Alley Katz (Dev Haskell - Private Investigator Book 27) Read online

  Chapter 29

  I hurried out of the kitchen, calling, “Taylor. Hey Taylor.” I kept calling as I ran up the stairs. I opened the door to the guest room, and Morton jumped off the bed. I didn’t see Taylor, not that there was anywhere he could hide. Then I noticed that the desk was cleaned off, and all the tattoo sketches were gone. The jeans and shirts, all the clothes we got yesterday morning, were gone. “Taylor,” I called, stepping out of the room. I checked my bedroom, the spare room, and the bathroom. I picked up speed with every empty room. I hurried back downstairs, checked the den and the front room. I yelled down the basement stairs and looked out in the backyard. He was gone.

  I pulled my phone out, called and ended up leaving a message. “Taylor, it’s Dev. Call me. Please.” I grabbed my car keys and hurried out to my car. I backed out of the driveway to the sound of a major horn blast. A guy swerved into the oncoming lane to avoid smashing into me, gave me the finger, and shouted some expletive I couldn’t hear.

  I pulled to the curb and thought for a moment. It couldn’t have been more than thirty minutes since he’d headed upstairs. He was on foot. Where could he be? And why did he leave?

  The why part could wait. Right now, I needed to find him. I drove up the street and back down. I crisscrossed all the neighborhood streets. I drove over to the school. I walked around the building, tugging on each door, but they were all locked.

  I drove down to Inkredible and talked to Dennis. I told him about all the work Taylor had done, and he promised to call me if Taylor showed up. I drove through downtown, peeked inside a bunch of coffee shops, and still came up empty-handed.

  I phoned Annette and explained the situation.

  “Why would he do this?” she asked.

  “If I knew that, I’d probably know where he went. I don’t know. I don’t get it. Now I’m just really worried about him.”

  “What did you say that made him run away?”

  “What? I didn’t say anything.”

  “Did you mention the Art Academy?”

  “No, I never had a chance. In fact, that was what I was going to tell him about, but he was gone.” I started to choke up, my voice rose, and tears were welling up in my eyes.

  “Dev, Dev, listen to me. I want you to come over here.”

  I cleared my throat and got back to a semblance of normal. “But I’ve got to find him. Night is coming on, it’s going to be dark soon, and I don’t want him out on the street.”

  “That’s why you need to come over here. Two heads are better than one. We’ll find him.” She gave me her address again. I made another spin through downtown, drove past the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities shelters, and then headed out towards Annette’s.

  She lived just out of town off Highway 10 on a cul de sac called Sunflower circle. Her two-story home had a stone front, an attached three-car garage, and what appeared to be a work building in the back of the lot— apparently checking art forgeries paid pretty well. I pulled into her driveway and climbed out of my car. She opened her front door before I was even halfway up the sidewalk. “How are you doing, Dev? Come on in. Look, we’re going to find him. Now, have you called the police?”

  I shook my head. “They can’t do anything until it’s been more than twenty-four hours. Taylor’s only been gone since just a little after the noon hour. I had two phone calls. Yours and another woman, Barbara Wright. She runs the group at the high school giving homework help to kids. I got off the phone with you, ran upstairs to tell him the news about the Art Academy, and he was gone.”

  “And you don’t know why?”

  I shook my head. “No, he was eating breakfast, said he wanted to do some more design work, and went upstairs. That’s the last I saw of him.”

  I followed Annette into her kitchen. She filled a mug with coffee and handed it to me. “Here, I just put the pot on. You’ll need it. We may be at this for a while.”

  “Thanks,” I said, and drank some coffee.

  “Now, back up for a minute. You said he was eating breakfast and wanted to work some more.”

  “Yeah, he slept in until almost noon. Said he’d been working late. You remember how excited he was about doing those new designs.”

  “The lower back designs.”

  “Yeah. So he was up late working on those. Comes down for breakfast about noon and then doesn’t finish his breakfast and heads back upstairs. I get two phone calls, you and Barbara, and the next thing I know, he’s gone. I didn’t even hear him leave.”

  “He didn’t finish breakfast?”

  “No, all of a sudden, he pushed the plate away and went upstairs to work.”

  “What’d you serve him?”

  “Annette, what does it matter? He’s gone.”

  “Dev, this is the kid who had two helpings of stew, inhaled that slice of cheesecake in about sixty seconds. He was eating like someone who’s been hungry, seriously hungry, often. He isn’t going to take a pass on food because he’s still subconsciously thinking he doesn’t know where the next meal is coming from. Now, all of a sudden, he pushes his plate away?”

  “Yeah, scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon, about six slices of bacon. In fact, when he was coming down for breakfast, he said, ‘Whatever it is it smells really good,’ then all of a sudden, he isn’t hungry.”

  “Did you guys argue or anything?”

  “No, nothing like that. In fact, he said he really liked you. Wondered how long I knew you, that sort of thing.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “What’d I tell him? I said we met maybe a week ago. That you were helping me in a forgery case…”

  “What is it, Dev?”

  “I told him you were helping me in a forgery case. That Tubby Gustafson wanted me to find the guy who did the paintings. Then I said if I found the guy, I would tell him to leave town so Tubby wouldn’t find him. That’s when he pushed his plate away and thanked me for all I’d done for him. I told him he’d done more for me, made me remember what was important. The next thing I know, he’s gone.”

  “Don’t worry. We’re going to find him. You mentioned Mr. Gustafson. Did you mention Eli Cummings?”

  “Cummings? No, I’m pretty sure I didn’t. In fact, I know I didn’t. I just said ‘the painter’ or ‘artist’ or something.”

  Annette shook her head. “Strange, there has to be some connection. I wonder what it is. Well, we can’t worry about that now. Finding him is the top priority. Did he have any friends at school? Maybe he’s landed at one of their homes?”

  I shook my head. “No, he was really a loner at school. The girls stayed away from him, and up until Friday, the boys pretty much gave him a hard time. He didn’t have any friends.”

  “Well, he could go to the shopping malls, but they close down around nine. Does he have any money?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. I don’t think he could get a hotel room if that’s what you're thinking. I don’t think he has a driver’s license,, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have any credit cards.”

  “Did he mention anything about a church?”

  “No, never.”

  “Does he have a key to your house?”

  “No, I meant to get him one. I just haven’t done it yet.”

  She walked over to her computer and started typing. “I’m going to draw up two lists, one for each of us. We can check these places and see if he’s there or maybe he’s been there. You don’t happen to have a picture of him, do you?”

  “No, I don’t. I wish I knew his last name. We could at least have a shot at contacting a relative or someone.”

  Annette hit a key on the keyboard, and the printer fired up. A moment later, the printer spit out two pieces of paper. She grabbed one and handed it to me. “Okay, so that’s your list of places to check out. Don’t just drive past. Go inside and ask someone, look around. I’ll do the same. Let’s plan on calling one another every ninety minutes or so just to check in.”

  “Oh, Annette, thanks so much. You don’t
have to do this.”

  “You’re right. I don’t. But I want to, so I’m going to help you try to find Taylor. You just keep your head on straight. This is what we’re focused on. Oh, and Dev, stop beating yourself up. You haven’t done anything wrong. Now let’s get going. It’s going to be dark in a couple more hours.”

  I looked over the list she’d handed me. I’d already been to three of them, but it made sense to check again with night coming on. There were a couple of places I’d never heard of. “Annette, thanks for all your help. I really mean it.”

  “We’re going to find him, Dev. Don’t worry.”

  “I’ll feel a lot better once we do. Okay, I’m going to hit all these places.”

  “I’ll be right behind you. I’m just going to shut things down here and lock up. Don’t forget we’re going to touch base with one another every ninety minutes.”

  “Yeah, I got it. I’ll let myself out. Talk to you in ninety minutes,” I said and hurried out the door to my car.

  Chapter 30

  The first four places were a bust. They were all overnight homeless shelters, first come, first serve. I described Taylor to the people monitoring the doors, but no one had seen him, and I was pretty sure they were telling me the truth. Annette phoned me just as I was pulling in front of a place run by Catholic Charities.

  “Yeah, Annette, any luck?”

  “No, I was about to ask you the same thing.”

  “A big blank. I’m pretty sure the people I spoke with were being straight with me. No one has seen him.”

  “Same on this end. I’m thinking you may want to check your place just in case he’s had a change of heart. God, if only it would be that easy.”

  “That’s a good idea. It never occurred to me. I just pulled in front of St. Francis. I’ll talk to them, then check the house just in case he’s there.”

  “Your turn to call next time,” she said and disconnected.

  I climbed out of the car and walked into the St. Francis Residence. There were probably twenty or thirty chairs in the two front rooms. All the chairs were occupied by a rough-looking group of folks. Not that they were necessarily dangerous, but a lot of beards, worn clothing, unkempt hair. A couple of folks had carts in front of them, no doubt holding all their worldly possessions. Two or three people were talking to themselves. One guy was wrapped in a quilt.

  Some guy was handing out paper cups of steaming coffee. As he finished and I approached him, he said, “Hi, are you one of the volunteers for tonight? Just head down the hallway and knock on the door marked office. They’ll take your name and—”

  “Actually, no, I’m not a volunteer. I’m here looking for someone.”

  “You’re with the police?”

  “No. I found this kid the other day, about seventeen, nice kid. His name is Taylor. His hair is close cut on the sides and curly on top. He was staying at my place here in town, and he left. I just want to make sure he’s okay, and I’ve got a guest room for him if he wants.”

  He looked me over for a moment, not sure if I was telling the truth or not. Eventually, he shook his head and said, “No, I haven’t seen anyone like that. He may show up later, although as you can see, we’re already full for the night. Unfortunately, we’d have to turn him away.”

  I pulled out my business card and handed it to him. “If he does show up, all he has to do is get in touch with me, and I’ll gladly come down and pick him up. I just want him to be safe.”

  He glanced at my card. “You’re a detective?”

  “I’m a private investigator.”

  “What’s he done?”

  “Done? He hasn’t done anything. I’m not looking for him because he did anything. I just want to find him and make sure he’s safe. Let him know he can stay at my place for as long as he wants, no strings attached.”

  He looked me up and down, and I got the distinct impression he didn’t believe a word of what I’d just told him. “Oh, I’ll be sure to tell him,” he said and placed the card in his pocket.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “It would probably be best if you left, detective.”

  There was no point in arguing or trying to explain. The guy’s mind was made up. I made a mental note not to hand out any more business cards. I climbed back in my car and drove home. Morton was standing on the couch, looking out the front window as I pulled up. He barked a couple of times and disappeared, no doubt waiting for me at the front door.

  I unlocked the door and stepped inside. Morton jumped a couple of times until I got him calmed down. We walked back to the kitchen, and I let him out the back door. Just in case, I walked back to the staircase and called Taylor’s name. The house remained eerily quiet. I heard Morton scratching at the backdoor, and I hurried into the kitchen to let him back inside.

  I tossed a biscuit Morton’s way. He grabbed it in midair and devoured it in three quick bites. I thought for a minute and decided it might be a good idea to have Morton along just in case I had to look for Taylor in a crowd. Who better to find Taylor than Morton? I wrote Taylor’s name, my name and phone number on about a dozen pages in a pocket notebook and shoved it into my jeans.

  “Come on, Morton. Let’s go for a ride.”

  At the sound of the word ride, Morton’s head snapped up, and his tail began to wag back and forth. I turned the kitchen lights on and hurried upstairs. I turned on a light in the guest room and then wrote a note to Taylor in the event he returned. ‘Taylor, out looking for you. Hope you are all right. Please phone me. Dev’

  I clipped the leash onto Morton’s collar, and we went out the door. I locked the door then stuck the note to Taylor between the door and the doorframe. We climbed into the car and headed out to the next place on our list, a county-run facility. There was a line of at least a hundred people waiting to be let inside. Morton and I walked to the head of the line and pulled on the door. It was locked.

  “You thinking we’re all stupid?” The guy at the head of the line said, “I been standing here for going on three hours. Be best if you got your privileged ass all the way to the back of this line and wait your damn turn just like the rest of us.”

  “I’m not looking to stay. I’m looking for a kid, wondering if maybe they’ve seen—”

  “What’s her name?”

  “Not a girl, it’s a boy. He’s seventeen, about this tall,” I said, indicating Taylor’s height by holding my hand up.

  “And just why do you want this boy?”

  “I’ve got a place for him to stay. He can stay as long as he wants. I just want to make sure he’s all right and safe.”

  “Yeah, sure, I bet that’s all you want. Like I said before, end of the line. Your dog can stay here, but you gotta get your ass all the way back to the end.”

  Just then, someone appeared on the other side of the door and unlocked it. “I ain’t fooling around, mister. Best you get your ass to the back and wait your damn turn.”

  The guy on the other side of the door pulled it open. “Okay, Walter, first again, come on in. Sorry, I’m afraid we can’t allow any pets,” he said, looking at Morgan. Walter stood behind him, gave me the finger, and mouthed something I couldn’t translate.

  “I’m not looking to spend the night. I’m looking for a young boy, maybe seventeen. His name is Taylor.”

  The guy shook his head and said, “Sorry, haven’t seen him. We’re just opening up for the night now. You might want to check the line. We only have room for sixty people, and there’s at least twice as many waiting to get in tonight. Come on in, Maddie, good to see you. Vivian, good evening. Oh, sir, I’m sorry it looks like you’ve been drinking. We don’t allow that here,” he said and gently pulled the man out of the line and off to the side.

  “Wish I could help you,” the guy said and signaled more people in the door. I pulled out the pocket notebook, tore out a sheet, and handed it to him.

  “Dev Haskell, I think I’ve heard of you,” he said and waved four more people in.

  “Don
’t believe what you hear. I’m really a pretty nice guy.”

  He smiled at that. “If I see him, I’ll give you a call. Good luck,” he said and continued to wave people in. Morton and I walked down the line of folks waiting to get inside. No one caught Morton’s attention. At the end of the line, the guy who’d been denied access sat on a stone wall finishing what was left in a half-pint bottle.

  I climbed back in my car and called Annette.

  “Any luck,” was how she answered.

  “No, thus far I’ve talked to a guy who I’m sure tossed my card as soon as I left thinking I was a cop. Another guy waiting in a line told me to move to the back of the line and gave me the finger. It’s been a big fat zero on my end. How about you?”

  “Pretty much the same result, although everyone I’ve been talking to could not have been nicer. Unfortunately, no one has seen Taylor.”

  “Well, I’m going to keep at it. Annette, feel free to knock off whenever you want. You’ve done way more than anyone could have expected, and I really do appreciate the effort. God, for all I know, maybe he did have cash or a credit card, and right now, he’s on a flight down to Florida or out to California.”

  “I doubt that, Dev. We’re probably within five minutes of him. The question is where?”

  “Yeah, well, nothing for me to do but keep looking. Go ahead and feel free to take off whenever you want.”

  “I’m going to check a couple more places, and I’ll give you a call when I’m finished.”

  Annette phoned me about forty minutes later and said she was heading home. I couldn’t blame her, and I thanked her profusely. We promised to touch base in the morning and disconnected.

  Chapter 31

  In case I had any doubts, and I didn’t, the downtown changed drastically once darkness set in. You’d want to keep an eye on just about everyone out on the street. The other thing I found interesting, and at the same time disappointing, was the number of young girls, they definitely weren’t women, pushing a baby stroller with a child after 11:00 at night. My immediate thought was neither the girls nor the babies had a snowball’s chance in hell.