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The man scowls at me. “And who are you exactly?”
“Relax, Lou, this is Lane. He’s Lanie’s—boyfriend?” Gwen says as she steps over to the hostess station. “Lou’s the manager here.”
Lanie and I haven’t gotten around to talking about what we are exactly but seeing the eerie look of concern on both their faces tells me the label on our relationship is the last thing I should be worrying about right now.
“What’s going on, Gwen?” I ask. “Where is Lanie?”
“We don’t know,” she says.
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
Lou clears his throat and puts on a stern expression. “Boyfriend or not, I’m not sure we should be discussing this—”
“What in the hell is going on?” I say, my voice low and tight as I scowl at Lou.
“I told you her mom isn’t going to do anything about it, Lou. I told you we should have called Lane straight out of the gate. He’s the only one who gives a shit about her,” Gwen said.
“He’s not Lanie’s emergency contact—”
I lean closer to the man, my eyes boring into his. “Lou? If you don’t tell me what the fuck is going on right now, I swear to God I’m going to rip your arm off and beat you bloody with it. You got me? Now, what is going on? Where is Lanie?”
Lou's mouth opens and closes like a fish just yanked out of a pond and thrown onto a dock as he stares at me with wide eyes. I can see him trying to figure out whether I'd do as I said I'd do. More than that, I can see the fear in his eyes as he quickly calculates that I would. The fear paralyzes him and he stands rooted to his spot, mouth still opening and closing, but no sound is coming out of it.
Gwen steps in front of him. “Lanie went out on a break. She was running down to the store on the corner to get something. She never came back,” she says. “When she’d been gone for like, forty minutes, Lou ran down to the store. The clerk said she never came in. We called her mom—”
“Yeah, that’s not going anywhere,” I say. “How long has she been gone?”
“A little more than an hour,” Gwen says.
“Fuck,” I grumble. “Did you happen to ever see this guy she said has been coming in and following her around?”
“Yeah, I’ve seen him. Six-one, maybe. Dark hair and eyes. Has a beard. He looks pretty fit and he’s tatted up,” she says.
“Did you see him tonight?”
Gwen shakes her head. “No, not tonight. I think the last time I saw him was the night she said he was following her.”
“Who is this you’re talking about?” Lou asks. “Lanie never mentioned anything about somebody harassing her before. Not to me.”
“Because she knew you probably wouldn’t do anything about it,” Gwen snaps. “But he’s been in here a few times and just stares at her. It’s really creepy. I ran him out of here that night he followed her.”
“So, he might have escalated,” I mutter then turn to Lou. “I need to see your security footage from the cameras in front and back.”
“Look, boyfriend or not, I can’t let you see that footage. You’re not authorized to see it.”
“Lou,” I say, leaning forward again. “If you don’t take me back to your office and show me that footage right now—”
“You’ll rip my arm off and beat me with it. I got it.”
I shake my head, still glaring at him. “What I’ll do to you will be so much worse because every second you stand here jerking yourself off to your rules and regulations, this clown might be getting farther away with Lanie. If anything happens to her, I will hold you personally responsible.
“And you really don’t want to know what I would do to you. Let’s just say, it would be the most agonizing experience of your life. I’m also a contractor and own a construction company, and we’re about to pour concrete and lay the foundation for a new project. Nobody would ever find you. Do you understand me, Lou?”
The man swallows hard and nods. He quickly turns and starts walking toward the swinging door in the wall across from the front doors. Gwen catches my eye as I follow Lou.
“Bring her home, please,” she says, worry thick in her voice. “Bring our girl back.”
I nod then follow Lou through the kitchen and into his office at the back of the diner. He sits down in the chair and swivels to his computer, turning the screen so I can see it. He taps a few keys, and a split screen comes up showing me the cameras in front of the diner as well as behind it.
