“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Sukie whispered to Ben. She clutched his hand as they strolled down the path in the woods.
Salesmen called out to their group from the small tents and wooden shacks that lined the path. The strong scent of patchouli oil and incense filled the air.
“Hash.”
“I’ve got acid—as many tabs as you want.”
An older, wizened man in a fringed vest and striped pants grabbed Ben’s arm. “Mescaline. Magic mushrooms. You gotta expand your mind, man.”
“Look, there’s a candle shop. I want to get something to take home.” Sukie gravitated toward a tent where a young woman was making candles in a pot over a fire. Nina followed her.
“I’m going to buy this pair.” Sukie lifted the elaborate hand-layered candles so Nina could smell them.
“Mmm. Cranberry, right?”
“I think so. Didn’t you want to buy a pocketbook? I saw some block-print bags from India at that shop over there.”
“I’m going to go look,” Nina called over her shoulder as she exited. “Come across after you pay for the candles.”
Ben stuck his head into the candle tent. “Sukie, we’re going to keep going. Robbie’s looking for the best place to pick up some hash. Find me when you’re done. OK, babe?”
Sukie turned. “Sure. After I go . . .” She broke off when she realized that Ben had already vanished.
“There’s Ben.” Sukie caught sight of her boyfriend and his buddies clustered just beyond a big tree in the distance. This section of the forest path seemed empty. The shops had petered out a little while ago.
“It’s no man’s land out here,” she muttered to Nina.
“And it feels like an oven.” Nina swept her damp curls off her face and twisted her hair into ponytail.
A guy wearing a top hat, shorts, and Converse sneakers sat under the tree on a blanket. “I’ve got some blue acid that will take you on the trip of a lifetime.”
“We’ll pass,” Nina told the bare-chested acid dealer. She inclined her head toward Sukie. “The American system of enterprise at work.”
“We wondered where you two were.” Ben approached them and put an arm around Sukie’s shoulders. He guided her to the far side of the tree. “Look who we found.”
JJ and Eskimo perched side by side on the exposed roots of a big tree. Both wore blue button-down shirts and khaki pants. They looked like a pair of preppie leprechauns.
“Hello.” Sukie nodded at them. “You two are early birds. Gone before the rest of us had breakfast.”
Eskimo ignored Sukie with an expressionless stare. JJ snickered. “We stayed with friends.”
Sukie hadn’t noticed the small figure crouching near the trunk of the big oak until the girl spoke.
“Sukie. I’m glad you’re here. I tried to explain communes to JJ and Eskimo, but I got a little confused. Can you help?” Willow’s face creased into a frown as she pushed a strand of pale blonde hair off her forehead.
“Maybe later tonight, Willow. We’re heading back to camp. Do you want to come along?”
“Not now.” Willow walked over to JJ and Eskimo and settled onto the root between them. “I’m hanging with these guys for a while.”
Eskimo passed the girl a hash pipe. With the ghost of a smile on his lips, he watched Willow take deep hit. Then he looked directly at Sukie, his eyes glacial. “Yeah. Willow can hang with JJ and me. We’re going to talk some more about communes.”
As her friends turned to make their way back to the campsite, Sukie couldn’t shake a feeling of unease. Willow was too young to be getting high with JJ and Eskimo. But, hey, everyone was entitled to do their own thing.
“Babe, I missed you.” Ben drew Sukie off the path and kissed her.
Sukie melted into his kiss as Ben hands traveled higher beneath her peasant blouse and fondled her breasts, unencumbered by a bra.
“I think we should spend a little time alone when we get back,” Ben whispered in her ear.
Giggling in anticipation, Sukie took his hand, and they hurried to catch up with their friends.
Chapter Twenty-two
LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON, Alexa was immersed in preparing notes for Brian Stewart, who would cover for her during her vacation. Melinda buzzed the intercom. “I’ve got Mr. Tyrell Jenkins out here. He’s asking for a few minutes. I’m pretty sure he’s the guy who came in with Mrs. Bertolino a few weeks ago. He’s pretty hard to forget.”
Alexa sighed. She hadn’t checked with the Bertolinos recently. “Send him in.”
Tyrell strutted in and took a chair without speaking. He leaned back with folded arms.
“Mr. Jenkins. What can I do for you? Is there news about Meg?”
“That’s what I was hoping you could tell me. The Bertolinos haven’t given up hope, but they’re at the end of their rope. I understand that Toni has resorted to medication just to be able to sleep at night.”
Tyrell sat forward with a frown. “Not only that, but I’ve been dealing with a bunch of kids at the church group who are afraid to walk on the street alone. They’ve seen Meg disappear. Aurora Washington, a popular student, vanished. And I heard a preteen from Big Spring Middle School has just gone missing. Her cousin brought her to our youth group once.”
Alexa kept a neutral tone. “This is the first I’ve heard about this middle school student. But I’m going to be away for a few weeks, so I touched base with Detective Miller earlier today. He had nothing. The police still think Meg ran away. Their investigation hasn’t turned up any evidence to dispute that conclusion. The detective did make an offhand reference to another runaway girl. I assumed he was talking about Aurora.”
“Like the cops did any real investigation. They made up their minds from the get go that she bailed on the whole adoption thing.” Tyrell’s voice rose as he railed against the police.
Alexa felt no need to defend the police, but Tyrell wasn’t being fair. It was more complicated than he acknowledged. And, she thought, Tyrell might be projecting some of his own issues with cops.
“Look, I know you are concerned. I am, too. And it’s tough to do nothing. But I don’t see what either of us can do to locate Meg at this point. The only thing I can think of is to find out if any of her friends are holding back information about this secret boyfriend. By now, you would think that they would have come forward with whatever information they had that could help. But teenage girls are a mysterious tribe, especially when a hint of romance is involved.”
“What’s this about a boyfriend?” Tyrell sounded surprised.
“I thought you knew. I’m sure that Detective Miller discussed this with Toni and Ed. Supposedly, Meg had a secret boyfriend―maybe an older boy. These kids trust you. Maybe you can find out something that they wouldn’t tell the police.”
“I’ll try.” Tyrell stood and moved to the door. Before he left, he turned and said, “Have a good trip, counselor. I’ll miss seeing you in the courthouse.” Alexa couldn’t tell if he was serious or if it was just another sneer.
Later that afternoon, Alexa ran into Brian Stewart in the office kitchen. She and Brian would never be the best of friends, but they both had toned down the caustic remarks. Today, Brian seemed to struggle to remember their truce.
“Was that Tyrell Jenkins in your office?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Just wondered what he was doing here again.”
“You keeping tabs on me, Stewart? Not that I feel compelled to share this information with you, but Mr. Jenkins is a social worker. He’s acting as an intermediary for one of our clients on an adoption-related issue. Ed and Toni Bertolino are the clients whose foster daughter has disappeared. Obviously, the adoption will not be completed until the child is located. It’s all in the case summary I’m preparing for you.”
“Glad to hear his frequent visits aren’t personal in nature. I went to high school with the guy and he had a reputation as a real horndog. I was going to warn you, but it appears that any caut
ionary advice is unnecessary.”
“Yeah. Totally unnecessary, but it’s good to know you’re looking out for me.” Alexa took her cup of tea and left the room, debating whether to be pissed or touched by Brian’s remarks.
Alexa brought up the subject of Tyrell Jenkins with Melissa during their post-yoga get-together at the Om Café. Haley had a Chamber event that evening so they were alone.
“So, what is with this guy?” Alexa asked. “I can’t tell you the details, but I have had ongoing contact with Tyrell in regard to some missing children. I want to like him, maybe because he’s so frigging handsome. But I just can’t figure him out.”
“What’s to figure out?” Melissa scowled. “He’s a totally caring person. He’s a social worker for Christ’s sake. He runs this youth group on his own time. He’s knee deep in RESIST. Tyrell’s a sweetheart.”
“Well, I’d say he has some anger issues.”
“OK, a sweetheart with anger issues. He had a rough time growing up, and I’ve seen him get pretty worked up about what he sees as injustice. But no one’s perfect.”
Alexa leaned closer to Melissa. “The strange thing here . . . Tyrell knew all three of the young girls who are missing. Maybe a coincidence, but maybe not. One of the girls supposedly has a secret older boyfriend, and he fits that bill. And I saw an odd confrontation between Tyrell and a young girl at the courthouse—she looked very distraught. Now that I think of it, he was also the last one to see Cecily alive. Maybe she was on to his thing for young girls . . . and Tyrell killed her.”
“Listen to yourself, Alexa!” Melissa threw up her hands. “You’ve been watching too many crime shows. Whether you like him or not, you have to agree that Tyrell is not a stupid man.”
“You’re right. There’s no doubt that he’s intelligent.”
“So would a man that smart shit in his own backyard? Hell, if he wanted to snatch little girls, he wouldn’t pick them out of his own youth group. Get a grip, Alexa.”
When Melissa put it like that, Alexa realized that she had let a few uncomfortable interactions with this guy boomerang into a crime fantasy. Thinking that he could be responsible for these disappearances and even Cecily’s murder was too pat an explanation. Long on imagination but short on substance.
“You’re right. Just because the guy makes me uneasy doesn’t mean he’s a criminal.” Alexa took a sip of tea.
Still, a little voice in her head said, But it doesn’t mean that he’s not.
Chapter Twenty-three
THROUGH INTERMITTENT GAPS in the narrow evergreens, Alexa glimpsed acres of field under cultivation. As she drove upward, an expanse of forest appeared beyond the tops of the slender imitation cypress trees. On her way to her first board meeting at the Nash estate, Alexa was trying to ignore the butterflies. It was just like her first day in court on a new case: butterflies every time.
The board assembled in an ornate room in what Jack’s assistant called the Business Wing. Although the décor struck Alexa as a little excessive, the meeting was conducted professionally.
Alexa recognized several of her fellow board members from last week’s dinner. Quinn Hutton gave her a cool nod from the far end of the big conference table. Most surprising, Vivienne Nash sat on the board and served as secretary. Vivienne gave Alexa the barest hint of a smile as she took her seat at the table.
Expecting to need a thorough understanding of all the agenda items, Alexa had studied the briefing packet prior to the meeting. However, two presentations took up the first half hour of the meeting. A bright young manager provided an overview of the new facility for troubled youth.
For what seemed liked an interminable time, the chief financial officer reviewed in great detail the glowing financial status of the organization. Alexa remained alert for the entire report thanks to an arctic wind blowing from a duct directly overhead. She considered interrupting the financial report with a suggestion to lower electric costs by shutting down the air conditioning system. Finally, the CFO finished his report with a self-satisfied smile.
Next, Jack asked for a vote on a series of items before he launched into new business. “Last year, we briefly discussed the possibility of expanding our overseas adoption operations. I have directed the program development office to begin a feasibility study on such an expansion. I wanted to mention it today with the expectation that we’ll have something definitive to discuss at the next meeting.”
Fred DiGrassi raised his hand like a schoolboy. “What countries are you proposing to expand into?” Alexa recognized him as one of the golfers from the reception.
“Well, that will be part of the feasibility study.” Jack tugged at each of his french cuffs. “Of course, several governments have stopped permitting their children to be adopted in the United States. But others are still working with U.S. agencies. There are many families here with a lot of love to give to a child adopted from overseas. Having on-the-ground staff in place to work with foreign authorities would almost certainly help smooth adoptions for Children of Light.”
When the meeting adjourned, Vivienne Nash invited the board for light refreshments in the conservatory. Like a flock of blue swallows, a group of teens immediately flew through the room, swooping in with their trays to offer hors d’oeuvres to the guests.
After standing and making nice with fellow board members, Alexa’s feet were killing her. Damn, she thought. I shouldn’t have tried to impress this group by dragging my Christian Louboutins down from the top shelf of the closet.
She took baby steps toward an unoccupied group of chairs in the corner, sinking gratefully onto a Bergere upholstered in moss-green toile. Her moment of respite lasted only seconds before one of the swallows swooped in to offer cucumber and watercress sandwiches. Alexa initially refused the hors d’oeuvre, but the look of disappointment on the young girl’s face persuaded her to take one. The young server had a striking, delicate beauty that reminded Alexa of a painting by Botticelli or Vermeer. She looked so sad that Alexa couldn’t refuse the finger food, despite her distaste of cucumbers.
As she sat there pondering the unwanted canapé in her hand, Jack Nash sailed over and settled into the loveseat across from Alexa.
“I want to thank you for your quick agreement to join to board. The circumstances were tragic, but Cecily would have been the first to advocate action when it comes to helping children in need.”
Alexa continued to cradle the tiny sandwich as she spoke, “Agreeing that it would be an interim appointment made it easier to accept.”
“Only fair under the circumstances.”
“So, how did you become interested in children’s issues, Mr. Nash?”
Jack leaned back and adjusted the cuffs on his shirt. “Well, dear, I was a foster child myself.”
“I didn’t know.” Alexa took a reluctant nibble of watercress and cucumber.
“Of course not, child. It’s not a secret, but I don’t advertise my past either. I was one of the lucky ones.” He paused to nod at Quinn as the professor sat down beside him.
“When I was twelve, the Nashes adopted me and took me to live with them in Newport. It was a fairy tale for a kid who had spent years shuffling from one dreadful foster home to the next.”
Quinn interrupted. “That’s when you met my dad, right?”
“Your father’s family lived in the mansion next door. From the day I arrived, he took me under his wing and treated me as an equal. To your dad, I was a Nash and I belonged in Newport.”
Alexa trod lightly with her question. “So, Children of Light is your way of giving back?”
“You could say that. After college, I saw that there was enormous opportunity to improve lives by starting a business to find new placements for children. So, I invested some of my trust fund and got additional financial backing from some friends. My life has been dedicated to righting the wrongs that I experienced as a child.”
“From what I’ve seen so far, Children of Light is a testimony to that vision.”
&nbs
p; “Thank you. I must touch base with some of the other board members. Alexa, I leave you in Quinn’s good hands.”
Quinn raised an eyebrow at Jack’s departing back. “And where you would like those good hands?”
Under his amused gaze, Alexa felt warmth suffuse her cheeks. She became even more embarrassed when she realized that she was blushing.
“Get rid of that half-eaten abomination Viv calls food, and let’s take a stroll through the grounds.”
“Sounds great, but you’ve got to give me a few minutes while I run to the ladies’.” Alexa hid the bedraggled mini sandwich in a napkin and placed it on a side table. Leaving the conservatory, she stood in the empty hallway, trying to remember whether the powder room was to the right or left.
Choosing left, she walked past several closed doors before she reached an alcove and realized that she should have gone the other way. Just as she turned to go back, a plaintive voice whispered from the alcove.
“Miss. Can you help me?”
Startled, Alexa recognized the exquisite server hiding in the shadows. She stepped closer. “How can I help you? Is there a problem?”
“Can you sneak me out of here in your car when you leave? You’re new, and you look like a kind person. I’ve got to get out of here tonight.” The girl whimpered, tears spilling onto her cheeks.
“I don’t understand. Why must you leave?” Alexa looked up and down the hall for assistance. She was quite concerned. These grounds housed kids who had committed juvenile offenses. And she was sure that the foster care group settings also housed children who chafed at their custody arrangements. But she couldn’t encourage or, even worse, facilitate a runaway. Among other considerations, she was an officer of the court.
“I heard they’re going to ship me off. I’ve seen it happen to other girls, and I’m terrified. I’ve got to get out of here.”
Quinn strode down the hall. “There you are, Alexa. I was going to send out a search party . . .” He broke off when he noticed the girl huddled in the alcove.
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