Jade shook her head."She didn't say.But she was dressed up, like it was something important.A nice dress, heels, makeup done perfect."She paused."She seemed nervous.Excited, but nervous."
"Did she mention anyone she'd been spending time with lately?Anyone new in her life?"
Jade shook her head."Not that I recall."
"Did Tayen ever mention getting a message from her aunt?From anyone in her family?"
"No.She told me she didn't have any family.Said her mom died and there was no one else."Jade looked at Kari, puzzled."If she has an aunt who's been looking for her, why didn't she ever mention it to me?"
"I'm not sure."Kari leaned forward."Jade, this is important.Did Tayen ever mention anyone who made her uncomfortable?Anyone she was afraid of?"
Jade was quiet for a moment, her eyes fixed on the fairy lights above her mattress.When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.
"There's something wrong at the agency.I don't know what exactly, but something.Girls leave and don't come back.Not like they quit, just...they're there one day and gone the next.No goodbye, no forwarding address."
"How many girls?"
"Three that I know of.In the year and a half I've been there.Amanda was the most recent.She was Tayen's friend.One day she just...vanished.Diana said she went back home, but Amanda hated where she came from.She'd never go back there."
Amanda.Kari made a mental note of the name."Did you tell anyone about this?The police, anyone at the agency?"
"I asked Diana about Amanda once.She said Amanda had decided modeling wasn't for her, that she'd moved on to other opportunities."Jade's voice hardened."But I saw Amanda's face before she left.She wasn't moving on to other opportunities.She was scared."
"Scared of what?"
"I don't know.She wouldn't tell me."Jade uncurled from her defensive position, her eyes meeting Kari's directly."Tayen was scared too, in the last few weeks.She tried to hide it, but I could tell.Something was bothering her.And now she's gone, just like Amanda."
Kari pulled out her phone and brought up a photo of Tayen from the screenshots she'd saved."Do you have any other pictures of her?Ones that weren't on Glimmer?"
Jade nodded and retrieved a battered smartphone from beneath her pillow.She scrolled through photos and handed it to Kari."These are from a party a few weeks ago.Before things got weird."
The photos showed Tayen laughing, genuinely laughing, surrounded by other young women in a crowded room.
"Can you send these to me?"she asked.
"Sure."Jade took the phone back and tapped at the screen."I want to help find her.Tayen's the closest thing I have to a friend in this city."
Kari's phone buzzed with the incoming photos.She stood, pulling a business card from her wallet."Call me if you hear anything.If Tayen comes back, if you remember something, anything at all."
Jade took the card and stared at it."You're really a cop?A real detective?"
"Yes."
"And you came all the way from Arizona just to find Tayen?"
"She's family."Kari paused at the door."Jade, do you have somewhere else you can stay?Somewhere away from here?"
The question seemed to catch Jade off guard."Why?"
"Because if something happened to Tayen, and if you've been asking questions about Amanda, you might not be as invisible as you think."
Jade's face paled."I...I have a friend in Venice.I could probably crash there for a few days."
"That might be smart."
Outside, the Koreatown evening was coming to life.Neon signs flickered on above restaurants and karaoke bars, and the streets filled with people heading out for dinner and drinks.Kari stood on the sidewalk and let the noise wash over her, her mind racing through what she'd learned.
Tayen had been missing for two days.Her phone was off, her Glimmer deleted, her roommate frightened.And according to Jade, she wasn't the first model to vanish from Elite Vision's roster.
