And There He Kept Her (Ben Packard #1)(22)

Ann went through the arched doorway to the dining room table and pushed back a pile of clutter far enough to unpack her food.

Alissa flopped down in the spot on the couch vacated by her boyfriend. “Did you bring me any Arby’s?”

“Nope.”

“What am I supposed to eat?”

“They serve lunch at school. Second lunch ends at one. You better hurry if you’re going to make it.”

Alissa twisted over the arm of the couch. “Mom, the day’s half over.”

“There’s still half to go then.”

“How am I supposed to get there? Jesse has the car.”

“Walk.”

Packard wasn’t as interested in the family drama as he was in getting a look at Jesse’s room. Down the hallway on his left he saw two doors opposite each other and a bathroom at the end. “Which room is Jesse’s?”

“On the right,” Ann said.

Alissa pushed past him down the hall to her room and slammed the door. Packard followed her and turned on the light in Jesse’s room. He saw a twin bed, a short table next to it, and a four-drawer dresser. The bedsheets were pulled off the corners and bunched in the center of the bed like they’d been stirred together. The floors were painted wood. A blackout shade covered the single window.

He opened the closet door and saw more empty hangers than clothes. He looked for an opening in the back or loose floorboards. Nothing. The top two dresser drawers had socks and underwear and T-shirts. The bottom two were empty. He felt underneath each drawer and pulled out the one on the bottom. Nothing between the mattresses or under the bed. It looked like the room of a transient. Packard looked at the closed bedroom door across the hall and wondered where Ann slept if the kids had the two bedrooms.

He was about to leave when he noticed two phone chargers pinned down by a lamp on the nightstand. The two cords had different ends.

Two charging cords. Two cell phones.

He went back to the dining room. Ann had finished her food and had a beer open in front of her. She gave him a look like he was another man in her house who didn’t belong there.

“His room is pretty empty,” Packard said.

“He must be keeping the rest of his things at our lake home,” Ann cracked.

“I found two phone chargers by the bed. Does he have two cell phones?”

Ann lit a cigarette and shook her hair out of her eyes. “He’s got one number I call him at. That’s all I know about.”

“What about things he usually carries with him? Schoolbag or something like that?”

“There’s a blue backpack that goes everywhere he does,” Ann said.

“Seen it since he’s been gone?”

“No.”

Packard nodded, looked around. The house was small, full of clutter, unhappiness, and cigarette smoke. “You ready to go back?”

Ann drank her beer and washed it down with the soda from Arby’s. “I’m gonna walk so I can smoke on the way. You can take Alissa to school if you’re looking to do a good deed.”

“Will she come?”

Ann got up from the table and went down the hall to the bedroom. “The cop is leaving in two minutes. You need a ride if you’re going to make it for lunch.”

He could hear Ann’s side of the conversation but only the muffled sound of Alissa’s replies. “I don’t care… Too bad… Alissa, keep talking, keep it up and I’ll throw everything you own in the garbage. You know I’ll do it again.”

Ann came back and sat at the table again and drank her beer. She smoked her cigarette and let out a long, weary exhale. “I would appreciate it if you would find my fucking car. I can’t keep on like this forever. People need transportation, even in a town this small.”

“If we can find Jesse and Jenny, I’m sure we’ll find your car.”

Ann scoffed like she wasn’t so sure. Packard heard banging from the back bedroom. He shifted on his feet. “I’ll be in the truck. Tell her to hurry up.”

“How’s that bite mark I put on your ass? Did it leave a scar?”

Packard shook his head. “It scabbed up but didn’t leave a mark. Not that I can see anyway.”

“I’ll bite you harder next time.”

“Stay out of trouble, Ann. Let me know if you hear from Jesse.”

***

He was just getting in on his side when Alissa barreled out of the house, head down like she didn’t want to be recognized. The old woman in the window across the street was still at her post. Packard saw her turn her head to say something to someone behind her. Packard wasn’t the biggest fan of Ann Crawford, but he figured she had enough problems without the constant surveillance and judgment from the neighbors.

When Alissa was in her seat, reaching for her seat belt, he backed up far enough to be directly across from the neighbor’s perch. He lowered his window, took off his sunglasses, and locked eyes with the woman. Alissa suddenly reached across him and shoved her middle finger out his window.

“That nosy cunt needs her goddamn face smacked,” she said, settling back into her seat.

Packard put the truck in drive and they pulled away. Alissa had a big, red zippered bag between her feet. She smelled strongly of perfume and cigarettes. He rolled his window back up but left it cracked an inch.