Sally Singletary's Curiosity (The Sally Singletary Book 1)

by J. M. Cataffo

  A sheepish grin appeared on his face and his cheeks went slightly red. “Sorry.” He shifted in his seat as she checked her phone for messages. A moment later, he added, “He said six, right?”

  Sally shifted her gaze toward the clock. “Yes. Be patient, Yaz.”

  As she glanced around, she noticed two men seated in the booth directly behind Yasif. She would have ignored them, except she was sure one of them had glanced directly at her—though it was hard to tell with the dark glasses that covered his eyes. They both wore black suits and fit in with the other patrons about as well as a flamingo at a penguin parade.

  “Something wrong?” Yasif asked.

  She motioned with her head as the men got up to leave.

  “Probably just a couple city guys in town for business,” Yasif commented with a dismissive wave.

  The waitress set a plate of fries in front of them, and Yasif snatched a few, stuffing them into his mouth. “Oh, my god, these are so much better than the fries at school!”

  Sally grinned. “You’re not saying our award-winning menus suck, are you?”

  “Not at all, but everything is always so healthy. Sometimes you just want a good batch of saturated fat, you know?”

  “Just be careful.” Sally tossed a fry into her mouth. “They’ll go straight to your hips.”

  “Hi.” Jake stood beside the table. He’d changed clothes, at least, although the new ones weren’t much better than the ones he’d worn when they’d first seen him.

  In the brighter light of the restaurant, his features looked even less appealing. The dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced, his drawn complexion more exaggerated, the emaciation of his body even more glaring. Sally motioned for him to join them and pushed the plate of fries toward the center of the table. “Have some.”

  Jake glanced up as though checking to make sure she’d meant it, then grabbed a handful of fries and downed them as if they were the first thing he’d eaten in weeks. Silence and glances passed between them for a time before he finally spoke up. “What is it that you guys want to know?”

  “Well…” Sally glanced at Yasif, pushing her hair behind her ear. “I’m sure you’ve heard of the disappearances.”

  He gave her a confused look.

  “The kids at our school? It’s been all over the news.”

  Clearly he hadn’t.

  “You don’t know that Billy Martin and his best friend, Daniel Sherman, are missing?”

  Jake gave a start when he heard Daniel’s name.

  Sally took mental note. It was definitely Daniel he knew, but why the strange reactions? Was he pretending or did he know more about what was happening than he was letting on? Sally wasn’t sure.

  “Missing?”

  There was genuine concern in his voice. She figured Daniel must have been a friend, but it was also clear it had been a long time ago.

  “Three students and a teacher went missing from Hidden Lake two days ago. We found this in their room.” She motioned to Yasif, and he pulled out Jake’s picture.

  “Oh, sweet Jesus, you don’t think I had anything…”

  She eyed him. “We just want to know what connection you have to these boys.” She needed him to confirm her hunch.

  “I…” Jake stared out of the window. “Look, if it helps, I knew Daniel. But it was a long time ago.”

  “Then why would he have a picture of you in his dorm?” Yasif piped up.

  “I don’t know. I told you, it was a long time ago. We used to live on the same street.”

  “Did you two hang out a lot?” Sally asked.

  “Occasionally,” Jake said. “We were friends as kids… Look, I don’t know what you want, but I hadn’t even heard there was a disappearance until you told me. I had nothin’ to do with this. I promise.”

  “Relax.” Sally grabbed a fry. “We’re not here because we suspect involvement. We are just trying to get to the bottom of this. The disappearance was quite…” She searched for the right word. “…sudden. We found this picture in their room and hoped you would be able to tell us something useful.”

  “I don’t know anything. I haven’t seen Daniel in three years.”

  There was more; she was sure of it, but she didn’t want to press too hard and lose him altogether. He may not have heard about the disappearances, but he was certainly hiding something—something big.

  “Wait, what do you mean by sudden?” Jake asked, as if just realizing what she had said.

  Sally glanced at Yasif, who responded with a shrug.

  Sharing what they knew might just get him to open up more. She got the sense that he cared about what happened to Daniel. “There’s more to what’s going on than what’s in the news—not that you’ve been paying attention to the news.” She paused. “Billy and Daniel didn’t just run away. When I say they disappeared, I’m being quite literal. It happened right in front of my eyes. Poof.” She motioned with her hands. “They were gone.”

  She watched, waiting for the information to sink in, but Jake stared at the corner of the table in deep thought as if he hadn’t heard what she said. Then his gaze met hers. His brows turned upward. “Look. No one but us knows about this. We’re taking a huge chance talking to you, but you’re the only clue we’ve found in all this mess.”

  “I told you. I don’t know why my picture was there.”

  “I have a guess.” Yasif snorted.

  Jake’s eyes grew wide and he looked as though he were ready to bolt from the table.

  Sally still didn’t understand what Yasif was referring to. He raised an eyebrow as if she should have picked up on whatever it was that he thought was so clear. She glanced back at Jake and then it hit her. “Oh!” She wagged her finger between Jake and the picture. “You and he were…”

  “No!” Jake stiffened, his eyes wide. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Sally smiled to herself and looked down at the plate of fries. “Well, that explains why he never… I thought it was something with me…” Looking back at Jake, she said, “It’s okay, Jake, we’re not here to judge. It actually explains a lot.”

  “But it doesn’t help us with the investigation.” Yasif’s tone had changed. He’d deflated a bit.

  “I don’t know what you guys are on about, I’m not…” He stopped, unable to finish his sentence.

  “Do you have a better explanation for why there was a picture of you in Daniel’s room?” Yasif asked accusingly, even a bit harshly.

  “I already told you…”

  “Drop the charade, man. No one cares if you’re gay or not. We just need some answers.”

  Jake cringed as if Yasif had just uttered a vulgarity. He stared down onto his lap as though about to cry.

  Sally put a hand on Yasif’s arm. Why couldn’t he see he was upsetting Jake? “So we’re back to square one.” She pulled out her phone and made a quick note.

  “What are you doing?” Jake looked at her with wide expecting eyes.

  “Just making a note. If you have nothing further, then I think we’re done here.” She moved, motioning to Yasif that she was ready to leave.

  “Wait,” Jake said. “Don’t go. Please.”

  Sally settled back into her seat, her purse strap still on her shoulder.

  “Is there anything…” Jake cleared his throat. “Can I do something? I mean… I just…”

  There was pain in his eyes. She felt sorry for him, but they really didn’t need a tag-along. And yet, something made her feel there was something about him, something he could offer. The fact that he knew Daniel at all might come in handy.

  “Tell you what. We’re staying at the Radisson just up the street. Room 247. We’ll be there until tomorrow. If you find some useful information, we can talk. Deal?” Sally was vaguely aware of Yasif’s stare.

  They said their goodbyes and left Jake with the plate of fries.

  “I don’t think that guy can help us,” Yasif stated, the restaurant door shutting behind them with a jingle
.

  “He knew Daniel.”

  Yasif held out a hand. “So do I. How is that going to help us figure out what happened?”

  Sally shrugged. “Don’t know yet, another hunch I guess.”

  “So now we’re investigating hunches?” Yasif asked.

  Sally stopped, giving him a disapproving look. “Not everything has to be by the book.”

  “So we’re just going to ignore all the facts and wing it then?” Yasif crossed his arms.

  “Wing it?” Sally cast an angry look. “Don’t you trust my judgment?”

  “It’s just that we rode all the way out here to talk to some guy who might have known Daniel years ago, and we’ve found out nothing! I told you this would be a waste!”

  Sally threw her hands into the air. “Don’t you get what it means to investigate something? You don’t just follow up on a lead because it’s easy! Ninety percent of leads will get you nowhere, but you won’t know if you don’t follow up.”

  Yasif spoke. “Look, it was one thing when we were investigating stuff around school, but this is dangerous. We’re out here in a strange town on our own, and I haven’t even turned eighteen yet!”

  “Sometimes, you’re such a wuss!” She regretted the comment as soon as she’d said it.

  A hurt expression crossed his face.

  “Yaz!” she called after him. “Yaz! I’m sorry!”

  Sally didn’t understand what was happening. He’d never had trouble with investigating before. Was it really because they’d come to Athens? She had a hard time believing that. Sure, this was farther than anywhere else they’d gone together, but Yasif could hold his own.

  With Daniel missing, maybe he was just scared of the burden of maintaining the site on his own. Perhaps he felt he wasn’t good enough. That was nonsense, of course; he could hold his own. He was the only other person she knew whose writing was as good as her own. She needed him. He knew how important he was to the site, and to her, even if they had to find someone to fill Daniel’s role.

  No, there was something else, and it seemed worse the closer they got to graduation. He had been increasingly agitated, always stuttering and second-guessing himself when she was around.

  Another thought occurred to her. Could it be Yasif had an interest in her? Had he been dropping hints and she just hadn’t noticed? The idea of something romantic between them seemed so…odd. They were good friends, and she didn’t want anything to jeopardize that.

  Besides, they couldn’t afford to entertain the idea of romantic involvement right now, not with everything that was happening. They needed to stay focused on the task at hand. If it came down to it, she would just have to tell him that things needed to stay professional between them. With graduation coming up, they had far more important things to focus on.

  Was it even something she’d consider? Before now she’d have said no, but the thought of not seeing him after she went off to college actually made her stop and think. How did she feel about him?

  She cared for him, but it was nothing more than friends, right? Yes, she decided. They were just friends. This investigation was what they should be focusing on, not some silly relationship that had no chance of long-term success. She would set the record straight between them and then they could both move on with their lives.

  She nodded resolutely and made her way into the hotel, her mind lost in thought as she rode the elevator. She rehearsed what she’d say once she arrived. She was so distracted when she opened the hotel room door she barely registered the two men standing inside.

  “Good evening, Miss Singletary,” one of the men in the room addressed her.

  Yasif sat on the bed with his hands on his lap, a look of intense fear on his face. She recognized them. They were the guys she’d seen at the diner. Had they been following her?

  The man who’d addressed her held out a business card printed on clear plastic. “I’m Agent Dawkins with Division 51, and we’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  JAKE WALKED ALONG THE SIDEWALK, squinting into the setting sun, his stomach stretched from the fries—it had been so long since he had eaten so much in one sitting. Even with it being so late in the evening, the sun felt warm, comforting—much more welcoming than the cold darkness of his home.

  He ambled along in no particular hurry, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his baggy jeans—they had fit him once, back before he had let his life spin out of control.

  He thought about what Sally and Yasif had said to him. What was it that bothered him the most? The fact the two had discovered his secret, or the fact they hadn’t cared? He’d been broken for so long, convinced by his father that something was wrong with him, that he was somehow obscene because of whom he cared for. He’d expected a similar reaction from Sally and Yasif, but when they’d figured it out, they hadn’t even batted an eye. It was as if it didn’t matter to them that he had a relationship with Daniel.

  It had been so long since he’d even thought about the evening he and Daniel had spent together. There were those rare times when he allowed himself to fantasize about what might have happened had Daniel’s parents not found out. The guilt that followed, however, was often too much for him to bear. He didn’t even know what’d happened to Daniel after their last encounter.

  His vision blurred with tears and his chest heaved as he was filled with emotions he’d buried in a haze of alcohol and drugs. The sob that escaped sounded more like a cough. He cleared his throat, wiped his eyes, and glanced around to make sure no one was nearby.

  Before he’d realized what had happened, he found himself in the lobby of Sally and Yasif’s hotel. He glanced around, wondering why he was there. Confused, he headed straight for the nearest bathroom so as not to draw attention.

  Inside, he stared at the haunted face in the mirror. He used to be a good-looking guy, by most standards—not that he ever really felt that way about himself, but he was certainly better looking than what stared back at him now. He couldn’t look away. It was though something wanted him to burn this image into his memory, to force him to realize what the past two years had done to him. Was this why he was there? The hope of new friends, new possibilities, a reunion with the person he’d once cared for?

  He turned off the water and then dried his face. There had to be some way to make up for his past, make things right. If anything, he had to at least try. Sally and Yasif offered purpose, something he could do other than wallow in self-pity. He took a deep breath, took one last look at himself in the mirror, then headed to room 247.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  LANI TANAKA SAT in the cafeteria of Hidden Lake Preparatory School, watching as awkward teens crossed the commons in tight groups. It was odd to Lani. This was so different from a Boston public school.

  She was perplexed. Never before had she been so baffled by a story. Three kids disappearing? Sure, it wasn’t exactly unheard-of news, but the circumstances around the disappearances just didn’t add up. She’d already interviewed several students, and it was clear the teacher, Mrs. Conley, was not well-liked. Despite the growing consensus she’d abducted the boys, something felt off; there wasn’t a shred of evidence. In fact, there wasn’t even a shred of evidence to support the disappearance itself. No one saw them leave their rooms and the security cameras seemed to have completely missed their escape. The only eyewitness was a guard who happened to see them bolt into the library just before they’d vanished.

  It was being called a missing persons case with inconclusive circumstances. Such fancy words for, “We don’t know what the hell’s going on.” Of course Lani had no better answers than the police. She’d already spoken to every employee at the school—including the janitors—and interviewed every student she thought might have had a connection to the three boys, but had turned up nothing. All she could do now was interview some of the less obvious choices.

  Where to start? The school wasn’t big, but three hundred and fifty kids was still a lot of people
to sift through.

  “Are we gonna be shootin’ today?” her cameraman asked, blundering over to the table. He hadn’t bothered to shave, and Lani could swear it wasn’t the only matter of personal hygiene he’d neglected. She kept him around because he was a whiz with lighting and camera angles and always managed to make her look good on screen.

  “No, Oliver, I don’t think so,” she answered, taking a sip from her coffee.

  The guy smiled and ambled toward the dessert case. Lani rolled her eyes to herself, then glanced up at the news feed up on the Hi-Li screen.

  It was impressive, the integration of the social feeds and news sources, all providing up-to-the-second information and firsthand accounts. It was an accomplishment. How long before it was bought out by one of the major news outlets?

  That was when it hit her. Damn! I must really be getting old! The kids who ran the Hi-Li might at least have some useful information; these kids were bright. She had dismissed them solely out of pride. Spotting a small mousy-looking boy walking by she called out, “Hey, kid!”

  He stopped and stared at her, his green eyes wide with fear. He was a pale kid, his face dotted with freckles, his hair dark and curly.

  “Who runs the news feed?” She pointed at the screen.

  The boy stammered. He was young. Fourteen? Fifteen, at the most. It didn’t help that he wore a baggy blue-collared shirt and oversized jeans. “I…I…I think it’s some girl named Sally.”

  Lani brought her mug to her lips. “You don’t know her last name?”

  He shook his head, his eyes shifting nervously. “She’s a senior,” he said as though that explained everything.

  “Thanks, kid.”

  He didn’t walk, he ran from her as though she’d suddenly burst into flames.

  Lani sipped her coffee. “Sally, huh?” She retrieved the student list the headmistress had given her. There were three Sallys in the school. Only one was a senior.