“Never.”
“And Natalie never mentioned him to you?”
“Never.”
“But you went to school with his son, Bobby?”
“He’s a grade ahead of me.”
“Did Natalie know him?” she asked.
Jared paused to think about it. “She didn’t have many friends. She’d only been in the school a few weeks. I can’t say for sure she didn’t know him, but I never saw them together. She never mentioned him to me. Bobby ran with a different crowd than us.”
“What kind of crowd is that?” Naomi asked.
“The rich kids. In fact, you know who he’s friends with? Bobby? I just saw them together the other night. He hangs out with Ursula Walters. They were in the park a few days ago when I went walking through.”
Something crossed Detective Poole’s face, a look of mild surprise or curiosity. She didn’t have to say anything about it. Everyone in the room saw the strangeness of the circumstances: Bobby Allen, the son of a murder victim, is friends with Ursula Walters, the daughter of a kidnapping victim. And Bobby’s father is found dead at the home of another girl who was apparently kidnapped and in danger.
“And Ursula and Natalie weren’t friends?” Naomi asked.
“No. They were in a couple of classes together, I know that. The other night, when I saw Ursula in the park, she called . . . Natalie weird. You could tell she said it just to be hurtful. She didn’t really know her. Natalie. She just wanted to be nasty in some way. She’s a raving bitch.”
“Jared,” his mom said, “don’t say that. Ursula’s probably just jealous.”
“Jealous of what?” Jared asked. “Of me?”
“Not exactly,” his mom said. “Mean girls don’t like it when anyone makes them look bad. Let’s face it, Natalie is a gorgeous girl. Have you seen a picture, Detective?”
“I have. We got one from the school.”
“Maybe it’s just mean-girl jealousy,” his mom said. “Or maybe she really thinks Tab—Natalie is weird. Who knows?”
“Let me ask you something else, Jared,” Naomi said. “When Natalie broke up with you, did she mention another guy? Do you think she was seeing someone else?”
Her words twisted in Jared’s guts a little. He knew she was just doing her job, and he didn’t want to react like a sniveling little baby. But he didn’t like the question. He didn’t like it at all because he knew so little about Natalie that the answer to the question might just be yes.
“How could she?” he said. “She could barely get out of the house to see me.”
Naomi looked sympathetic, maybe even a little sorry she’d asked the question. “So she didn’t mention anyone?”
“No. She never mentioned any other guys. None.”
A silence settled over the kitchen. He couldn’t hide his real feelings, his fears that Natalie simply didn’t want him anymore because she found someone else.
But he knew the detective had bigger things on her mind. She wasn’t concerned with a silly little high school love triangle. She was hunting bigger game.
Naomi reached out and picked up the photo of Henry Allen, tucking it back into her coat pocket. She checked her watch.
“We’ve sent out an AMBER Alert about Natalie. Her description and her father’s description are going to be all over. They won’t be able to go many places without being recognized.” She stared at both of them, a serious look on her face. The light from above reflected off her oversize glasses. “If you hear anything from Natalie, anything at all. A text. A phone call. An e-mail or a social media message. If you get any of those things, let us know right away. Don’t continue the conversation. Don’t say anything. Just call us. And needless to say, if you see her or her father, call the police immediately. That man is dangerous. Don’t approach him. Don’t play the hero, okay?” She shifted her gaze to Jared when she said the last part.
“I hear you.”
She patted his hand again. “I know you want to rush in and help this girl. It’s noble, it really is. What girl wouldn’t want a boyfriend like you? But let the police handle it, okay? Don’t play Junior James Bond anymore.”
“Can I ask you something, Detective?” Jared said.
Naomi kept her hand resting on his. “I don’t know if she’s alive or not, Jared. But until we know otherwise, we’re going to assume she is.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Jenna walked to the door with Detective Poole while Jared went to his room, and the two women went outside together, stopping on the small front porch to talk some more.