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“In person.”
“Okay,” Lia said. “Charles and I are going to leave in about five or ten minutes.”
They said goodbye, and Damon ended his call at the same time.
“What did my dad say?” Ariana asked.
“He’s going to make a blog post and call the detective on the case here in town. We need to send him some pictures of Rita for his post.”
“On it.” Ariana found the texting thread with her dad and sent him some of the clearest photos she could find.
“Who were you talking to?” Damon asked.
She caught him up on her conversation with Lia as she answered some questions her dad texted her.
Ten minutes later, they were on the road in their separate cars. When she pulled into the bar and grill, their friends were already there.
Lia ran over and embraced Ari. “What happened?”
She told her about Boone’s mistress, then gave as few details as possible about the confrontation in the restaurant parking lot.
Lia’s brows furrowed, and she called him some colorful names.
Ariana didn’t disagree.
The four of them split up and asked the employees what they knew about Rita and when they’d last seen her. Most said they’d already told the police everything. None had anything new or helpful to share.
She had disappeared without a trace.
But there was always a clue somewhere. They’d find it if they looked hard enough. It was just a matter of finding the clue. Dad’s determination was the reason he had such a high success rate.
And he often said that she was even more stubborn than he was.
Ariana went to the employee’s lounge and looked around. No signs pointing to Rita. The room had two couches, a long table, a sink, and lockers — all closed.
A server came in and slunk down on a sofa.
“Do you know which locker is Rita’s?” Ariana asked.
The girl pointed to one.
“Thanks.” Ariana pulled on the handle. It opened.
“I’m pretty sure the cops already went through it,” said the server.
“They aren’t her best friend.”
“True.”
Ariana rifled through Rita’s things, not finding anything unusual. A change of clothes, a makeup bag, a romance novel, and feminine products.
“Find anything?” asked the server.
“No, but thanks for your help.” Ariana started to head back to the dining area, but stopped at the door to the employee parking lot. She went outside and took in the small gravel lot. It had about a dozen cars and skid marks.
She snapped several pictures of the lot, even though she had already taken some of the gravel before. The marks had been driven over numerous times from the looks of it.
Now to look around some more.
