Where the Blame Lies(82)

Zach hung up. “Fuck,” he murmured. He told Josie what Jimmy had said.

“He never went to UC?” she whispered. “Why . . . why would he say he did?”

“Josie, I don’t know, but something is very wrong here.”

Her eyes were haunted, distressed, and Zach was tempted to stop the car and comfort her, but they didn’t have time. They needed to figure out what the fuck was going on and hopefully save Reagan from the same fate as the other girls they’d found shackled and starved.

“You said Cooper worked at a coffee shop nine years ago?”

Josie seemed to come back to the present, nodded. “Yeah. Right near campus. Reagan and I used to go in there a lot.”

“Why don’t we go talk to them, see if anyone there still talks to him. It’s better than waiting.”

Josie nodded. They drove to the area near the campus that had restaurants, a few clothing shops and other businesses college students frequented. The coffee shop buzzed with activity on a weekday at three p.m., and when they entered, Zach moved to the front of the line as college students in need of caffeine shot him dirty looks. He showed his badge to the young barista and requested a manager. She nodded, eyes wide as she walked quickly to the back and then came out a moment later, telling Zach the manager would be right with them. They took a seat at the one empty high-top table near the back and a few minutes later, an older black woman emerged. Josie recognized her. “She used to work here when Cooper did,” she told Zach.

The woman approached them, holding out her hand to Zach first and then to Josie. “Detective? I’m Susannah Washington. What can I do for you?”

Susannah sat down at the third seat and Zach explained what they wanted. She looked pensive. “I do remember him. Real good-looking guy, right? All the girls giggled and flirted with him and he flirted right back, even though I think he dated the guy next door.” She paused for a minute. “I’d have to contact the owner to forward employee records from nine years ago. We don’t keep that kind of information in the store, and we got a new computer system five years ago. But I can do that right away.”

“That’d be great,” Zach said. “The sooner the better.” He paused again. “You did know him as Cooper though?”

She tilted her head. “Yeah. But I think that was his middle name. First name was just an initial. C I think? Maybe R? I don’t remember exactly, and I just don’t remember his last name. Hart doesn’t sound right, but I can’t say why. But the guy he dated? Ron? He still works at the sandwich shop next door. He owns the place now. If I were you, I’d go talk to him.” Zach thanked her, handing over his card so the records could be emailed to him.

When Zach and Josie entered the sandwich shop next door, a bell tinkled over the door. The place wasn’t quite as crowded as the coffee shop, but it still hummed with activity, kids with laptops taking up the round tables, the looks on their faces focused, intense.

A good-looking brown-haired man was talking to an employee and when Zach and Josie approached, the kid walked away, and the man turned to them with a smile. Josie felt herself wheeling back in time, snatches of music filling her head as a guy had looked at her and Cooper across a crowded bar, his eyes filling with pleasure as Cooper approached. He gave Josie a slightly perplexed look as though he recognized her too but couldn’t place her.

“We’re looking for the owner? Ron?”

“That’s me. What can I do for you?”

Zach flashed his badge and introduced them. “I’m trying to find some information on a man I believe you dated about nine years ago? Cooper Hart?”

Ron’s face morphed into surprise. He signaled them to a table and they all sat down. “Yeah, I knew Cooper.”

“And you knew him as Cooper Hart?”

“Yes. What is this about if I may ask?”

“He might have some information about a crime we’re investigating.”

Ron’s brow furrowed.

“You did date him, right?”

“Nah, hardly. Truthfully? He was a tease.” He let out a small, uncomfortable laugh. “He’d flirt in public, but then when I tried to get him alone, he turned all cold.” He paused, glancing at Josie and then back at Zach. “You wanna know the truth? I suspected he didn’t like guys at all.” He shrugged. “Like it was all a great big act. Why he’d pretend though? It’s beyond me.”





CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN


Josie closed the car door behind her, staring out of the front windshield as Zach got in. She felt electric, as though a hundred vibrating needles were piercing the underside of her skin. She tried desperately to clear her mind, to put the information they’d received in order. Make sense of it.

Zach took her hand in his, his soulful eyes gazing across at her. “You all right?”

“Yes,” she said and forced a calming breath through her. She could go over the emotional ramifications of what they’d discovered later. For now, she owed it to her friend to stay calm. To compartmentalize as best she could. A tidal wave was coming. She felt it. A surge that very well might drown her.

Zach’s phone rang and he picked it up. “Great. Thanks. We’ll be there in ten.” He started the car, glanced over at Josie. “Ms. Merrick is willing to answer questions. She’s waiting at District Two.”