My Wife Is Missing(67)

It was a half hour before closing, and Kennett was starving so they stayed; Michael willingly faked an appetite. When the food came, Kennett took a giant bite of his hamburger. He chewed slowly, no sign of worry or hurry. Michael watched with mounting concern. He sensed a shift take place in Kennett, as if his helper was revealing himself, morphing before Michael’s eyes into an adversary. He’d catch a telling glance here and there, Kennett’s gaze lingering too long, a cagey expression hinting at ulterior motives. Michael could breathe easy only because Kennett hadn’t brought up Audrey Adler’s name since their time together at the Friday’s bar in Burlington, but something told him that wouldn’t be the case for long.

“You’re not eating, Mike,” Kennett said, as he dabbed away a dollop of ketchup that clung to a corner of his mouth.

Indeed, Michael’s burger sat cooling on his plate.

“Relax and eat, Mike,” Kennett encouraged. “We’ve got her new license plate number. She’s going to turn up soon. We’re almost at the endgame.”

Michael should have had faith. After all, Kennett had guessed correctly that Natalie would ditch her rental. Skill and experience had directed him to check the Avis location at the Columbus airport. After confirming his theory, they’d checked three other companies before learning that Natalie had rented a Nissan Rogue from Hertz. Now, thanks largely to Kennett’s efforts, the police had a description of her new vehicle along with a license plate to track. It wasn’t a stretch to think it would only be a matter of time before they located his family.

Still, Michael was worried, not only about Natalie and his children, but about Kennett as well.

“Why are you doing this?” Michael asked.

He finally managed a bite of his burger, but the food had the flavor of cardboard.

“Doing what, Mike?” replied Kennett, as if he didn’t know.

“Helping me find my wife.”

“Going back there, are we?” Kennett gave a sly smile along with a wink. “Can’t just accept my altruism, eh?”

“Not really. No. So how about you tell me the truth?”

“The truth?” Kennett’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s a good one, Mike. Okay. All right. Let’s talk truth.”

Michael shifted uneasily in his seat.

“Your mother. Tell me about her.”

“My mother?”

“Yeah, my mom died of cancer, too.”

If Kennett was still grieving, it didn’t show on his face or in his voice.

“I’m sorry to hear.”

“It’s not your doing,” Kennett said with an indifferent shrug. “Eventually, we all end up in the same place, right? Some of us just get there quicker is all. So what was it?”

“What was what?”

“The cancer. What kind?”

“Um, breast cancer,” Michael said, fumbling for the words. “It was extremely aggressive.”

“Sorry to hear,” said Kennett.

“Not your doing,” Michael replied, which coaxed out another slight smile from his companion.

“She died when you were in college, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. It was tough.”

“I bet it was,” said Kennett. He spoke languidly, as if his thoughts were elsewhere. “Where’d you go to school?”

“University of Oregon.”

“U of O!” Kennett’s expression brightened as he rapped his knuckles several times against the table. “The Ducks.”

“Go Ducks,” Michael responded unenthusiastically.

“So, you grew up near there?”

“No, I, um, grew up in Charleston.”

“South Carolina, a Southern boy.”

Michael’s stomach tightened.

Where was this going?

“Never been to Charleston,” Kennett continued. “Nice place?”

“You should go,” Michael said. “The city has great restaurants, pristine beaches. Yeah, I’d say a pretty nice place to visit. Even better place to live.”

“But not nice enough for college.” Kennett offered his assessment dryly.

Michael bit down hard on his burger.

“I wanted to see a different coast.”

“So tell me, did you go to the West Coast looking for your father?”

“My dad?”

“Yeah, you told me he walked out on you when you were young. Maybe you thought he headed west, so you went looking.”

Hometown. College. Parents. This wasn’t good.

“No, I never saw my father again after he left us.”

“Not even after your mom died? Didn’t he come back for the funeral? What a heartless prick, right?”

“Maybe he didn’t hear. Why are you so interested in my family? My past?”

Kennett had no qualms about talking while he was chewing.

“Just making conversation, bud,” he said, his words coming out garbled. “What else are we going to do on the road? Would you rather tackle the word search on the kids’ menu?”

“I just think it’s curious you’re so inquisitive about my life, is all.”

“What do you want to talk about, then?” asked Kennett.

Since Michael was using Kennett as a means to an end, he thought it best to shift the focus away from him and back onto Natalie.