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Marv nodded. “Not here,” he said, taking my elbow and urging me out onto the main stretch of road. He waited until he had flagged down a taxi and nudged me inside before he spoke. “That man’s name is Gadson and Jenna spoke with him every time she visitedBean Water,” Marv relayed.
“Did he see anything?” I asked. The car we were in turned onto the highway and jostled a bit, causing me to slide a bit closer as Marv shook his head.
He reached out and hooked his hand around the curve of my waist and brought me even closer as he spoke. “No, he didn’t see her disappear—we’ve already determined that a car picked her up and to our knowledge, that car never made it to her destination.”
“So why—”
Marv pressed two fingers against my lips, halting my questions as he smiled. “Let me finish, Sunshine,” he said. “I promise I’ll tell you everything I know, okay?” I blushed, but nodded nonetheless, settling against him with an expectant expression. He chuckled before sobering. “I spoke with Gadson because a lot of people don’t see the homeless as actual people. They don’t realize that these men and women can see and hear just as well as anyone else. They’re actually pretty amazing in their ability to seem anonymous and remain hidden and practically invisible in plain sight. I asked if Gadson had seen Jenna on the day she disappeared, he admitted that he had, but he didn’t see any car that had taken her.”
“So we’re back to where we started.” I sighed.
Marv shook his head. “Not completely. I asked if Gadson had seen anyone on any of the previous occasions that she’d stopped to talk to him. If she stopped to see him every time she went toBean Water, there’s a likely chance he might have seen someone involved in her disappearance.”
“Why would you think that?” I asked, my brows puckering with confusion.
Marv lifted his head and stared out the back window of the car as he continued. “Usually when someone disappears, they’re taken by someone they know. Right now, we’re assuming that the man responsible for taking Jenna is involved in the lawsuit case for embezzlement she was working on before she vanished.”
I bit my lip, sliding my palm up his forearm as I moved in and pressed against his side. “Then shouldn’t we be looking at him?” I asked. “It makes sense to determine his whereabouts and figure out if there’s some place he could be holding her.”
Marv nodded without looking down. “We’ve been keeping an eye on him—Texas has anyway. His name is Karl Tennison, and so far, he’s maintained the same schedule he ever has without any deviation.” Marv paused, a scowl gracing his lips. “He’s disgustingly routine,” he admitted. “If he’s responsible or even involved in her disappearance, then he’s hired outside help to do it.”
The car pulled off the highway and turned onto the same street as our hotel. I waited until Marv had leaned up and paid the man and we both got out before asking the question rattling around in my skull. “How did you know to ask Gadson?” I blurted as Marv took my hand and led me through the front glass doors.
Marv shot me a grin. “I know Clarissa,” he said, stopping in front of the elevators and pushing the button, “and I figured if her niece was anything like her then Jenna would make time to talk to people everyone else ignored. She’s a kind soul.”
I frowned. “She seems to be in a bad profession if that’s the kind of person she is,” I commented.
“Not necessarily,” Marv argued as we stepped inside and the elevator doors slid closed. “Many people get into law because they want to help others. They want to right wrongs and exact justice in their own way.”
I released his hand and scrubbed my palms down my face, groaning in frustration. “We still don’t know where she is and we haven’t gotten much closer to finding her.”
Marv moved closer, turning and pressing his back next to mine against the wall. “We’ll find her, Sunshine,” he said quietly after a moment. “You have to believe that.”
“The first seventy-two hours are the most important in a missing person’s case,” I said. “We’ve bypassed that. How likely are our chances?”
I remembered how good Clarissa had been to me in the beginning of my relationship with the guys. I recalled how nice she’d been, how helpful. I didn’t want to let her down and the further into this we got, the more anxious I grew. I worried we weren’t going to be able to find Jenna Wiedleman, and I didn’t want to be the person to tell Clarissa we had failed her.
“Hey,” Marv reached out, turning me towards him, “we’re going to find her. Don’t worry. We’ve already come so far and we’ve only been here for a few days.”
“I know,” I said, but I was still unconvinced and he must have seen that on my face because he abruptly pulled me into his chest, squeezing me close.
His breath brushed over the top of my head. “I’m sorry,” he whispered against my hair. “I know this isn’t what—” The elevator dinged, interrupting whatever he had been about to say. I pushed back slightly, trying for a smile and a small shake of my head before I exited the elevator and headed for the hotel room. “Harlow,” Marv called.
I pulled out the keycard, inserted it, and quickly jerked it back out. “It’s fine,” I called over my shoulder, turning the handle and pushing into the room. “I’m just worried about her is all.”
Marv paused just behind me as the door swung inward to an empty space. I sighed, spotting the note from Knix and Texas on the desk. I moved towards it, unfolding the paper with the word ‘read this’ scribbled across its face.
On our way to speak with the owner of the car. Will call with any new information. Be back soon.
— Knix
Iset the paper down and strode across the room, sinking onto the furthest bed. At least some of us had gotten good leads. Marv picked up the note and read over the words before he flashed me a look. Hopefully, they would have better luck than we’d had.
But what else could I do?I wondered. I laid back, closing my eyes as my mind raced. I started when the papers I had shoved into my back pocket poked me. Opening my eyes and sitting back up, I pulled them out and smoothed their edges.
“Harlow?” Marv’s voice drew my gaze. I looked up at him before glancing back down at the papers.
“Here,” I said, holding out the images. “I got these off of the security footage atBean Water.” Marv took them and set them to the side without looking at them. I frowned. “You should look through them,” I said. “I wanted to get the video footage, but I didn’t want to push our luck. Texas can probably get it later.”
“I’ll review them later,” Marv said, moving until he stood in front of me, staring down as I tilted my face back to meet his eyes. “You didn’t let me finish in the elevator.”
“I knew what you were going to say,” I replied.
“We feel bad that you had to come do this with us instead of going on your honeymoon.”
The corner of my mouth twitched. “It would’ve been your honeymoon too,” I pointed out. “And I didn’thaveto come; I came because I wanted to help.”
“You’re worrying we won’t find her.” His hands came down on my shoulders, moving until his thumbs dipped into the wide collar of my t-shirt, smoothing across my skin. A low simmering heat started up low in my abdomen as I gazed up into his murky gray eyes. “But we will,” he continued, “and everything will work out.”
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to contradict him because I hoped he was right even if I didn’t have the same amount of hope. Instead, I watched as the low simmer I was feeling somehow began to burn within him. I continued to stare back as he leaned down, drawing closer and closer until he blocked out the rest of the room with his body. Until it felt like it was just me and him—we were the only ones and the world narrowed down to just the two of us.
