Another more recent article indicated the nose dive in his condition was arrested slightly and had stabilized to some degree, but there was little offered to indicate a turn around.
"My God, Charlie. We've got to find Gracie fast."
"I think our table is ready at Sizzler." Charlie took her hand to walk back to the truck.
It was 4:30 p.m. when they arrived at the Sizzler listed on Gracie's pay stubs. They asked to see the manager and waited while the hostess went to find him.
"Hello, I'm John Sutter. You asked to see me?"
"Thank you. Do you have a minute to talk about Gracie Wentworth?" Charlie asked him.
"Oh, I hope nothing's wrong. She was a model employee and waitress here."
"Can we sit for a minute?" Jenny asked.
John led them to a booth in the back. "We're just getting ready for the dinner crowd, so I have some time. What's this about?"
"Gracie has been out of touch with her family. We're trying to locate her to tell her about her father's condition," Jenny told him.
"I've read about him in the paper. What tragic news. Gracie told us she was leaving and gave notice for the end of June."
"Do you have any idea where she went, John?" Jenny asked him.
"You mean her family doesn't know where she is?" John was surprised. "I rarely meet or have the pleasure of hiring a young person that shows more sense of responsibility then Gracie did. It sounds like we're talking about a different person."
"Her step-mother asked us to find her. All we can gather is that there were some problems and Gracie surprised everyone, packed up and took off. She left before her father took ill and we are trying to find her to tell her about him."
"She worked here over two years and I didn't know there were problems at home. She did ask me for a letter of recommendation, which I gladly gave her. When she left here I just assumed she was headed to college, out of the area."
"We're going to stay for dinner. Can you ask your employees if they might know something? Or, if you think of something else, please come tell us?" Charlie asked.
"Absolutely. Like I told you, Gracie was special, and well liked around here." John slid out of the booth and approached a group of employees that were stocking the salad bar.
They were eating their steaks when three girls walked over to their table. The one elected as the spokesperson asked them, "Are you the ones looking for Gracie?"
"Yes, can you help us find her?" Jenny asked.
"We knew she couldn't wait to graduate and get out of the house, but she didn't tell us where she was going."
"She was smart," One of the other girls said. "You'll find her in college somewhere."
"Do any of you know, Stefanie King?" Jenny asked.
"Just that she was a close friend of Gracie's."
"Do you have any idea where Stefanie went to college?" Charlie asked them.
"I heard somewhere back East, I think." One girl offered as the group glanced at one another.
"Thank you girls. Is there anything else you can tell us about Gracie, to help us find her?" Jenny asked.
"I don't think she wants to be found," the group spokesman said as they walked away.
"They probably know more than they're telling us. I think the 'back East' was to throw us off, Charlie."
"Unless it was Mandy, trying to do the same thing. My gut tells me if we find Stefanie we will be close to Gracie."
They finished their dinners deep in thought about the next step. On their way out, they saw the manager and walked over to him. "John, did you think of anything else that would help us?" Jenny asked.
"No. I'm very sorry. I hope her father gets better and that Gracie is OK."
"Thanks," Charlie said as they left the restaurant.
"Do you think we can learn anything from the hospice where James is?" Jenny asked.
"Not really. If we could talk to him, maybe, but none of the staff there have ever met Gracie. Let's go home and get an early start tomorrow for Southern California."
On the drive home, after Jenny had called information for the number, she called the administration office of California State University, Long Beach only to discover they were on Christmas break until January when the new term began. She relayed that information to Charlie.
"We sure don't have much to go on here, Jenny. If I didn't think Gracie really needed our help, I'd go back to decorating our Christmas tree and watching the concrete foundation dry."
"Oh, and I thought I was the soft touch in this partnership."
"Partnership?" Charlie asked playfully. "We're newlyweds, focused on exploring each other?"
"That's the best part, but we are partners in Watson Manor and Watson Investigations."
"There is no Watson Investigations. There is Watson Manor and chasing my side-tracked wife's big heart."
"It seems to me, mister, its following the Watson's big heart."
"So, you're not buying the hard core lumberjack image I'm working so hard at?"
"You needed more drama classes in college to pull that off. I couldn't love that guy inside more than I do, though." Jenny leaned over the center console and kissed his cheek.
Chapter 21
Charlie and Jenny packed for a few days and left Marina early Saturday morning for Southern California, armed with little else, but the hope of an answered prayer to finding Gracie Wentworth. They decided 'warm Southern California beaches' was not Santa Barbara, so they headed further south to Long Beach State University as their first stop.
The campus was pretty much deserted, given that it was both the Christmas holiday and the weekend. There were a few girls around the campus dorms, but Charlie and Jenny had no luck with either the picture of Gracie or the blown up yearbook picture of Stefanie King. The dorm supervisor told them she had not seen either of the girls and didn't think they lived in her dorm.
Figuring both girls were attractive, they walked over to a group of guys on the basketball court and asked if they had seen them. The reaction they received was that if they had seen them, they surely would have remembered them. They spent the next couple of hours talking to everyone they saw on campus, but without any luck.
Finding a phone booth, they compiled a list of the Sizzlers in the area and drove to each of them within a ten mile radius of campus, another dead end. None of the managers or staff on hand had any information on the girls. They sat down for a late lunch.
"This is frustrating. We don't know if they are living on or off campus or even which campus," Charlie said.
"I know, but we just got started and it's important," Jenny replied.
An idea crossed Charlie's mind. "Do you have Stefanie's home phone number?"
"Yes." She dug the list out of her purse. "But Mrs. King was of little help before."
"Maybe I can get the school out of her another way." He took the list from her and punched in the number.
"Hello?" A male voice answered, giving Charlie hope.
"Hello, Mr. King. My name is Charles Watson, Dean of Admissions at Cal State University in Long Beach. I have an application and approval for Stefanie King in front of me but we have not received a confirmation or a request for a delayed entrance date for her."
"What school did you say you're from?"
"Cal State University in Long Beach, Mr. King"
"Well that's the problem, she's not at your school."
"So I can close this application. Can you tell me where she's enrolled?"
"Yes, our Stefanie is at San Diego State University."
"Thank you, Mr. King. That's a great campus and I'll note it in our records. Goodbye."
Jenny saw the huge grin on his face and excitedly asked, "OK, don't hold back, where is she?"
"Ever been to San Diego, partner?" He held his grin.
They finished their late lunch and made the three hour drive south to San Diego. It was 7:30 p.m. when they arrived and found a two-level motel on Harbor Blvd that overlooked the bay. The bay boardwalk, a block
away, had drawn them. They strolled, holding hands, looking at the boats in the water and the metal art sculptures along the boardwalk.
"Looks like you could've sold Jake's work here," Jenny said pointing at a large metal sculpture.
"He sold every one he made."
"Yeah, right, to you."
"Let's go to Seaport Village for dinner and pick up our search in the morning." She nodded agreement and they walked the length of the boardwalk to the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum then doubled back to their motel. In an effort to conserve water, they showered together. After 35 minutes of water conservation they grabbed both their breaths and their towels to dry off.
Seaport Village was a wonderful distraction from their search for Gracie, though they still caught each other being a little more observant of the people around them. Gift shops and restaurants were scattered around, painted bright colors and had individual architectural styles, not a wall of store fronts. The open areas between the buildings had entertainers and small sales carts. It was very crowded with families, couples and groups of teenagers walking around. They strolled through several shops and had dinner at the San Diego Pier Café, overlooking the bay.
After dinner, they walked along the bay and were fascinated by the rock structures, large and small rocks balanced and stacked on each other into four and five-foot-tall towers. They saw them all along the harbor side. Charlie pulled Jenny around to the park side of the bay and said, "Let's build one for us."
"I'm in." Jenny didn't need further coaxing. "Is this a partnership or competition?"
"This is a newlywed monument. We work together. The competition will be next year, when we're an old married couple."
They quickly learned it was a delicate process and, after an hour of restacking rocks, they left, pleased with their personal three-foot monument. To reward themselves, they left the ice cream shop, each with a double scoop cone. They did, however, walk directly to the truck in the parking lot without confirming that their rock monument was still standing, and drove back to the motel.
Sunday morning was cool but clear, and they walked to a cafe close by for breakfast.
"Promise me you'll bring me back here in the summer," Jenny requested, pulling the zipper up on her jacket.
"Works for me. There's a lot to see here, not to mention scoping out a place for Watson Manor number two."
"The concrete on Watson Manor number one is still wet. Not getting ahead of yourself are you?"
"With you in my life, Jenny, it's great looking forward."
"I see you brought the romantic with you."
"Always close now. So we start with the State University campus?"
"Lord willing, we'll find her quickly," Jenny said.
"He was there for Cindy. I hope His help for Gracie is not too much to ask."
When they arrived on campus, they headed toward the dorms. "I wish I would've thought to ask Mr. King if Stefanie was living on or off campus," Charlie said. "Only for the records, of course?"
"Just be glad you didn't get Mrs. King when you called."
They passed through the student quad area and noticed traffic moving in and out of a cafeteria and walked over towards it. They were rewarded in the first group they approached.
"Hello, guys, I'm Jenny and I hope you can help me? Have you seen Stefanie around campus?" She handed one of the guys Stefanie's photo.
"I'm Doug. That's Stefanie, alright. She was in my freshman comp class last quarter."
"Do you think she lives on campus?"
"My comp class was, like, my end of the day, 3:30 to 5:00. We talked a little, but I'd have to say she walked to the parking lot after class, not the dorms."
"Did you ever get a look at her car?"
"Yeah, one awesome set of wheels. A bright red Camaro. I'm talking fire engine red, man."
She turned to Charlie and in receiving a nod to keep the flow going, she handed Gracie's photo to Doug. "Doug, have you seen this girl, Gracie Wentworth?"
"She's a real babe, but don't know that one." His response drew the other three guys over to take a closer look at the two photos.
"Maybe," one of the other guys said, "at the Break Time. Hey Steve didn't we see them there last month?"
"The first one for sure," Steve offered. "I guess the gal she was hanging with could be this one." He pointed at the photo of Gracie.
"The Break Time, where's that?" Jenny asked.
"A hang out in The Gas Lamp District," Steve told her.
"Thank you all for the help." Jenny moved toward another group of people. They stayed in the quad area during the breakfast cycle asking for help from everyone they saw. When the crowd died down, they walked around campus in search of others. They returned to the cafeteria during the lunch hour which brought a new set of faces. Charlie wrote down the contact information that was posted on the student bulletin board offering off-campus housing.
"Not bad, Detective Watson," Charlie said, walking towards the truck. He looked at his notes. "We have 11 confirmations from Stefanie's classmates, five of them are sure she lives off campus; three possibilities that they've seen Gracie, but always off campus. Then there's, the three popular hang outs."
"Don't forget, we also have, like, a totally awesome fire engine red Camaro, man." Jenny didn't attempt to hide her enthusiasm for the day's success.
"Before we find lunch, babe, let's cruise through the housing area for that very same set of wheels."
They reached the truck and when Charlie opened the door for her, he thought he saw someone watching them from a few rows over. He walked around behind the truck casually, not wanting to alert whoever it was, but got another glance. When he backed out of the parking spot, he noticed the man was gone. They drove slowly through the housing area and looked for either car, the white Audi or red Camaro. A black, late model Ford Taurus, lingered beyond the exit of the parking area.
"What do you want for lunch?" Charlie asked her.
"Let's find some fast Mexican. Del Taco is my first choice. We can check out some of the off campus housing after that."
"Works for me." They drove around for five miles looking for the restaurant. Charlie was convinced the Taurus was following them. They were good; professional, he figured. "Things just got a little weird Jenny." He pulled into the Del Taco parking lot. "Don't look now, but we're being followed by a black Ford Taurus. Instead of the drive through, let's go inside and see what they do."
"Really?" she responded with surprise. "It's not too many spy movies when you were a child?"
"I'm serious Jenny. Not a joke this time." She realized he was serious and became very quiet as they parked and entered the restaurant. "Do a casual look outside the windows on your way to the bathroom."
When she returned, Charlie was already in a booth that allowed him to watch the Taurus across the street. She sat down across from him. "I see it, the black car across the street? This is getting a little creepy Charlie."
Charlie opened his burrito. "Act normally and eat while we try to figure this out. The guy I saw in the parking lot was our age, casually dressed in a jacket and blue jeans. I didn't get the feeling he was campus security."
"Did you happen to see his license plates? Maybe a plain clothes cop?"
"Regular plates, not exempt and he isn't moving out there."
"All the kids we spoke to today were just that, kids. You said he's our age?"
"Closer to me than you I think. I don't recall seeing him before the parking lot, but then again, I wasn't looking for a tail."
"Besides the kids we talked to, that I don't think are capable of this, who else would follow us?" she asked.
"God, I wish I knew the answer to that. I'm not comfortable leading whomever that is out there to either one of the girls." Charlie and Jenny finished their lunch, left the restaurant and pulled out into traffic. "They are definitely following us."
"Well this is the second time, I wished I was driving a common gray Honda," Jenny told him.
&nbs
p; "What does that mean? Oh yeah, when you were following Robert in this truck. Wait a minute, you're brilliant Jenny. Let's kill two birds with one stone. Send this guy the message we're going out of town and get that gray Honda."
"Ok, I'm with you on the brilliant part, but need a little help on the rest."
"Let's lead them on a plane ride," he said with a smile.
They drove back to the motel and packed their bags. Charlie went to the front desk to give the impression, if anyone was watching that they were checking out. What he had actually done was pay for one more night in a different room on the opposite end of the motel.
They drove to the airport and he explained his plan to Jenny. When they were at the airport unloading area, Charlie caught an opening in traffic and abruptly crossed two lanes to the United Airlines curb. Jenny jumped out and went quickly inside. Charlie confirmed the tail didn't make it over to the curb and that no one had jumped out of the car. He drove to the short term parking lot, parked the truck, grabbed their bags then headed for the elevator. Once inside he pressed the level three button for ticketing. When the doors opened, without moving, he selected level two figuring that the guys following them took the stairs and they would pass each other.
On the level two concourse he crossed quickly and heard a boarding call from an over head speaker. Convincing back-ground noise, he thought. He found a three-foot wide opening between wall lockers to duck into and punched the number into his phone then waited for the next announcement. When it came, he hit 'talk' and waited for an answer. When the call connected he spoke quickly.
"Hello Margret. Charlie here. In a hurry, but will call you later. We have a strong lead pointing to Arizona State University. Last call, gotta' go." He disconnected the call half-way through another flight announcement.
He checked to ensure he was clear of observers and caught the down escalator toward baggage claim and rental cars. A short ride on the Avis bus took him to the rental yard where a honk from the exit gate caught his attention. He walked over, threw the bags in the back seat and slid into the passenger seat. He turned toward Jenny, with the most disappointed look he could muster. "I thought we were going for a gray Honda?"
Watson Manor Eventually (Watson Manor Mystery Series Book 1) Page 14