Page 34 of Fatal Betrayal

"And your mom?"

"Busy. She's still working at the travel agency. She's running some tours to Europe, which is fun for her to actually get out of the office and see some of the places she sends people to." TJ paused. "I was just telling Coop that I have a music studio now, making my music and engineering others."

"That's great. You were always so talented, TJ. I remember when you and Tim Waters had that band in the eighth grade with Heather and Rocco."

TJ grinned. "That lasted about five minutes. But I actually recorded with Heather the other day. She's releasing her music online, and it's doing well. What's it like being an FBI agent? Do you have a gun? Do you have it with you now?"

"It's an exciting and rewarding job," she said.

"You always wanted to be a detective. When we were kids, you were constantly trying to solve mysteries."

"They were mostly just games back then."

"Until they weren't." TJ turned to Naomi. "I told you about that kid who lived next door to me who got kidnapped. Well, Andi and Cooper were on the street that night. They were the first at the scene."

"We were just riding our bikes," Cooper interjected. "We weren't looking for trouble."

"It's sad that little girl never came home," Naomi said.

"It was awful," TJ said with a hard glint in his eyes. "I used to play with her sometimes. She was always so happy. I still can't believe someone took her and no one ever figured out who." He looked back at Andi. "I hope this other kid is found. Do you have any leads?"

"We're talking to a lot of people," Andi replied. "Naomi, do you know Jillian Markham, by any chance?"

"I've met her a few times. She used to work for Neil, but she had a problem with his partner, Larry Friedman. That surprised me, because I always thought Larry was a good guy, not a creep like so many producers in Hollywood," Naomi added.

"She said Larry sexually harassed her," Cooper interjected.

"I heard that," Naomi admitted.

"That bothers me," he continued. "I don't want to work with a company that's not protecting their employees." He didn't want to throw Neil under the bus, but he did want more information from Naomi.

"Well, I don't know what happened. I like to believe women when they make these claims, but Jillian seemed like the kind of person who would lie to get ahead. Why are you asking about her? Is she a suspect?"

"We're investigating everyone tied to Mr. Benedict and his family," Andi answered.

"You sound so formal, Andi," TJ put in. "Hard to believe you're the same girl who used to shoot spit wads at me through a straw."

Andi laughed. "That was you, TJ, not me."

"That's not the way I remember it." TJ's expression shifted. "I've missed you guys. We ran around for so many years together, and then everyone was gone. That kidnapping changed so many lives."

"I would have been gone even if that hadn't happened," Andi said.

"Right. Your parents' divorce. That sucked."

"Yes, it did," Andi said.

"My mom still sees your dad quite often, either in the neighborhood or at the golf club. I think she said he got remarried, but then divorced again and now has a girlfriend."

"Yes," Andi said with a sigh. "My father is not someone who should ever be married. He doesn't believe in monogamy. Hopefully, no other woman will be fooled into thinking he does. Anyway…" She finished her beer, then gave him a look, "We should get going, Cooper."

"Okay," he said, as they stood up. "It was nice to meet you, Naomi, and to see you again, TJ."

"Let's meet up again sometime. Why don't you give me your number, Coop?" TJ took out his phone.

He hesitated, not sure he wanted to get back into the old crowd, but TJ would probably never call him anyway, so he gave him his number. And then he and Andi walked out of the bar.

They paused in the alley just outside. "That was crazy running into TJ," he said. "But do you really want to leave? I know you came here to get information on Kristine."

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