“Derek,” she said, rubbing her eyes.
“Where’s April?” Derek asked.
“You still haven’t heard from her?”
“No. May I come in?”
She nodded and stepped aside.
Derek followed Krystal inside. “We need to talk.”
They sat at opposite ends of the couch.
“I know you know somethin’,” Derek said.
Krystal showed her palms. “I don’t. Honest.”
“I know she’s not a lawyer. I’m not mad, but I need to know the truth.” Derek didn’t know this for certain, but he thought certainty on his part would be more likely to elicit the truth.
Krystal looked down at her tiny hands. Her fingernails were bitten to the quick. “She is a lawyer. She passed the bar and everything. That’s true.”
“But?”
“She couldn’t find work. You know what it’s like. Robots keep doin’ more and more, and nobody ever retires.”
Derek stared at Krystal, searching for the truth in her facial expressions. “What does she do?”
“She goes out on dates.”
Derek pinched the bridge of his nose. “Like an escort?”
“But she doesn’t sleep with anyone. Honest. She literally just escorts them.”
“Who? Who does she escort?”
“Mostly rich guys. Politicians and bankers.” Krystal put her index finger to her mouth, chewing on what was left of her fingernail.
“Was she escortin’ someone on Saturday?”
“I think so.”
Derek clenched his jaw. “You think so?”
She dropped her hand from her mouth. “She was supposed to go to some party. She was just supposed to flirt and entertain the men at the bar.”
“Where was the party?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think!”
Krystal started to cry. “I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
“Do you know who hired her?”
Krystal shook her hanging head. She wiped her eyes and looked at Derek. “Do you think somethin’ happened to her?”
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
“It wasn’t abnormal for her to sleep somewhere else.”
Derek winced at that comment.
“Sorry.”
“Is there any way to find out who hired her? Does April book her own jobs or does she have a …”
“She books her own jobs.”
“Okay. Where does she do that? On her phone? Her tablet? What?”
“I think her phone, but it’s gone. So is her tablet.”
Derek removed his phone from his pocket.
“What are you doin’?”
“Callin’ the police.”
The DC Metropolitan Police wouldn’t take a missing person’s report online and wouldn’t send a detective to Krystal’s apartment, so Derek took another AutoLyft to the nearest police station. Inside, he scanned his chip card, told the desk officer why he was here, and waited in the lobby. He’d wanted Krystal to accompany him, but she was afraid she might be arrested for solicitation.
A moderately tall man in a dark suit approached from the elevator. Derek struggled to his feet, grabbing his crutches from the seat next to him.
“Mr. Reeves?” the suit asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m Detective Barrett.” They shook hands.
Barrett was probably in his fifties with gray hair, feathered and parted down the middle, the shape resembling a butt. He had deep crow’s feet, a large nose, and a first-world gut.
The detective led Derek upstairs via the elevator and into his cramped office. Derek sat across from Barrett at his desk.
Barrett tapped on his laptop screen. “You wanted to file a missing person’s report?”
“Yes. My girlfriend, April Murphy’s, missin’.”
“Do you have her address or phone number?”
Derek provided both.
“Okay, I got her.” Detective Barrett turned his screen to Derek. “Is this her?”
Derek examined the mugshot. “That’s her. Was she arrested?”
“Once. For solicitation. Although the charges were dropped.”
“She’s not a prostitute.”
Barrett raised his eyebrows. “What does she do then?”
Derek swallowed. “She’s an escort, but it’s not sexual. She’s just a date for politicians and businessmen.”
Barrett nodded his head slowly. “You might be right, Mr. Reeves, but escorts in DC are typically high-end pros. It is possible that we busted a party, and she was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but it’s also possible that she’s a pro. When was the last time you or anyone heard from her?”
“As far as I know, the last person to talk to her was Krystal, her roommate. Sorry, I don’t know her last name. Krystal said she talked to April before she went out on Saturday around six.”
“Did she know where April went?”
“Only that she was workin’ a party, but she didn’t know where.”
“When was the last time you saw April?”
“Friday mornin’. She stayed at my house Thursday. My family has an orchard in Luray. She came to help me with the harvest.”
“Did you talk to her or text with her after that?”
“I spoke with her Friday afternoon, and we texted Saturday around lunchtime, but that was it. I have the texts on my phone if you want ’em.”
“I’ll take a look.”
Derek removed his phone from his pocket, tapped to the text string in question, and handed it to the detective. Barrett scrolled with his thumb, reading the texts. He returned Derek’s phone.
“What happens next?” Derek asked.
“It isn’t illegal for an adult to go missing. Without any signs of foul play, I have to wait forty-eight hours before filing this report. If I presume she went missing at 6:01 p.m., immediately after she was seen by the roommate, that would mean that I can file this at six this evening.”
“What happens after you file the report?”
“I’ll add her face to the facial recognition database, and we’ll start looking for her.”
“By we, you mean the cameras, right?”
Detective Barrett nodded. “If she’s out there, the cameras will find her.”
30
Jacob and Thankful
Smells of the baking turkey with rosemary seasoning emanated from the kitchen. Jacob left his home office for the succulent smell. Rebecca and Lindsey sat at the kitchen island, sipping tea, overlooking the living room from the open kitchen. Jeeves prepared Thanksgiving dinner behind them. Spike the dog lay in the living room, in energy-conservation mode.
As Jacob approached them, Lindsey pointed at her stepfather, smiled, and said, “Spike, attack.”
Their little robotic dog stood on all fours and raced toward Jacob, who froze like a deer in headlights. The aluminum and titanium dog stood on its hind legs, hugged Jacob’s thigh, and mimicked sex. Rebecca had her hand over her mouth, stifling her laughter. Lindsey nearly fell from her chair cackling. Jacob shook his head, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“All right. That’s enough. Get him off me,” Jacob said.
“Spike, heel,” Lindsey said.
The dog released its hold on Jacob and returned to its spot in the living room.
Jacob play-frowned at Rebecca and Lindsey. “Both of you are immature.” He then addressed Lindsey. “Is this what you’re learning in robotics?”
“No, but if you can program a robodog to hump a leg, you can program anything.”
“I can’t argue with that.” Jacob walked around the bar, put his hand on Rebecca’s shoulder, and kissed her on the cheek. “When’s dinner?”
“At two,” Rebecca replied.