There’s still no trace of Cadence, Grey, or the ex-Mrs. Cross anywhere on the internet. But I did find something strange. The new Mrs. Cross hasn’t made any purchases with her credit card since the kidnapping either.
She was a big spender before the day the girls disappeared, and it’s not like her credit cards were frozen. The Kings’ father,Jarod Cross, is still campaigning across the country for a seat as governor, so it’s extra weird that his new wife isn’t with him.
I add Marian Cross’s information to the code and re-start the search.
Next, I focus on finding our friend from the stairwell. The AI chat agent I trained is a few seconds shy of being finished sorting through the information from the phone.
It’s been a few hours since I broke the passcode, but I didn’t want to manually go through every inch of the phone. Not when the task is so simple. There are far more efficient ways to extract the information that I want.
“Okay, Mr…” I peer at the screen that has all the text messages, pictures, and even the social media likes of the phone owner organized in neat, bubbly folders. “Ace.”
Ace is probably not his real name, but that’s the name on his social media account and also what his friends call him via text.
Ace is a member of a group called Grave City, which I know because he’s mentioned several times that he’s going to touch up his tattoo to “lock in.”
For someone involved in less-than-savory activities, Ace has a very public persona. His social media has tons of pictures of him drinking in bars, posing in front of motorcycles and fancy cars, and flashing money in front of half-naked women.
“Okay, Mr. Ace. What exactly are you hiding?”
I type in the chat to my AI agent, Henry.
A translucent circle pops on the screen. The circle pulses as the AI works to search the phone. A few seconds later, it types a message on the screen.
‘That’s enough’, I type.
“No, thank you, Henry. That’s it.” I stretch my arm above my head and turn my chair in a circle. “Should I tell Finn I already found this guy’s address?”
The thought of getting in touch with Finn makes me shudder.
Nope.
My heart and I need the full three days away from him.
Clicking out of the AI agent, I grab my phone and scroll to Kelly’s number. My conversation with Bailey reminded me that I haven’t checked up on my friend yet.
ME:Hey, Kelly! How’s it going at home? Bet you miss the hospital’s Wednesday Meatloaf.
KELLY:Hey, J! I was just thinking of you.
ME:Great minds, right?
KELLY:Do you have time tomorrow? Shawn is on a business trip, and I’m so bored at home I almost miss the meatloaf.
ME:Cafeteria jello? On me?
KELLY:Deal.
