With the world slipping into darkness, I didn’t feel strong at all.
CHAPTER SIX
2006
I parked in front of the apartment building in Pasadena and got out of my car, seeing no sign of Hayden. He’d asked me to meet him here without offering any further details. We parted ways yesterday after I’d opened up about my past, but I hadn’t gotten to the heart of what happened all those years ago. Hayden hadn’t pushed, but I knew his patience wouldn’t last.
Since he’d yet to arrive, I walked to a nearby Starbucks and bought a caramel Frappuccino. By the time I got back, Hayden was leaning against my car. He raised his aviator sunglasses when I approached, wearing his familiar brown leather jacket. Even though I’d come here to meet him, his presence managed to catch me off guard.
“That crap will kill you.”
“I need the sugar.”
“Didn’t sleep well?”
About an hour, and even that had been restless. “I slept enough.”
“You look nice.”
He wasn’t acting very professionally, but I wasn’t sure I wanted him to. Pretending we were two strangers would have made it harder. “Thanks, but these are my usual clothes.”
“They’re not, but I won’t embarrass you.”
I was reminded of how perceptive he could be. “Why did you want to meet here?”
“A guy who used to work with my department lives here. I want him to have a look at your leg.”
I bit down on my anger. He should have told me thatbeforeI drove all the way over. “That’s a bad idea. I don’t want anyone messing around with it. For all I know, it might explode.”
“It won’t explode, Jonah. I don’t want him to mess with anything, just see what we can learn. If this device can record what we say, I need to know.”
I couldn’t imagine them listening to me for all those years, but since I didn’t know for sure, arguing felt redundant. “Fine.”
“Thank you. I spoke with the Chief last night about my involvement in this case considering our history.”
Our history.I drank my Frappuccino, which indeed tasted too sugary. “What did he say?”
“He doesn’t think it’s ideal, but we’re short on staff. With the high crime rate in the city, one missing person won’t stay relevant for much longer.”
A selfish part of me was relieved. My carefully balanced world was unraveling, and it would likely get worse. I had little belief Hayden would ever solve this case, but I didn’t want to get in his way—he’d give up eventually on his own, without me being at fault.
“I’m going to start looking into other missing persons reports,” Hayden said. “Maybe more cases have similar patterns.”
I was sure he’d find more, though I dreaded knowing how many. “They didn’t only take actors,” I said. “They wanted menwhose disappearance wasn’t likely to draw attention.” There had been one exception I couldn’t bring myself to ever talk about.
“Nick has a big family and lots of friends,” Hayden said with a frown. “He doesn’t fit the mold.”
I waited for him to imply that Nick had likely been taken because of his connection to me, but he ended up saying, “If it is also not like them to post videos of their captives online, they might’ve changed their ways, or maybe they’re just feeling too confident. Anyway, you’re ready to go inside?”
“Can I finish my coffee first?”
He glanced at my cup. “That isn’t coffee, but go ahead.”
We leaned with our backs against my car, keeping a safe distance, but his presence made me self-conscious.
“You’re going to the studio later?”
“I need to meet with suppliers downtown.”
