hall,
but the chances of someone seeing her and caring were slim to none.
“ Jon, ” she said.
“ Are
you okay? You sound like you ’ re
whispering. ”
“ I ’ m at work right now. ”
“ Oh.
Okay. Well, sorry. ”
“ No.
Don ’ t worry about it. What ’ s happening? ”
“ I
looked into things more, ” Jon said. “ But first, are
you okay with everything? Yesterday you kind of stormed out on me. ”
“ I
didn ’ t mean that, ” Mel said. “ I just thought I would get a
little luck. ”
“ You
did. You got a name. And a place. ”
“ A
place on the opposite side of the country. ”
“ Better
than finding nothing, Mel. You have to look at the positive. I normally don ’ t find a lot when I help people. ”
“ Okay.
I came to New York thinking I was in the right spot. ”
“ You
are, ” Jon said. “ You found me. Now let ’ s move forward. ”
“ Right. ”
“ Your
aunt knew about your father, ” Jon said. “ She worked with
his NPO ’ s more than once. ”
“ That
hurts to know. ”
“ Yeah,
well, that ’ s where I sort
of run dry here. Seems that trail goes a little cold. ”
“ What
does that mean? ”
“ I
have the last place he ’ s
known to be, ” Jon said. “ I have an address. ”
Address?
Mel flickered a smile. Her heart was
racing again. “ An address? ”
“ Yeah.
You won ’ t like this part
though. ”
“ What
part? ”
“ The
address is in Washington. ”
“ Shit, ” Mel said.
“ I ’ m sorry. ”
“ We
have to go to Washington? ”
“ I ’ d like that. I can give you the
address and you make the decision. I can go there and dig around. ”
“ That
will cost a ton of money, won ’ t
it? ”
“ Of
course it will. ”
“ Maybe
I should just stop this, ” Mel said. “ Maybe this is my
sign. ”
There was a long pause. Jon let out
a sigh.
“ I
won ’ t force you into
spending money, Mel. I always try to be honest. If you want this to be the end
of the line, then so be it. Okay? I ’ ll
give you the address and you decide what to do. ”
“ It ’ s Washington. That ’ s just … I don ’ t
have that kind of money. I can ’ t …”
Mel caught herself choking up. She
paused and tried to collect herself. She couldn ’ t
break down on the phone with Jon.
“ I
know, Mel, ” Jon said. “ Take a day or two and think
about it. I can make some calls but it ’ s
hard. It costs money. I could fly out there. I ’ ll
book the cheapest flight possible. ”
“ Or
maybe I ’ ll fly out there, ” Mel said. “ Visit my aunt. Ask questions. ”
“ That ’ s an option. ”
“ Thank
you, Jon. For everything you ’ ve
done so far. I just …”
“ Take
some time, ” Jon said. “ I ’ m
sorry, Mel. This part of my job sucks. It ’ s
not always easy. It ’ s not always
cut and dry. ”
Mel ended the call with Jon and she
closed her eyes to hold the tears back. She had purposely tried to keep her
mind off the subject. Now she was stuck in the middle. She could go to
Washington or she could pay Jon to go to Washington.
Or she could just forget about it.
Mel turned and let out a gasp.
“ Whoa,
are you okay? ”
Mel stared in disbelief.
Jake was standing right next to
her.
(11)
Jake wanted to have fun. Leaving
the hotel and facing reality didn ’ t
seem like an option right now. He wanted to see Mel again. He wanted to talk to
her. Flirt with her. Enjoy himself a little more.
When he ran down the hall and cut
the corner, he saw Mel talking on her cell phone. He smiled and took a few more
steps before he started to hear her conversation. He told himself to just back
off and not listen. It wasn't his business.
But then he heard Mel say something
about Washington.
Washington? The state?
He wondered what was wrong with
her. Family issues? Friend issues? Maybe a boyfriend, fiancé, or husband issue?
“ It ’ s Washington. That ’ s just … I don ’ t have that kind of money. I can ’ t …”
Jake froze
but the chances of someone seeing her and caring were slim to none.
“ Jon, ” she said.
“ Are
you okay? You sound like you ’ re
whispering. ”
“ I ’ m at work right now. ”
“ Oh.
Okay. Well, sorry. ”
“ No.
Don ’ t worry about it. What ’ s happening? ”
“ I
looked into things more, ” Jon said. “ But first, are
you okay with everything? Yesterday you kind of stormed out on me. ”
“ I
didn ’ t mean that, ” Mel said. “ I just thought I would get a
little luck. ”
“ You
did. You got a name. And a place. ”
“ A
place on the opposite side of the country. ”
“ Better
than finding nothing, Mel. You have to look at the positive. I normally don ’ t find a lot when I help people. ”
“ Okay.
I came to New York thinking I was in the right spot. ”
“ You
are, ” Jon said. “ You found me. Now let ’ s move forward. ”
“ Right. ”
“ Your
aunt knew about your father, ” Jon said. “ She worked with
his NPO ’ s more than once. ”
“ That
hurts to know. ”
“ Yeah,
well, that ’ s where I sort
of run dry here. Seems that trail goes a little cold. ”
“ What
does that mean? ”
“ I
have the last place he ’ s
known to be, ” Jon said. “ I have an address. ”
Address?
Mel flickered a smile. Her heart was
racing again. “ An address? ”
“ Yeah.
You won ’ t like this part
though. ”
“ What
part? ”
“ The
address is in Washington. ”
“ Shit, ” Mel said.
“ I ’ m sorry. ”
“ We
have to go to Washington? ”
“ I ’ d like that. I can give you the
address and you make the decision. I can go there and dig around. ”
“ That
will cost a ton of money, won ’ t
it? ”
“ Of
course it will. ”
“ Maybe
I should just stop this, ” Mel said. “ Maybe this is my
sign. ”
There was a long pause. Jon let out
a sigh.
“ I
won ’ t force you into
spending money, Mel. I always try to be honest. If you want this to be the end
of the line, then so be it. Okay? I ’ ll
give you the address and you decide what to do. ”
“ It ’ s Washington. That ’ s just … I don ’ t
have that kind of money. I can ’ t …”
Mel caught herself choking up. She
paused and tried to collect herself. She couldn ’ t
break down on the phone with Jon.
“ I
know, Mel, ” Jon said. “ Take a day or two and think
about it. I can make some calls but it ’ s
hard. It costs money. I could fly out there. I ’ ll
book the cheapest flight possible. ”
“ Or
maybe I ’ ll fly out there, ” Mel said. “ Visit my aunt. Ask questions. ”
“ That ’ s an option. ”
“ Thank
you, Jon. For everything you ’ ve
done so far. I just …”
“ Take
some time, ” Jon said. “ I ’ m
sorry, Mel. This part of my job sucks. It ’ s
not always easy. It ’ s not always
cut and dry. ”
Mel ended the call with Jon and she
closed her eyes to hold the tears back. She had purposely tried to keep her
mind off the subject. Now she was stuck in the middle. She could go to
Washington or she could pay Jon to go to Washington.
Or she could just forget about it.
Mel turned and let out a gasp.
“ Whoa,
are you okay? ”
Mel stared in disbelief.
Jake was standing right next to
her.
(11)
Jake wanted to have fun. Leaving
the hotel and facing reality didn ’ t
seem like an option right now. He wanted to see Mel again. He wanted to talk to
her. Flirt with her. Enjoy himself a little more.
When he ran down the hall and cut
the corner, he saw Mel talking on her cell phone. He smiled and took a few more
steps before he started to hear her conversation. He told himself to just back
off and not listen. It wasn't his business.
But then he heard Mel say something
about Washington.
Washington? The state?
He wondered what was wrong with
her. Family issues? Friend issues? Maybe a boyfriend, fiancé, or husband issue?
“ It ’ s Washington. That ’ s just … I don ’ t have that kind of money. I can ’ t …”
Jake froze
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