Spring Breakdown

by Melody Carlson

  “Oh.” Now Grandmother looked seriously disturbed. “What shall we do, DJ? Do we call her parents?”

  “Aren’t they in Nepal?”

  Grandmother nodded eagerly. “Yes, you’re right. They are in Nepal. And I’m sure we can’t reach them there. Not yet anyway.”

  “So, I guess we simply deal with it.”

  Grandmother stood now. “Do you think that nasty security man might be involved?”

  “Taylor wondered that same thing. But Casey had thought Eliza was going out last night.”

  “Going out with whom?”

  “We don’t know. Casey said that Eliza was dressed up for a date.”

  “Did someone pick Eliza up?”

  “Not that we know of.”

  “Perhaps Eliza left the house, dressed up…and was abducted by that horrible security guard!”

  “I—uh—I don’t know.”

  But Grandmother was already on the phone. “Yes, this is an emergency,” she was telling someone. “We have a missing girl and I need to speak to whoever is in charge immediately.” Then she gave the address and hung up. “They are on their way.”

  Pizza and the security guard arrived simultaneously. But as Rhiannon and Taylor dealt with the pizza guy, Grandmother and DJ talked to the security guard. DJ filled in the details, answering his questions as best she could.

  “You can call the police,” he told them, “but they may not put out a missing persons report for another day or two. In the meantime, I’ll put my guys on it around here.”

  “Speaking of your guys,” Grandmother began, “we have cause for concern that one of them may be involved.”

  The security guard frowned. “What are you suggesting?”

  So Grandmother quickly told the story about the incident at the pool.

  “Oh, you’re the ones that called up about Tom?”

  “Tom?”

  “The security guard that tried to get the naked girl out of the pool after hours.”

  “Naked girl?” Grandmother looked stunned.

  “Yeah, apparently there were a couple of them, skinny dipping.” He frowned at DJ. “You know anything about that?”

  She just nodded.

  “So, tell me, was the other girl the one that’s missing—this Eliza Wilton?”

  “No, it was someone else,” Grandmother said quietly.

  “How many girls you got, lady?”

  She blinked. “Just five. One didn’t come.”

  “What kind of a place are you running here anyway?”

  Now Grandmother was offended. “What kind of security are you running?” she asked him bluntly.

  “Naked girls in the pool, running away…” He shook his head. “Sounds like spring break to me. I doubt anyone in law enforcement will take any of this too seriously.”

  “Well, thank you for your time,” Grandmother said crisply.

  “I’ll let you know if we find any lost or naked girls,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Wait a minute,” DJ said quickly. “What about that security guard—you said his name is Tom. Did he get fired?”

  “Fired?” He laughed. “No.”

  “Where is he then?”

  “It’s his day off. He gets Wednesdays and Thursdays off.”

  “Oh…”

  “Anything else I can do for you?”

  “What’s his last name?” DJ demanded.

  “Tom?” He thought for a minute. “Oh, yeah. Jones.”

  “His name is Tom Jones?” Grandmother looked skeptical.

  “Yeah, he gets teased about it sometimes. He can’t sing to save his life.”

  Grandmother began to pace as soon as the security guard left. DJ could tell that she was angry…and worried.

  “I’m sorry about the skinny-dipping thing,” DJ told her. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  Grandmother let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know what to do. I just do not know what to do.”

  “Should we call the police?” asked DJ. “That security guard didn’t sound too smart to me. I’m not sure we should take his advice.”

  “Yes. Good point.” Grandmother nodded. “Get me the phone.”

  “Wait,” said DJ. “What about the FBI?”

  “Even better!”

  DJ listened as Grandmother explained the situation to the person on the other end, but some of her details weren’t quite accurate. “May I speak to them?” DJ whispered.

  “My granddaughter wants to talk.” She shoved the phone at DJ and DJ tried to correct some of the information. “But that’s not all,” she said finally. “I thought you should know that the girl who is missing is from one of the wealthiest families in the country. She’s an heiress.”

  “Are you sure about this?” asked the woman on the other end.

  “Positive. You can ask my grandmother if you like.”

  Grandmother was nodding eagerly now, reaching for the phone. DJ handed it back and Grandmother made it very clear that they were, indeed, looking for a very wealthy young woman. Finally, she hung up and collapsed into a nearby chair, patting her chest as if she were about to expire.

  “Are you okay?” DJ leaned over to peer into her grandmother’s pale blue eyes.

  “Yes. Just rattled. And thank you, DJ. I think we may have gotten their attention.”

  “I guess it’s true that money talks.”

  “They asked if we have a recent photo.”

  DJ thought hard. “Hey, maybe Josie could email one from yesterday’s photo shoot.”

  “Yes, yes. Good thinking. I’ll call her right now.”

  By eleven o’clock, they had done all they knew how to do and everyone was thoroughly concerned. “We could go out looking for her,” offered DJ.

  “No!” Grandmother firmly shook her head. “Absolutely not! I will not risk losing any more girls, thank you very much.”

  “The guys have been out looking,” Rhiannon told her.

  “Where is Casey?” demanded Grandmother suddenly. “Please, do not tell me she’s gone missing too.”

  “She’s asleep,” DJ said quickly. “She wasn’t feeling too well today.”

  “She’s probably worried about Eliza,” Grandmother suggested.

  DJ just nodded, exchanging glances with Taylor and Rhiannon.

  “I see no reason for us to stay up all night.” Grandmother stood. “For now I am going with Taylor’s theory…let’s just hope that Eliza is simply hiding out in some five star hotel. It was obvious that she felt slighted at the photo shoot yesterday and I can understand her disappointment about losing her boyfriend’s affections. That could explain a lot.” She shook her head. “Even so, I will not tolerate this sort of behavior. If Eliza is playing us for fools, she will be going home to her parents as soon as we find her. Because I am too old for these kinds of shenanigans. I am fed up.” Then she marched off to bed.

  17

  “What if Tom Jones really did kidnap Eliza?” Taylor said this after Grandmother was out of earshot. “If that really is his name, which I seriously doubt.”

  “It does seem fishy that Eliza disappears the same time he gets his days off.” Rhiannon stared out at the quiet pool. “And I wonder what kind of police checks are done on security guards.”

  “He did creep me out.” DJ shuddered to remember the sleazy sound of his voice as he tried to entice her to come out of the pool. “Eliza might not be my best friend, but I sure hope she’s not with Tom Jones right now.”

  “Your grandmother’s right,” Taylor said. “It won’t do any good to stay up worrying. And maybe tomorrow we’ll think of something.”

  “Or Eliza will decide to come home,” offered Rhiannon sadly.

  “I think we should pray for her,” said DJ so suddenly that she actually surprised herself. “God knows where she is and what she needs.”

  “I have been praying,” admitted Taylor. “But you’re right. We should all pray together.” And so they did pray. They took turns asking God to watch over E
liza, to keep her safe, and to get her back to them as soon as possible. And then they went to bed. But a whole hour passed and DJ was unable to sleep. Then suddenly she heard someone opening the door to their bedroom. She froze and prepared herself to scream.

  “I’m afraid,” whispered a quiet voice that sounded like Casey.

  “What?” DJ sat up and turned the light on.

  “What is it?” said Taylor.

  “Casey just scared the bajeebers out of me.”

  “I’m sorry, but I was scared being alone. I got to thinking about those security guards and how they might have keys to this place and be able to sneak in here and…anyway, can I sleep with you guys?”

  DJ threw back her blanket. “Come on in.”

  “Thanks.” Casey hopped into bed.

  “I can’t stop thinking about her,” DJ whispered. “Wondering where she is and if she’s okay.”

  “Me too,” Casey whispered back.

  “We need some kind of clues,” Taylor said quietly.

  “Does anyone remember a specific guy that she was talking to at the photo shoot?”

  No one said anything.

  “Can you remember anything that she said to you that evening, Casey? Did she mention the guy’s name or whether he lived around here or how old he was or where they might’ve been going?” persisted Taylor.

  “Okay, I’m trying really hard to remember,” Casey said quietly. “She was getting dressed…and she changed a couple of times…”

  “Like she really cared about how she looked.” Taylor sat up and turned on the light. “Let’s write this down, okay?” She ran for the notepad she’d already been using to write down clues.

  “So what did she finally wear?” asked DJ.

  Casey frowned as if straining her brain. “It was a Betsey Johnson dress,” she said suddenly. “Now I remember. She bought it the first day we were here. We went into a Betsey Johnson shop, which I thought was dumb, but I didn’t say so. And she tried on some dresses and ended up getting this black and pale pink one. Strapless and pretty dressy.”

  “So she was going clubbing in style,” Taylor said as she wrote something down. Just then the door to their bedroom opened and they all jumped.

  “I’m sorry,” Rhiannon said. “But I saw the lights on and heard you and wondered if everything was okay.”

  “Join the party,” said DJ.

  “We’re trying to get Casey’s memory to kick in,” Taylor told her. “So far we know that Eliza went out in a new dress.”

  “And that she changed outfits a few times, so she was obviously trying to impress this guy.”

  “But who is this guy?” asked Rhiannon as she sat down at the end of DJ’s bed. “Can you remember anything, Casey?”

  “Come on,” persisted DJ. “Didn’t she say anything about the guy? We know Eliza likes to brag. And weren’t you curious? I mean, you knew she and Lane were history. So didn’t you even ask? Like maybe he was an Ivy Leaguer or some rich guy from Louisville. What was the connection?”

  Casey slowly nodded. “Yeah, I did ask her. I was curious. And she was being all mysterious about it. Like she didn’t want anyone to know too much. She even said she was keeping this guy to herself this time. Like she was afraid one of us would steal him.”

  “Did she say a name? Or describe him or anything?” asked Taylor.

  Casey jumped out of bed now. “I remember something. She said I knew him!”

  “That you knew him?” DJ was confused.

  “Yes. She was acting really coy about it and she said that I’d already met him and that I’d thought he was good looking too.”

  “So think really hard to the photo shoot, Case,” DJ urged her. “Who did you meet there that seemed interested in Eliza? Who did you think was good looking?”

  Casey’s face went blank. “I honestly don’t remember meeting anyone. I mostly hung with Seth whenever I had a free moment. He wasn’t too thrilled with our little fan club and he would’ve been ticked if I’d talked to those guys.”

  “Then who would it be that you could possibly know? We know who’s here from school. It couldn’t be one of them.” Taylor went over the guys. “Seth was with Casey. Bradford and Harry were with Rhiannon and me. And Lane?” She looked at DJ. “He was here, with you, right?”

  “Yeah.” DJ glanced at Casey. “Thanks to Seth never coming back.”

  “So, anyway, Lane was with you all night.”

  “Wait a minute.” DJ held up her hands. “He wasn’t with me all night. I went to bed. He slept in the living room.”

  “I saw him when I first came home, but I don’t remember seeing him after that.” Taylor turned to Rhiannon. “Did you?”

  “I went straight to bed.”

  Taylor nodded. “Me too. And the lights were off.”

  “Do you think Lane has something to do with it?” asked Casey.

  “No way.” DJ firmly shook her head. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “But we all knew that he and Eliza weren’t getting along,” Casey pointed out. “They’d had a big fight just the day before.”

  “He had opportunity and motive.” Taylor held up two fingers.

  “Sure thing, Sherlock,” said DJ. “But get serious. Are you suggesting that Lane took Eliza out and murdered her?”

  “Maybe Eliza came in and picked a fight with him,” said Casey suddenly. “She could’ve been drinking and…you know…”

  “She might’ve thought he was spending the night with you,” Taylor pointed to DJ. “And she flew into a jealous rage and to quiet her down, Lane took her outside and—”

  “This is totally absurd.” DJ held up her hands. “Lane is so not like that.”

  “You’re certainly jumping to his defense,” said Casey.

  DJ turned to Casey. “Look, if it was Seth, I might wonder. I was actually pretty worried about you—”

  “Seth would never hurt me!”

  “Okay, okay.” Taylor made a time-out sign. “Let’s not start attacking each other.”

  “I have to agree with DJ on this,” said Rhiannon. “I do not think Lane murdered Eliza.”

  DJ rolled her eyes. “Great. Maybe we should all go to sleep now.”

  Rhiannon grabbed Casey’s hand. “You have to room with me tonight. I’m too scared to sleep alone.”

  Finally, with the room quiet and the lights off, DJ thought maybe she could go to sleep. But as she was drifting, she ran the things that she’d heard tonight through her head. Not the stupid accusation against Lane. That really was preposterous. But the other clues…she let them tumble about as she prayed for Eliza again and eventually fell asleep.

  18

  “I have an idea!” DJ shouted as she woke up the next morning. It was barely even light out, but she was wide awake and her mind was racing.

  “What’s going on?” Taylor asked sleepily.

  “I have an idea about who Eliza’s mystery man might be.”

  Taylor sat up and blinked. “Okay, don’t keep me in suspense.”

  “Remember that guy we met on the plane?” DJ jumped out of bed and dashed to Rhiannon’s room and burst in. “Wake up!”

  Soon they were all awake and DJ was spilling out her theory. “Remember that guy who was flirting with us on the plane?” She nodded to Taylor. “He was trying to get us to tell him our final destination. He wanted to buy us drinks.”

  Taylor nodded. “He even told us his name.” She scratched her head. “What was it?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Casey nodded. “He talked to us too. He was going to Fort Lauderdale for spring break. Eliza told him we were going to Palm Beach.”

  “So, see.” DJ pointed at Casey. “That’s a guy that you met.”

  “That’s right.” Casey frowned. “He told us his name…What was it?”

  “He told us too.” Taylor closed her eyes. “He was a little over six feet tall. He had brown eyes…”

  “And blond hair,” added DJ.

  “No, it was naturally brown,” Taylor corr
ected. “The tips were bleached.”

  “Yeah, I think you’re right,” agreed DJ.

  “And he was trying to guess where we were headed…” Taylor’s brow creased. “And his name started with a J. Like Josh or Justin or Jared or…”

  “Jeremy!” DJ said suddenly. “I remember because my first boyfriend’s name was Jeremy! Remember, Casey?”

  Casey looked confused. “No, I don’t think that’s right. I think he told us his name was something different. Something shorter. Todd!” she said suddenly. “His name was Todd.”

  “Great,” said Taylor. “We don’t even have a name.”

  “Maybe he was lying about his name,” said DJ. “Maybe he was already up to something.”

  “Good point.” Taylor turned back to Casey. “You’re sure it was Todd?”

  Casey nodded. “I’m positive. I used to read a series of books where the main guy was named Todd. He was a cool dude. I think I figured this Todd was okay too.”

  “And he offered you guys drinks?” asked DJ.

  “Naturally, we declined.”

  “Naturally.”

  “But!” Casey was on her feet now. “Eliza gave Todd, or whatever his name is, her phone number. She said maybe he could buy us a drink in Palm Beach if he ever made it up here.”

  “She gave a complete stranger her phone number?” DJ wanted to scream.

  “He wasn’t a complete stranger,” Casey argued. “He did introduce himself.”

  “With a phony name.” DJ scowled.

  “I’ve done the same thing myself,” Taylor admitted. “Not that I’m proud of it and I wouldn’t do it again.”

  “So what do we really know?” asked Rhiannon.

  Taylor had her pad out again.

  “We know that Eliza gave this Todd/Jeremy dude her phone number.” DJ held up one finger. “And we know that Eliza told Casey she was going out with someone Casey had met.” She held up two fingers. “And we know that Eliza trusted this guy enough to get dressed up for him.” She held up three fingers and then stopped.

  “And we know she never came home afterward.”

  “Girls! Girls!” called Grandmother urgently. “Desiree? Taylor? Where are you girls?”

  “In here,” DJ called down the hallway. “What’s wrong?”

  Grandmother looked seriously rattled now. She was in her pajamas with only one slipper on and her hair sticking out like a scarecrow. “A phone call,” she gasped as she came into the room and sank down on a bed. “A man on the other end.”