Golden Trail
Page 188

“Call me, you got info on where he’s goin’,” Ryker swung a leg over his bike, settling as he put his key to the ignition.
Layne’s hand shot out and he yanked the keys from his friend.
Ryker’s head turned to Layne and he had that scary look on his face.
“Not a bright idea, bro,” he growled.
“Not a bright idea to get on your bike, pissed and lookin’ to do damage. We can hope nothin’s happened yet. It does, it doesn’t, Alexis and Lissa are gonna need you right here, not have to find their time to visit you and talk to you through glass,” Layne returned.
“She has my girl,” Ryker growled.
“I know and it isn’t helpin’ matters, us spendin’ time havin’ this conversation. Get off your bike,” Layne ordered.
Ryker glared at him.
“Dad,” Jasper called, Layne took a chance and turned his back on scary, pissed off Ryker to see Jasper was jogging up to him.
“Tiffany’s not answering her phone,” Jasper told him when he got close.
Fuck!
“I got her number after the last thing and I’ve been callin’ her. Know someone who’s got some of her friends’ numbers and her home number and they called. She’s not at home, parents said she was goin’ to hang with some of her girls. None of her friends have heard from her and they didn’t have plans.”
“I’m on that,” Colt muttered, pulling out his phone.
“Dad,” Jasper called his attention.
“What, Bud?”
Jasper looked funny and Layne knew that look. He hadn’t seen it from Jas in years. It was hesitant, unsure, like Tripp looked when he had to say something he thought might sound stupid.
Jasper sucked it up and said softly, “Okay, Dad, stick with me, yeah?”
“I’m with you,” Layne spoke softly back as he felt Ryker getting off his bike and Tripp, Devin and Merry got close.
“I know we don’t have a lotta time but will you let me talk this out?” Jasper asked and Layne nodded.
“Okay,” Jasper whispered then took a big breath. “I’ve been thinkin’ about all this stuff and somethin’ never sat right with me ‘cause that Youth Group guy has been around for ages, like, months, right?”
“Right,” Layne agreed.
“So, I don’t know how they think or how they work but to work three girls, it doesn’t seem like it would be worth that investment, takin’ that long to do it,” Jasper went on and Layne’s eyes moved to Devin whose jaw was tight.
His eyes went back to his son. “Go on,” Layne prompted.
“So, it just seemed funny to me but I don’t know how they work so I didn’t think about it much until you told us to go to Giselle’s folks’ house and get the list of her friends. We worked our way through that and none of her friends had much but one of the names on it was Tara Murdoch. I thought that was weird ‘cause Giselle doesn’t hang with Tara, no one hangs with Tara. She’s weird, a goth, loads of piercings, black lipstick, total attitude and not the good kind. She’s fourteen, Dad, and she’s got tattoos.”
Fuck.
Layne looked at Tripp. “Tara Murdoch a goth last year?”
Tripp shook his head.
“She tight with Giselle last year?” Layne continued.
“Yeah, Dad,” Tripp whispered. “They were best friends.”
Fuck!
“Giselle tell you why she’s not Tara’s friend anymore?” Layne went on.
“We never talked about it but Tara went goth, that’s not Giselle’s scene. That kinda thing happens with girls all the time. One day they’re tight, the next day they’re not,” Tripp replied.
“You guys talk to her when you were doin’ the rounds?” Layne asked Jasper.
“No, we went to her house and…” he shook his head, “she was there, standin’ in the front window, watchin’ us with this weird look on her face. Just standin’ there watchin’ us. We rang the bell and knocked but she didn’t move. Just stood there watchin’ us. I thought it was some goth shit and I knew she wasn’t tight with Giselle so I figured she didn’t have anything for us so we walked away.”
Layne nodded at Jasper. “You got anything else?”
Jasper nodded, sucked in breath and replied, “Summer Collins and Hannah Blair. Mitch had clocked both of them at a party, end of school last year. Giselle, Tara, Summer and Hannah were known to be the talent comin’ up from junior high. All the guys knew about them. Giselle was shy. Tara turned goth. Summer is more shy than Giselle, she doesn’t go to games, doesn’t go out for pizza, she just goes to school, doesn’t have any friends that I know of, and she goes home. Sometimes she also doesn’t wash her hair. Just kinda tries to fade, you know?” Jasper asked but didn’t wait for a response, he continued. “But it’s Hannah. Hannah disappeared.”
Layne turned to Merry. “You get a report on Hannah Blair goin’ missin’?”
Merry shook his head but Tripp spoke. “She’s in the hospital Dad. Everyone knows about it, she wigged out this summer. Word is, she’s, like, catatonic. Doesn’t talk to anyone. Not her parents, her friends quit visiting her. She’s just like, gone.”
Fuck, f**k, f**king hell. Devin was right. They’d missed something. Nicolette Towers had already thrown a party.
“They all go to Youth Group?” Layne asked Tripp.
“Don’t know for sure but I think so. I know Tara did,” Tripp answered.
“Brunette, blonde, redhead?” Layne asked.
“Tara was blonde, but now her hair’s black,” Tripp answered. “But yeah, Summer’s got red hair and Hannah was dark.”
Layne looked at Merry but he was already pulling out his phone, muttering, “Got it.”
“I take it, it wasn’t stupid,” Jasper mumbled and Layne’s eyes went to his boy to see he was not looking good. He was looking sick. He thought he f**ked up.
“Jasper, shake that off. You couldn’t save them but now they may be able to save Alexis and Tiffany. Focus on that. Yeah?”
“I should have said something.” He was still mumbling but he was doing it looking sicker.
“Shake that off Jasper, I need you to think,” his eyes cut to Tripp, “I need you both to think. Any other girls? A trio. Blonde, brunette, redhead. They were normal girls last year, attractive girls, and did an about face over the summer. They could be Freshman or Sophomores, they went to Youth Group but they don’t go now.”