Gone without a Trace by Patricia Bradley

Author:Patricia Bradley [Bradley, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC042060, FIC042040, FIC027110
ISBN: 9781441223333
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2016-02-28T22:00:00+00:00

14

Alex poured frozen potatoes into the deep fry basket and lowered it into the hot oil. He’d lost his mind, agreeing to be a short-order cook at Johnny B’s. He hadn’t worked this hard in years. But it probably would only be for one day. With Ben’s news that Samantha Jo’s wallet had been found in Nashville, he’d be flying up there in the morning. Alex was pretty sure Ben would be closing the case in Logan Point. Maybe Samantha Jo had left on her own. Still, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to talk to the detective who handled the case of the waitress who was abducted.

“Hey, Alex.”

He lifted the other basket of fries out of the oil and set them to drain before he looked up to see what the kitchen manager wanted. “Yeah?”

“Have you had a break?” Eddie said.

He shook his head. “There hasn’t been time.”

“Well, things have slowed, so take twenty.”

He didn’t have to be told twice. He untied his apron and hung it on a peg. Robyn looked as though she wanted to talk earlier. Maybe she could take a break as well. He poured a cup of coffee and pushed through the swinging door to the main dining room. There weren’t many empty tables, maybe five out of twenty-five in the main dining area, and he chose the one closest to him. As busy as this place was, he didn’t understand why Johnny B didn’t expand. He had the room. He waved at Robyn, and when she finished refilling a customer’s cup, she walked toward him.

“Callie, would you watch my tables a minute? I’m going to take a short break,” she said. She grabbed a cup and filled it before she joined him at his table. “You look tired.”

“In Texas we say, I’m plumb tuckered out.” He ran his gaze over her. She seemed frazzled. “You okay?”

Robyn used a napkin to take an envelope from her apron. “Someone left me an unsigned note with a fifty-dollar tip in it. I came back to talk to you about it, but you were swamped. I thought Ben might want to check it for fingerprints. I didn’t even wait on whoever left this.”

He took it, making sure he touched only the napkin. The lettering was nothing like the writing on Samantha Jo’s note. “It may be nothing more than someone wanting to make an impression on you.”

“Wouldn’t they have signed it?”

“You’d think. Anything else out of the ordinary?”

She picked at a hangnail on her thumb. “I have the strangest sense someone is watching me.”

“Have you seen . . . ?”

“No. It’s only an eerie, creepy feeling.”

“Maybe it’s your imagination.”

“I thought about that, being here again, and that could be it. And it could be the note and tip. Then Abby remembered that I said I was Susan.” She braced her elbow on the table and rubbed a spot just over her left eyebrow.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Do you want to call it off?” He hoped not.

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