?”
“Yeah.” She motioned with her arm. “Keep going on this road, past the diner on the corner. You can’t miss it.”
Hope burgeoned in my gut. Could this be it? “Thanks so much. You’ve been really helpful.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Bond.” She cackled with laughter. “Y’know, James Bond. It’s the accent.”
I smiled again, a genuine one this time. “You’re quite a character.”
“You want my number?” she asked.
“Tempting, but I’m already taken, I’m afraid.”
“Aw, shucks,” she said, then set off laughing again. “All the handsome ones are. I get left with the guys with no teeth.”
I returned to my car, opened the door, and climbed inside. “He’s not here, but the lady I spoke to said he came by looking for a room. She thinks he might be at the Belview, a place not far from here.”
Everly straightened. “Oh God. Let’s go, please.”
I turned on the ignition, then shifted to look at her. “Listen to me, Everly. If he’s there, we sit tight, yeah? We call the police and wait for them.”
Her hands curled into fists, and I readied myself for an argument. If I had to tie her to the seat, I would. We couldn’t risk Paul getting spooked and taking off, or worse, hurting Rhett in his desperation to avoid capture.
“Okay,” she said. “Now can we go?”
It took less than five minutes to drive to the Belview Motel, a pink one-story building with ten, maybe twelve, rooms. Instead of parking at the motel, I turned onto a side street. I should have probably done that at all the others in case he’d been there. An Aston didn’t exactly fit in at these kinds of establishments, and if Paul had spotted it, it might have put him on alert. We’d lucked out, though, and if there was a chance this was where he’d holed up, I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks this time.
“I’m coming with you,” Everly said.
No point in disagreeing. She’d set her face with that determined look I’d already learned not to argue with.
Keeping our heads down, we went to the office. I followed the same routine as the others, showing the photograph to the guy behind the desk. He barely looked at it, then nodded.
“Yeah, he’s here.”
Everly clutched my arm. “Which room?”
“Sorry, ma’am. No can do. My guests are entitled to their privacy.”
I slipped my wallet from my pocket and peeled off five one-hundred-dollar bills. The guy’s eyes widened, and he reached for the money. I snatched it back quickly. “Room number.”
He glanced down at a book on his desk. “Room eight. Toward the far end.” His greedy gaze returned to the cash.
I handed it over. “Thanks.”
As soon as we left the office, Everly set off toward Paul’s room. I hauled her back. “We call the police.”
“What if the guy was lying? We need to make sure first.”
I couldn’t argue with her logic, although I had a good read on most people and I’d lay odds that he’d told the truth.
“How do you propose we do that?”
“I’ll take a peek in the window.”
I shook my head. “Far too risky. What if he sees you, or Rhett does?”
“He won’t. I’ll crouch down. It’ll take me two seconds.”
“Let me go.”
She angled her head. “You don’t trust me not to barge in there, do you?”
“Honestly? No, I don’t. And if Rhett were my kid, I’d feel exactly the same.”
Hell, he wasn’t my kid, and I did feel exactly the same. I wanted nothing more than to kick open that door, beat Paul’s face to a pulp, scoop Rhett into my arms, and return him safely to his mother. But neither of us knew Paul’s state of mind. Rhett’s safety could be at risk, not to mention Everly’s.
“You’re right,” she said, leaning into me. “If I see him, I won’t be able to stop myself.”
“Exactly.” I brushed my lips over hers. “Wait here.”
Keeping close to the wall, I set off. When I got to room seven, I dropped to my hands and knees and crawled until I reached Paul’s room. I glanced at Everly, then slowly, I raised my head and peeked in the window.
Thirty seconds later, I was back with Everly. “Call the police,” I said. “He’s there.”