“And the police have told me next to nothing about what they’ve done. I’ve been left in the dark. Or else they just haven’t done much and don’t want to admit it.”
“That’s okay. You probably know more than I do.”
“Well, I’m going to need coffee for this.”
“Let me get it for you.” Madison stood up and grabbed her purse. “What would you like?”
“Black coffee would be great.”
Madison walked inside to the counter. As she waited in line, she looked outside and saw Dave’s Jeep pull up with a pretty blonde girl in the passenger seat. The girl got out and ran inside as Dave pulled away.
“Hi, Gabrielle!” a girl behind the counter yelled over the sound of milk being steamed on the espresso machine.
“Sorry I’m late, you guys!” The girl—Gabrielle—walked behind the counter. She was wearing really short shorts and a tank top. Madison self-consciously looked down at her own attire: baggy jeans that hung down around her hips, an English Beat concert T-shirt, a jean jacket, and black-and-white Chuck Taylors. Maybe she should make more of an effort.
“One coffee please,” Madison said.
Gabrielle didn’t look familiar to Madison. Dave knew everyone in La Jolla, and it was conceivable that this was just a friend. Madison knew better than to try to figure it out. This truth would not set her free.
Madison walked out to the patio and delivered the coffee to Felicity.
“There are a lot of beautiful people in this town,” Felicity said.
“Yes.” Madison sat down. She looked behind her to see if Dave had parked somewhere and walked back. Nope. “Unfortunately, a lot of the beauty is only skin-deep.”
Felicity was emptying the contents of a stevia packet she’d brought with her into her coffee. She eyed Madison. “I think we’re going to be friends.”
Madison reached into her purse and took out a plastic bag containing the cell phone she had found in the Gaslamp District. “Was this Samantha’s by any chance?”
Felicity took the plastic bag from her and looked at the phone closely. “No, this wasn’t her phone. Where did you find it?”
“Well, it doesn’t matter now.” Madison threw the phone back in her purse. Why had she even asked her? Ridiculous, Madison thought. “So let’s do it this way: you’ve heard every single theory, both possible and impossible. What do you think happened to Samantha?”
Felicity was warming her hands on her coffee mug, even though it was about seventy-five degrees under the umbrella on the patio. “Wow, you really cut to the chase don’t you? I like that. And the answer is I just don’t know.”
Madison looked down at the broken-tile inlay at the table where they sat. She used her napkin to wipe a cleaner spot to rest her wrists on. “Do you think she would have taken a rideshare from the bar?”
“Sure. She definitely would not have driven drunk. And according to the videotape at the bar, she was wasted. I don’t know why she walked out of the bar alone, other than the bartender cut her off and she was probably looking for her friends, or maybe she had to throw up or … I don’t know. When a person is that drunk, it’s hard to find motivation in their actions. You asked me what I thought happened, and the only thing I can think of is that she was the victim of an opportunity … someone saw an opportunity and grabbed her.”
Madison thought for a minute. “I can see that. But something about that doesn’t make sense. It was a busy night downtown. I was there last night to remind myself, and it wasn’t even the weekend last night. The place is packed with people up and down the streets. If a girl had been dragged into a van kicking and screaming, someone would’ve noticed that. So in order to get her away from the bar she had to willingly get into a car. Whose car would she have gotten into willingly?”
“I see what you mean. Well, no one, other than a rideshare. She didn’t have a boyfriend. She would’ve gone with a rideshare driver, or one of her friends, but they were all inside the bar and accounted for. Or she might’ve tried to walk to her car to take a nap and got lost on the way to her car. Maybe someone picked her up in an alley? Then there would be no witnesses. Or else she would’ve gotten in the car with someone that she thought was a rideshare driver.”
Madison thought about that. It was possible and one of her initial thoughts.
“You said something on Twitter the other day,” Felicity said. “You said ‘I don’t scare that easily.’ And then someone with an account in your name said ‘We’ll see,’ or something like that. Can you tell me what that was about?”
Madison paused. She didn’t want to share details of the note yet. As an investigator, she’d found that a “need-to-know” basis was the best way to operate. “I’d rather not say, if that’s okay. I might tell you later.”
Felicity paused. A seagull had landed on the fence behind the bench she was sitting on. He was facing Madison; Felicity couldn’t see him. He looked down at them with interest, as if he were part of their meeting.
“I do,” Felicity said.
Madison’s attention jerked back to Felicity. “You do … what?”
“I scare that easily. It’s one of the reasons I agreed to meet with you even though I’ve been burned so many times before. I felt like it was a sign: you saying you don’t scare easily, when I do.”
Madison wasn’t even sure that what she’d written was true; she’d tweeted it for effect.
“I’m afraid too sometimes. Everyone is.”
“I feel like I can trust you,” Felicity said. “I don’t know why. Do people say that to you a lot?”
Madison realized that Felicity wanted to tell her something. So all she said was, “Yes, people trust me,” and then she waited. As her father used to say, the next person who talks loses.
“He called me.”
Madison said nothing. She didn’t know who Felicity was referring to, but she was not about to interrupt her. If she waited, Felicity would tell her.
“Samantha has been missing for four years.” Felicity stirred her coffee, although the stevia had long since dissolved. “When she had been missing for two years, I got a phone call.”
Madison waited.
“It was on my house phone. I don’t know whether my phone number is listed or not. I guess it is, because everyone’s phone number is listed unless you pay to have it unlisted. So, he called and … I … I … picked up the phone.”
Madison looked at her and waited.
The seagull swooped down from behind Felicity to grab a piece of bread someone had thrown on the ground for it. Felicity jumped up and knocked the table on the way up, rocking the coffee cups and spilling coffee. Madison reared back slightly but remained seated. Felicity started walking away from the table on the way to the street and stopped. She had her back to Madison. Madison took napkins and mopped up the coffee before it dripped onto her pants and the ground. She wondered if she’d ever hear what this man had said on the phone. It was probably important. Felicity made her decision. She turned, looked at Madison, and took a deep breath. She came back and sat down.