Page 36 of The Fix
And in the hour they were out and about, they hadn’t spotted any store or establishment that had a red logo with what might or might not be a cursive uppercase letter that started the word.
Cami continued to search the names of businesses in the area on her phone as Rex drove.
He felt angry and frustrated. He wasn’t used to working with such limited information and without at least several more resources.
And he wondered how in the hell the person who’d first called Cami had expected her to find what was essentially a needle in a haystack.
Or maybe they hadn’t expected that she’d be successful in the mission.
So, what was the point?
Put that aside for now. It won’t help. Find Cyrus and ask the bigger questions later.
Focus.
They could be on the wrong side of that sixty-mile radius entirely, though. They just needed time . Time that Cyrus didn’t have.
He took in a breath and blew it out slowly, sharpening his resolve to keep going even in the face of their current failure to move even one step farther.
“He’s somewhere close by,” Cami murmured. “I just have this feeling.”
He agreed, though not because of any feeling, but because he trusted Joaquin and knew he was exceptional at his job. He’d find the kid eventually. Rex just hoped to God it would give them time to get there before the others who were currently on their way.
“Hey, look.” He slowed and pulled into a parking lot, where there was a bike and kayak rental shop and next to it, Rapids Booksellers & Gifts.
“The comics,” Cami said, her eyes widening with tempered hope. “I didn’t see this one online.”
“Let’s check it out.”
Rex pulled into a parking spot, and when they walked into the shop, they immediately saw the wall of comics and games at the back of the store. They shot each other a look.
A female employee was at the register, talking to a customer, and when they approached, the customer turned to go, giving the clerk a fleeting smile. “I’ll catch you later.”
“See ya.” The girl, who looked to be in her late teens, faced Rex and Cami and greeted them.
“Hi,” Rex said. “We’re looking for a man who might have shopped here in the last week. He bought some Spider-Man comic books.” Cami opened her phone and showed the girl the photo.
“I don’t recognize him, but my dad might. He’s been the one working the register all week. He’ll be in first thing in the morning.”
Damn. “Would you be able to tell us if a Spider-Man comic book has been purchased in the last few days?”
“What are you, like, private detectives?” the girl asked.
“Yes,” Cami answered. “And the man we’re looking for might have taken a kid.”
“Oh, seriously? I wish I could help, but I don’t have the passwords to get into the computer. I’d give you my dad’s cell, but he’s on a river rafting trip a few hours away and isn’t reachable. He should be home at some point tonight, and then in the store at seven thirty a.m.”
Rex nodded at the teen. “We’ll be back first thing then.”
“I’ll leave him a note and let him know to expect you.”
“Thanks.” Cami held out her hand. “I’m Cami and that’s Rex.”
“Ginger,” the girl said. “My dad is Joel.”
“Thanks, Ginger. By the way, your store wasn’t listed online.”
“We just opened last month. My dad’s a one-man show, and he hasn’t gotten around to online stuff. We’re almost exclusively a local business, so I guess he hasn’t made it a priority.” She shrugged. “He only got the sign up a week ago.”
“Well, thanks again,” Cami said, and they both turned.
When they’d stepped back out onto the street, Cami sighed. “I hate that we have to wait until tomorrow morning. And there are several places to purchase comics within half an hour or so.” They got in the car, and Rex checked the time. Businesses would be closing soon.
“This’ll be our first stop in the morning,” he said.
She sat there, bouncing her knee and frowning, obviously as frustrated as him.
He reached over and laid his hand on top of hers where it rested on the console, and she turned toward him.
“The owner will be in at seven thirty. If he confirms that his shop sold those comics, then we’ll know for sure we’re close, and we’ll send the location to Joaquin.
Every bit of information he has to work with, the better.
” A drone would help, and he wondered if there was a chance of getting one of those somewhere around here.
Then again, there were thousands of cabins in the area, and they might not be able to see bars from the air anyway.
Plus, there was red tape regarding drones, and rules on wildlife preserves too. They just didn’t have time for all of that.
She turned her hand over and laced her fingers with his. “Okay.” She met his eyes, appearing to take comfort from his steady gaze. And her trust increased his resolve as well.
He glanced at Cyrus and dropped her hand.
“Shit, the laptop’s dead.” Fuck. He blew out a breath.
Cyrus had just lain down before they’d entered the bookstore, and so he trusted he was fine.
“Let’s go grab something to eat and bring it back to the house and power your laptop.
We’ll take turns staying with him tonight.
We can purchase a car charger in the morning, so we don’t have to worry about staying out as long as we need to. ”
Rex didn’t think the man guarding Cyrus would be back before tomorrow morning with the pancakes, and hopefully the others weren’t arriving until late afternoon because every minute counted if they were going to rescue Cyrus.