"Yeah, I got sick of it, too much travel." Tyler took a long sip of beer and wished for a quick end to this reunion.
"Very funny. You were always a funny guy." Randy looked at him thoughtfully before adding, "I heard you're pretty good with numbers. Mark Tsongas said I should look you up.”
Tyler didn't see this coming at all. Mark was his biggest client and he wouldn't have guessed that he knew Randy.
"Yeah, I manage Mark's investment portfolio. We did okay last year."
"I heard it was way better than okay," Randy said with an enthusiasm that made Tyler cringe. Where the hell was Jake? He glanced at his watch as Randy continued, "Mark golfs with Sharon’s brother. I played with them last week and asked if they knew of a good broker. I sold one of my companies a few months ago and have a little money I need to invest. Do you have a card?"
"Sure, here you go." Tyler dug into his wallet and then handed him a business card. When he looked up, he saw that Jake had finally arrived and was looking around the packed bar. Tyler waved him over and Jake squeezed into the seat next to him as Randy turned to leave.
"Gotta run. I'll call your office to set up a meeting. Great seeing you. Oh, hey, Mark also mentioned you're getting married in a few weeks. Hope this one works out better for you!" Randy slapped him on the back in farewell and then he was gone.
"Who was that asshole?" Jake asked as Patrick set his usual beer down in front of him.
"You really don't want to know. He’s a former fraternity brother who just moved to town. The good news is, I probably have a new client. Bad news is, I have to deal with him."
Randy would have to remind him of Jillian. Even though it was over ten years ago, it still hurt to think of how she'd dumped him barely two weeks before their wedding because she 'just didn't love him enough.' You don't just bounce right back from something like that. He'd pretty much given up on the whole love and family thing until he met Lauren when she moved to town two years ago.
He'd always been skeptical of love at first sight, but he definitely felt it when his sister Amy, a ninth grade teacher, introduced him to her new colleague, Lauren. Lauren had lived in the area years ago into her early teens, and said she'd applied 'on a whim' when she'd seen the advertised opening. It was very different with Lauren. He knew she'd never pull the rug out from under him the way Jillian had. It was just easy with her because they got along great and trusted each other completely.
"Tyler? Did you hear me?" Jake was looking at him expectantly. And he hadn't heard a word he'd said.
"Oh, sorry. I was just distracted for a minute. What did you say?"
"So you know that missing student? Eric Armstrong?"
"Yeah, I think he was one of Lauren's kids. Any word on him yet?" If there were any news, Jake would likely know of it.
“Nothing yet. The parents swear he'd never run away. That doesn't mean much though. Kids run away all the time." He paused for a minute, then added, "Did Lauren ever mention him at all? Say anything about him?"
"Are you asking as a friend or a police officer?" Tyler teased. But the serious look on Jake's face told him he didn't think it was funny.
"Both, I guess. We're just digging everywhere we can, hoping to turn up something."
"Sorry. You know Lauren did mention that she'd been talking to him, trying to help him work through some things."
"What kind of things?"
"His grades had been slipping and it wasn’t great at home. That's all I know. I'm not sure if Lauren knows much more than that."
"She didn't say anything else? Nothing else about the boy at all?"
"No, why? Has something turned up about him?"
"Nothing definitive. We've been going through his computer records and his online diary."
"Online diary? As in available to the public?"
"Yeah, connected to his Facebook page. Kids these days live their lives online—totally bizarre."
"Does he say anything that might give a clue as to if or why he ran away?"
"No. But he does talk about having a 'mad crush' on a much older woman. Someone he thinks about and sees every day.”
Tyler felt a sudden sinking in his stomach. "Do you have any idea who this 'older woman' is?"
"Nothing concrete, but we have to consider all possibilities and the strongest one we have so far is that it very well could be Lauren.”
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