Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
He laughed back as he stood and reached out his hand. “We’ll see about that.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Rex locked the door of their rental and walked behind Cami as she headed to the car. Despite the choice of fourteen bedrooms, they’d each taken turns sleeping on the leather couch in the basement, where they passed the time playing pool. He massaged his shoulder, working out the kink born of the position he’d been in when he’d finally drifted off at about four a.m., only to wake an hour and a half later.
But Rex had become used to catching an hour here and an hour there while working, and he knew he’d be fine. He’d watched Cami toss and turn under the blanket at the end of the couch, but she’d managed to get about four hours of sleep as Rex had mapped out the exact routes they’d take from place to place on their list to best use the time they had.
The morning air was crisp and clean and scented with salt and pine. He got behind the wheel as Cami pulled the seat belt across her chest, and then he backed out of the driveway and turned onto the street. She set the fully charged laptop up on the center console so they could keep watch over Cyrus, who was currently sitting on the bed, waiting for his pancakes.
Rex let out a breath of relief as they pulled up in front of the shop fifteen minutes early and saw that the lights were already on. They exited the car and made their way to the door, Rex knocking when they found it locked.
A slender man wearing jeans and a mustard-yellow T-shirt came toward the door, flipped the lock, and pulled it open. “We’re not quite open yet. Come back in fifteen.”
Rex held his hand out so the sunburned guy couldn’t close the door. “Sorry to bother you before you’re open, but we spoke to your daughter yesterday, and she told us to come back in the morning and talk to you. It’s an emergency. Joel, right?”
He looked at Rex skeptically, but then pulled the door open wider and invited them in. “We just need to know if a man was in here at some point last week. We have a photo.”
“What kind of emergency is this?”
“It’s involving a kidnapped child. We’re not at liberty to share more than that.”
Joel looked briefly alarmed and gestured to see what they had to show him. Rex was grateful that he didn’t ask for some ID, not because he cared about lying to the man in this instance, but because it would have wasted a few more minutes they didn’t have.
Cami showed him the photo on her phone, and Joel leaned in. “Yeah, that dude was here. Saturday, I think. He was kinda rude, so I remember him.”
“You do?” Rex felt a flare of hope. “Did he say anything memorable? Or about where he was staying?”
“He asked if kids like Spider-Man comics, and I said yes and suggested a few other choices too. He kinda just grunted and then walked out without saying thank you and let the door close right before another customer got to it.”
“Okay, great. Hey, thanks,” Rex said. “You’ve been really helpful. Can I give you my number in case he comes back in again? Don’t tell him someone’s looking for him, but if you could call me, you’d be helping a kid out.”
Joel grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the counter behind him, and Rex jotted down his number, and then they thanked him again and left the shop. They practically ran back to the car, glancing at Cyrus and then looking at each other. “This is it. He’s within twenty miles.”
“If that man with Cyrus was being accurate. And truthful.”
“It’s all we have to go on.” Rex didn’t believe the kidnapper had known he was being watched or listened to. If the guy was being untruthful in any way, it was more likely that he was exaggerating the distance and hoping to scare Cyrus into compliance.
She nodded jerkily. He saw the pulse at her throat thrumming steadily. “It’s less than a mile to the ocean from here, so he’s obviously not in that direction.” But that left them three more, and there were cabins everywhere here. Woods everywhere. And the sound of the ocean traveled and curved around the cliffs. Not only that, the one cabin they were looking for might be private property and not listed publicly.
Rex picked up his phone and dialed Joaquin. His friend picked up on the second ring. “Any more luck?”
“Nah, man. I’ve been running this every which way I can. I’m sorry. That’s as close as I can get you without a view of the horizon directly from the location.”
“Hey, you got us here, and we just got confirmation that we’re close. Thank you, Joaquin.”