Chapter 14

Chapter 14

We were inside the room when Esmeralda shut the door and turned to me. "Tank thought he was signing a letter of assistance, which would allow us to feed him lunch. He thinks he's helping to find Mandy. Lucky for us, the front desk guy didn't look closely at the document. All they see is the letterhead, and they think it's official."

"You're tricky." I pulled out my phone and took several shots of the room. No Mandy tied up on the bed, but maybe there was something here that might lead us to her.

"I can't believe he let me get away with that letter." Esmeralda went over to the closet and started looking through Tank's clothes. He didn't have much hung up. One suit and a couple of dress shirts with two ties. "He brought a suit for the funeral."

"That's odd. He didn't know that Professor Wellborn was dead when he packed." I opened the desk drawer and didn't find anything. A bag sat on the floor. I picked it up and found a notebook and a laptop. I checked the laptop first. It had a password-protection screen. I didn't know Tank well enough to even start to guess his password, so I set it aside. I opened the notebook and started paging through it. Pages of finances. What he owed, what he had in savings. And what the new job would pay. It looked like his budget.

The new job paid more, but not a lot. And, I noticed, he didn't pay for lodging. Was that part of his contract? I kept turning pages. Some of it looked like he was writing a book. A fiction story about an archaeologist who got involved in finding a lost Aztec treasure.

But then, he started writing about Gabriel Santiago. The first name had been crossed out, but from what I could see, he hadn't renamed the real man into his fictional character. Was this why he was here? To get background so he could write a book about it? I waved Esmeralda over. "He's writing a book, a novel, about Santiago. I think that's why he's been helping Josh. To get ideas for his novel."

"He's handwriting it?" She glanced at the page where he'd made notes about the lost treasure.

"No, I think this is some sort of outline. I know Deek carries around a notebook, and when he gets an idea, he writes it down. Then when he goes back to writing, he doesn't have to remember it; the new twist is in the notebook." I pointed to the laptop. "The story is in there, but I don't know his password."

"Let me try." Esmeralda hit a few keys, then sank onto the bed with the laptop. "I'm in."

"You knew his password?" I walked over to sit by her. "Did the spirits tell you?"

"I tried the most popular password—the numbers one, two, three, and four. Didn't you attend Greg's cyber protection talk at the rec center last month?" She opened his mail program and started scanning. "Okay, here's the email from Professor Wellborn. He promised Tank a percentage of the take if he came to help."

"That jibes with what he told us. Well, he didn't mention the payday for him, but I'd assumed there was some financial reward. Especially for someone on such a tight budget." I thought about his careful budget in the notebook. "Anything else that's interesting?"

"He has an email chain from Mandy."

My heart sank. Josh was going to be heartbroken if Mandy was part of this plan to find Santiago's money. If she was betraying him, it was a long game. "Anything damning?"

"No, just a friendly exchange. She told him about her upcoming nuptials and invited him to the reception. She says she hopes he gets a chance to meet Josh." Esmeralda kept scanning. "For his part, he's happy for her. He talks about their past and the diving they did. Summers on the beach. Et cetera."

"Did he tell Greg he knew Mandy?"

Esmeralda shrugged as she checked his internet history. "That's a good question. There's nothing here besides him looking up places in the area. And people. Like Santiago and Josh."

"Nothing unexpected." My shoulders dropped. I had to admit, I thought Tank had been part of Mandy's disappearance.

"Not that I can see." Esmeralda returned the laptop to the bag and nodded at the notebook. "Are you done with that?"

"Yeah. There's nothing I can see." I handed it to Esmeralda.

She opened the back cover and looked at the last few pages.

I pointed out the obvious. "The notebook wasn't full."

Esmeralda paused on a page. "Sometimes people put stuff they want to keep track of at the back. It makes it easier to find. Like these spots, he drew on this page."

I gasped as I looked at the crude drawing of South Cove's shoreline. It had the Moonstone Beach cave marked, circled, and crossed out. There were three other spots on the map. I took out my phone and opened the photo app. Josh's map was better drawn but had these three spots marked. "Maybe we do have something. I don't know if they're looking for Mandy or the treasure, but I think we have a few places we could explore."

"I've got tomorrow off if that works." Esmeralda laid out the notebook on the bed so the map was showing. "Get a picture of this map too. That way we don't have to make up a new story to get back in here."

As we were walking out of the Castle, I turned to Esmeralda. "Thanks for coming today. I know you didn't have to."

"I'm not here as Greg's spy, if you're wondering. I heard him telling Toby what you were doing, and he was concerned. I volunteered to come help. Besides, many hands make light work." Esmeralda stood beside her MINI Cooper that she'd parked next to the Jeep. "And I worry about you."

"Thank you? I think?" I smiled as I got into the Jeep. The windows were already down. "Whatever it takes to find Mandy, right?"

"She doesn't deserve what's happening to her." Esmeralda leaned on the passenger door. "Being held against your will gives you PTSD. And that's the best-case scenario for ending this."

"Mandy's strong. If Tank didn't kidnap her, then we've got other issues. But for now, we're staying positive on this wild goose chase. No matter what happens." I glanced at the picture. "I'm heading over to the farm to talk to her family and coworkers. Are you coming with me?"

She checked her watch. "Sorry, I have a reading in thirty minutes. Call and leave a message when you get to the farm and when you're coming back home. I'll be watching for the calls."

"Okay." I didn't think I'd run into any issues, but you never knew. And like Greg always said, I typically walked into danger zones without even being aware of it. "Thanks again."

"See you at Sunday brunch. Is Amy going to be there?" Esmeralda opened her door.

I shrugged. Lately, Amy had been a hit or miss on Sunday brunch attendance. I blamed the new house. She loved that thing, but she treated it like a new boyfriend or husband. She was re-creating it in the image she wanted, one room at a time. "I didn't hear otherwise."

"Okay then, I'll see you Sunday. Don't forget to call when you get home. I'd hate to have to put an APB out on you just because you stopped for groceries on the way." Esmeralda smiled and waved as she drove off.

I wasn't fooled. She'd do it if I didn't call. The woman was brutal. I turned on the music and headed up the farm road that would take me behind the Castle and out to the open range. Where anything could happen. I started formulating my questions as I drove up the mountain. I wasn't a professional investigator, but maybe I'd see or hear something that was off. Or maybe Mandy would arrive and have an amazing story of how she went to visit relatives and just forgot to tell anyone.

A girl could hope.

When I got to the farm, I pulled up at the barn where the office was located. I didn't want to barge into the family home. I hoped they would let me wander through Mandy's apartment, or room at least.

I walked up to a front desk and small vegetable stand outside the large red barn with Jensen Farms painted in white on the side. A young woman greeted me, her hair up in a pony, and she looked a lot like Mandy. A cousin? Or sibling? "Good morning."

"Hi, can I help you? We've got a great selection of early summer vegetables. Typically, we don't have this much available at the farm, but the South Cove stand is temporarily closed."

I couldn't help myself. We needed groceries, and the ones on the stand looked tasty. "I'd love a couple of pounds of tomatoes, a few onions, and maybe some hot peppers? Not too hot. Or maybe one hot and the others medium so I can make two types?"

"Salsa, huh? You'll also need some cilantro." The woman started bagging up items. "How about two jalapenos and four green chilies? That should do it. Anything else?"

I pointed out some strawberries and blueberries and then ingredients for a salad. Since I was here, I might as well kill two birds with one stone. I'd still have to visit the grocery store, but this would be most of my shopping. As the woman—her name tag said Heidi—packed, I watched. "So you have a farm stand in South Cove? That's closer to me. What happened there?"

Heidi took a deep breath as she put the fruits and vegetables into bags. "My cousin, Mandy, she runs the stand. And she's disappeared. Everyone's really worried. It's not like her at all to just take off. And both of her cars are here. Well, one was at the farm stand. So where did she go? I'm worried she went down to the beach to swim and something happened."

I blinked. That hadn't been one of my theories. "Did she often swim after work?"

Heidi sighed as she finished bagging the groceries. "No, and she liked swimming laps in the pool, but what else could have happened? She wouldn't leave with someone she didn't know."

"Did she live nearby? Maybe she walked back home if her car wouldn't start." I got out cash for the food and handed it to Heidi.

"She was staying in town a lot with her fiancé, Josh. They were going to get married next month. So her apartment here is all packed up. The movers were supposed to move everything tomorrow, but my dad put them on hold. Mandy only has us. Her parents died a few years ago in a car crash, so we're her family. Our grandparents have been gone a while too. And I don't think Mandy's mom had any relations. It's sad, really. The Jensens used to be a huge family. I remember when Grandma and Grandpa Jensen ran the farm. We'd have Sunday dinners at the big house."

A man walked up to the stand, breaking her monologue. "Heidi, it's time for your break. Do you need me to finish this up?"

"No, Dad, we're done. I didn't realize you were back from Idaho yet." Heidi gave me my change. "Sorry about venting all over you. Have a great day."

"No worries." I tucked the money back into my tote and picked up the bags. Heidi had already stepped away and was heading toward the house. "She told me about your niece, Mandy."

"Heidi's really worried about her. The girls were as close as sisters." He nodded to the bags. "Looks like you've got enough for a few dinners there."

"Dinners and some fresh salsa. I love the stuff." I started to step away. "I'm really sorry about your niece. I hope you hear good news soon."

His eyes filled with tears. "Our Mandy is a special girl. She's already been through so much, and she was just beginning to find happiness. She will come home. I feel it in my heart."

I called Esmeralda as soon as I got in the car, since I'd forgotten when I got to the farm. So much for having someone to watch my back. When I got her voice mail, I started talking. "Sorry I missed the first call. Anyway, the family doesn't know where Mandy is, at least that's my impression. I bought vegetables and fruits, and the cousin, she says Mandy lost her parents. I don't know if that's relevant, but also, she thinks maybe Mandy went swimming. The uncle is devastated. He said Mandy found happiness with Josh. I wonder if that's a comment about how they felt about Tank. Steve thought they were going to get married."

The phone beeped at me before I finished my message, but mostly, I was just thinking aloud. All roads led back to Tank. But according to him, he wasn't even in the area when Mandy disappeared. He was someone she'd get into a car with though.

Maybe Greg would find an inconsistency with Tank's story and he'd confess where he was hiding Mandy. Although kidnapping someone long enough for them to fall in love with them was a trick I'd expect Josh to do, not Tank. He was, at least on the outside, a perfect mate. Tall, well built, and handsome. I didn't think he had a problem getting dates. Especially with his charisma. But maybe that was an act. Or Mandy was an obsession.

I decided to stop at the scuba shop again to see if I could talk to Steve. He knew them both when they were kids. Maybe he knew more about what broke them up than he was saying. I honked at Esmeralda, who was outside talking to her client as I drove past her house. Now I wouldn't have anyone watching out for me, so I'd have some time to really talk to Steve.

When I drove past the shop, I glanced in the window. The Closed sign was up. That was odd for a Friday afternoon. Even on non-festival weekends, we got a lot of traffic from Friday through Monday with tourists making a long weekend of it. But maybe it was still too chilly for scuba right now. Or Steve had gotten sick.

I made a U-turn in the middle of the street and headed back home to put my fresh veggies away and start on the salsa. If Greg came home, I wanted to have it done for an appetizer with chips before dinner. I thought I had an unopened bag in the cabinet. If not, I'd run down to the convenience store a few miles south on Highway One and grab a couple of bags. I'd need enough chips to get me through the batches of salsa I was about to make.

I hadn't made much progress on Mandy's disappearance, but I'd also hit a dead end. Esmeralda wanted to go with me tomorrow, so I'd leave the next stop on my list, Professor Wellborn's office, until then.

I set out all the stuff for salsa and put the rest away. Then I grabbed Emma's leash. I could at least look for any signs that Mandy might have gone to the beach that evening. I knew I was too late. That any refuse or towel or anything would have already been washed away by the tide. But sometimes, lost items showed back up. What the sea took, it often gave back. Just not at the same place at times.

Emma jogged by my side, glancing over at Esmeralda's as we passed, then at the farm stand. Not seeing either of her friends, she kept going. Emma loved to stop, greet her friends, and meet new people. My dog was an extrovert. I, on the other hand, wasn't.

We got down to the beach, and I glanced inside the two trash barrels by the parking lot steps. They'd been emptied earlier that day. I started running, keeping my eyes out for anything unusual or a bright color in the sand. I went out to the cave opening where I'd found a little boy trapped by the tide years ago. I paused there, kneeling by the opening. "Mandy?" I called out as the ocean pulled back a wave. "Mandy, are you in there?"

Emma and I sat quietly, listening, but the only response we got was the waves on the beach. If she was in the cave, she was unconscious or unable to respond. I wondered if Greg had thought to send a diving team down to check the cave. Just in case. I pulled out my phone and texted him the question.

His response was quick and short. Yes.

Standing, I brushed sand off my running pants. "This is a dead end, Emma. Mandy's not here."

She looked at me, confused. Then she turned toward the parking lot and the beach access stairs and barked. I interpreted her barking to mean, Mandy's at the farm stand, idiot.

Of course, Emma wouldn't add the last word. I was the one who questioned my skills and talent. Not my dog.

We ran back to the road and crossed over to the sidewalk leading up to my house. I had salsa to make, and I thought better when I was doing something. Maybe today I'd think of somewhere else Mandy could be.

Like I'd said earlier, a girl could hope.