He swallowed and then nodded. “Yep, I can do that. But I sure as hell hope that whatever this is about just ends up being nothing because I really don’t want to lose him.”
“I hope you don’t too.” She stood here, hands on her hips, fuming. Yet she realized just what a sly thing this kid had done. Her vehicle was up on blocks, and it’s not like she could just take off in pursuit of him. She stuck her head into her car, and Simon shook his head, then grinned at her.
“You have to at least appreciate his resourcefulness.”
She rolled her eyes. “We’ll get this done. Don’t worry. I’ll track him down, but this time I won’t be half as nice.”
“And that’s something he’ll have to face,” Simon said quietly.
She nodded.
At that, the kid’s boss turned from under the hood. “Is he really in trouble?”
“I don’t know. Can you tell me when he worked the last few days?”
He nodded. “He has been here for the last four days.”
“Every day?”
“Yes, every day, and doing a good eight-hour shift, if not longer,” he admitted. “He’s been a really good worker.”
“Well, that helps. Do you know where he’s living?”
“At his parents’ place,” he replied. “I have the address and phone number.”
She nodded. “In that case, you can give me the address and the phone number. I’ll pay for this, and then I’ll go track him down.”
“Will he show up for work anymore?” his boss asked.
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “Depends on what he’s done wrong.”
He frowned and looked over at her. “I don’t even know what he did wrong in the first place. But he did tell me that he had a criminal record, but that he was falsely accused.”
“It’s in his juvie record, so the fact that he even brought it up is a surprise.”
“That’s what I thought. I didn’t ask for too many details. He said not to worry, that it wasn’t theft or anything major.”
She snorted. “Nothing major? How about murder?”
The boss’s eyes grew wide. “Jesus.”
“Yeah, but we’re not sure that he did the crime. I’m trying to investigate that right now, but he’s not cooperating.”
“Why would you go after him?”
“Because a second woman has turned up dead with the same MO.”
At that, the boss started to shake. “Maybe I don’t want the kid back.”
“Depends on if you’resure,” she noted with emphasis, as she studied him carefully, “that he was here for the last four days.”
He nodded. “Yeah, he was. Today is the end of his week. But I don’t know what he does in his own time.”
“And that’s a very valid point,” she noted.
“He never seemed like the person who would do anything wrong. He’s really quiet, shy even.”
“And you don’t know what any of these guys do when they’re off work?” she asked.