On one note written in ink were the words, “Find R right away! He’s not answering his phone. Can’t find him at the WM!” No date, so she had no idea what the words meant. She pushed the unlined paper to one side. The other message read, “Pick up S at T’s sis house. Need to regroup. Keep your damn phone on, can’t be leaving no paper trail!” And the idiot didn’t even throw these away. The initial R probably stood for Randy, but that didn’t make sense. Or maybe Reggie? And the only S she knew was Shawn. What was Shawn doing at Tamora’s sister’s house?
She leaned against the booth and stared out the large window, once again gazing at her own reflection. She was no closer to finding the child than when she first started. Another look at the notes. This “R” sounded like he or she took matters into their own hands. What did “WM” stand for? Maxine? A friend’s apartment? One of the stores at the strip mall?
The waitress arrived, toting her food. “Careful, it’s hot,” she said, setting the plate on the table. “Anything else I can get for you?” She topped off the coffee.
“I’m fine, thanks.”
The waitress turned to go.
“Wait a minute. I’m stumped about something. These days people abbreviate everything. You ever hear anybody use ‘WM’ to refer to anything?”
“WM? The only person I’ve heard use that is my mother-in-law. That’s what she calls Walmart. So, could be that, I guess.”
“Thanks.” Walmart? What the heck’s going on at Walmart? She picked up her phone and searched for Walmart locations closest to the Pennsylvania line.
CHAPTER 47
Even at this late hour, crowds walked in and out of the massive store. She parked her Jeep and hurried toward the white on blue Walmart Supercenter entrance, her eyes searching the area for any sign of the familiar silver SUV.
Instead of going inside the overly bright store, Jonelle turned back, convinced there must be some mistake. No one would hide a child in a department store—Supercenter or not.
Her head pounded. She couldn’t think straight. Driving through the lot might clear her head. Five mind-numbing minutes of going up and down rows and rows of vehicles led to one depressing thought: It seemed as though every owner of a silver car had errands to run at Walmart this time of night, and none matched Watkins’ license plate.
On her last loop at the farthest end of the enormous lot on the left side of the property, a mini motorhome poked out, the back half in semidarkness. She drove closer. The white camper with brown stripes had running boards under the doors. No signs of life inside.
Few cars occupied spaces at this end. She settled her Jeep a few yards away in between a pickup truck and early model sedan and studied the motorhome. Several thoughts ran through her head, none of them good. If—and that was a big if—Lark was inside, then who was with her? She’d left Randy and Shawn in Pennsylvania somewhere around the interstate.
She grabbed her phone to call Burt, and immediately changed her mind. What if instead of a young African American child the camper held a retirement couple from Florida? She’d never live the mistake down. Only one way to know for sure. She settled the phone back in her bag and tucked the weapon in the small of her back.
A quick glance at her surroundings confirmed no one paid any attention to her. Jonelle strode up to the camper as if she belonged, and ambled around the motorhome. Blinds covered the windows on the right side of the approximately twenty-foot RV. Same for the other side so she walked to the back.
The license plate hung below the metal ladder and spare tire. She pulled out her phone and took a picture of the Maryland tag. That done, she strolled back to the side, and as her hand reached up to try the door handle, a man and woman passed, throwing her a curious look. What she needed to do didn’t include appearing on someone’s social media page for breaking into a motorhome.
The strangers passed with one last glance.
Jonelle pressed her ear against the door. A soft sound she couldn’t identify came from inside. One more brief look around. She tiptoed to the window deepest in shadow and listened. A sneeze cut through the silence, a deeper sound than a small child would make.
Standing around suspiciously eyeing the RV wasn’t getting her anywhere. She rushed over to the front of the store. A young woman in a blue vest stood at the edge of the sidewalk, smoking a cigarette.
“Excuse me?” Jonelle smiled. “This might sound weird, but I was wondering if I might borrow your work vest for a few minutes.”
The young woman held the cigarette a few inches from her mouth. “Say again. You wanna do what?”
“I’m a private investigator, and I need some sort of, um, cover. Your vest might do the trick. I can pay you for your help. What I have to do shouldn’t take long.” She showed the woman her ID.
The employee studied Jonelle for several seconds. “How much?”
“Twenty?”
She held out her hand. Jonelle removed a twenty from her wallet and placed it in the young woman’s palm.
She slipped out of the vest so fast Jonelle wondered if the woman would remain employed for very long. “I just started my dinner break, so I’ve got twenty-five more minutes. I’ll need it back by then. Who you lookin’ for, anyway?”
Jonelle pointed to where the mini RV stood like an abandoned cabin in the woods. “I have to check out that camper. You happen to know how long it’s been parked over there?” Jonelle slipped on the thin vest. “Anything about who lives inside?”
“Some guy.”
Jonelle waited for the young woman to say more and when nothing else was forthcoming, asked, “You see him with anyone else?”
“Once I saw him with a little girl. They was eating at the Mickey D’s near the back of the store. When I went to get one of my co-workers to show them, they’d gone.” The young woman squinted at Jonelle. “He do something wrong?”
“Not sure. Can you describe him?”
“Black dude about my complexion. Average height and weight, I guess. Wouldn’t notice him unless you had a reason to look twice. Know what I mean?” She blew smoke out of the side of her mouth.
Jonelle thought back. Average weight didn’t apply to the too skinny Jelani. And Randy’s complexion was two shades lighter. What other males did she know who were involved with Tamora? Except for Vaughn Hanson, only one other person.
“Did you ever see him wearing any kind of uniform?”
The clerk threw the cigarette on the ground and used her foot to stamp it out. “Not me. One of my co-workers said he coulda sworn he saw him once wearin’ a rent-a-cop uniform. You know, like security people wear.”
“And he’s not part of the security here?”
“Nope. And not only that, somebody else swears they saw that same camper parked at another Walmart.”
Jonelle opened her mouth to say more but the sound of a racing motor stopped her. She stared in horror as the motorhome sped out of the lot.
She turned back to the clerk in a what-the-hell-was-that gesture
“Don’t worry about it. He usually comes right back. Listen, I’m glad you’re checking him out. A few of us was talking about it and were gonna call the cops. It’s okay to park in the lot for a day or two, but he’s been there way longer than that.”
“I’ve got to find him. You said he comes back. Are we talking hours or days?”
“Hours. You want me to tell everybody to keep a look out?” The young woman’s eye’s shone. The eagerness displayed in them made Jonelle uncomfortable.
Ignoring the question, she handed the young woman a business card. “Please call if you see him.”
The young woman studied the card. “You got a gun?”
Jonelle suppressed a sigh. “All I plan to do is talk to whoever’s inside.”
“This is way cool. Mind if I call my friend? Might wanna get this on my Instagram.”
Afraid to comment any further for fear the woman would get even more excited and screw everything up, Jonelle waved good-bye and ran back to her Jeep.<
br />
Where would he go? He must’ve seen her. No way could she wait around for him to come back. That is, if he did in fact, return. Maybe . . .
Jonelle started her Jeep and headed for the exit. A left turn led to the main road, a right turn led to a neighborhood. She turned left and after several feet came to a stoplight. On the nearest corner sat a gas station and food mart. Across the street the red, white and green sign of a 7-Eleven glowed. She pulled into the gas station, parked in front and strode up to the cashier.
“Help you?” asked the man behind the counter.
“Hope you can. I’m a PI and was wondering if you have surveillance on the outside. If so, I’d like to take a look. I’ve got my license in here if—”
“Don’t bother.” He lowered his voice although as far as she could tell, the only other customer was nowhere near them. “It don’t work. We only keep if for show.”
Damn. “You know anything about the Seven-Eleven across the street?”
He shrugged. “Don’t you need a warrant or something?”
She held his gaze.
“Okay, fine. I heard the manager of that place hardly lets his employees take a leak, so if I were you I wouldn’t hold my breath on the off chance he’d let you look at his tapes—assuming he has any, that is.”
She leaned against the counter as if needing the structure to keep from toppling over. “Okay. How about this? I’m interested in a white camper with brown stripes. Can’t be too many of those around here. Have you noticed anything like that?”
A customer approached with several items. She waited to one side while the clerk bagged everything and handed the customer his receipt.
“Why didn’t you say that before? Yeah, I seen it. Hard to miss something that big. But that was last week.”
Weary from riding around all night and coming up empty-handed, she sat in her Jeep staring at all the cars coming and going on the busy road.
CHAPTER 48
Had to go back to my place for a little while. Went up the back way so nobody would see. She’s safe there for a little while since that detective has everybody chasing their tails. Problem is the kid’s getting twitchy. And more upset. And tired of the games we play.
Instead of napping after her snack, she started whining. Can’t have that. Put some allergy medicine in her chocolate milk. As soon as she drifted off, I locked up and left to do my research.
The city’s the best place to look. Got my pepper spray and a small knife handy if anybody tries anything. A few asked for money. Told ’em I wanted information first. Everybody obliged. Funny how no matter how hard life is, more people than you’d think would rather hold on to what they had. The easy ones to offer what I need are too old. They have too much attitude.
Once a kid gets used to the street, they already know too much. I’m looking for younger. The younger they are, the more they trust. I need innocent.
Heard about a shelter that only takes women with young kids. It’s off the radar, though,’cause it ain’t licensed. Sounds perfect.
CHAPTER 49
One more thing. One more thing picked around the edges of her brain. If—and that “if” was huge—Reggie did keep Lark in the camper where would he go? No way could she search the parking lots of all the Walmarts in the area. Jonelle pulled out her notepad. And then she saw it. Of course. The man worked for security. Even at this late hour those agencies were 24/7. She found Reggie’s name in her early notes. Reginald Tobias, followed by “Security” and the name of the company who employed him.
She searched for “Alpha and Omega Security” and dialed the number listed. After stating who she was and that she needed to reach Mr. Tobias on an important matter, the woman who answered put her on hold. Interspersed with details about the company was the loudest, most annoying hold music she’d heard in a long time. Why couldn’t people be content with silence? She almost ended the call when at last the woman came back on the line.
“I’m sorry but Mr. Tobias is no longer with the firm,” she said in a clipped voice.
“Was he fired or did he quit?”
“I can’t divulge that information. Sorry.”
“Wait a sec,” Jonelle said, not wanting the woman to hang up. “Can you tell me how long ago he left?”
“Um. I don’t know if I can . . . hold on.”
She held the phone away from her ear.
“Hello, ma’am?”
“I’m still here.”
“I can say that Mr. Tobias’ last day was a week ago.”
“Where was he last assigned?”
A long pause. “Guess there’s no harm in telling you. He was one of three we had working rotating shifts at the City Mall.” With that the woman clicked off. Jonelle stared at her phone. That was the same mall where she confronted Randy and Shawn.
The possibility that she might find the camper there provided her with an extra jolt of adrenaline. Less than a half hour later she pulled into the lot. At this time of night customers had long gone. Darkness shrouded the areas around buildings whose only source of illumination were inside security lights and the outside signage. She smiled at the sign for “Discount Shoes” now reading “Discount _hoes”. Several other signs also had missing letters leading to the overall rundown feel of the place.
One working street lamp shone above a lone car parked in front of “Metro Liquors”. She eased to a stop a few feet away. A man left the store and pulled down a metal security gate, the scraping sound harsh in the still night. He turned and stiffened at the sight of her Jeep.
“Excuse me, Mister. I’m uh, looking for someone. He drives a white and brown motorhome. One of those small ones. Have you noticed anything like that around here?”
He shook his head and scooted inside the sedan.
Oh no you don’t, she thought. Not after the night I’ve had.
She pulled her Jeep behind him, blocking his exit, and leaned out the window.
“All I want is a little information. Honest. I’m a private investigator working a case.”
He peered around at her. “PI, huh? Lemme see your ID.”
The leather holster still hung at her waist. She left the Jeep where it was and slid up to the man, careful to avoid his car door in case he swung it open. She held her shield out to him.
He studied the case. “You don’t look like any PI I’ve ever seen, don’t care what that thing says. Get outta the way.”
“No moving until you answer a few questions. Which, by the way, you coulda answered without all this drama and been on your way to the wife and kids.”
He groaned. “As if that’s a benefit. What you wanna know?”
“Okay. Have you seen a motorhome around here? Especially at night?”
“You mean one a them house on wheels? Naw. You can’t fit those things in here.”
“This one’s smaller. About half the size of those big ones.”
“Still ain’t seen it.”
“What d’you know about the security guard that worked here? Names Reggie . . . Reginald. Works for Alpha and Omega.”
“That who you’re lookin’ for? Ain’t seen him in a while. ’Course when he was here he wasn’t, if you catch my drift. Now I gotta go.” He poked his thumb behind him. “Move that thing.”
“In a minute. You ever see him with anybody?”
The man shook his head then seemed to reconsider. “Oh yeah. One time I seen him talking to a real hot lookin’ mama. Thought it mighta been his girlfriend the way they was arguin’. It was near closin’ time and when I heard all this yelling I poked my head out. When they saw me the girl strutted off and hopped into a fancy SUV.”
“Silver?”
“Coulda been. Or white. Light colored anyway. I don’t know nothin’ else. Now move.”
She didn’t care that the man was getting pissed. “One more thing.”
“Oh, good God.”
“Where’s his replacement? I don’t see anybody around. So if nobody’s here late at night, anybody could co
me around and do whatever they wanted.” She glanced at the storefronts. “Any outside surveillance?”
“We—me and the other tenants—was talkin’ about that. The association’s gonna look into it. It’ll be a whole lot easier than hiring these rent-a-cops that don’t show up half the time.”
“Thanks for your help.”
She returned to her Jeep, and backed away from his bumper. She expected him to peel rubber in his haste to leave, but he surprised her by waving good-bye.
Strip malls only allowed vehicle traffic in the lot so she parked her Jeep in the now vacant spot in front of the liquor store. She grabbed her flashlight from the glove compartment, exited her Jeep and engaged the security system. Open dark spaces never bothered her. Night time provided a sort of comfort. Kind of like a warm blanket on a cold night. The soles of her shoes scraped on the concrete sidewalk and echoed off the buildings. She followed along the stores in the front and a short way along the side. At that point the sidewalk ended.
She hesitated before entering the tight alley where three large dumpsters stood with maybe a foot between each one. “Could a camper squeeze in behind here?” She spoke out loud to hear her own voice—and to scare off whatever critters made those scurrying noises. Her legs tingled at the idea of one of those creatures sliding across her feet. She shone the flashlight in a large arc and entered the alley.
The space was surprisingly clean. A line of trees on the left side took up most of the back area. The branches were so close together that a tiny compact car couldn’t fit around them, much less a twenty-foot camper. Dejected, Jonelle faced the fact she’d reached another deadend. She yawned and turned to go back to her Jeep. And stopped as she rounded the corner.
A gray sedan shone it’s headlights into her Jeep. Had the liquor store owner come back? Why? Did he forget something? Couldn’t be him, she thought, his sedan was darker. She couldn’t see the driver and decided to wait and let the scene play out.
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