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CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

“This is getting pretty damn frustrating,” Keller says to McCray. It’s lunchtime already and they’re sitting in a booth at In-N-Out Burger, waiting for their number to be called. Then it is.

“This is about to make you feel better,” McCray says. He stands, heads to the counter, and retrieves their trays of burgers and fries. In-N-Out was McCray’s idea, but Bob has been raving about the chain forever.

She feels guilty experiencing it without him. But duty calls. And between the sleep deprivation and her aggravation over this case, she could use some salt and grease and Coca-Cola in her system.

Still, she decides to send Bob a photo of her food with a question mark.

She watches the dancing dots. A GIF appears with a character from South Park and the caption, I forgive you.

She holds the burger in her hands and takes a bite. And damn!

“I can’t believe you’ve never been here,” McCray says. “I thought your husband’s from the area.”

“This is the first time we’ve been back to the area since my kids were born. It’s hard to travel with kids, and my job…”

“How old are your children?” McCray asks.

“Nine. Twins—Heather and Michael.”

McCray smiles. “Nine to twelve were magic years for mine.” He looks somewhere faraway. “Thirteen to eighteen, not so much, but they come back to you.”

“How old are they?”

McCray dips a french fry in ketchup. “Thirty-four and thirty-seven, which is hard to believe.”

“What do they do?”

“One is the COO of a tech company in the Silicon Valley. She obviously got her mother’s brain.” He smiles. “My son is more of a free spirit. He worked in finance in your fair city for two years after graduating from Columbia but now owns a bar in Prague.” More pride.

“Wow, smart kids.”

“Yeah, again, thank their mom.”

“What’s your wife do?”

“Neurosurgeon.”

“Seriously, a brain surgeon?”

He nods, allows a small grin. “We got married young, before she knew any better.”

“That explains it,” Keller says, grinning back.

“What brings you to the West Coast? I hear the New York field office is the pinnacle,” he says.

She tells him about Bob’s father. About her hardship transfer. How she worries about disrupting the twins’ lives.

“I wouldn’t fret too much about the kids. They’re at a good age for a change. And they’ll remember this time with their grandfather and experiencing Northern California. It’s beautiful here.”

She appreciates the encouragement from someone who’s been there, done that.

“But take some advice from an old-timer,” he says, pausing for effect. “The cliché about your children is true: The days are long, but the years short.” The sentiment is interrupted by the chime of a text. He scans his phone. “No luck tracking Amy Akana’s stalker yet. They’re coming up short on everything. And they’re starting to sound desperate.”

“Television cameras have that effect,” Keller says.

Back at the campus station thirty minutes later, McCray goes to check in with his team, and Keller decides to close the loop on the only parent she hasn’t interviewed herself: Alice Goffman.

Jay spoke with Alice the night the students disappeared, but that was before they knew the kids left campus like they’d been summoned, before a masked subject was videoed in a van one of them had borrowed, before Annie the Intern heard rumors that Felix was called a stalker in an anonymous post. It could be a waste of time, but it’s not like she has any solid leads.

Keller tries Goffman’s cell phone, but she doesn’t pick up. Unusual, since you’d think all the parents are waiting anxiously by the phone for any breaking news. She starts to tap out a text to Goffman, but is interrupted by a peppy voice.

“Agent Sarah!”

Keller glances up.

Annie Hafeez has a big smile. Is the intern ever not smiling?

“Working on a Sunday,” Keller says.

“It’s my day off, but I’m still searching for clues online, like you asked.”

Keller gives an appreciative nod.

Annie adds, “But I’m available for anything . You name it, I can do it. I’m ready to go.”

“Unless you know how to find Felix Goffman’s mom, I think I’m covered.” Keller smiles.

Annie’s head rattles like she can’t believe what Keller just said. She starts thumbing her phone then walks over, shows Keller the screen.

Several posts. The Rizz site again:

Libby’s parents spotted in Half Moon Bay

Blane’s father released from feebs custody, mother picked him up from station

Mark’s father in custody in E. Palo Alto

“People are tracking them? Why?” Keller asks, dumbfounded. This app is a menace.

Annie shrugs. “It’s fun, I guess. My friend Annalise—I know that’s funny, Annie and Annalise—said there’re, like, crazy rumors flying. She even heard you’re bringing in psychics to help. And the TikTokers are going cra-zy .” Annie looks around, cups her hand like she’s about to tell a secret. “Just between us, Annalise is kind of na?ve. Can you believe when she first met me she said, ‘I never met a Muslim before,’ like I was from outer space or something? She was like, ‘You don’t drink or smoke?’ And I was like—”

“Has anyone on Rizz tracked Alice Goffman?” Keller interrupts.

Annie looks back down at her phone, checks the app: “She went into the campus church less than an hour ago.”