A Fortunate Encounter by J. A. Whiting

Author:J. A. Whiting [Whiting, J. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Whitemark Publishing
Published: 2018-10-02T04:00:00+00:00

14

“Badger?” Claire asked, her heart thumping. She remembered the convenience store clerk in the small town of Hadwen mentioning a man called Badger being with AJ Phelps the night Jade disappeared.

“Yes, the name is as stupid as he is.” Audra ran her hand through her hair extension.

“He’s a drug dealer?”

“Yes, and he’s as mean as he is stupid,” Audra said. “I don’t think that guy has a brain in his head. He’s like a robot. I drove with AJ once to meet him. Badger was beating up a guy behind a convenience store in Hadwen. He had a knife. I pulled out my phone to call the police and AJ freaked. He batted the phone from my hand. He told me never to call the police on this guy. I told AJ to turn the car around and take me back to campus. I wasn’t getting involved with a monster like that. We yelled at each other all the way back.”

“So you never actually met this Badger person?” Claire asked.

“And I never will,” Audra said.

“Did AJ still buy from the guy?”

“He did, just not with me in the car. I don’t ever want to be within one hundred miles of that poor excuse for a human.” Audra drained her cocktail. Her eyes had taken on a glassy look while she’d been talking with Claire.

“Are you meeting someone tonight?”

Audra looked confused for a moment. “Oh, yeah. My boyfriend.”

“What were you studying at Whittemore?”

A smile crept over the woman’s mouth. “Nursing. They have an excellent program. I’m going to finish my final year when I return next year.”

“Do you see AJ anymore? Do you run into him at all?” Claire asked.

“I haven’t seen him for quite a while,” Audra said. “I do occasionally see the missing girl’s boyfriend. His first name is Kyle. He comes in here for lunch or dinner sometimes. He works here in the city.”

“You know Kyle?”

“I don’t really know him. I’ve waited on him a bunch. Somebody who works here told us the missing woman is Kyle’s girlfriend.” Audra shuddered. “It shocked me, really shocked me.”

“Has Kyle come into the restaurant since Jade went missing?”

“No. At least I haven’t seen him,” Audra said.

“Does Kyle come in alone?”

“Sometimes. Other times, he comes in with a couple of guys.” Audra looked across the patio to the door to the restaurant and lifted her index finger in a gesture to wait. “My boyfriend’s here.” She collected her phone and her wallet. “If you want to talk more, I’m usually working here in the evenings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Or call the restaurant and ask about my schedule.”

Claire thanked the young woman for speaking with her.

Audra let out a long breath. “I can’t get Jade out of my mind. What was she? Twenty-one? I’m the same age.” Shaking her head, she said, “Whatever happened to her could happen to me.” Audra clenched her hand around her phone. “Sometimes I think I’m crazy for obsessing over this.”

Claire nodded understandingly. “The idea of Jade being missing is upsetting to you.

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