First Girl Gone(40)

“So would that mean a boyfriend would be out of the question?”

“Not necessarily. We do a lot of the house activities with the Zeta Psi guys. So we’re friendly with a lot of them. Amber has a few admirers. But nothing serious.”

“Admirers?”

“Let’s just say I know of at least one Zeta Psi who would love to date her.”

“But she’s not interested?”

“I don’t know if I’d say that. It’s not like he’s a creepy stalker or something. They’re friends. But I can tell by the way he looks at her and how he is around her that he’s, like, totally infatuated with her.”

The word set off alarm bells in Charlie’s head.

“What does Amber think of that? Or hasn’t she noticed?”

“Oh, she’s definitely noticed. I don’t think you could ignore it. I think she likes it. The admiration. I mean, who wouldn’t?”

“What’s his name, this admirer?”

“Paul… shoot, I can’t think of his last name right now. I think it starts with a T, though.”

“Would you happen to have his phone number?”

“I think I do. Hold on.”

When Julia returned, she rattled off the digits, and Charlie copied them down in her notebook. She thanked the girl for her time.

“You’re going to find her,” Julia said. “If something had happened to her, I think I’d know it. Amber has that kind of energy, you know? It’d be like a light went out in the world or something.”

After Charlie hung up, she said to herself, “I hope you’re right.”





Chapter Twenty-Eight





Charlie’s next call was to Paul T., Amber’s not-stalker. He sounded genuinely upset to hear of Amber’s disappearance, though Charlie wasn’t willing to stake an entire investigation on the shakiness of his voice.

“When was the last time you saw or spoke to Amber?”

“We hung out a few days before break started. That would have been the last time I saw her in person. But we texted a few times after that. I sent her a picture of me in front of the castle at Disneyland. She’s a Disney freak.”

“I see. So you’re in California right now?”

“Yeah. My family does it every year for Christmas break. My grandparents all live out here.”

“Could you do me a strange favor? Could you text me a photo of you standing in front of a palm tree when we’re done?”

“Uh… sure?”

“Thanks. And I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.”

“Any old palm tree?” Paul asked.

“Any old palm tree.”

“OK.”

They hung up, and a few seconds later, the requested photo of Paul and a palm tree appeared on Charlie’s phone.

“What was all that about?” Allie asked.

“I wanted to make sure he was where he said he was. If we had Amber’s phone, I could have checked for the Disneyland text he says he sent, but we don’t, so…”

“You think he could come up with a lie that quickly?” Allie shook her head. “Boys his age aren’t that clever.”

“How would you know?”

Allie shrugged.

“I’m just saying. Boys are dumb.”

The front door opened then. Charlie spun around in her chair and was surprised to find Zoe entering the office.

“Are you psychic?”

“What?” Zoe shrugged out of her police-issue parka and tossed it on the couch.

“I was just thinking about calling you, but you beat me to it.”

Zoe gave a quick half-smile, but Charlie could tell her heart wasn’t in it. Her voice sounded strange, too. Charlie studied her friend’s face, trying to place the odd look she found there.

“What’s up?” she asked when Zoe didn’t say anything.

“Well, I guess I should start out by apologizing,” she said finally, falling back onto the old leather behemoth.

“For what?”

“Everyone was so dismissive of the Kara Dawkins thing, even me. I guess maybe it’s sort of contagious. It’s easy to convince yourself everything is just fine when that’s what everyone else is saying. But now, with this second girl going missing, the whole department is really feeling like they screwed the pooch.” She sighed. “No. Not they. We.”

Charlie clicked and unclicked her pen.

“Did you really come all the way over here to tell me that?” She pointed at Zoe’s uniform. “While you’re on duty?”

Zoe glanced down at the khaki-colored uniform. She’d never been good at lying or hiding things, and Charlie could sense there was something Zoe wasn’t saying.

“Or did they send you over here to copy my homework?”

Zoe sighed.

“Pretty much.”

With a grin, Charlie leaned back in her chair. If she played her cards right, this could be very good.

“Is this a quid pro quo arrangement? I tell you what I know, and you tell me what you know?”

“I have been authorized to share certain information.”

Charlie rolled her chair forward.