After Alex transferred his clothes to the chest, he called Robert Woodson and inquired about any boyfriends Samantha Jo had. Woodson was emphatic that she had no boyfriend by the name of Cody. After hanging up, Alex stored his shaving kit in the bathroom and went to the kitchen. Kate had made herself a cup of tea. “There’s a pot of coffee by the oven.”
Evidently he didn’t look like a tea man. “I actually enjoy an occasional cup of lapsang souchong.” He smiled at her surprise. “Earl Grey is pretty good too. But I think I’ll pass on drinking anything right now.” He sat at the table opposite Kate. “Tell me about your daughter.”
“First, whatever we discuss, I’d prefer you not mention it at supper.”
“No problem.”
She took a deep breath. “Robyn left two and a half years ago, and other than a message on my son-in-law’s answering machine and a letter to me three months later, we’ve heard nothing. Chase—that’s my son-in-law—thinks she’ll come back when she gets ready, but I don’t think it’s that simple.”
“What did the message and letter say?”
“I listened to the message, and she just said she was sorry.” Kate took a folded paper from her pocket and held it out to him. “And this is the letter she sent.”
“Do you still have the envelope?”
“It’s in my jewelry box. Do you want me to get it?”
“Not if you remember where it was postmarked.”
“That I know. Knoxville, Tennessee. And my niece—the one who’s coming to dinner—mailed her description and a photo to the Knoxville Police Department, but that’s been a dead end.”
He nodded and unfolded the paper and read the simple handwritten words. I’m sorry, Mama, I wish I could come home, but I can’t. Tell Abby I love her. The date was just before Christmas two years ago. “She left in September?”
“Yes. She worked the evening shift at the Grill and Coffee Shoppe out at Johnny B’s truck plaza, and no one’s seen her since.”
While Alex was sure coincidences happened, the disappearance of two waitresses who’d worked at the same restaurant, even years apart, was suspicious. “She didn’t take any clothes?”
Kate shook her head. “That’s why I’ve always believed she didn’t go voluntarily.”
He glanced at the letter, really no more than a note. “But if that’s true, why not just come home instead of sending this? Knoxville isn’t that far.”
“Eight hours, and that’s what Chase says. He thinks she ran off with someone.”
“Were they having problems?”
“No more than most young couples. They argued over money, and Robyn wanted to work and Chase wanted her to stay home. I know she was depressed because she’d gained back all the weight she’d lost plus some, but she loved Abby. I just can’t imagine her running off and leaving her.”
Alex rubbed his jaw. “Do you know Samantha Jo Woodson?”
“Name’s familiar. Why?”
“She’s a waitress at Molly’s Diner. Before that, she worked at Johnny B’s at the Grill and Coffee Shoppe until some guy made her uncomfortable enough to quit. And she’s missing.”
“Just like my Robyn.”
“Possibly.”
The back door opened and a young girl ran in, bringing the scent of cold with her. “It’s freezing, Nana.”
Kate shot him a warning look. “We’ll discuss this later.” She hugged the child. “I’d like you to meet someone. Alex Jennings, this is my granddaughter, Abby Martin.”
“I’m pleased to meet you,” he said. The door opened again, and the girl’s blonde ponytail bounced as she turned toward it.
“Daddy, come meet Mr. Jennings.”
Alex stood as Chase Martin entered the kitchen. He could see where Abby got her beanpole frame, even though she was a much smaller version. Kate’s son-in-law stood at least six one and could easily carry another fifty pounds. But Abby didn’t get her blonde hair from him, unless it would turn dark as she got older.
The man shrugged out of his canvas Carhartt coat and then extended his hand. “I’m Chase Martin. Nice to meet you, Mr. Jennings.”
He accepted his hand. “Just call me Alex.”
“What brings you to Logan Point?”
Alex hesitated. “Business.”
“You’ll have to come back this summer and visit our lake.” Chase turned to Kate. “Charlie said not to wait supper on him. He wanted to change the oil in the tractor before he quit for the day.”
“I declare, that man doesn’t know when to stop. Maybe he’ll be here by the time Livy gets here.”
“Aunt Livy is coming? Yay!” Abby glanced at Alex. “She’s not really my aunt, but I call her that anyway.”
Livy must be the niece Kate had mentioned. “What kind of tractor do you have?” he asked Chase.
“John Deere.”
The door opened again, and two more people joined them.
Charlie and Livy, obviously. Or at least he hoped. He didn’t think the kitchen could hold many more people.
“I thought you were going to work on the tractor,” Kate said.
“I couldn’t find any oil,” Charlie said as he hung a red baseball cap on the coatrack. “I’ll pick up some in town tomorrow.”
When Charlie saw Alex, he nodded and Alex returned the nod, but it was the petite strawberry blonde who had caught his attention. And not just his.
“Aunt Livy, you changed the color of your hair!”
“Do you like it?” Livy asked and whirled around, fluffing her hair.
Kate grimaced. “I don’t understand why you keep changing it, but it’s better than some things you do to it.”
Livy’s blue eyes sparkled as she hugged Abby, and dimples popped in her cheeks when she laughed at something the girl said. She looked up and caught him staring.
“Oh!” Her cheeks turned pink. “I didn’t know you had a guest, Kate.”
Kate made the introductions and then told everyone to grab a plate and help themselves. As they gathered around the kitchen table, Alex paused. He couldn’t imagine his family sitting down for a meal anywhere except the formal dining room. Everyone grew quiet as they grabbed the hand of the person next to them.
Abby nudged him and held out her hand. “We always hold hands when we ask the blessing.”
He took her hand, and she pointed her head toward Livy. “Oh,” he said. Livy stretched her arm across the table, and he slipped his hand into hers. As he bowed his head with the others, the warmth in Livy’s fingers sent a shiver up his arm.
“Our dear heavenly Father,” Kate said, “what a blessing to be able to gather our family at this table. Thank you for each of them, and thank you for bringing this nice young man to share our meal. May you use each of us in your kingdom. Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies. Amen.”
Abby and Livy squeezed his fingers when Kate said amen, then withdrew their hands. Alex’s thoughts lingered on Kate’s prayer. So different from his grandfather’s. It was almost like Kate was having a conversation with God. He didn’t know people did that. He looked up as Abby nudged him again. Livy held a plate of thick-sliced bread, waiting for him to take it. “I’m sorry,” he said and took the plate. “I guess my mind was woolgathering.”
Abby giggled. “What’s woolgathering?”
“Daydreaming. You know, like you do when you’re supposed to be doing your homework,” Livy said, then shifted her gaze toward him. “What brings you to Logan Point?”
“Business,” Chase replied.
“I figured that,” she retorted, making a face at him. She turned to Alex again. “What type of business brought you here?”
He always felt self-conscious explaining what he did. Most people either glamorized it or looked at him like he just crawled out from under a rock. He should have worked on a cover story.
“He’s a private investigator,” Kate said, saving him the trouble.
“Really?” Abby’s voice rose an octave. “He’s like you, Aunt Livy.”<
br />
He turned to Livy, and a pained expression crossed her face. She definitely fell into the latter category. “I gather you’re not a private investigator?”
“Hardly. I’m a homicide detective for the Memphis Police Department.”
4
A private investigator. Who would have thought the handsome stranger would do something so sleazy. Not that Livy thought all PIs were sleazy. But the ones she’d encountered who were any good were retired police officers, and Mr. Jennings was too young to fit that bill.
“Maybe you can find my mommy.”
Abby’s words stilled the room.
“That’s a thought,” Charlie said.
Kate squeezed her husband’s hand. “I agree.”
Her aunt had mentioned a private investigator in the past. Had she brought this Alex Jennings to Logan Point? No, Kate would have told her if she had.
“I’m sure Mr. Jennings is much too busy,” said Chase.
The PI frowned. “Please, Mr. Jennings makes me sound all serious and organized, and anyone who knows me will assure you, I’m anything but that.”
Livy frowned. “If you don’t take your job seriously—”
“Didn’t say that,” he said. “But I’ll probably be here for a few days, so just call me Alex.”
“Well,” Kate said, “I think discussing this with Alex in view of hiring him is a perfectly logical thing for us to do. Especially since he’s already working on a similar case. Samantha Jo Woodson has gone missing the same way our Robyn did.”
Samantha Jo, the girl who had recently started coming to church, the one who had taken Livy’s self-defense course? She, as well as everyone else, turned to stare at Alex. A splotch of red spread across his face. Livy leaned forward. “Is Samantha Jo really missing? Or did she go off with that Cody Wilson boy that she came here with?”
“We don’t know.”
“We?” Livy asked.
“Ben Logan and I talked with her boss earlier today. So far, no one has seen her since Saturday—she just seems to have left.”
Abby’s eyes grew round. “That’s just like what happened to Mommy.”
This was a conversation her niece did not need to be a part of. “Alex, where are you from?” Livy asked.
His eyebrows pinched together, but when she shifted her eyes toward Abby, understanding crossed his brown eyes, and he gave a slight nod. “Dallas area. How long have you been a detective?”
So the mysterious Mr. Jennings didn’t want to talk about himself. “Six years. What do you do when you’re not being a private investigator?”
“I’m a flight instructor at a small airport outside Dallas.”
Her stomach clenched. The man flew airplanes? Like her dad?
“What do you do when you’re not detecting?”
Livy narrowed her eyes. “I—”
“She doesn’t do anything,” Kate said. “She’s always detecting, as you say.”
Livy opened her mouth to protest and closed it. She hated admitting her aunt was right. When had she let her job take over her life? Or maybe the better question was why.
Chase tapped his daughter on the head. “Finish your meal, pumpkin, we need to get home so you can do your homework.”
“Aw, Dad, I want to stay and talk to Mr. Alex about finding Mommy.”
“He’s much too busy to take on anything like that. Right?” Chase said, turning to Alex.
Livy hurt for her niece. And Chase. They both missed Robyn so much. But like Chase, she didn’t want Abby to get her hopes up that this PI could find Robyn.
“I’m pretty busy . . .” Abby’s shoulders drooped, and Alex took a deep breath. “I tell you what. If I run across any information about your mom, I’ll let your dad know.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Livy would have to give Alex points for trying to let Abby down easy, but she would reserve judgment on his professional abilities. She hadn’t been able to find her cousin, and she doubted he would either.
Silence fell around the table as everyone focused on eating. After Abby finished her chocolate cake, Chase pushed back from the table. “Thanks for dinner, Kate. With Mom out of town, we’ve been struggling.” He glanced at his daughter. “Are you ready?”
Livy stood and took out her phone. “How about a photo before you two leave?”
Chase moved away from his daughter. “Not me.”
She laughed and snapped a shot of Abby posing with one hand behind the back of her head, the other on her hip, then one of her blowing kisses. “Thank you very much. I’ll post these on Facebook. Tell all your friends.”
After the door closed behind Abby and Chase, Livy picked up her dish. “Let me help you with these before I leave.”
“No, that’s what I’m for,” Charlie said, taking the plate from her hands.
“And dishwashers,” Kate added. “I’d rather you talk with Alex and tell him what you’ve found in your investigation of Robyn.”
Livy sat back down as something inside her resisted, maybe because Alex had a case to work on while she faced weeks behind a desk. But he must be pretty reputable or Ben wouldn’t have given him the time of day. She made a mental note to check with Logan Point’s sheriff in the morning. Get his impressions of Alex.
“Let me grab my notebook,” Alex said.
In spite of Kate’s protest, Livy helped with the dishes while Alex went upstairs, and they quickly had the kitchen cleaned.
Charlie hung his drying cloth on the rack. “And ladies, I’m going to bed.”
“Good night,” Livy called after him.
“Why don’t you stay the night?” Kate asked. “You have clothes here.”
The offer tempted her. The thought of going home to her empty apartment and staring at the four walls until bedtime turned her stomach. “Which room did you give Alex?”
“Bailey’s.”
The other end of the hall. If she stayed, at least they wouldn’t be running over each other. “I think I will.”
“Good. I’ll put fresh linens in your room.” Kate turned to go upstairs and stopped. “Did you get the email from your dad saying he’d be home in a couple of weeks?”
“Yeah, I received it.” She’d heard his broken promises before, but this was one time she could really use his support. “Do you think he’ll come this time?”
“I had a good talk with him a few days ago and told him he needed to come home. He promised he’d fly in soon.”
Why did she even care about the man who dumped her and her sister on Kate when Livy was seven? A memory of riding on his shoulders surfaced. Because he’d been so different before my mother died. Unexpected tears stung Livy’s eyes, and she blinked them back.
Kate’s expression softened, and she put her arm around Livy. “He’s a good man, but sometimes I could just shake that brother of mine when he doesn’t stay in contact with us.”
Livy flicked a tear from her cheek. “I’m fine, and don’t worry about the linens. I’ll get them when I go upstairs.”
“You’ll do nothing of the sort. I’ll put them on your bed.”
After Kate went upstairs, Livy settled in her usual spot at the table while she waited for Alex to return. She glanced around the kitchen. Funny how Kate and Charlie’s house was more home to her than her own apartment, even though she hadn’t lived here in ten years. She jerked her head around as Alex blew into the kitchen.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I had a phone call from Samantha Jo’s father.”
“No problem. Anything new?”
“Not really. He had a couple of names for me to check out in Nashville.”
She’d heard Samantha Jo sing in church and could see how she might make it in Music City. Alex sat at the table and placed a yellow legal pad beside him. The private investigator reminded her of someone. The dark hair and eyes. Broad shoulders . . . the way he carried himself, not cocky but with confidence. Her heart fluttered. The Brazilian soccer player. No wonder her heart be
at faster when she was around him. She loved to watch Kaka play, and not just for the sport.
“Samantha Jo hasn’t been seen since Saturday night.” He glanced up at Livy. “Did she ever mention why she came to Logan Point?”
“She told me she wanted to be a singer but ran out of money. She worked in Memphis for a couple of weeks before coming here. She thought Logan Point would be safer.”
“Okay. That tracks with what I got out of her parents earlier today. They wanted her to go to college, and she wanted to go to Nashville. They weren’t paying for that, didn’t think her voice was strong enough to sing professionally. So she struck out on her own. They received a call from her before Thanksgiving, and she was stuck in Memphis with no money and her Malibu had broken down. They offered her a bus ticket home and to send her to college. She hung up on them.”
Livy shook her head. “And arrived here right after that with Cody Wilson. What was that girl thinking?”
“She wasn’t.” He looked up from the pad. “How about your cousin? Did she leave in a vehicle?”
Livy nodded. “She had a little Frontier pickup.”
“And you haven’t been able to trace it?”
“The motor number has never shown up for titling or even car tags.”
“So she’s either running it with expired tags or it’s been scrapped.”
“Or dumped somewhere.” Alex was thorough. She’d have to give him that. “How long have you been a PI?”
“Three years.”
“Any background in criminal justice?”
“A little. I have a law degree, and I specialized in criminal law.”
“You’re a criminal defense lawyer?”
“I didn’t say that. I think you have to pass the bar before you can practice law. And seeing as how I’ve never taken it, no, I’m not a lawyer.” A smile teased at the corner of his mouth. “And from your tone, you’ll probably be glad to know my dad is the district attorney in Dallas.”
For once, Livy was at a loss for words.
“Back to your cousin,” Alex said. “Did she ever mention anyone at work who bothered her?”
Gone without a Trace Page 4