“Do you own this establishment?” Ryan looked around.
He shook his head. “Just the bartender,” he said cheerfully. “The name’s Ross.” He extended a hand to shake.
Ryan shook it, quite aware he probably had no shortage of lady friends, even in their small town. “I’d like to talk to you about Jasmine?”
Ross cast a glance around the small dive bar. “One sec.” He disappeared into the back.
It always made Ryan nervous when people did that. Were they going to run? Was she going to have to chase them?
Then a woman, probably early twenties, appeared from behind the bar. Her eyes were chilly, but her lips were soft. Like she had smiled but it wasn’t going to reach her eyes. “This is Veronica, she owns the bar.”
Veronica nodded and extended her hand.
Then Ryan placed her. “You’re Cairo’s cousin?” She shook her hand out of habit, but there was curiosity bubbling beneath the surface. Was it a coincidence? Then again, there were limited places to work in their small town. “I’d heard the bar was with new owners.” She hadn’t been at Pat’s when Ryan had been there. Where did she live?
“Yes.” Veronica didn’t say anything more than that.
Ryan decided to switch topics. “I’m looking for this girl.” Ryan placed a photo on the bar and passed it over to her, watching her intently. There was a flash of recognition, then it was replaced by the same chill Ryan had seen moments ago. “Jasmine Turner.”
“Her.” Veronica nodded once.
It was interesting to see how different she was here than she had been at their home. “What can you tell me about her?”
“Not much.” Veronica gestured her to come to the side of the bar, away from the majority of the noise. “She was employed here for about six months, then she stopped showing up.”
“Any idea why?” It didn’t match what she had learned from the parents, but she knew quite well that someone could live a double life.
“I guessed it was due to a boyfriend.” She sighed. “We’ve lost quite a few young people that way.”
The formal, stilted tone of her voice rankled Ryan. Did she not care? Was it far enough away in time that she didn’t feel anything for the young woman?
“How long have you worked here?” Ryan asked, trying to establish a timeline.
“A year,” Veronica said. “I recently bought the bar a few weeks ago.”
Ryan noted that down, keeping her frustration off her face.
“What happened to her?” Veronica looked at Ryan, her face still blank.
That did surprise Ryan. “You didn’t see the news?”
Veronica shook her head. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then stopped. “No.”
“She disappeared over a week ago,” Ryan said. No reaction.
“Oh.” Veronica nodded once.
“You might want to talk to Ashley.” Ross appeared out of nowhere, next to Veronica.
Ryan looked at him, interested. “Ashley?”
“Ashley Palmer,” Ross clarified. They worked around the same time. Ash stayed for a couple weeks after Jasmine did, then she quit.”
“Do you have any contact information for her?” It was the first real lead Ryan had managed to get since she had started the missing case.
“Just her home address.” Veronica was the one who spoke, and then disappeared through the back door.
“That’s where the employee files are kept,” Ross explained.
Ryan nodded, uneasiness causing the hair on the back of her neck to prickle up. She couldn’t explain what it was, or what the the dynamic between the two of them was, but something bothered her.
“Here.” Veronica reappeared with a piece of paper. There was a name and address on it.
“Thanks.” Ryan nodded, then reached in her breast pocket and pulled out a business card. “If you think of anything else, please let me know.” She slid it across to the two of them.
Ross and Veronica looked at each other, then Veronica picked it up. She didn’t say anything, instead turning back to the bar.
Ryan left the bar with more on her mind than she had come with. Had they not checked the girl’s identity? She was definitely underage. She would have to look into if either her or her friend had a history of fake IDs. It would explain a lot.
Getting behind the wheel of her car, she plugged the address into the GPS and started towards it. Ashley lived in a small lot, not far from the southwest side of town. It was like a cluster, with four houses in close proximity and no more for a mile or two. Isolated, but still friendly looking.
The dirt paths were hard on Ryan’s patrol car. The rocks made a bumpy ride, and more than once she cursed herself for not chiding the police Chief into replacing the tires on her car. Checking the house numbers, she drove into the second house from the left. There was a worn, pale blue mailbox at the front of the lot, with a short dirt road leading Ryan to a creaky-looking old house and a well-kept stable.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out where their priorities lay. Not that it was unusual, in the country. Horses were expensive, after all.
She parked the patrol car, tucking the keys into her pocket as she got out. There was another car parked next to the stable, but the lights were off in the house. Was no one home? Had her trip been pointless?
The creaking sound of a door opening caught her off guard. Ryan whirled on the spot, hand going to her gun belt before she saw it was just an older woman who had pushed open the door and screen door.
“Are you —”
“Oh thank God,” the woman said, her voice breaking. “Ashley is missing.”
Sunday 2nd October; 9am
Liv stared at the counter she had polished four times. She was at home now, cleaning up after Gram had baked a cake. It was the only thing that helped calm her mind.
Not that it was working at the moment.
The small TV chattered noisily in the background,
