“Does she have any family? Have you contacted them?” he asked.
“No, she has no family. She was a foster child. We are her family,” Keni said. “She was with us at the Luxor letting off some steam. She went out to get some air and never came back.”
“We called the police and they searched but they concluded pretty quickly that she had left with a guy. Mr. Raine, she wouldn’t do that, it’s not her,” Olivia had filled in.
Phoenix nodded, he himself had been to the Luxor on many occasion. It was one of the most popular nightclubs in San Diego. “The police didn’t have any leads for the most part,” he concluded and they nodded their heads. “Okay. What about her apartment? Does she have roommates?”
“She lives by herself in Santee in a small apartment. We have a key,” Keni said, pulling out said key and handing it to Phoenix.
“Does she have a boyfriend? Ex with a grudge?” Phoenix asked.
Olivia answered this time. “No, none of the above. No one that would want to hurt her. She is a good person,” she said vehemently.
Phoenix smiled and held up his hands. “Ladies, I am just trying to get a feel for her. I am going to have to pry into her life, know everything about her down to what type underwear she likes if Champion takes the case.”
Keni put her hand over Olivia’s as if to calm her. “We’re sorry, Mr. Raine. It’s just that we have answered these questions over and over for the police. We are just anxious for someone to understand that Jasmine would not just take off. Someone has her or something terrible has happened and we are desperate for her to be found.”
Phoenix nodded. “I completely understand that it’s difficult for you both. You are both obviously good friends and worried about her. I am going to call a contact of mine in the force and get a copy of the investigation.”
“Does this mean you will take the case?” Keni asked.
“Wait…we, um, also need to talk about payment,” Olivia said unsure, looking over at Keni.
Phoenix knew they were worried about his fees. He had investigated them before they came in and found they made decent, if not, meager salaries and it would be difficult for them to pay his fees. Looking at the picture of Jasmine Dupree again, he made a decision.
“Ladies, we here at Champion are able to have some leeway with some cases. Why don’t I see what I can find out and then we can discuss this then. For now, let’s wait,” Phoenix said smoothly.
Olivia narrowed her eyes, but Keni answered for them both. “Thank you so much, Mr. Raine. Please, find her.”
The two women exchanged a look that said Olivia would be holding her comments for now as the need to find Jasmine overrode all else. He smiled and shook their hands again as he pressed a button on the side table. It signaled Gladys to come in and escort guests back out to the lobby. Once she had done that, she informed him that his last meeting of the day had called to cancel due to an emergency. He took that time to call his contact and get everything faxed over.
As he was packing up when Gabe sauntered in dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with cowboy boots. Phoenix grinned at him.
“Eager, are we?” Phoenix teased his brother.
“No more than you are,” Gabe replied, casually leaning against the wall just inside the office.
“Looks like we caught a case,” Phoenix informed him as he handed Gabe the picture of Jasmine Dupree. He filled him in on what information her friends provided as they headed for the ranch. He watched the look on his brother’s face as he kept looking back at Jasmine’s picture, he knew Gabe was thinking the same thing. Was she the one?
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
Rane's Giants Page 13