by Daisy May
“I was actually thinking, um…”
I perked up. “What?” Could he be about to tell me he’d decided to pay for me after all?
“The money would be a lot for you and, well, it isn’t for me. I know we don’t know each other that well, so I’ll understand if you don’t want to accept the money. But I’d like to offer to do this for you.”
A grin burst across my face. Good things come to those who wait. “To do what?” I asked, playing dumb. “Do you mean you’d pay the PI for me? The whole cost?”
“If you’d be okay with that,” he said hesitantly. “You can pay me back later if you’d like, but really, it’d be a gift. No strings attached.”
“Oh my God, this is so amazing of you.” So amazing that it took you this long to tell me this. “Of course I’ll pay you back.” Of course I won’t.
“It’s the least I can do,” he said. “I was awful to you at first, and I really want to help you.”
“And you’re really bored with your life,” I teased.
“That, too,” he said. “Do you want to come over? We can decide on which PI to hire together.”
“Um…”
Normally I would’ve said no. It would’ve been easier to let him do it and just have him call me when he had Laney’s information in his hands. And I always went with what was easiest.
But somehow I didn’t feel like saying no. Maybe it was the fact of having nothing better to do. Maybe I was very slightly curious to see how a dull, uptight accountant lived.
“Sure,” I said. “What’s your address?”
*
I arrived at his place half an hour later. It’d taken me that long to walk – I was no longer in a position to be taking taxis. His building was clean and modern, and thankfully the elevator was working. I might’ve collapsed if I’d had to take the stairs.
“Hey,” he said warmly, opening the door for me. “Good to see you. Come on in.”
A stab of guilt went through me. He was being so kind to me, and in return I was taking advantage of him. I’d plotted out how to make him like and trust me, even flirting a tiny bit to grab his interest even more. Was I a sociopath?
No, I assured myself. I was just smart.
“Thanks again for doing this,” I said. “I know we didn’t exactly start off on the right foot. I appreciate you going out of your way for me.”
“It’s no problem,” he said. “It shouldn’t end up being too expensive, and besides, I can always make more money. People are more important.”
I glanced around his place. It appeared that he had no shortage of money. Everything was new and sparkling, not a speck of dust to be seen anywhere. His laptop gleamed up from the kitchen table, open and ready to be used. For the first time, I noticed it was a MacBook Pro. From what I knew, those cost several thousand dollars.
I’d chosen a good mark to hit up. For a moment, I wondered if I should abandon my pursuit of Laney and try to get some cash directly out of Andy instead. But no, he wouldn’t go for that. And my conscience wouldn’t allow it, either. He’d never wronged me – unlike Laney, Sophie, or Greg.
“I narrowed our search down to three PIs,” he said, pulling out a chair for me before sitting down himself. “They’re all reasonably priced and specialize in finding missing people. Take a look at their sites and see what you think.”
I pulled the MacBook over and scanned through the pages. “They all look decent to me,” I said after a moment. “All other things being equal, why don’t we go for the one with the cool name?”
“Shadow Livingston,” he read off the screen. “I wonder if that name was on his birth certificate.”
“I think she’s a woman, isn’t she?” I looked at the website again. There were no pictures on it. “I must’ve assumed that.”
“Seems like a male name to me.”
“I don’t know. I’ve never met a Shadow before.”
Andy grinned. “Let’s call and find out.” He grabbed his phone, putting it on speaker so I could hear.
“Good afternoon, how can I help you?” The person that picked up sounded gruff and somewhat unfriendly – and completely androgynous.
I shot a glance at Andy, suppressing a giggle. A real giggle, I realized with surprise.
“Hi,” he said. “I was wondering if you might be interested in helping me to find a missing person. A friend’s biological mother.”
Did he really consider me a friend? No, don’t be silly. It was just easier than explaining our actual relationship.
“That’s what I do,” Shadow said, sounding more masculine now. “Email me her full name and date of birth, and I’ll send you an invoice.”
It couldn’t be that simple. “Don’t you need anything more from us?” I asked. “I’ve been looking for her for a while. She’s not easy to find.”
“Not for you,” he said. “For me, yes. I can find anyone.”
“Um… okay.” I’d leave it up to Andy. He was the one who’d have money on the line. “The email address on your website, then?”
“That’s the one.” The dial tone sounded.
I turned to Andy, my heart racing. Shadow sounded so confident. I might actually know Laney’s whereabouts within days. Hours, even. “You think he can really help us?” I asked. “You were right about the name, by the way.”
“You think that was a guy? Sounded like a woman to me.”
“Are you serious? I was dead sure that was a man.”
Andy kept a straight face for a second, then snorted. “No, he’s a dude.”
“Oh, you were joking,” I said. “You joke? I had no idea.”
“Hey now, I’ll have you know I have a sense of humor.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed,” I teased.
He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I didn’t mean to joke about a serious subject. I wasn’t trying to distract you from the task at hand.” He sounded completely serious again, like a businessman – or the accountant that he actually was. “What do you think? Should we go with him?”
“I’m fine with him, if you are.”
“You think we can trust a Shadow?”
I squinted at him. “Was that another joke?”
“A swing and a miss, huh?” He looked slightly embarrassed.
I patted his arm. “Good try. Keep working on it.” I was starting to like when he got embarrassed. There was something strangely adorable about it. “In the meantime, let’s write to him.”
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s do it.”
He pulled the laptop over to him and set his hands on the keyboard. I watched him type with slim, deft fingers.
If this Shadow person was any good at his job, I might be in touch with Laney soon. I should’ve been excited.
But right now, I was only thinking about how I wouldn’t have any reason to talk to Andy.
FOURTEEN – ANDY
“I’m sorry, you did what?” Mom asked over the phone in the morning.
I laid my suit out on my bed. “I paid for Tyler’s private investigator. I figured it’d be nice to help him find his mom.”
“That’s what I thought you said,” Mom said. “I just assumed I’d heard you wrong, because that makes no sense. None whatsoever.”
I paused and bit my lip before pulling on my pants. Her reaction surprised me, considering she was the one who’d been so welcoming to Tyler in the first place. “It’s not a big deal. We’ve talked a few times, and we’re getting kind of friendly. The money’s nothing to me, and it means everything to him, so why not help out?”
“I don’t know, Andy.” Her voice was cautious. “You don’t know him, and he seems…”
“Poor?” I thought of the castle-like house his adoptive mom lived in. “He’s in a bad place right now. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad person.”
“It’s your decision, and it seems like it’s too late for you to change your mind anyway. I just find it strange that you’re giving him money willingly after you were so concerned about him taking money fr
om me.”
I stood to pull on my suit jacket. “That’s different. I thought he’d scam you – you know, tell you a sob story and have you hand over your life savings.”
“Did you just listen to yourself?”
I stopped moving, going over what I’d said. Tyler hadn’t told me a sob story. Well, not exactly. And he hadn’t asked for any money. I’d offered. And it was only a little. He couldn’t be scamming me… could he?
“I’m fine,” I said, sounding more certain than I felt. “I know what I’m doing.”
“If you say so,” Mom said. “Be careful, though. And don’t get too close to Tyler.”
We hung up and I finished getting dressed, wondering if at the end he was implying I might be interested in Tyler. Wright had intimated the same. Where were they getting that from? It was bizarre. I couldn’t be friends with a man without wanting to date him?
Well, I usually didn’t. I only had a couple of friends these days, and I didn’t go out of my way to make more. Still, it was totally possible that I could find a new one. And I wasn’t even trying to befriend Tyler. He was a novelty in my life, and I wanted to help him find his mom. After that was done, I’d never talk to him again.
So why did that thought make my chest feel so tight?
*
The workday was dull and slow. I kept checking my phone every five minutes to see if I had any new emails. Shadow was going to contact me if or when he found anything, and the anticipation had me jittering around my cubicle.
Miraculously, I still got through my work and my boss didn’t catch me looking at my phone. By the time I left a little after five, I actually felt more awake and alert than I ever did at the end of my usual workdays. It seemed like having something interesting going on made me more enthusiastic about life in general.
And then, two minutes after I started pumping iron at the gym, my phone rang.
I stopped the machine. “Hello?”
“Hi, this is Shadow Livingston. I have some information about your friend’s mother.”
I gasped loud enough to make the other people by the free weights stare, and not in a friendly way. Keeping my voice low, I darted into the change room. “What kind of information? Did you find her current whereabouts?”
“Yes, I did. Would you like me to tell you over the phone?”
“No, you can email it over.”
“Great,” Shadow said. “I’ll send the invoice over, and I’ll send her address immediately once I receive payment.”
“Perfect. Thank you so much.”
My breath came in shallow gulps, and my heart was racing. I wouldn’t have expected to have such a strong reaction to the news about Tyler’s mom. How was he going to feel when he heard?
And I was going to have to be the one to tell him. I was going to have to call him right now. I glanced around briefly, making sure the change room was empty. I didn’t want to be the kind of rude person who’d have a cell phone conversation with others around – although at the moment, I would’ve done it anyway. Telling Tyler was too urgent to wait.
He picked up on the first ring. “Andy, hey. Any news?”
“Yes, actually.” I took a deep breath. “Shadow called. He found your mom.”
“Are you serious?” he screeched. “Oh my God! I think I love you!”
I laughed, some of the tension in my chest releasing. “Save your love for Shadow.”
“So where is she?” he asked, still sounding awed. “Is she in town?”
“I have to pay first, and then we’ll find out.” I hesitated, an idea coming to mind. “I’ll pay, and then why don’t you come over and we’ll open his email together?”
“Sure,” he said. “It’ll be like Christmas morning.”
“You sit around opening emails on Christmas morning?” I teased.
“You know what I meant!” He sounded friendlier than usual, maybe even a little affectionate. “What time is good for me to come over?”
“How soon could you get there?”
“Maybe fifteen minutes,” he said. “You’re at home now?”
“No, I’m at the gym.”
“I don’t want to interrupt your work-out. This can wait until after.”
I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “No way. I can work out anytime. This is probably the only time in my life I’ll get to find someone’s biological mother.”
“Fair enough. See you in fifteen, then?”
“See you.”
I looked at myself in the full-length mirror, wondering when I’d turned into this person – this impulsive person with flushed cheeks, who hired private investigators and skipped out on his workouts.
I wasn’t sure where he’d come from, but I kind of liked him.
*
It ended up taking twenty minutes for me to get home. By that point, Tyler was waiting in my lobby.
“Sorry I’m late!” I said, swiping my access card. “I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”
“Dude, look at what you’re doing for me,” he said. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
His gratitude was obviously sincere. I reassured myself again that there was no way he was scamming me. If he was, wouldn’t he have acted like I hadn’t done enough, and tried to get more money out of me?
Well, I didn’t know. I had no idea what kind of psychological tricks con artists used on their victims, actually. My intuition was telling me I could trust him – although all scam victims probably thought they were listening to their intuitions, too.
We were quiet in the elevator – was I imagining it, or could I hear his heart pounding? I opened my apartment door and dropped my gym bag unceremoniously before rushing into the kitchen, where I’d left my laptop.
“Ready?” I asked, turning it on.
“If you are.” He slid into the chair beside me, giving me a grim smile.
“Here we go.”
I clicked into my inbox and quickly paid the invoice Shadow had sent, tilting the screen away from Tyler so he wouldn’t see the final amount. He must’ve spent most of the day working on the case. The sum was a day and a half’s worth of pay for me – not cheap, but it wouldn’t break the bank either.
As Shadow had promised, he replied within seconds. The subject line of his new email read, “Laney Jefferson – Address and Phone Number.”
Tyler grabbed my arm before I could click. “Wait.” His eyes were frantic.
“What is it?”
“Just… before you click… This is stupid, but could you…” He trailed off as his hand slipped easily into mine.
A current of warmth pulsed through me. He wanted to hold my hand for moral support, I told myself. This was a one-time request. It didn’t mean he was interested in me, and it most certainly didn’t mean I was interested in him.
Even if my heart was thundering in my chest and my skin was hot where he was touching it.
“Okay,” I said, my voice gruffer than before. “Let’s do this.”
With my free hand, I clicked.
The email was only two lines. An address and a phone number, as the subject line had promised. It was almost underwhelming – a bit anticlimactic, after everything that had led up to it.
Beside me, Tyler spoke with awe. “She lives in Oakland.” He raised a shaky finger to point at the screen. “Oakland, California.”
“Right.” It took me a moment to guess why he was reacting that way. “You don’t have a way to get there.”
Slowly, he shook his head. “I don’t have the kind of money for plane tickets right now. I can hitchhike, I guess. It’ll be good.”
“You’re not hitchhiking!” I stared at him in horror. “Are you out of your mind? Do you know how dangerous that would be? What good would it be to have finally found your mom if you get killed and dismembered on your way to meet him?”
“Whoa,” he laughed. “That’s not going to happen. And you said I was fatalistic?”
“You are,” I sniffed. “I’m realistic. You
can’t hitchhike.”
“I’ve done it before. I know how to be safe.”
My horror grew. “You’ve already taken your life into your own hands. You’re not going to do it again.”
“What, you’re forbidding me to do it?” He rolled his eyes. “Who do you think you are, my mom?”
“No, but I’m your friend. Kind of. If you’d like me to be.”
That seemed to take him by surprise. Still, he kept fighting me. “Does that mean you’re going to pay for my flight, then?”
My heart tightened. This was it – he was asking me for money again. Or was he? Because he sounded completely sarcastic, and I was pretty sure he fully expected me to say no. He’d already made up his mind to hitchhike, and if there was one thing I’d learned about this man so far, it was that he was stubborn.
“I’m not going to pay for your flight,” I said, still deciding if I should make the offer I’d just considered. Oh, fuck it. You only live once. “But what if I drove you?”
He blinked at me. “What?”
“You get in my car and I drive you,” I said dryly. “Like a road trip, kind of.”
“No. That’d be… no.” He laughed humorlessly. “No offense, but I don’t think I want you there when I meet my mom.”
“I wouldn’t have to be there for that part.” I was conscious that I was arguing with him, trying to invite myself along where I clearly wasn’t wanted – and yet I couldn’t stop myself. “It’d be like hitchhiking, just with someone you already know.”
His lips flattened into a thin line. “I’m planning to leave ASAP. You’ll be working tomorrow.”
“I’ll take a couple days off.” The words exploded out before I had a chance to think them through. “I have a ton of vacation time saved up.”
“You’re not going to let me say no to this, are you?” He almost looked amused now.
“Not if the alternative is you hitchhiking.”
He let out a long sigh. “Then sure. Okay. Let’s do this.”
FIFTEEN – TYLER
At seven the next morning, I tossed my bag into the back seat of Andy’s car. It was a Kia Soul, probably only worth forty grand off the lot, which this one sure wasn’t. Even so, the inside was as spotless as Andy’s apartment.
