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“Oh, I could have told you that”
“You’ve searched?”
“Drunk-Googled”
“What?”
She was slurring her words “What do you want, Brandon?”
“There’s nothing on Jeff Raynes”
“Yes, I know Didn’t we cover this already?”
“How can that be? There is so on everyone”
“Maybe he keeps a low profile”
“I checked through all the databases There’s three Jeff Raynes in the United States One in North Carolina One in Texas One in California None of them are our Jeff Raynes”
“What do you want me to say, Brandon? There are plenty of people who keep a low profile”
“Not anymore I mean, seriously No one is this low profile Don’t you see? Soht”
The jukebox started playing “Oh Very Young” by Cat Stevens The song depressed her Cat—her sorta na about how you want your father to last forever but “you know he never will,” that this man you loved would fade away like his best jeans, denim blue Man, that lyric always hit her hard
“I don’t knohat I can do about it, Brandon”
“I need one more favor”
She sighed
“I checked my mom’s credit cards There is only one hit in the past four days She took out money from an ATM the day she vanished”
“She didn’t vanish She—”
“Fine, whatever, but the ATM was in Parkchester”
“So?”
“So we go to the airport via the Whitestone Bridge Parkchester is at least an exit or two out of the way Why would she go out of her way?”
“Who knows? Maybe she erie boutique you don’t know about and buy so sexy for the trip”
“Lingerie boutique?”
Kat shook her head, tried to clear it “Listen to o to that cop you spoke to in Greenwich What’s his name”
“Detective Schwartz”
“Right, him”
“Please Can’t you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Look into the ATM charge”
“What do you think I’ll find, Brandon?”
“Mom never uses her ATM card I mean, like, never I don’t even think she kno I always got cash for her Can’t you, I don’t know, check the surveillance video or so?”
“It’s late,” Kat said, re while drinking “Let’s talk in the , okay?”
She hit the END button before he could respond With a quick nod for Pete to put it on her tab, Kat headed out into the fresh air She loved New York Friends tried to get her to see the joys of the woods or the beach and yeah, sure, reens, fauna could be interesting, but asthan faces, outfits, headwear, shoes, storefronts, street vendors, whatever?
There was a crescent irl, the moon had fascinated her She stopped and stared and felt the tears pushing into her eyes A memory blindsided her When she was six years old, her father put a ladder in the yard He led her outside and pointed to the ladder and told her that he’d just put the moon up there, especially for her She believed hiht until she was