Chapter Four

I f Olivia and Brock weren’t feeling the coastal vibe, then Breakers took care of that. The restaurant had a tiki style to it, consisting of a back patio that overlooked the ocean, and gentle tropical music played overhead. The patio had a thatched roof and some lamps that lined the railing to give it a rather romantic appearance. A few string lights hung from the roof, lighting the guests below. A counter that looked somewhat like a bar stood in front while the back corner hosted a room dedicated to a pool table and what looked like an ongoing game. Tables scattered throughout the restaurant, on the patio and on the inside. It was busy, not just with people but with the chaotic way it was organized. Still, it looked nice and inviting.

“Hello, two?” A smiling waitress sprang over to them. The girl looked to be in her early thirties with dark curls of brown hair, blue eyes and a name tag that read Mila.

“ Yes, please.” Brock nodded to her.

Mila gathered two menus into her arms. “All of our two-tops are full at the moment. Would you like to wait or would you like to be seated at the bar?”

“The bar is fine,” Olivia answered, already warming to the girl’s cheerful attitude.

“Okay, perfect!”

As Mila led them to the bar, Olivia noticed how hopping the place was for a Thursday night. If it was this packed toward the middle of the week, then what was it like on the weekend? Mila sat them near the end of the bar where she could get a clear view of the room where the game of pool was taking place. Olivia’s quick perusal of the room told her that it was packed full of teens. She couldn’t help but do a silent headcount. Two young guys, sixteen, seventeen maybe, were circling the pool table with their sticks, intent on angling for the best shot.

“Welcome to Breakers.” Mila set the menus before them and slipped behind the bar. “We’ve got an assortment of delicious seafood, but we also have hamburgers, hot dogs, things like that for people who might not like seafood. We’re also known to have the best milkshakes and smoothies in town. Can I interest you in one of those to start you off with a drink?”

It sounded too good to resist. Olivia ordered a raspberry milkshake while Brock stuck to a traditional vanilla. Brock also went for the cheeseburger while Olivia decided to be creative and try the salmon.

“I’ll be right back with those milkshakes.” Mila left them with a smile. Olivia didn’t miss the way that she cast a small look down to the edge of the bar where a handsome-looking blond man was sitting. His back was to the counter and he was observing the teens play pool in the other room. Ah, a little romance there, maybe? That look in Mila’s eyes surely hinted at it.

“I like her already,” Brock mentioned. “She’s very good at her job.”

“She has a great attitude.” The girl had an innocence about her as if she had grown up in this coastal town all her life. She probably had, but it suited her. That smile and bounce in her step would be squandered almost immediately in places like New York or Los Angeles. It thrived in small towns like this.

Olivia let her attention wander to the game of pool that had the teens so occupied. She counted nineteen teenagers crammed into the room, all intent on the one game.

“Looks like the stakes are pretty high.” Olivia nodded to the game.

Brock followed her gaze and raised his eyebrows. “Wow. Can it really be that easy to find some teens?”

Her thoughts exactly. Olivia had figured that finding an in with the teens would be as impossible as trying to give a cat a bath. No teen would want to talk to two “old people” like Olivia and Brock but in a nice, open public space like this? It would be a lot easier.

Trying to look without being too obvious, Olivia noticed a group of girls hovering around the outer edges of the room like groupies as they watched an older teen with black hair and what looked like a tattoo on his neck. He seemed to be the leader in the game.

Olivia and Brock’s milkshakes came before long and Olivia had to agree, it was one of the best shakes she’d ever had. The cheers from the game of pool gave them an easy way to observe even as they ate. It sounded like a football game from the way they cheered the players on and even the blond guy at the end of the bar seemed invested with a smile on his face. He had that sort of mentor-like impression, a young guy who was magically gifted with teenagers and had dedicated his life to helping them have a better one. “Good one, Josh. Great angle. ”

The black-haired kid acknowledged him before stepping back, giving his opponent another turn.

“Well, looks like we struck gold,” Brock leaned in to murmur in Olivia’s ear. She couldn’t agree more. “I don’t think we’ll see this many teens in one place again outside of school.”

“We probably won’t.” Olivia glanced at him. “But how do we get in there?”

“Leave that to me.” His eyes shone with a plan and Olivia knew he was up to something.

With a final clack of the pool cue against the ball from Josh’s side, the table was cleared of the striped balls and cheers went up from all of the spectating teens. Josh raised the pool cue above his head in victory, looking quite satisfied. Maybe a little arrogant, but not enough to put anyone off.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Josh Gallegos, the pool champion!” He bowed and used a fake announcer voice that was still somehow calm. He walked over to his opponent and shook his hand, nodding to him. “Great game, man. Maybe next time.”

Seemed like a decent sort of kid. Olivia caught the feeling that maybe he was the type that everyone looked up to.

As his opponent blended back into the crowd, Josh turned to the remaining spectators, including the ones out in the restaurant, looking around as if seeking out a new champion. “Okay, who’s next against the champion?”

Brock called out to him, that usual grin on his face that made him so good with people. “Not bad, kid. What’s your current winning streak?”

Josh’s attention was drawn to Brock and he gave him a friendly smile along with a nod of his head . “Sixty-one so far this year. Come here every week to perfect my skills. Four years and counting.”

“Four years?” Brock raised a teasing eyebrow. “That’s impressive. Dedicated, too. How do you feel about testing that winning streak? ”

“You want to play, man?” Josh’s voice was inviting with no hostility whatsoever. His voice took on a hint of teasing warning. “There’s no one in this town better than me.”

“If you’re offering.”

“Well,” Josh beckoned, half-closing his eyes as a way of inviting him. “Come on over here.”

Brock stood up almost immediately and Olivia laughed as she slipped off the stool. “Oh, boy, this I gotta see.”

The gathering of teenagers parted with enough room for Olivia to stand in their midst. She stood beside a girl with blonde hair and stunning blue eyes. The girl on her other side was also blonde but with a more childish face and higher-pitched voice. “Come on, Josh!” she called out to him in a pinched voice.

Brock had a challenging tease in his eye. The teen that Josh had beaten in the last round racked the balls on the table before removing the triangle rack and stepping back. Josh and Brock were both rubbing some chalk onto the tips of their cues when Josh nodded to him. “You want to break?”

“I’d love to.” Brock stepped up to the pool table like a general planning a battle.

“Come on, Brock.” Olivia’s eyes danced with delight, eager to tease him about possibly losing to a teenager later tonight when it was just them.

With a clack , the balls scattered in all different directions. Brock managed to somehow get one into the hole, though just barely, as it rolled slowly after all the others bounced around.

“Solids for me,” he announced.

“Not bad for a first try.” Josh teased. Olivia noticed that even in the competition and teasing he was sharing with Brock, his voice had somewhat of a monotone to it, more like he was relaxing at a spa than challenging a guy to a game of pool. His chill personality coupled with the moon and stars tattooed on his neck indicated to Olivia that maybe he was a Zen type of kid. Something to keep an eye on .

“Just you wait.” Brock laughed a bit and took his second shot. The cue ball knocked against two or three others, but nothing fell into the pockets. Olivia wondered if it was intentional, to keep the game going longer.

Josh stepped up to the table, eyes intent on the cue ball. With a single shot, he sent a ball whizzing into a Z shape that bounced against the sides of the table three times before landing in a pocket.

The teens surrounding Olivia burst into cheers and applause and she couldn’t help but laugh. “You gotta beat that, honey!”

“Oh, I will.” Brock sent her a teasing glance and a wink. To anyone watching, that wink might have been a simple I got this, but she knew he was trying to communicate with her that he had found an in. And they hadn’t even been here twenty-four hours, yet!

It was Olivia’s turn. While Brock was finding his way into the group through a game of pool, she could talk to the groupies at least. “So this Josh guy, a real champion, is he?”

“He is, in everything he does,” replied the baby-faced blonde. “He’s on the school basketball team, but also comes here to play pool.”

“And he’s amazing in both,” added the blonde to her left.

“Do you guys have to come out and watch him, or do you want to?” Olivia laughed. “I know how these guys can recruit fans even if they don’t want to come.”

Her double-edged question was met with laughter from the pretty blonde to her left. “Oh, no, not Josh! He’s not that kinda guy. He’s very chill and his little teasing is all in fun.”

Another ball was sent into the pocket by Josh and the teens again erupted into applause. Even in the midst of their applause, Olivia noticed how sullen a few of them looked. Due to Ellie’s disappearance, maybe? She could work it into her conversation, but for now?

“You guys probably don’t want a bunch of old people hanging around your little group, huh? ”

The girl on her left laughed again and her eyes lit up as she did. Truly a girl who had a love for life. “Oh, you’re not that old! Our teacher, Mrs. Fleming, is about your same age and she’s as young at heart as any of us.” She glanced over, smiled at Olivia. “I’m Susanna, by the way.” She extended her hand. Wow. A mature gesture for a teen.

Olivia shook it. “Olivia Curtis. Well, Thomas, actually.” She nodded to Brock. “That’s my husband of a few days over there. We just got married and this is our honeymoon.”

Susanna and the other girl’s eyes sparkled and they both shared a gasp. “Oh, congratulations!” said the girl to her right.

“That’s so sweet!” Susanna’s cheeks blushed with a smile. “So this is your first night here in Cape Fremont?”

“Yes.”

“And you chose to come hang out with us at Breakers?” Susanna laughed a bit as her eyes continued to dance. “We should feel honored.”

“Yeah, we should.” The other blonde drew Olivia’s attention. “I’m Mae, by the way. So you can remember the first people you hung out with as a married woman!” Even though she seemed excited, Olivia noticed something still veiled her eyes, like she wasn’t able to be fully happy.

“Nice to meet you, Mae.”

“So why did you choose Cape Fremont?” Susanna tilted her head.

Olivia was expecting that. She and Brock had come up with an answer long before the question was asked, so they would be ready to answer it. “Well, we wanted something coastal, but not too overrated like Myrtle Beach or Panama City. I know we’re probably not the only couple to honeymoon here, but it’s not a popular place, so it’s kind of like an exclusive destination for Brock and me.”

Even as she said his name, Brock struck another ball, sending it into a side pocket. A few of the guys on the other side cheered him on and a few “Ooohhh’s” circulated around. Olivia didn’t allow herself to get distracted and neither did the two teens she was conversing with.

“That makes sense.” Susanna gave a series of nods. “It’s like a keepsake memory for you guys. You should get a souvenir from the shop before you leave to mark this special moment.”

Olivia had to ask. “That’s right. Hey, how old are you, Susanna?”

“Seventeen.” Her eyes started to light up again. “Soon to be eighteen this fall.”

“Well, happy early birthday.” Olivia kept her true thoughts to herself. Seventeen years old? Susanna didn’t quite talk like a seventeen-year-old girl. No “like” and “you know” every other word, and the words she did choose sounded more mature, with thought behind them. She seemed intelligent for her age and Olivia admired that. She also admired the light in her eyes that seemed to love life, but also spoke of someone who had seen a little of the ugly side of life, despite her young age.

“And you?” She didn’t want to leave Mae out, so she cast her a glance.

“I wish I were going to be eighteen! I’m so ready to leave this town.” Mae sighed dramatically.

“Why? Isn’t it a dream town?” Olivia fished.

“Not really.” Mae’s face softened, the happiness from earlier, gone. “I mean, it was perfect. But I lost my best friend recently.”

Bingo . She did feel sorry for the teen but wanted to hear more. She let her compassion show on her face. “Oh, I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“She didn’t die. She went missing.” Mae looked down at her fingers, tangling near where she kept them by her waist.

Susanna had a look of compassion. She reached around Olivia and drew Mae into a hug. “Hey, we’re gonna find her.”

“I doubt it.” Mae’s voice reeked of cynicism that was strong for one so young. Or maybe one who had seen one too many girls go missing .

“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?” Olivia pressed.

Distress replaced the cynicism. Mae looked up at Olivia as if she somehow knew she was there to help. She was probably just venting, little knowing that Olivia was actually here to help. “She went missing after school on Monday. The last time I saw her, we were together in our last class of the day. She seemed to be very happy, you know, kind of at peace.”

Interesting. “Was she not usually like that?”

“No.” Mae shook her head. She had to raise her voice over the noise of the restaurant, which had gotten busier. “Ellie has a really rough home life, so she gets down a lot. Her dad’s an alcoholic. He just happened not to be drunk the night she disappeared. But on the day she disappeared, she seemed, I don’t know. Happy, like she got some good news or something. She didn’t tell me if anything was different, though, and I didn’t think to ask. I was just happy to see her that way.”

Olivia didn’t much like the sound of that. She’d heard of one too many suicide victims who would be depressed until they had made the decision to end their lives. That decision brought them a morbid type of happiness because they knew their pain was going to end. Was that the case with Ellie? Had she been told she’d achieve a higher version of herself, perhaps, with no pain if she joined a cult, maybe? “I see. She was driving, wasn’t she?”

“No, not yet. She was waiting until she could afford her own car.”

Mae was an open book. A teen who didn’t know how to bite her tongue as she spilled her details with a total stranger. Susanna seemed more quiet and reserved. It was the one time that Olivia didn’t mind someone who spilled the tea on everyone’s personal business as it was giving her information on the case in less than twenty-four hours. “I’m very sorry, Mae. It really hurts to lose a friend.” She stole a glance over at Brock. He knew quite well what it was like to lose a friend and the complications and emotions surrounding that. She kept her look brief before turning her head back to her young confidante.

The sadness that doused Mae’s expression was enough to nearly draw tears from her own eyes. Yet another reason she was determined to find out what happened to these teens. To her, they weren’t a case. Every single one of them was a personal, individual story. “I wish I knew what happened, but I hope wherever she is, she somehow found a better life.”

Olivia wanted so much to believe that, too. But she knew better. Runaways hardly ever found a better life, and that was the lesser of any evil that Ellie might have stumbled into. Running away was better than being kidnapped for trafficking or being inducted into some creepy cult, but it wasn’t good, either. She couldn’t tell Mae, though. So she just nodded. “I really hope so, too.”

She, Susanna, and Mae watched the rest of the game in silence when Brock stepped aside to allow Josh to take his win. “Thanks for playing a round with me, man.” Josh’s cool voice thanked Brock as he reached out to shake his hand. “Another round?”

“Nah, we’ll leave you kids to it.” Brock looked back at Olivia. Olivia tried to communicate through her eyes that there were things she wanted to tell him. He caught on and grinned at Josh. “Maybe next time, eh?”

“Maybe next time.” Josh gave him a sideways nod of acknowledgment. “Thanks again, man. May your stars align.”

Olivia tried not to wrinkle her nose at the phrase that struck her as odd. May your stars align? Yeah, this guy was definitely into something. Namaste or otherwise. She let it go as she said goodbye to Susanna and Mae. She and Brock left quite the tip for Mila and then left. Olivia had taken off her flip-flops and walked barefoot across the sand, letting her feet sink into the grains of sand.

“So what was it like to be beaten by a teenager?”

Brock blew a raspberry and snorted a laugh. “I let him win, Olivia, I’m trying to get in good with the kid! ”

“Sure you are.” She dragged her words out with a laugh. “Well, while you were over there playing, I was over there working. I got some interesting scoops on a few things.”

“Already?” Brock let loose a single laugh at that. “How do you do that so quickly? I thought it would take at least two or three nights.”

“I have my ways.” Olivia grinned, satisfied with herself. She and Brock shared a laugh before she filled him in on her brief conversation with Susanna and Mae. She especially went into detail about how happy Ellie had been the last day she was seen. “Doesn’t that seem like a telltale sign of suicide? It’s often like that when someone’s about to commit suicide, they are happier when they’ve made up their minds to do it.”

Brock’s face darkened into anger as he agreed. “There are a lot of people out there who are convincing teens to commit suicide to achieve a higher version of themselves or some crap.” He shook his head, disgusted as she was with the whole idea. “Do you think that’s what we’re dealing with here?”

“It’s too early to tell,” Olivia shook her head. “But I think we found a nice go-to place for information.” She nodded her head backward to Breakers. “Looks like that’s a huge hang-out spot for teens. For kids like Josh, anyway. Maybe he can give you some info by and by.”

“He was an interesting kid for sure. Seemed very Zen. Soft-spoken, didn’t get too rough or angry. The perfect ideal for a New-Ager. I’ll see what we can find out from him.”

They reached the stairs that would take them to their hotel, but Brock stopped, slinging an arm around Olivia’s shoulders and grinning at her. “I’m not exactly ready to call it a night, just yet.”

“No?” She returned his teasing smile. “What do you have in mind?”

He didn’t look away but swung his head in the direction of the bar. “Maybe grab a drink?”

“I’d like that.” However, she would hardly be focusing on the drink and her time with Brock as her head was already spinning with questions. She wasn’t ready to call it a night either, so as they climbed the steps and headed toward the bar, she said, “Mae said that Ellie disappeared right after school.”

“Right?”

“So I’m thinking that it might behoove us to check out the school if we can. What if we head over there tomorrow, around the time that the kids get off, and see if we can see anything amiss?”

Brock nodded as he reached to hold the door for her. “Sounds like a plan to me. Let’s do it.” He held the door and gestured. “After you, madame.”

Olivia snorted a laugh through her nose. “You’re such a nerd.”