“We could go back and take our car, but they’ll have a record of us getting it from valet parking.”
“A taxi will be fine.” He started scanning the street, then waved at a small sedan with a lighted Uber sign that had just turned the corner.
“We could wear disguises,” I teased. “You could get a buzz cut or bleach your hair blond.”
He gave me a sideways glance that let me know neither of those things were happening. “Maybe you should dye your hair or wear a wig.”
I made a face. “I’ll pass on the wig.”
The car stopped at the curb, and the driver rolled his window down. A guy who looked to be in his mid-twenties leaned across the passenger seat. “You guys need a ride?”
“Yeah,” James said, “but we don’t have an Uber app. Can I just pay you cash?”
His eyes lit up. “Sure thing.”
James opened the back door and slid into the back, letting me follow behind him.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
I gave him the intersection of the convenience store, and he gave me a hesitant look. “Are you sure? That area’s a little rough.”
“I’m sure,” I said.
James handed the driver a twenty. “I’ll give you a hundred if you’ll wait outside for us while we’re inside.”
The driver took the money, then shook his head. “No way I’m parking alone in that area. One of you’ll have to stay in the car.”
I shot James a warning look before turning back to the driver. “My husband will stay outside with you.”
The guy narrowed his eyes. “You’re not gonna rob the place, are you? I don’t wanna be a getaway driver.”
“No,” I said in a reassuring tone. “My seventeen-year-old niece ran away from home, and my husband and I flew in to try to find her. Someone said they saw her working at the convenience store. I want to go in and see if she’s there, and if not, ask whoever’s working if they’ve seen her.”
Sympathy filled his eyes. “That’s rough. You got a photo handy? I could show it around.”
The story had come to me on the spot, so I obviously didn’t have a photo.
“Let me pull it up,” James said, his phone already in his hand. I stared at him in surprise as he tapped on the screen. Seconds later, he was holding up his phone for the cab driver to see.
The man studied the screen for several seconds, then shook his head. “I haven’t seen her, but like I said, I’ll show it around.” He heaved out a sigh. “I wanna help, so I’ll drive you around if you have other places you want to check out. My friend’s kid ran away too. Got involved in drugs. It was rough on the whole family.”
“Thank you…” James said, then leaned closer to the front. “What’s your name? If you’re gonna be helping us, we should be on a first-name basis.”
“Alex,” the driver said, putting the car in drive and taking off.
“Nice to meet you, Alex,” James said. “I’m Jeff, and this is my wife, Amber.”
“Sorry to meet you under these circumstances,” Alex said, turning a corner.
“Same,” James said, sitting back and nonchalantly taking my hand. “But I’m thankful we have someone as helpful as you on our side.”
I glanced down at our linked hands, then back at James, but he was peering out the side window.
Alex asked us a few questions as he drove, such as where we’d flown in from, how long we were staying, and where my niece had run away from. James readily answered them all—we’d flown in from Dallas, we were staying two days, and our niece, Penny, was from Pine Bluff.
James appeared cool and collected, but it made me uneasy that we’d fallen this easily into the role of a married couple. I’d only told Alex we were married because that’s what James had told the concierge. It was better to try to stick as close to the same story as possible. I hadn’t been prepared for how right it felt to sit next to him and pretend we were a long-term couple. Then again, maybe I was reading too much into it. Maybe it felt right because we worked so well as investigative partners.
When Alex pulled into the convenience store parking lot, I asked him to park to the side, out of view of the front doors. He gave me a questioning look.
