“You’d come in from Vegas. You were cash rich and manners poor. You were whooping it up. The two of you hit on every single guy in the room and a few that weren’t that single. We had the band in that night, and you ladies got up on the stage for some impromptu karaoke.”
She looked over her shoulder at the small stage and dance floor. She tried to picture the events Andrew was describing and saw nothing. She could imagine her and Holli doing things like he described. They’d been playing fast and loose in Vegas. That was the point of their trip. They were letting their hair down and blowing off steam.
“I’m sorry if we were jerks.”
Andrew shrugged. “You weren’t doing much harm. I saw you as a couple of girls having fun. You did upset some of the diners, but nothing too heavy. You were encouraging others to spend, so the manager liked that.”
“Was that Tom?”
“No. Tom’s only been in charge three months.”
She thought of the people who’d gotten upset. “Did anyone get superpissed at our antics?”
“A couple of families with kids. Some of the older crowd.” Andrew tapped the news clipping. “But angry enough to do this to you? No.”
Her thoughts took her to the other end of the scale. “Did anyone get friendly with us?”
“You had quite a few admirers.”
“Anyone special?”
“Yeah, one—Craig Cook.”
The name meant nothing to her. “Is he local? Do you think I could talk to him?”
“Yes and yes.”
Craig Cook . . . could he be the one? She played the name over and over in her head. Had she and Holli pushed his buttons, and when he hadn’t got what he wanted, he’d taken it anyway? Had he done the same to four other women? Her hands tightened into fists.
“Where can I find him?”
“I’ll do you one better. I’ll bring him to you.” Andrew brought out his cell and dialed a number. “Craig, it’s Andrew. You busy? No? Good. Come by the Smokehouse. I have a lady who needs to talk to you. No, it’s not like that, man. Get here, ASAP.” Andrew hung up. “He’s on his way. Get you anything while you wait?”
She ordered an appetizer she had no real interest in eating.
While she watched Andrew attend to the other customers sitting at the bar, an eerie feeling wormed its way into her. He was so smooth and easygoing. Nothing ruffled his nerves. People were normally taken aback when she asked them about her abduction, but Andrew hadn’t seemed to be. It had all washed over him. She pictured the Tally Man from that night. The figure with the whip, standing over Holli’s suspended body, was tall and blond. Andrew didn’t match that drug-addled image. He wasn’t big enough, but she could be wrong. In her state of fear, he could have seemed larger than life. People’s recollections were often unreliable, and hers were even more suspect since she’d been full of chemicals. Had there really been just one man? Could there have been two? How easy would it have been for a single man to handle a pair of doped women? Not that easy. And how had they been drugged in the first place? Had their drinks been spiked? That wouldn’t be an easy thing for a customer to do, but it would be child’s play for a bartender. She looked down at her coffee. Is there just coffee in here?
She may have just put herself back in the firing line, but she was okay with that. She wanted the police to find whoever had abducted her, and she didn’t care how it happened. If these guys were expecting the same Zo?, they were wrong. She had skills now. Skills they wouldn’t be expecting. She was a fighter. Not a victim.
A man walked into the restaurant and Andrew waved to him. The man waved back. Andrew came back over to Zo?.
“That’s Craig. Remember him?”
Remember him? No. Remember his outline? Yes. He was big, over six feet with broad shoulders and a tight build. His hair was thick and blond. He matched the mental sketch she had from that broken-down workshop.
Anger rose up, hand in hand with fear, which mixed to form panic. Her breaths quickened. A meltdown was coming, but she had to rein it in. She couldn’t let them know she was on to them.
Breathe, she thought. Breathe. Don’t give yourself away. Let them believe they have the upper hand. Don’t let fear take over. Just breathe.
Craig smiled at her and dropped onto the barstool next to her. She managed one in return.
“This is Zo?,” Andrew said. “She and Holli came through here a while ago. You three got friendly.”
Craig creased his expression in reflection, and it didn’t look as if he remembered. It was a long moment before his look changed. The smile returned as a grin.
Was it all a game? she wondered.
“Zo? and Holli. I remember you girls. You cut your hair. We had a great night.”
Holli and I didn’t, she thought and hoped her facade remained intact.
“Is Holli here?” he asked.
“No.”
“Shame. You in town for a special reason?”
“Yes. To see you.”
She put out her hand. As he put out his, she grabbed his wrist and jumped off her barstool, sending it toppling to the floor. She yanked his arm back and thrust it up between his shoulder blades.
“Hey,” he yelped. “What the fuck?”
A ripple of shock and surprise went through the customers.