“Amazingly well, sadly for me. It seems I’m far less necessary than I thought.”
“That just means you hired good employees and trained them well.” He shot her a wink.
She let out a soft laugh. “I appreciate the pep talk.”
On their drive, they stopped in any and every establishment that served food and asked if they did carryout in paper bags. They received several strange looks and only two employees answered in the affirmative, but when they showed them a blown-up picture of the man who was guarding Cyrus and bringing him food, they both reported no recognition or memory of packing up the orders they described. Which might mean the man hadn’t been there or might mean the employee who’d helped him wasn’t working. Or that the man just hadn’t been very memorable.
And in the hour they were out and about, they hadn’t spotted any store or establishment that had a red logo with what might or might not be a cursive uppercase letter that started the word.
Cami continued to search the names of businesses in the area on her phone as Rex drove. He felt angry and frustrated. He wasn’t used to working with such limited information and without at least several more resources. And he wondered how in the hell the person who’d first called Cami had expected her to find what was essentially a needle in a haystack.
Or maybe they hadn’t expected that she’d be successful in the mission.
So, what was the point?
Put that aside for now. It won’t help. Find Cyrus and ask the bigger questions later.
Focus.
They could be on the wrong side of that sixty-mile radius entirely, though. They just neededtime. Time that Cyrus didn’t have.
He took in a breath and blew it out slowly, sharpening his resolve to keep going even in the face of their current failure to move even one step farther.
“He’s somewhere close by,” Cami murmured. “I just have this feeling.”
He agreed, though not because of any feeling, but because he trusted Joaquin and knew he was exceptional at his job. He’d find the kid eventually. Rex just hoped to God it would give them time to get there before the others who were currently on their way.
“Hey, look.” He slowed and pulled into a parking lot, where there was a bike and kayak rental shop and next to it, Rapids Booksellers & Gifts.
“The comics,” Cami said, her eyes widening with tempered hope. “I didn’t see this one online.”
“Let’s check it out.”
Rex pulled into a parking spot, and when they walked into the shop, they immediately saw the wall of comics and games at the back of the store. They shot each other a look.
A female employee was at the register, talking to a customer, and when they approached, the customer turned to go, giving the clerk a fleeting smile. “I’ll catch you later.”
“See ya.” The girl, who looked to be in her late teens, faced Rex and Cami and greeted them.
“Hi,” Rex said. “We’re looking for a man who might have shopped here in the last week. He bought some Spider-Man comic books.” Cami opened her phone and showed the girl the photo.
“I don’t recognize him, but my dad might. He’s been the one working the register all week. He’ll be in first thing in the morning.”
Damn.“Would you be able to tell us if a Spider-Man comic book has been purchased in the last few days?”
“What are you, like, private detectives?” the girl asked.
“Yes,” Cami answered. “And the man we’re looking for might have taken a kid.”
“Oh, seriously? I wish I could help, but I don’t have the passwords to get into the computer. I’d give you my dad’s cell, but he’s on a river rafting trip a few hours away and isn’t reachable. He should be home at some point tonight, and then in the store at seven thirty a.m.”
Rex nodded at the teen. “We’ll be back first thing then.”
“I’ll leave him a note and let him know to expect you.”
“Thanks.” Cami held out her hand. “I’m Cami and that’s Rex.”
“Ginger,” the girl said. “My dad is Joel.”
