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The daiquiris arrived topped with a thick dollop of whipped cream and Maraschino cherries.
“Nice,” Becca said and took a sip of the sugary drink. As the nachos and other food arrived, she dug in and had just taken her first bite when a prickling sensation moved over her, spreading unease to wrap around her with sticky gossamer threads. Someone was showing interest in them and not in a good way.
Casually, she scanned the bar—four men surrounded the pool table; a girl punched buttons at the jukebox, and couples sat at the scattering of round tables around the room, eating burgers and fries. No one was looking at them outright, but someone was watching them. Even the handsome cowboy at the bar was deep in conversation with the waitress.
She leaned toward the others. “Someone’s watching us. Let’s ask the waitress if she knows Debi and if she’s coming in tonight. The sooner we get out of here the better.”
They quieted for a moment, each of them glancing around the bar.
Genie shook her head. “I don’t sense anything. Are ou certain someone watching us?”
“Hell, yeah, they’re watching us,” Marcie said, sweeping a fry through a mound of ketchup on her plate and shoving it in her mouth. “We’re three gorgeous women sitting in a dive bar in Podunk, Oregon. What do you expect?”
Becca looked around the bar once more, but the feeling, the sensation of being watched was gone. “Maybe you’re right.” She wasn’t right, but no reason to let on… yet. She scooped up more of the nachos. “Oh, this is good,” she said around a mouthful.
“Very good,” Jayne agreed, plopping an onion ring in her mouth.
“There she is, finally,” Marcie said as they watched a thin girl who looked no more than twenty-two walk into the bar.
Becca frowned. She seemed too young to be one of her dad’s subjects, but maybe she was older than she appeared. The woman ordered at the bar and then headed toward the dartboard in the back of the room.
“Cameron said she’s a math genius,” Jayne said. “She got a scholarship at MIT.”
“Sounds like she’s made a good life for herself. I hate to disrupt it,” Becca said, playing devil’s advocate. She knew it was important they convince Debi to come back to the estate with them, but now that she had eyes on the girl, there was something off about her. Something she couldn’t place.
“We have no choice. You know if we found her, Emerich will too,” Genie said.
“What do you think she’s doing an hour from home in some dive bar?” Becca watched the girl with the dart in her hand, getting ready to flick it at the board hanging on the wall.
“She comes to play darts every Friday night, and luckily for you all, I’m a pro at darts.” Marcie got up and weaved her way through the tables toward the dartboard.
“Are we surprised?” Jayne asked with a twist of her lips.
“Not in the least,” Becca said.
“Should we join her?” Genie asked.
“And take away all her fun? Nah. Let’s see if she’s as good with a dart as she is with a gun,” Becca said.
Jayne turned to her and grinned. “You mean you don’t want her to show you up here too.”
Becca shrugged. “Maybe. A girl’s ego can only take so much, and hers is too big already!”
“You got that right,” Genie said. They clinked their daiquiri glasses and watched as Marcie approached their target.
“Does Debi’s file say anything else other than she’s good at math? What’s her background once she went into the foster system?” Becca asked as she studied the girl.
“There wasn’t much,” Jayne said. “The CTA lost contact with her when she was young.”
“When I probe, I see geometric shapes,” Genie said.
“What does that mean?” Jayne asked.
“I’m not sure. Everything is very fuzzy,” Genie admitted.
Becca had to agree. It was like she was purposefully thinking about shapes. About the stars. About filling her mind with colors and patterns.
“Look, there’s my man now.” Jayne smiled, her eyes lighting up as she watched Chet and Cameron walk in.
