“Well, theoretically, you start with the person’s last known whereabouts,” Caleb said.
“But this girl you’re looking for…the paper said no one even knows what she did after her plane landed in Jacksonville. She just disappeared,” Barry said.
“She picked up a rental car,” Caleb said.
“But after all this time…that car couldn’t possibly yield any clues,” Will said.
“You’d be surprised,” Caleb said. “Trace evidence can survive an awful lot. But it’s a moot point—unless we find the car. It disappeared, too.”
Just then the waitress arrived with their meals, and Caleb thought his fish—which no one else had ordered, he noticed—was delicious. Despite the arrival of their food, Sarah remained at the bar, chatting with the bartender.
The others asked him more questions as they ate; he answered some and deftly sidestepped others.
Finally he managed to turn the conversation away from himself and learned that Will had grown up in St. Augustine, as had Caroline. Renee had been there about seven years, having fallen in love with the city while attending college over in Gainesville. Barry was the latecomer. He’d done historical tours in Chicago, his hometown, and Charleston, before seeing an ad for docents for the museum.
“I love it here,” he told Caleb. “It gets chilly enough in winter for me to feel like there’s been a change of season, but we pretty much never get snow, and even then, it’s just a few flakes that melt on contact. It’s a big deal when it happens, though, it’s so rare. And because we’re on the water, even summer is usually cool enough, better than a lot of other places. So I’m staying here for sure.”
“Seems like a pretty laid-back town,” Caleb said.
“Hey,” Caroline protested. “We have plenty of nightlife. And if it’s not exciting enough for you here, pop back onto the highway. In twenty minutes you’re on the outskirts of Jacksonville. A few hours in the other direction and you’re in Orlando, surrounded by theme parks.”
“So where is home to you, Caleb?” Renee asked, breaking in before Caroline’s lecture really got going.
“Virginia,” Caleb said.
“So is this your first trip to St. Augustine?” Caroline asked, and he thought she seemed a little bit suspicious, even slightly troubled.
“Yes,” he assured her.
“Hmm.”
“Why?” he asked her.
“I don’t know. I could just swear I’d met you, or at least seen you, somewhere before, that’s all.”
“Who knows? Maybe in another life,” Will said, and yawned. “I’ve got work tomorrow, gang. I’ve got to get going.”
They all rose in unison just as Sarah returned to the table. “Sorry, guys. Al and I just started talking and I lost track. Looks like I missed dinner,” she added, staring at the lasagne congealing on her plate.
“Looks like,” Caroline said. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She started for the door.
“Hey, wait, I’m walking you home,” Will called after her. He gave the others an apologetic look. “She’s a blonde…. I don’t want her out there alone at night.”
“Good call, stick with her,” Sarah told him.
“Don’t go thinking that just because you’re a brunette, that makes you safe,” Will said quietly to Sarah, then gave Caleb a speaking look before racing after Caroline.
“I’ll see Renee home safe and sound,” Barry said cheerfully, and something in the way he looked at her told Caleb that the two had been an item for a long time.
“We might as well head out, too,” Sarah told Caleb when the others were gone.
“What about the check?”
“It’s covered,” she assured him.
“That’s nice, but I pay my own way,” he told her. “Besides, I can expense it.”
“I’m so happy to hear we’re a business expense,” Sarah said.
He let out a sigh of aggravation, staring at her. “What the hell is it with you? You’re the one who invited me here.”
She was quiet for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. Anyway, don’t worry about paying. Al—the bartender—told me that Harry was here earlier, saw us and told our waitress not to give us a check. So we were all Harry’s guests tonight. And I have to show up to work tomorrow morning, too, so I need to get going.”
“Let’s go, then.”
She waved to several people as they left, and a few called out to her in return, but at least no one was asking her about the grisly find in her house.
Even so, he was certain that the whispering would start as soon as they were gone.
They walked in silence for a few minutes. “So what will you be doing tomorrow?” she eventually asked him.
“Heading to Jacksonville,” he said.
She looked over at him. “You think your missing girl is in Jacksonville?”