A Fortunate Encounter

by J A Whiting

  Robby wore boots up to his knees. “I’ll walk under the pier and check around the columns and pilings.” He had to raise his voice to be heard.

  As he headed into the cold water, Claire and Bonnie moved to the far side to begin their search beneath the tall pier. Nicole walked slowly along the water’s edge, but the waves hit her in the legs and drenched her so she gave up trying to stay dry and ventured out under the middle of the structure.

  The pull of the tide was strong and the searchers had to hold onto the columns when a particularly large wave encircled their legs.

  When the waves retreated before crashing forward again, they bent over and scanned the ground for anything belonging to Jade, a barrette, a piece of clothing, a piece of jewelry that may have wedged itself into the sand.

  Robby tugged at some of the nets so he could examine them for anything that might indicate Jade had been nearby and when Nicole saw what he was doing, she strode through the waves to go help him.

  The rain fell harder, but it didn’t matter since each person was soaked to the bone already.

  When the wet and cold became too much causing Claire to shake and shiver, she called to the others and gestured for the beach.

  “Why don’t we take a walk on the pier and have a look around from up there,” she suggested.

  Bonnie looked out from under the pier with an expression of defeat and disappointment.

  Nicole put her hand on the woman’s arm and gently nudged her out from under.

  On top of the pier, the wind and rain buffeted them and made their movements unsteady.

  “Where did this come from?” Robby almost yelled to be heard over what seemed like near gale-force winds and he had to lean into the blowing air to move forward.

  When they reached the end, the four watched the water below heaving and churning, and Claire was sure that if anything of Jade’s had gone into the ocean, it must be across the Atlantic by now.

  She scanned the harbor to her right. The boats rose and fell with the waves and yanked on the ropes that tethered them. Claire didn’t think they were wrong to come there, but where were the clues? Where was Jade?

  With a sinking heart, Claire led the way down the length of the pier and back to the beach where they’d started.

  “I’m sorry we didn’t find anything.” Claire wrapped Bonnie in a hug.

  “We tried. It’s okay.” Strands of her hair pasted to her cheeks, Bonnie wiped at her wet face with her wet hand. “We’ll figure it out. We can’t give up.” She glanced back at the angry ocean. Her bottom lip quivered and she tried to collect herself, but the wind and the rain and the cold had beaten her down.

  Bonnie hunched over, buried her face in her hands, and sobbed.

  17

  “You and Nicole need a night off from all of this sadness.” Robby placed bowls of corn chowder and plates with a focaccia sandwich of grilled vegetables, sundried tomatoes, hummus, and goat cheese on the placemats. A small round table decorated with lit candles sat in front of a big window with a view of the Boston skyline, and Claire, Nicole, and Robby crowded around it.

  “I didn’t know you could cook.” Nicole dabbed at her lips with her napkin. “Yum.”

  “I’m a man of many talents.” Robby passed around a plate of sweet potato fries.

  After leaving the beach, the wet and miserable group returned to their homes for hot showers and a change of clothes and then Claire and Nicole met up at Robby’s studio apartment for dinner.

  “Your place is gorgeous,” Claire said as she lifted her soup spoon. “I love it.”

  Robby had added his own touches to the small apartment making it seem like something out of a magazine. With the landlord’s blessing, he’d added crystal chandeliers, painted the walls creamy white, and decorated the space with beautiful furniture he’d picked up at flea markets or from the city sidewalks left out by people giving the items away.

  “You have a real eye for decorating,” Claire told him. “I need you to redo my place.”

  “If the price is right.” Robby winked. “So, Clairvoyant Claire, what do your senses tell you about this case?”

  Nicole scowled. “I thought tonight was a reprieve from the disappearance of Jade Lyons.”

  “Tonight is a reprieve from active investigation,” Robby corrected. “I never said we weren’t going to discuss it.” The young man poured red wine into each of the glasses. “I think discussion in a relaxing setting might enhance the brain’s ability to reason and think. So? Are your senses telling you anything?”

  Claire frowned. “They seem to have deserted me in my time of need.”

  “I don’t think that’s it,” Robby said.

  Claire and Nicole stared at the young man.

  “How do you know anything about special skills?” Nicole questioned, her eyes wide.

  “I don’t know specifically about Claire’s clairvoyance, but I know when I’m stressed for an audition or a show, my mind kind of goes blank. Everything I’ve learned in school, my preparation, and all my experience seem to fade away, leaving me feeling insecure and unable to perform to my ability.”

  Claire leaned forward. “How do you break out of it? How do you get your skills to kick in?”

  “By doing something relaxing like taking a walk, baking, reading a good book, and using self-talk. I remind myself that I’m talented and capable and well-prepared. I need to cast off negative thoughts. They’re unhelpful and wrong and will keep me from doing my best. You need to try it,” Robby looked at Claire. “Do you feel tense right now?”

  Claire moved her shoulders around. “A little.”

  “About the case?” Robby asked.

  “About how little progress we’ve made. About all the time we spent in the terrible weather this afternoon and then coming up with nothing.” Claire shook her head.

  “Okay,” Robby said. “Just because we came away empty-handed, that doesn’t mean your skills aren’t working. You have the idea the beach is important. You feel it. You sense it. Your skill is working. You just need to keep looking.”

  “It makes sense. You’re right.” Claire gave Robby a warm smile. “How come you’re so smart?”

  Robby shrugged. “I’m a performer. If I don’t have ways to deal with stress, I’ll never work.”

  “Let’s talk about the case,” Claire sipped from her glass. “Kyle Vallins, AJ Phelps, and Blake Rhodes all had motivation and all had access to Jade.”

  Nicole said, “But Blake claims he wasn’t at the bonfire. He says he stayed in Boston that night.”

  “How do we know he isn’t lying?” Claire asked. “We need to find someone who saw him in the city.”

  “What about Kyle?” Robby asked. “He told you he was with friends and he didn’t see Jade at all. Do you believe him?”

  “Again, we’ll have to talk to the guys he was supposedly with,” Claire said.

  “And there’s AJ,” Nicole said. “He says he was with Jade. They went to his apartment for a while and then they drove around. AJ had to be confronted about driving around, he didn’t tell us upfront because he was afraid it would make him seem guilty to be with Jade in a car.”

  Claire added, “AJ says he walked Jade back to the bonfire and then he went looking for his friends.”

  “Can anyone corroborate AJ’s claim that he was back in the park with Jade after their joy ride?” Robby asked.

  “We need to talk to people about that,” Claire said. “We should talk to the friends, Cori and Alyssa, again.” Rubbing at her forehead, she said, “If AJ brought Jade back to the bonfire, why didn’t anyone see her there?”

  “I can think of a reason why no one saw her there,” Nicole said.

  Claire and Robby waited.

  “Because AJ never brought her back. He’s lying. I bet he left her at that convenience store.”

  “I bet you’re right.” Claire stood up. “Anyone want to go for a ride?”

  “Where to?” Nicole asked.

  “The convenien
ce store,” Claire said.

  “But we haven’t had dessert yet,” Robby said. “We’ll go the store, but first, we’re going to finish this meal. It’s part of the necessary relaxation to reduce stress. Have a seat and enjoy the chocolate mousse I made. We’ll be done in five minutes.”

  Nicole drove into the parking lot of the convenience store and pulled into a spot at the rear of the building. When they were getting out, Claire spotted the clerk they spoke with last time, standing behind the building smoking. She took a quick look at them, stubbed out her cigarette, and dashed inside.

  “Someone isn’t very friendly,” Robby observed.

  “I guess she doesn’t want to talk to us,” Claire said.

  “Your powers of observation are quite impressive,” Robby joked.

  “Come on,” Nicole said. “She’s going to talk to us whether she wants to or not.”

  Claire followed her friend wondering how Nicole thought they might get Brenda to talk if she didn’t want to engage in conversation with them.

  When they entered the brightly-lit store, Brenda saw them and started for the backroom.

  “Can you spare a few minutes?” Claire asked.

  “No,” Brenda said in a huff.

  “Could you ring this up for me?” Robby held up a box of candy.

  “No.” Brenda stopped her race for the stock room. “I don’t want to talk. Go away and leave me alone.”

  “I’ll be quick,” Claire said. “I promise.”

  “Your promises don’t mean nothing to me.” Brenda stood with her hand on her hip in a defensive stance.

  “Do you take smoking breaks regularly during your shifts?” Claire asked.

  “The management doesn’t care. It’s okay with them,” Brenda said.

  “I’m only asking because if you smoke at the same spot as I saw you just now, you can see the back of the parking lot.”

  “So?” Brenda asked.

  “So, you might have seen Jade,” Nicole was exasperated. “She might have gotten into a car right as you were going out to smoke that night. Maybe you saw her.”

  “I don’t remember much of the night,” Brenda said. “I have some memory issues.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Claire said. “But did you notice Jade at the rear of the store?”

  “Did you notice if there was a car there at the time?” Robby asked.

  “Did you see Jade out there?” Nicole asked.

  “I didn’t notice,” Brenda said.

  “When I was here last time,” Claire said, “You told me Jade was in the store texting. That she might have been upset. And then a guy opened the door and asked Jade if she was ready. Did she leave the store with the guy?”

  “The girl left the store. I don’t know if she left with the guy.” Brenda crossed her arms over her chest.

  “You mentioned a drug dealer,” Nicole started to ask a question.

  Brenda’s eyes widened in horror. “I never mentioned any such thing. Where’d you get that? I didn’t say it.”

  Claire asked, “Did you smoke that night? Did you go outside?”

  “I don’t remember.”

  “Can you think back?” Claire asked. “Can you try to picture Jade? Did she leave the store with the guy who talked to her?”

  “She left the store. After that I don’t know what happened.”

  “When you were smoking out back, did you notice anyone or maybe, a car parked away from the others?” Claire questioned.

  “I told you. I don’t recall.”

  “Maybe the person Jade texted came to get her.” Claire kept her voice soft. “Did you notice a car near the back of the store?”

  Brenda’ shoulders crumpled. “There was a car. I don’t know who it belonged to. I don’t know who got into the driver’s seat.”

  “Did Jade…?”

  “She got in on the passenger side.”

  “Was the guy who came into the shop and talked to Jade the driver of the car?”

  “I have no idea,” Brenda said. “Like I told you, there weren’t many cars around that night.”

  “What kind of a car did Jade get into?” Nicole asked.

  “A van. I remember a van. It was parked at the back corner of the lot. I didn’t see who was driving it.” Brenda glanced to the front door.

  “What color was it?”

  “It was a dark color. I couldn’t see that good. Dark blue?”

  “Did you see Jade with the drug dealer?” Nicole asked.

  Brenda’s face flushed in anger. “I told you there’s no drugs here. I told you I don’t know nothing about any dealer. You need to leave. Now.”

  Claire’s mind raced. A van.

  18

  “You’ve heard about the Whittemore student who has gone missing?” Claire sat at the bar of the expensive South End restaurant with Bob Cooney, a former private investigator who now was known to be employed in a variety of shady dealings. A thin, wiry man in his mid to late fifties with jet black hair, he had a reputation as a guy who knew what was going on in the city. He’d helped Claire a few times, some of which she’d paid handsomely for.

  “I don’t live under a rock, Rollins.” Cooney sipped from his glass of scotch. “Of course I know about the missing woman.”

  “The young woman’s mother asked me to help her look into the disappearance,” Claire said.

  “Why?”

  “Someone told her I have strong intuition.”

  “And deep pockets,” Cooney said.

  “She doesn’t know that.”

  “The mother isn’t happy with the police work that’s being done?” Cooney was dressed in designer slacks and a perfectly pressed shirt. He held court nearly every afternoon at the bar regaling attractive young women with stories about his escapades. Claire was early and the place was fairly empty, but she knew Cooney would dump her as soon as a beautiful well-dressed women arrived for drinks or dinner. She needed to talk fast.

  “She is happy with the police. But she wants to find her daughter so she’s using every resource available.”

  “She should come talk to me,” Cooney said and glanced around the bar for someone more interesting than Claire to talk to.

  “I’m talking to you,” Claire reminded the man. “Do you know anything?”

  Cooney held his glass. “I know a lot of things.”

  Claire clarified. “Do you know anything about this case?”

  “Negative.” Cooney turned on his stool to face Claire.

  “Then I guess our conversation is over.” Claire reached for her purse and was about to get up.

  “Can’t you tell when someone is fooling around?” Cooney said. “No need to rush off.”

  “You do know something?”

  “I know a lot about a lot of things,” Cooney said.

  Claire sighed. “Why do we always have to talk in riddles? Can’t you just tell me what you know and we can be done?”

  Cooney tilted his head to the side. “If I did that, then you wouldn’t develop any investigative skills at all. I ask questions that make you think. It improves your cognition.” The man tapped his temple with his index finger.

  “Maybe you should teach at a university,” Claire deadpanned.

  “Nah. My life is perfect the way it is.” Cooney adjusted his cufflink.

  Claire decided to play the game. “I’m assuming Jade is dead.”

  “I’d bet money you are probably correct.”

  “Did someone kill her?”

  Cooney made a face. “Really, Rollins? What do you think happened to her? She jetted off to Europe for a few weeks with some rock star?”

  Claire became impatient. “Do you know who killed her?”

  “No, I don’t.” Cooney eyed Claire. “But I bet you do.”

  With her eyes narrowed and her lips tight, Claire asked herself why it was like this every time she talked to Cooney. “How would you know that?”

  “I hear things. I understand you’ve been talking to a lot of peopl
e.”

  “I’ve talked to a good number.”

  “Keep doing what you’re doing,” Cooney said and eyed a tall blonde in a tight dress who had just entered the bar.

  “I’m not paying you for this kind of advice.”

  “Do you feel suspicious about anyone in particular?”

  “More than one person, yes.”

  “Then you’re probably narrowing it down. The girl most likely met with trouble at or near that convenience store in Hadwen,” Cooney said. “I understand she got into a van in the store’s parking lot.”

  Claire wanted to nod, but stopped herself. How did Cooney know things like this?

  “I don’t think the girl made a good choice in getting into that van.” Cooney gestured to the bartender for another drink. “Some people sell drugs up there, outside the convenience shop, for one. It’s best to stay away from those people.” The man made eye contact with Claire. “You hear me, Rollins?”

  “Yes. I didn’t think interviewing those people would be a good idea. Especially Badger.”

  One of Cooney’s black eyebrows shot up his forehead. “A very wise decision, very wise, indeed. Especially if you want to stay alive. Certain people don’t take kindly to prying questions. Focus your attention elsewhere.”

  “I’ve talked to everyone I can think of and I still don’t know who the perpetrator is.”

  “Talk to people again,” Cooney advised. “I make a point of talking to people more than once. If you get my drift.”

  “Talk? Is that all you do? Just talk?”

  “No need to be rude.” The bartender brought another glass to the man. “I do the things that have to be done. I’m good at my job.”

  “Don’t tell me anymore.” Claire waved her hand at the dark-haired man, and then she turned her eyes to him. “If I paid you, would you be able to find the person responsible for Jade’s disappearance?”

  “You can’t afford to pay me for something like that.” Cooney swiveled and leaned his back against the bar.

  “Try me.” Claire wanted results. She wanted Bonnie Lyons to have her daughter back, so she would know where her child was, so she could give Jade a proper burial.