A Fortunate Encounter

by J A Whiting

  “What was Jade like?” Claire asked. She’d been trying to form an image of the missing girl in her mind, but felt like she didn’t have a good handle on her.

  Blake’s face turned serious. “Athletic, strong, smart, fun, caring. She loved music. She loved to read. She wanted to know about the world and what was going on in it. She didn’t take any guff from anyone. Jade had a plan for her future. She wanted her own business, wanted to open a physical therapy center. She loved the beach in Bayside not far from her mother’s house.” For a half-second, something passed over the man’s face and was gone. He made eye contact with Claire. “Is there any news about Jade?”

  “I’m afraid not.” Claire pushed at a stray curl to move it from her eye. “We’re trying to gather as much information as possible to help with the investigation.”

  “When was the last time you saw Jade?” Nicole asked.

  “Um. Let’s see. I think it was about two weeks ago.” Blake looked down at his mug. “Yeah, I think that’s right.”

  “I thought you and Jade broke up a while ago?” Nicole narrowed her eyes at the young man.

  “We did, but I texted her and asked if she wanted to meet for coffee.”

  “Why?” Nicole asked in a direct tone.

  Blake moved his hand in the air. “I wanted to see how she was doing.”

  “Didn’t you run into each other now and then?” Nicole asked, a little bit of suspicion sneaking into her voice. “We know you spent your freshman year at Whittemore. You visited there on the campus sometimes, didn’t you? It’s not a large school. When you were there, you must have seen Jade once in a while.”

  “We’d run into each other sometimes when I was up there visiting friends, but we would just say ‘hi’ and move along. I got the idea to meet up with her, see how she was.”

  “Why?” Nicole asked, keeping her eyes on Blake.

  “Jade and I were together for a long time. I was thinking about her. I thought it would be nice to catch up. We’d been apart for over a year. I thought we could talk without any anger or uncomfortable feelings coming up. We could just be normal. Like old friends.”

  “Did you want to talk to Jade about anything specific?” Claire asked.

  “Not really,” Blake said.

  Nicole didn’t beat around the bush in her questioning. “Did you want to get back with her?”

  “No. I wanted to talk. See how she was doing. That’s all.”

  “Maybe a tiny thought was in your mind about dating her again?” Nicole asked.

  “No. That wasn’t the point of getting together with her.”

  “Did you have something on your mind? Did you want Jade’s opinion on something?” Claire asked again.

  Blake rolled his eyes and let out a snort of exasperation. “I didn’t have an ulterior motive. Jeez. I saw her across the quad one day not long ago and thought it would be nice to talk to her.”

  “Was she reluctant to meet you?” Claire asked.

  “Sort of. I told her what I’ve been telling you. I only wanted to get a coffee and talk to someone who had been a friend.”

  “You mean girlfriend, don’t you?” Nicole asked.

  “Jade was my friend, too.”

  “Were you at the bonfire?” Claire asked.

  “No. Some of my friends went. They asked me to come up, but I wasn’t feeling great that day so I stayed in Boston.”

  “Nobody would say they saw you at the bonfire?”

  Blake answered evenly. “I wasn’t at the park that night so if someone says I was, then he or she would be mistaken.”

  “What did you and Jade talk about when you met for coffee?” Nicole asked.

  “Everything. Her new boyfriend, her studies, how I liked being in Boston, our plans for after we graduated. Stuff like that,” Blake told them. “It wasn’t any earth-shattering conversation. It was just catching up with one another.”

  “With no ulterior motive?” Nicole eyed the young man.

  “That’s right.” Blake sighed. “I didn’t like how we broke up. I think there were hard feelings on both sides. That bugged me. I wanted to smooth things out between us, not leave each other on negative terms. I cared about Jade. I hoped the best for her.”

  “Any idea where she might be?” Claire asked.

  “Me? No. No idea at all.” Blake had a look of surprise on his face. “How would I know?”

  “Jade might have said something to you,” Claire suggested. “She might have implied something, like going away with someone for a while, or she may have been thinking about leaving school, she may have needed a break.”

  “Jade wouldn’t leave school,” Blake said flatly. “That wasn’t part of her plan.”

  “Plans can change,” Nicole said.

  Blake nodded. “Sure, but school was going to get Jade where she wanted to be. She wouldn’t quit school. That just isn’t Jade.”

  “Did Jade hang out with any questionable people?” Claire asked.

  “Questionable? How?”

  Claire clarified, “People who might have had a drinking problem, someone who had a drug problem, somebody who only wanted to have fun, goof off, forget about classes. You must know some people like that.”

  “I don’t know if Jade knew people like that.” Blake crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Did Jade do drugs?” Nicole asked.

  Blake sat up. “Jade? No way. She barely drank.”

  “Would you say alcohol had ever been a problem for her?”

  “Definitely not,” Blake said. “Unless I missed stuff, which I didn’t.”

  “When you met her for coffee, did Jade bring up anything that was bothering her?”

  Blake rubbed at his forehead. “She mentioned a tough chemistry class. Jade was worried about her grade. She didn’t like living at home this semester. Not because she didn’t get along with her mom. She did, but Jade wanted to be an adult, have her own place, not feel so dependent on her mother.”

  “Do you know Kyle Vallins, Jade’s boyfriend?” Claire asked.

  “No,” Blake shook his head. “I don’t want to know him.”

  “Do you know someone named AJ Phelps?” Nicole asked.

  A foul look washed over Blake’s face. “I know who he is. Why?”

  “What do you know about him?”

  Blake looked like the words he was about to say were distasteful. “He’s smart, a good athlete. He also thinks he’s great, the best at everything. His family’s loaded, and I mean, loaded. I think coming from all that money and privilege has given AJ a sense of arrogance. If he does anything wrong? His dad will get him out of trouble. I think AJ thinks he’s untouchable.”

  Worry pricked Claire’s skin. Untouchable? Not a great quality to have, she thought. Especially if someone wanted to commit a crime … and get away with it.

  12

  “I’m glad you could meet me here. I had to practice today. We have a team in the charity golf tournament next week.” AJ Phelps, twenty-one-years old, was six feet tall with an athletic build, blond hair and blue eyes. Wearing chinos and a white golf shirt, he sat in a leather chair across from Claire in the country club dining room eating lunch. AJ had that easy, confidant air of the very wealthy, an aura of being invincible and set apart.

  The man was charming and friendly, smiling and making eye contact with Claire, but she had the slight impression that he was talking down to her since he assumed she was not in his financial sphere. Chuckling to herself, she knew young AJ would probably faint if he discovered her net worth and she would have loved to see his expression if it was ever revealed to him, but Claire kept that information private and closely guarded and AJ would never find out.

  She’d noticed the scratches on the man’s hands and decided to bring them up later in the conversation.

  Setting half of her hummus and vegetable sandwich on the plate, Claire dabbed her lips with the napkin. “I’m glad you were able to set some time aside to speak with me.”

  “I’m ha
ppy to do what I can to help.” AJ sipped from the glass of iced tea.

  “You knew Jade Lyons?”

  “I know who she is,” AJ said. “Whittemore is small so we know just about everyone in our class year. I guess I should say we’re familiar with one another. We aren’t all friends. The class isn’t that small.”

  “Had you socialized with Jade?”

  “No, I hadn’t. We were in different circles.” AJ took a bite of his club sandwich. “We didn’t cross paths very often. We’d been in a couple of classes together, but they were big and we didn’t interact much.”

  “What was your impression of her?” Claire asked.

  One of AJ’s eyebrows went up slightly and he grinned. “Well, I thought she was beautiful, if that’s what you mean.”

  “What about her personality?” Claire asked.

  “She seemed nice, polite, friendly. She seemed smart when she answered questions in class. Beauty and brains, a winning combination.” AJ sat up straight.

  Claire didn’t care for AJ’s comments. It wasn’t so much what he said, but the manner in which he said them. A trace of arrogance tinged his tone.

  “Did you ever ask her out?”

  AJ said, “I didn’t. Jade always had a boyfriend. I understand the relationship didn’t work out with the guy she dated in her first couple of years in college, but then she started going out with Kyle Vallins. Do you know him? He’s a physical therapist now. He’s a few years older than I am. He did his professional doctorate at Whittemore.” AJ smiled and showed his sparkling teeth. “Anyway, I was never quick enough to get a date with Jade.”

  The lightness of AJ’s comments made Claire wonder if he was aware of Jade’s disappearance. “Have the police spoken to you?”

  “Yes, they did. They told me it was merely a formality … that they were speaking with a lot of people who had interactions with Jade.”

  “You saw Jade at the bonfire?”

  “I did. I was walking around with a few friends and we ran into Jade and some of her girlfriends. We all hung around for a while, walked around the park, stood and watched the fire.”

  “Did you talk a lot with Jade that night?” Claire asked.

  “Yeah. We were all having a good time. It was a great night. Perfect weather.”

  “Did you flirt with her?”

  “Some.” The smirk that formed across AJ’s mouth rubbed Claire the wrong way.

  “Did she flirt back?”

  “She did.”

  “Had you been drinking?” Claire asked.

  “Sure. I wasn’t drunk,” AJ said with a slight tone of defensiveness.

  “What about Jade? Had she been drinking?”

  AJ shifted in his seat like the questions made him uncomfortable. “I saw her have a beer. Only one though.”

  “Did Jade act drunk?”

  “I never hung out with her before, so I really can’t say.”

  “You must know how drunk people act.” Claire held the young man’s eyes. “I’m sure you’ve seen your share of intoxicated people. I’ll be more specific. Did Jade stumble when she was walking?”

  “No. I didn’t notice that she did.”

  “Did she slur her words?”

  “No, she seemed fine when she talked,” AJ said.

  “Did you and Jade separate from the group at some point in the evening?”

  “We walked in the park for a while, along the walkways and paths, away from the bonfire.”

  “Did you ask her to walk with you?”

  AJ’s eyebrows moved closer to together as he thought about the question. “I don’t remember. I don’t think we made a conscious decision to move away from the others. I think we just wandered off.”

  “Did you ask her back to your place?”

  AJ’s face hardened. “I think that’s our business.”

  Claire leaned forward and said in a soft voice trying to keep the emotion out of it, “Jade has been missing for over a week. What happened that night isn’t your business alone. It isn’t Jade’s business alone. It is now the business of everyone who is trying to find her. Your privacy doesn’t matter to me. Finding Jade is what matters.”

  For a few seconds, AJ looked like he had been slapped, but he blinked several times and swallowed. “You’re right. Jade came to my apartment. It’s right near the park and the campus, only a few minutes’ walk. We had a beer, we talked. We weren’t there long. Maybe forty minutes. We kissed once. Jade was uncomfortable. She said she had a boyfriend. She planned to break up with him, but she didn’t want to cheat. She knew what it felt like to be cheated on. Jade said she’d like to hang out with me again once she’d broken off with the boyfriend.”

  “How did you take that?” Claire asked.

  “I understood completely. In fact, I was impressed with Jade’s ethics.”

  Claire felt a strange sensation move over her skin. “What happened next?”

  AJ looked down at his lunch plate. “We went back to the bonfire.”

  A tingle flickered down Claire’s back. “Did you rejoin the group?”

  “We walked over to the bonfire together. I didn’t see my friends with Jade’s girlfriends so I went off looking for them.”

  “Why didn’t you stay with Jade for the rest of the night?” Claire asked.

  AJ gave a shrug. “I guess I felt uncomfortable. No one likes being rejected.”

  “From the sound of it, Jade didn’t reject you. She said she’d like to see you again after she broke up with her boyfriend,” Claire pointed out.

  “Well, who knows if she said that so as not to be hurtful. Maybe she didn’t really mean it at all and was just blowing me off.” A quick annoyed expression passed over the man’s face. “It doesn’t matter now. I’ll never know if she meant what she said or not.”

  Claire’s sixth sense pinged. “Why won’t you ever know?”

  Confusion showed over AJ’s face. “Because Jade is ….” He stopped talking.

  “Jade is what?” Claire asked.

  AJ’s cheeks reddened. “She’s been missing for a while. I … I thought the chances were….” He let his voice trail off. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t think….”

  “You think Jade is dead?”

  AJ cleared his throat. “It’s likely, isn’t it? Do you think she could still be alive?”

  Although Claire didn’t think the young woman was still alive, she didn’t want to reveal her thoughts to AJ. “It’s possible, isn’t it?”

  “I guess it is. I guess I’m a pessimist. I thought law enforcement was treating it like a homicide.” AJ picked up his glass and took a long swallow.

  Claire watched the man’s face. “Why did you think that? Did an officer suggest that?”

  “Um. I don’t remember. Maybe? I had that impression, but I don’t specifically know why. People were talking about it. I must have picked up the idea from other people.”

  “What kind of a car do you drive?” Claire asked.

  AJ told her the make and model.

  “Kind of an expensive vehicle for a college student.”

  “It was a gift.”

  “What color is it?”

  “Red.”

  “Someone at a convenience store in Hadwen reported a red car like yours at the gas pumps on the night Jade went missing.” Claire stared at the young man.

  AJ seemed to weighing his options. “I was there getting gas.”

  “Jade was with you?”

  “We went for a ride,” AJ admitted. “I stopped for gas, then we went back to the bonfire like I said.”

  “Why did you leave out the part about going for a ride together?” Claire asked.

  “Look. I didn’t do anything to Jade. I thought people wouldn’t believe me if I said we drove around.” AJ ran his hand over his hair.

  “I see.” Claire changed the subject to throw AJ off. “What are you studying?”

  “What?” AJ looked blank for a few moments. “I’m studying business.”

  �
�What do you plan to do after graduation?”

  “I’m going to join my father’s company.” AJ appeared a little unsettled by the sudden change of topic.

  “What business is your father in?” Claire asked.

  “Real estate development.”

  “Is it a large company?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “What will your role be?”

  “It hasn’t been finalized yet. I still have my senior year to complete.” AJ fiddled with the end of his fork.

  “It sounds like an exciting opportunity.” Claire smiled.

  “It is.” AJ nodded. “It’s expected that we’ll join the firm when our schooling is completed.”

  “You have a brother?”

  AJ seemed surprised that Claire knew some things about him. “Yes. He’s older. He’s already been working with our father for a couple of years.”

  “Your brother is getting married soon, isn’t he?”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “I believe my friend, Nicole, has the contract for the desserts for the wedding,” Claire said warmly.

  “Does she?”

  “I work with Nicole on a part time basis. I’ll be helping out with the sweets.”

  “That’s a coincidence.” AJ shifted his position on the chair again.

  Claire looked at the young man’s hands. “What happened to your hands? They look pretty scratched up.”

  “Oh.” AJ glanced down and then put his hands in his lap. “I was running. I run on the trails around the college. I’m on the cross-country team. I wasn’t paying attention. I fell and went flying and I slid right into a thorn bush. Stupid.” He shrugged. “I’ll be more careful in the future. I could have broken something and that would have ended my training for the season.”

  “It was just your hands that got scraped up? I don’t see anything on your face.”

  “I was lucky. My face didn’t get scratched.”

  “What about your arms? Did you injure them?” Claire couldn’t see the skin on AJ’s arms because of the long-sleeved shirt he was wearing.

  “Some. My hands took the brunt of it.” AJ took a look at his fancy watch. “I’m sorry, but I need to get going. Is there anything else?”