Page 63 of Jael

“I know.”

“I’m worried about her.”

When Hannah chewed her lip, he knew she was worried too.

“Look,” Danny tried again. “You don’t know me, and I have no idea what Jael has told you about me, so if you believe that she went for a walk to clear her head, then that’s a good thing, and I can come back later. But if not. If you’re worried. I want to help. That’s all. Please, if there’s anything you need me to do, tell me now.”

Hannah pressed her lips together, considering his offer. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“It’s just that…she doesn’t drink much or at all. Normally.”

“She’s been drinking?”

“You have to keep this in complete confidence.”

“I understand. I won’t say a word.”

“I don’t know what’s happened, but something is definitely wrong. And it’s not the first time. About a year ago, I don’t know what happened then either, but back then she spent the day at a bar around the corner. The next day, she made me promise to stop her if it ever happened again.”

“But you didn’t think to stop her today?”

“I did. I recognized the look she had, and when she told me she was going out, I asked her where. She said it didn’t matter, and I said if it was to a bar, she wasn’t allowed to go.”

“She didn’t listen.”

“She said to forget what she told me the last time. She said things had changed. When I asked her why, she said, ‘Nothing I do matters anymore.’ I begged her to stay. She looked so sad but told me not to worry. She said everything would be okay.”

“Do you know what bar she went to last time?”

“No, but I know she turned left when she walked out the door. I should have followed her. If only I had?—”

“It’s okay. I’ll find her.”

“Thank you. And can you do me a favor?”

“I can try.”

“If you—whenyou find her, can you let me know she’s okay? Just get her to send me a text.”

“Sure.”

Danny checked the first bar to the left, but Jael wasn’t there, so he began a grid search of every bar within a four-block radius to the left of the Vita Nova office. It was an hour before he found her hunched over the sticky counter at a dive bar after he extended his search to the right. She’d gone out of her way to make sure Hannah wouldn’t find her.

A balding guy in his forties with bulging arms and a round stomach was leaning next to Jael. A gold necklace dangled in the v-opening of his shiny shirt. Danny slid onto the stool to her other side.

She looked at him and flinched. “What do you want?” Her words weren’t slurred, but he could see in her eyes that she was either drunk or very close to it.

“Hey, pal,” the shiny-shirt guy said. “We were having a conversation here. Get lost.”

Danny stretched so he could look at the guy over Jael’s back. “She’s not interested,” he said.

“How do you know?” Jael said with a snort.

“She’s not interested in you.” The guy lifted his chin in defiance. “That’s for sure.”

Danny didn’t have time for a fight, and this guy wasn’t worth the effort.