Page 8 of The Eleventh Hour

Rafael opens his bag and whips out his tablet. He types away, and then grins broadly. He turns to me and smiles. I watch out of the corner of my eye, but I don’t bother lifting my head. Rafe pokes me in the ribs. I snarl. He does it again. I lift my head up and push his damn hands off me.

“What?” I shout.

“We found her.”

“What?”

“Jax Shade, she legally changed her name six years ago. This was buried deep, like, really deep. You need to know her new name to find the old one, but I found it.”

“We found her?” I can barely believe it. That tiny, curvy little goddess was the woman we were after? It almost seems more cruel than her having a boyfriend. No, I don’t want her to be Jackie. That’s not right.

I groan.

“What’s wrong?”

“Wait till you see her, man. She is exactly your type. I don’t know how we are going to get her to help us. She’s like an ice queen.”

Rafael scowls. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is-”

“Yeah, the investigation. I know.” I cover a yawn with my hand. “Let’s get back. I’ve got to get some sleep. The past three days, I’ve been living on energy drinks and sugar.”

“We found her.” Rafael laughs giddily and slams his fist on his leg. “I knew this wasn’t a dead end.”

I turn the keys in the ignition and pull away from the curb. “Let's go back to the hotel and plan because, I’m telling you, that girl is ready for this. She’s been expecting it or planning for it, but she’s going to fight or run.”

“Then we’ll be ready for both.”

Rafael glances out the window and watches the city go by. I see his reflection in the window. He looks sad.

“What do you think Terrance would say?”

“He’d call us both idiots,” I say dryly, instantly.

Rafael smiles softly. “Yeah, and then he’d join in and probably come up with some genius thing we hadn’t thought of that makes us both feel like amateurs.”

I laugh. “He would, too. Do you remember that time we tried to build the deck?”

“Oh, yeah, it would have worked, too, would have looked awesome if we had remembered that beam was rotten.”

“He came home and watched us all day. Refusing to help. Finally, just before dark, that stupid beam gave out.”

“He didn’t say I told you so.”

“It was pretty damn close enough,” I growl. “Then he ordered us beer and pizza, and the next day, five contractors came out and built it for us while we watched. When I asked him why he didn’t want us to build it ourselves, he said, ‘I work long hours. I’m not fucking building shit. I know my skills, and I know I’m not a builder. You’re not a builder. Rafe isn’t a builder. Rafe is a counsellor, you are a chef, and I take care of idiots. It’s who we are and what we do. Get the right people for the right job.’” I snort. “The pricks had it done in two hours.”

“He always knew how to deal with problems. Sort it all out.” Rafael punches the side door. “He should’ve been a dad. He should’ve gotten a chance to get married. Terrance deserved those things. He was the best of us. Fuck.”

“Hey, man, it’s all right. We’re going to get answers and nail whoever is behind it to the wall.”

Rafael shifts his glasses and knuckles his eyes. “I know. I’m just tired. We’ve been chasing this girl for five years. I’m happy we found her but pissed off and sad, too.”

“You want to know…but you don’t.”

Rafael nods. “Where is he?”

I don’t answer because we’ve already discussed this. Only one thing would keep Terry from coming home. He’s no longer among the living. It’s the only reason he would have left us!

“If she had anything to do with it, I swear to…” Rafael chokes off.

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