Chapter 40
Tucker
I’d been driving the streets surrounding Ava’s apartment for twenty minutes when I decided to stop at her place and try Marcus again.
His voice wasn’t sleepy at all, despite the hour. “I missed your call. What’s happened?”
“The new meds failed. She seized for six minutes. We got to the hospital, but they wouldn’t listen about the memory loss. They sent us home, and she ran!”
“When?”
“About half an hour after we got back. She asked me to leave her alone, so I waited in the kitchen to give her some space. She found her old notebook full of warnings to herself, and I think she got spooked. I’ve been driving around looking for her.”
“Have you called the police?”
“I thought I’d spot her. She can’t get far on foot.”
“Call them now. I’m jumping in my car. Call me back as soon as you’ve talked to them.”
I hung up. I was about to dial 911 when something occurred to me. Where were the keys I’d handed her?
I retraced our steps from when we walked in. The kitchen. The med cabinet. Her room. Nothing on her dresser or on the bed. Nothing in the closet.
She had her keys.
Maybe she saw the keychain and thought of Big Harry.
I raced back to the kitchen and snatched up her phone to plug in her passcode.
Big Harry was in the contacts.
I called him and listened as it rang and rang. When the recorded message kicked in, it gave the hours and location of the diner. It wasn’t his personal line.
Damn it.
Now it was time to call the police. With a heavy heart, I dialed the numbers.
The woman’s voice was chirpy. “911. What is your emergency?”
“I have a missing person to report. It’s urgent.”
“I’ll connect you to the police.”
I paced the living room while I waited. Another woman answered. “Austin Police. What is your emergency?”
“My girlfriend is missing. She has amnesia. She can’t be off by herself.”
“I understand,” the woman said. “Can I have your name?”
The process of giving her the information took forever. Finally, she asked, “And what is the age of the missing person?”
“Twenty.”
“And how long has she been missing?”
I glanced at the clock on the wall. “Over an hour!”
“Sir, have you tried calling her on the phone?”
“I have her phone!”
“Have you contacted her friends?”
“She has amnesia. She can’t remember who her friends are.”
“Sir, I have filed a report for a missing adult on your behalf. We will enter the information into our database.”
“That’s it? She has amnesia!”
“Do you mean dementia or Alzheimer’s? I can note this on the form and the information will be forwarded to that unit for immediate processing.”
“No, she doesn’t have dementia or Alzheimer’s.”
“Then we will contact you when it is processed. In the meantime, continue to try to reach her at all known contacts.”
“This really is an emergency,” I said. “She’s defenseless. She doesn’t know anything.”
“Sir, does she know her name?”
“Well, yes.”
“Does she know where she lives?”
“I guess so. She left from here.”
“Then we will process this form and let you know when it is in the system. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
I hung up. Nobody understood.
But I could go to Harry’s. The diner was open late. Big Harry was almost surely there. I called Marcus as I drove over and updated him on the police issue.
“But it’s in the system?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Where should I meet you when I hit town?”
“Ava’s apartment. She might go back. I think she has her keys. I’m headed to the diner where she used to work. She can walk there, and it’s a path that might be muscle memory to her.”
“I’ll see you in about three hours, less if I break all the speed limits. Call me with any updates.”
I hung up as I stopped the car in front of Harry’s. I tried to steady my breath. She would be here. I knew it. Even if she didn’t consciously know where she was going, her feet would lead her here.
I tugged on the door. Only a few stragglers sat on bar stools at this hour.
The youngish man behind the counter looked me up and down. “You’ll need ID to order a drink.”
“I’m looking for Ava Roberts,” I said. “Has she been here? Do you know her?”
His eyes widened. “Who’s asking?”
“I’m Tucker, her boyfriend.”
The man waved at another server, a woman with big hair and a tray. “This guy’s here looking for Ava,” he said.
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you the reason she ran off?”
My breath caught. “So you’ve seen her? Tonight?”
“Maybe I did and maybe I didn’t. If you want to know anything, you’ll have to ask Big Harry.” She cocked her hip, clearly none too pleased with me.
“This is important,” I said. “Ava was in the hospital today. She’s sick and scared. I need to find her.”
The woman’s body relaxed from its hostile posture. She glanced over at the other bartender. “What kind of sick?”
“She has epilepsy. Seizures.”
“She never had none of that when she worked here.”
“It’s true, though,” the bartender said. “I once asked her why she didn’t drink. She said she took pills.”
“Bloody hell,” the woman breathed. “She left with Big Harry. Wanted to go to an address she’d written down.”
My heart hammered. “What address?”
The woman bit her lip. “You’re welcome to get it out of Big Harry.”
“Do you have his cell number?”
“We always call him here. He practically lives here.”
Damn. “Can I wait?”
She tilted her head toward the back wall. “Wait in his office.”
She led me back, and I sat on a folding chair among the stacks of receipts and paperwork.
I had nothing to do but sit and think. What address would have been in the notebook? It was too old to have Gram’s or her father’s house.
I snapped my fingers. The old duplex address was in the scrapbook multiple times. She knew to trust Grandma Flowers.
Despite the hour, I had to call her. If Big Harry had taken Ava there, she’d be up, anyway.
The phone rang for several long moments. I was about to give up when a sleepy voice said, “Hello? Tucker? That you?”
“Yes,” I said. “Ava’s gone missing, and I thought she might have found your address. Have you seen her?”
She cleared her throat. “No, son. But I will keep a lookout. Did she lose her memory?”
“Yes, earlier today. I was in the kitchen and something in her old notebook spooked her and she took off.”
“Oh, Lord. I’ll keep the light on just in case.”
“She might show up with her old boss from the diner.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Please call me the minute you see her.”
“Of course, my boy. I will.”
I hung up. I had no idea how long ago they’d left. I was about to go back into the diner and ask when my phone rang.
Gram. I hadn’t talked to her since I sent a message from the hospital while Ava was sleeping. She must have been waiting to hear.
“Tucker? How’s Ava?”
I swallowed hard. “She’s okay, physically. But she lost her memory and got scared and took off on foot. I’m trying to find her.”
“My Lord. Have you called the police?”
“Yes. And her father. But she came to Big Harry’s. She’s with him.”
“Oh, thank goodness. Will he bring her back?”
“I don’t know. They won’t tell me where he took her.”
“Maybe to his house?”
“No. He lives behind the diner. She had some address where she wanted to go.”
“Well, I’ll stay here in case it’s this one,” she said.
“That’s a good plan. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Please do.”
I hung up, and somewhere out by the bar, drunken friends roared with laughter. Their lives went on normally, while mine was at a standstill.
Where would she ask Big Harry to take her? The list of places was short. But maybe the shelter? The old Shelfmart where she used to work?
I called the shelter but the woman who answered wouldn’t tell me if Ava was there or not, per their policy. I asked for Sheila, and thankfully she came to the phone. She confirmed that Ava hadn’t shown up there and promised she’d keep an eye out for her.
The diner shut down, but I refused to leave. The big-haired waitress got testy. “We want to go home.”
“Then call the cops on me, because I’m not leaving until Big Harry gets here.”
She tilted her head at the bartender. They were the only employees left. “Let’s drink. We usually hang out anyway.”
I could do nothing but wait. Since I knew Ava wasn’t going back to her apartment, I texted Marcus to meet me. He arrived at the diner a few hours later.
He looked like hell, eyes red, his wrinkled shirt unbuttoned at the throat. “We might as well wait together.”
“It sure is taking a long time,” I said. “Either the place he went is far, or he’s sitting with her somewhere.”
“No telling.”
Marcus perched on the corner of the desk.
“What’s Harry’s number?” he asked. “Maybe he’ll talk to me.”
Before I could explain about the cell, Big Harry himself strode into the office.
We both stood.
“I figured I’d be seeing you,” he said to me. “She’ll contact you if she wants.”
“Is she safe?” I asked.
“I reckon so. She seemed to be in good hands.”
“Whose hands?” Marcus asked.
Harry crossed his arms over his protruding belly. “And who might you be?”
Marcus seemed to remember himself and stood straighter. “Marcus Roberts. I am Ava’s father.”
“Huh. She never mentioned you in all the time she worked here.”
“I live in Houston.”
Harry circled his desk and plopped down in his chair. “I take it you and the girl’s mother are divorced.”
At the word mother, we both lunged forward. “Did you take her to her mother?” I asked.
Harry held out his hands. “Now, I know Ava wasn’t too fond of the woman. She said as much when she first worked here. But they had a right fine reunion. She’s safe from the likes of this one.” He pointed at Tucker.
“What have you DONE!” Marcus shouted. “We have a restraining order against her!”
Harry shot up. “I saw their happy hugging with my own eyes!”
I reached out to Marcus. “We know where she is. Let’s go.”
We whirled around and raced out of the diner.
“My car,” Marcus said, clicking the remote to a sleek Mercedes.
I jumped in. “What do we do when we get there?”
“Pray that they are still there. Didn’t she always move Ava when she had a memory reset?”
My chest tightened. “At least twice. It’s only been a few hours. You think she could get it done that fast?”
“I don’t know,” Marcus said, banging his hand on the wheel. “How did this happen?”
“Obviously she didn’t read about her mother or spot the tattoo about her. Or else she didn’t understand.”
Marcus squealed out of the parking spot. “She has a tattoo about Geneva?”
I hoped Ava didn’t mind me telling him. “She has three tattoos. The one on her wrist you’ve probably seen, about only trusting her own handwriting.”
“Right.”
“She also has less visible ones. One is her name and birthdate. The other says, ‘Mother is bad.’”
“So the first time she sees that, she’s going to realize she’s done the wrong thing.”
“Yes. And probably run again.” Ava was already in full panic mode.
Marcus blew out a long gust of air. “Let’s assume that hasn’t happened yet. What would she be using for information?”
“She must have found the section in the notebook about her time at the shelter. There was a police report in there with her mother’s address, in case she wanted to go back home.”
“And you didn’t think to get rid of it?”
He was right. We should have. “I will now. The section of her book on the shelter was when she was the most scared. She had notes about the things the women taught her. Not to trust men.” My stomach lurched.
Marcus slammed on the accelerator to blast through a yellow light. “So, she reads not to trust men, realizes you’re a man, grabs the address and heads to the diner.”
“And Harry takes her out there and of course Geneva is happy to see her.”
Marcus’s eyebrows gathered in a scowl. “Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. She’ll move her. Get away from the restraining order.”
“It doesn’t count if Ava goes to her, does it?”
“They won’t enforce it.” He drew in a long breath and let it out. “Surely she won’t bolt in the middle of the night. Ava would know something is up.”
“And all that is only until Ava sees the tattoo about her mother.”
The Mercedes barrels through the night, out of Austin and onto the dark highway. We had to get to them before any of these disasters struck.