by Daisy May
On the dot of seven, Andy appeared at the door. His smile was tight, making him look nervous as he headed over to me. He was in semi-casual mode again, and again it struck me that he could’ve – almost – been good-looking.
I wasn’t sure why he’d taken an interest in me lately. He definitely did seem like he could use some excitement in his life, although this was a strange place to look for it. In any case, I wasn’t above using his interest to benefit myself. Even if that meant making him think I was interested, too.
“Hey,” I said, standing up to hug him. “How are you doing?”
“Not bad.” He gave me a funny look.
I’d laid it on too thick. I needed to back off and act more like my usual prickly self. Make it seem like I was slowly warming up to him.
Then I’d zoom in for the kill.
“How about you?” he asked. “No news on your search, I guess?”
“Nope.” I didn’t have to fake my frustration. “It’s getting pretty old. Like I told you, I’m ready to give up.” I leaned back on the couch, hoping it didn’t have bedbugs.
He sat gingerly beside me. “So how can I help?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I guess maybe…”
He frowned at me as I trailed off. “Maybe what?”
I bit my lip. Don’t come on too strong, Tyler. “Maybe I just wanted some company.”
“Ahh.” He nodded as if we’d just had a breakthrough. “You’re lonely.”
“I guess.” I arched my back, pressing my chest out. I was wearing a T-shirt, so it would look like I wasn’t trying to be sexy – even though I knew the sleeves were tight around the wiry muscle on my arms. “I don’t really have anyone to talk to lately.”
“You can talk to me,” he said eagerly.
He was falling straight into my trap. “That would be nice,” I said, trying to sound depressed when I actually felt like grinning. “I don’t really have anywhere else to turn.”
The only other person who’d made such a kind offer recently was Celeste. It figured. Like mother, like son.
Funny that Andy had been so terrified about his mom getting scammed, and now he was going to be the one to fall into my net.
“What’s going on?” he asked gently. “For real this time.”
“Okay, so, the thing is… my adoptive mom…”
“Sophie?”
I looked at him sharply. “How do you know her name?”
He looked guilty. “The private eye I had look into you.”
“Right.” He probably had a file on me, just like I had one on Laney. I shuddered to think about what might be in it. “Well, Sophie kicked me out.”
“Why?”
“Fucked if I know.” I huffed, not even playing a role this time. “So her deadbeat boyfriend could move in, I guess. She never had a problem with me before, but all of a sudden some guy she’s been dating less than six months wants to get serious, and I’m out on my ass without even getting to take my stuff.”
“That’s messed up.”
“Right?” I said. “That’s why I wanted to get in touch with my bio mom, the one who gave birth to me. Hopefully we can have a better relationship than I have with Sophie.”
He frowned. “So it is for touchy-feely reasons. You’re looking for the kind of motherly love you’ve been missing in your life.”
Ugh… the look of pity in his eyes disgusted me. He thought he had me all figured out, and that was even worse. But all of this would go to serve a greater purpose. “I never looked at it like that,” I said, trying to make my face appear awed. “I never had a loving mother, so now that Sophie’s cut me off, I’m desperate to find one in Laney.”
“That makes perfect sense.” He looked like he was about to start crying. “You know, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. There are other places to find that kind of love. I know my mom would be willing to talk to you anytime, for any reason. Maybe she could be like a surrogate mom to you.”
If I hadn’t been so deep in my acting role, I would’ve burst out laughing. Celeste was nice and all, but I didn’t see myself confiding in her anytime soon. At least, not unless she were to hand me a few fat stacks of cash. I might be willing to open up emotionally for the right kind of money.
“That’s sweet of you,” I said. “How’s she doing, anyway?”
“She’s good. I talked to her this morning.” Andy looked so sincere, I wanted to puke. “I can put you two in touch, if you’d like. Or do you still have her number?”
“I do.” I didn’t. “But really, I feel like Laney is the one I need to get in touch with. As nice as your mom is, Laney’s the one I’m actually blood-related to.”
“That shouldn’t matter,” he said. “She hasn’t been any kind of mother to you.”
He was right, and that was what I was going to tell Laney when I pressured her into giving me as much money as she possibly could. Laney had a lot to make up for after abandoning me for all these years.
“I know,” I said. “But what can I say? I guess I’m a tiny bit touchy-feely about the whole thing, after all.”
“Hmm.”
He was taking my bait. I just had to reel him in. But he’d be a safer bet if I waited a little longer, made sure he was truly hooked.
“Anyway, I’m sorry to talk about myself so much,” I said. “Tell me more about Andy’s world. How long have you been feeling so bored with your life?”
“Oh, you’re going to psychoanalyze me now?”
“It’s only fair, right?” I gave him a half-genuine smile.
I was mildly curious about why such a normal-seeming man would totally give up on having any semblance of a life. It wasn’t like he was old, either. I guessed he was a couple of years older than me.
“I thought I was here to help with your mom, not to take my turn on the shrink’s couch,” he said.
“You’re pretty guarded. Why is that?”
“Look who’s talking.” His cheeks went pink. “I’ll do my best to answer your question, unlike you. I guess I’ve been feeling bored for a couple of years now. I’m not sure when it started.”
“What were things like when your life was more interesting?” I asked. “What kind of stuff did you do?”
“Oh, you know.” He shrugged. “I’d go out with friends, play sports on the weekends. Go hiking or camping when I got the chance. It was nothing scintillating, but a lot more than I’m doing now.”
“And you don’t know when or why that changed?” I asked. “No major life events?”
“I couldn’t say,” he said. “It was a gradual change, I think. Maybe getting boring is a normal part of growing up.”
“Not for me.”
“It could still happen to you.”
I snorted. “I won’t let it. No offense.”
“That’s true. I’m sure you won’t.” He sighed. “I don’t know why I did.”
“So you really don’t do anything for fun?” I asked. “No partying? No dating? No double life as a trapeze artist in the circus?”
He blinked at me. “None of the above. And at this point, they’re all about equally likely.”
“You’re kidding. You’d be into joining the circus?”
“Not in the least,” he said. “But I’m not about to start partying or dating, either.”
“That’s crazy. Partying isn’t for everyone, but dating is a whole other matter. You must get lonely sometimes.”
“A little.”
“And horny.” I paused. “Or are you asexual?”
“No, no.” His cheeks were even pinker than before. “That’s certainly been an issue, but I have ways to handle it.”
“Ah, taking care of things on your own.” I liked the way he squirmed at that. “When’s the last time you had a boyfriend?”
“That would be Wright,” he said slowly. “We split up a few years ago, and honestly, I don’t think I’ve been on a single date since then.”
“Heartbroken over him?”
“Not
at all.” He sounded colder than I would’ve expected. “You’re starting to sound like my brother. He’s always after me to start dating again. Always pushing me to get back with Wright, too. Never mind that he has a live-in partner.”
The way he rolled his eyes was cute. “Your brother’s sweet,” I said. “I’m sure he only wants the best for you.”
“Sure, but that doesn’t make him any less annoying.” He sat up straight, looking directly at me again. “Anyway, I don’t know why we’re talking about this.”
“Because it’s not boring, unlike anything else in your life.”
“Fair enough.” He actually giggled, which was oddly endearing coming from him. “But still, I came here to help with your search. Isn’t there anything I can do?”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “The only thing… well…” I hesitated as if I was too shy to come out and say it.
“What?” he asked. “You can tell me.”
“It’s just… your friend Wright…” I bit my lip. “I feel like hiring a PI is the only way I could make any progress on my search, but there’s no way I’d be able to afford one on my own.” I could sense him tensing up. “Do you think he might be able to give me some kind of discount, or something?”
Andy relaxed somewhat. “I don’t know. I could ask him.”
“That’d be great.”
And it’d be even greater if he could get Wright to do it for free.
TWELVE – ANDY
When I dropped in on Wright at his office, he looked at me with trepidation. “You want me to help this guy now?” he asked with a frown. “The same guy you just had me investigate?”
I rubbed my temples, uncomfortable despite the plushness of the chair. “I feel so bad for having you do that,” I said. “He was never trying to scam anyone. He’s a nice guy – although he’s wounded and may not always handle it too well. He’s been through a lot, and he feels alone, and he doesn’t have anybody else who can help.”
“I don’t get it,” he said. “You could just let him be. You don’t have any connection to this person. There’s no reason for you to help him.”
“I know, but I feel like we’re connected now. I can’t explain why.”
“Wait a second.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “You don’t like him, do you?”
“Like I said, he’s a nice guy.”
“Don’t be coy.” He leaned his elbows on the desk, his nostrils flaring. “Do you like him, like him? Romantically speaking?”
“Of course not.” I squirmed under his scrutiny. “He’s not my type. If you met him, you’d understand. It’d be bizarre for me to even think about dating him.”
The fact that he was attractive meant nothing. And the little glimpses of sincerity and vulnerability that peeked through his mask of uncaring toughness? Those meant even less.
“Stranger things have happened.” Wright sat back, looking somewhat mollified. “It’s a little odd that you’re so keen to help someone who’s just a friend.”
“I told you, I feel bad about accusing him. That’s all.” I coughed. “Do you think it’d be a lot of work to find his mom? It’d be nothing for you, right?”
“I’d have to take a look at the situation and see. It might not be that easy, considering how little progress Tyler has been able to make himself.”
“But it’ll be possible for you, at least.”
“That much is for sure.”
I bit my lip. “So this wouldn’t be a favor I could call in? Something you’d do for me because I’m such a good friend?”
“If it was for you personally, I’d do it in a heartbeat.” He bit his own lip, mirroring me. “I’m not sure how I feel about this whole thing, though. There’s something off about this situation.”
I ignored the last part of what he’d said. “What about a discount?” That was all Tyler had asked me for, anyway. “The family and friends pricing?”
“I would give that discount to you,” he said. “To a friend of yours, even. Not to him.” Contempt dripped from his voice at the last word.
“Then I’ll pay for him.” The words escaped me before I had time to think them through.
Wright gaped at me, aghast. “For someone you don’t even know?”
“I meant I’d get him to pay me back.” Except that he very obviously had no money. He wouldn’t be able to do that for a long time, if ever.
“That comes out to the same thing,” Wright said. “I’m not discounting my services for this person. Period.”
“Okay, that’s fair.” I slumped back with a sigh. “How much would finding that woman cost, anyway?”
“My rate is eighty per hour.”
“That’s nothing.”
He gave me a hard stare. “You’re not hiring me for him, Andy.”
“I wasn’t planning to,” I lied.
*
The more I thought about it, the sillier it seemed to not help Tyler. Eighty bucks an hour was nothing for me. I put several times that amount in my retirement fund on a bi-weekly basis. And the poor man was suffering.
If I didn’t help him, who would? His adoptive mom had thrown him out. He didn’t seem to be in touch with his adoptive dad. He’d never mentioned any friends, or a partner. And he was too preoccupied with his search to work at the moment.
On the other hand, Wright had been so opposed to getting involved. Was he right to be suspicious? It wasn’t like Tyler had asked me for money. He’d only asked me to see if I could get him a good price. Paying the full cost myself was my own idea.
At home, I researched other PIs on the Internet. The results that popped up were more confusing than I’d anticipated, especially because they didn’t all list their prices and I was going to have to call some of them.
I took a break to hit the gym for a sweaty lifting session, then came home and got straight back into my research. The time ticked by, and suddenly it was getting close to my bedtime. I wasn’t going to have time to meal prep tonight, not if I wanted to get my full eight hours of sleep in.
Oh, well. I’d have to buy lunch tomorrow.
I could afford it – just like I could afford a private investigator.
THIRTEEN – TYLER
After my plan to have Andy find my mother was set in motion, I turned my attention toward locating my adoptive father, Greg. He was much easier to find, seeing as he was a productive member of society.
The hardest part was signing up for a library card. Well, it was emotionally hard – I’d never thought I’d be reduced to signing onto an ancient computer alongside preteens and homeless people. Once I’d signed up, though, it was only a few keyboard strokes and clicks of the mouse, and then I had all Greg’s information laid out before me.
He was still at the same address in Florida where he’d moved with his new wife. He had two more kids now, a six-year-old and a four-year-old. I hadn’t even been aware of my youngest brother’s existence.
That could be good ammunition to use against Greg when I spoke to him. Then again, he might claim he needed all of his money for the brat’s college fund.
The key thing was to get in touch ASAP. The only issue was that, again, he lived in Florida now. I wanted to see him in person, so he wouldn’t be able to hang up on me and block my number. But I didn’t have the money to get there, and while I would’ve tried hitchhiking, I didn’t want to leave town right when Andy was about to take the bait I’d laid out for him.
Hopefully it wouldn’t take too long for him to hire Wright. It’d been a few days since I’d talked to him, and my stash of cash was dwindling lower and lower. If something didn’t happen soon, I’d be getting desperate. I had nothing of value that I could sell – aside from my phone, and there was no way I could go without that.
Logging off the computer, I headed outside and reached for my phone. The crisp autumn air blew through my thin jacket as I waited for Andy to pick up. When he did, he sounded surprisingly happy to hear from me. “Hey, Tyler. I was just thinking about you.”
A twinge of happiness went through me – only because that meant he’d been thinking about how to find Laney. “How are you doing?”
“Not bad,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about adding more excitement to my life. I really do need to do more with myself, but I think I’m going to wait until after I get that promotion. It should happen any day now.”
Okay, fascinating, now tell me if you’re going to hire your friend for me! “That makes sense,” I said, trying to sound interested. “When will that be?”
“Not too long, hopefully. I think it should be within the next couple months or so. My boss said it could happen soon-ish.”
Now he had me listening for real. “You’re going to keep boring yourself to death for a few more months, just for the sake of a promotion? You only have one life to live, you know. Which of those options do you think you’re going to regret on your deathbed?”
“Whoa,” he laughed. “I’m not planning on dying anytime soon.”
“It’ll happen eventually, won’t it?” I snapped. “You need to act accordingly.”
“You’re very fatalistic.” He paused. “But maybe you’re right. I should start doing more exciting stuff right now.”
“Yeah.” Like hiring a PI for me, maybe.
“I actually did one thing.” He sounded nervous now, or maybe shy.
“What’s that?” PI, PI, PI.
“I called a few private investigators.” His voice dropped as if he was embarrassed. “My friend couldn’t get you a discount, but I thought maybe I could get you some other quotes.”
As if I couldn’t have done that myself! Still, I faked gratitude. “Really? That’s so nice of you.”
“I’m glad you think so. I was so scared I was going to overstep.”
Step as far as you want. “Not at all.” Step a little farther and actually pay for it, cheap-ass.