Page 17 of Mending Fate

I looked at the doctor, and he nodded. “Nothing new.”

The doctor and nurse left, and I pulled my chair up next to the bed, angling it so I could see the television. I didn’t particularly care what was on, but I knew if I acted like I’d moved closer to her so she would talk to me, she wouldn’t say a word. It was better to let conversation happen naturally.

After a half hour, however, Soleil hadn’t said a single word.

“We’ve all been looking for you,” I said finally. “You scared the shit out of us.”

“Didn’t think anyone would notice,” she muttered, not looking at me.

“Of course we noticed.” I reined in my emotions and forced my words to remain even. The last thing she needed right now was to feel like I was attacking her. “We had no idea where you’d gone…or even if someone had taken you.”

Maybe that wasn’t as subtle as it should have been, but I at least hadn’t flat-out asked her for additional details.

Her nostrils flared. “I can take care of myself.”

I didn’t point out the obvious. Soleil wasn’t a stupid kid. Arguing with her wouldn’t do anything but close her off even more. Still, I couldn’t just say nothing.

“When I was a kid, before I moved into Brie’s house, I was in this one home with a boy named Toby. He was a teenager, so we didn’t really talk much. One day, I saw him shoving some stuff in his backpack. He told me not to say anything, and he’d give me a present. I didn’t know what to do. Before I had to figure it out, though, he got picked up for possession.” I shifted in my chair, trying to find a more comfortable position. “Everybody tried to get Toby to turn on the guy who gave him the drugs. He wouldn’t do it. While he was with the cops, one of the other kids got into some drugs Toby still had hidden in his room. Welby. He was six, and his body just couldn’t handle it. Toby still refused to tell anyone why he was selling or who he was selling to. He got sixteen years but didn’t make it four. They didn’t trust him to not talk.”

Anger and something closer to fear flashed in the girl’s eyes. “What, so I don’t snitch, and I’m gonna die? That what you’re saying?”

I shook my head. “Just saying that sometimes, it’s worth it to take a risk and trust someone.”

Maybe, one day, she’d get it.

Ten

Alec

Eoin’s namepopped up on my phone screen, and I turned away from my computer as I answered.

“Hello.”

“I have something,” Eoin said instead of a greeting. “I’m at a car rental place in Bellevue, and the clerk recognized Keli. She was in here Wednesday afternoon with Evanne.”

Shit. He’d done it. He’d gotten us a lead.

He kept going. “She used her real license to rent it, but that was before she canceled her phone number, so she might not be using it anymore.”

“But she’s in Bellevue? Or at least coming back to the rental place there?”

“Unfortunately, she chose an open-ended rental agreement where she can turn in the car at a different location and at a time she chooses.”

I scowled. “They must have some way of keeping track of the car.”

“They have GPS, but we won’t get that information without a court order.” Eoin’s frustration bled into his words. “They also won’t tell me if the car has been turned in yet.”

I closed my eyes and tried to rein in my disappointment. Eoin had found something. The fact that it wouldn’t immediately lead to finding my daughter didn’t lessen my gratitude. I had to make certain that I didn’t take out my frustration on him.

“I know this isn’t as good as it could have been,” he said, “but I’ll figure something out. I’m not giving up.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said with a sigh. “If they won’t release the information without a warrant or subpoena or whatever legal document they need, it’s out of your hands.”

“The fuck it is,” he muttered. “If the manager hadn’t come in when she did, I could’ve gotten the info out of the clerk no matter what their policy is.”

I was half tempted to tell him to work on the clerk when the manager was gone, but Eoin wasn’t an easy person to forget. If he continued to push the clerk, it could backfire not only against the clerk but against my brother. Unless I had reason to believe Evanne was in danger, I didn’t want to risk Eoin getting into trouble. Not when I had other options.

“I’ll talk to the police again,” I said. “And I’ll speak to Percival Scarpa first. Perhaps he’ll have some ideas about how to get the information we need.”