“Thank you. And I appreciate you taking time out of your day.”
Kelly gave a warm smile then got on her phone to find out what Zach had managed to uncover. She anticipated that he’d spent the majority of the time lying on the grass taking in the afternoon rays instead of actually digging in the blackened remains.
“How did it go?” were the first words out of his mouth.
“Good. I got a few leads but nothing to call home about. Did you find anything?”
“Yeah. It took a lot of digging through that crap but I came across what was left of a frazzled notebook in the basement. It was buried below a mountain of ash. It’s in a bad state but a company in the city might be able to get something off the hard drive. We might get lucky. Right now though I need a shower. I look like I’ve been up the back end of a rhino’s ass. Which reminds me…”
“No, Zach, I won’t be joining you in the shower.”
He laughed. “Hey, I wasn’t going to say that but now that you mention it, it could be good. Besides, that tells me it’s crossed your mind. Maybe there is hope for us.”
She gagged. “Look, I’ll meet you at the hotel.”
She hung up and sat there for a few minutes longer finishing off her drink and watching the afternoon hustle as people came in for lunch. She glanced over to where Cathy had told her Dana used to sit. What had she been working on? As a freelance writer it could have been anything. She’d dabbled in that briefly while in college as a way to cover her loans. Projects were a mixed bag and rarely required travel. But that raised an interesting question. Where had she gone? And was there a way to retrace her steps in those final days? Kelly collected her things and headed out onto the street. She scanned the buildings for video cameras. Someone must have caught them on camera. If not Dana, at least Jack. Having a face they could put the name to would certainly go a long way in trying to track him down.
Chapter 13
Jack chose to hang around Santa Fe Plaza while Tyson completed his delivery. Tyson told him to soak up some of the culture and had pointed out a bar. He said they’d meet up later and head over to Cosmo’s to see what he’d managed to dig up from the video. So, with time to kill, Jack visited a few shops that afternoon and bought himself a strange lunch called the Frito Pie from the Five and Dime General Store. The bartender in the bar had recommended it. It sounded disgusting but it tasted like pure gold. It was a bag of Fritos, with red chili, ground beef, pinto beans and melted cheese and the whole thing was served up in the bag. At less than five bucks it wasn’t a bad deal.
After, he sat smoking a cigarette beneath the monument in the exact spot Dana had been. He surveyed the surrounding stores and noticed several had surveillance cameras. Most serious surveillance systems kept recordings from thirty to ninety days, others anywhere from two to seven before the last record was overwritten. He turned to his left and right and honed in on a jewelry store that had multiple cameras. Two pointed at the door and another was pointing outwards. Was it possible it had picked up Dana on the day she was here? He dropped his cigarette and twisted it under his boot before heading out of the main plaza, across the street. Jack adjusted his duffel bag on his shoulder and wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead. The heat of the afternoon bore down on him making his shirt stick to his back as he darted between parked vehicles and into the store. A blast of cold air blew against his face as he entered. It was a welcome relief. Inside all the gold jewelry seemed to glow and sparkle from behind glass cabinets. There were several staff members assisting people.
“May I help you find something, sir?” a blond woman with her hair pulled back, and wearing dark business attire, asked from behind a counter.
“Would the manager be around?”
“Is there a problem?”
“No, I was hoping he might be able to help me.”
“Is it a question I can help you with?”
“Look, I know you’re trying to be helpful and all but I’d prefer to speak with him.”
“I’ll go get Lidea.”
“Lidea? Right.” Now he felt like a fool for assuming it was a guy. Jack browsed some of the jewelry and scanned the price tags. It was outrageously high priced, a far cry from the kind of stock he could find in New York. Looking at all the diamonds brought back memories of his teen years. Long before Jack got involved with Roy, Jack and his son Angelo Gafino would hang around the diamond district in midtown Manhattan, smoking joints, talking to gals and eyeing the ground. Angelo called it the walkway of dreams as many a poor man had changed his fortune by searching the cracks in the sidewalks for embedded diamonds, gems and gold. Armed with tweezers and a butter knife they would search for hours for tiny diamonds, ruby chips and gold. Most of it was already cut and polished. These were pieces that had been carelessly dropped. Some of it had fallen off clothes, got stuck to the bottom of shoes, or dropped out of jewelry and gotten jammed into dirt and gum on the streets. Anything they found, Angelo would resell back to the jewelers. He got a real kick out of seeing the look on their faces when they came in with a few tiny pieces. Jewelers would purchase it back at the lowest rate and
