Page 8 of Beautiful Dreamer

Elizabeth met with each and every group in the park, offering adifferent colored area on the map for them to check out. She moved quickly,spoke in simple terms, and with a grateful smile, headed to the next group. Shewas on a roll. Yes, this was a job generally handled by someone in an authorityposition, or at least someone with experience when it came to missing people,but in the absence of either of those resources in the present moment,Elizabeth felt called to act. That had always been her. She was someone whotook the initiative when it needed taking and dove into even the most difficultof tasks headfirst, sometimes without knowing what the hell she was doing.She’d figure it out as she went, which was a lot like the position she foundherself in now.

With Jill Winters missing for a second day and the policedepartment woefully understaffed, she’d rattled off a quick message on thetown’s Facebook page, put On the Spot jobs on hold, and met over a hundredhelpful folks ready to see what they could find out about Jill and where shemight be. Her heart swelled at the outpouring of support. They might not havebeen the most professional of search teams, but they were present and willing,and it was so much more productive than just waiting around for Bertaw &Co. to eventually get around to calling in the cavalry.

“Great. You’re all set,” she said to the final group. “You allhave my cell phone and a direct line to the detective working the case shouldyou come upon anything helpful. Don’t hesitate to reach out.”

An abundance of overlapping answers floated back.

“Thanks, Lizzie.”

“Will do. Don’t you worry.”

“If anyone can find Jill, it’s us.”

“Thanks for organizing, Liz.”

As the groups headed off in their respective directions, Elizabethhopped into Shug, her blue Ford F-150, and headed to Jill’s house to retrieveDevyn, who she had to say was the same, yet different than the last time she’dseen her some years back. She now carried herself with a certain level ofauthority that made people pay attention. She was also just as beautiful asElizabeth remembered, probably more so. Blond hair just past her shoulders.Hazel eyes, but not the soft kind. No, Devyn’s were more piercing in theirbeauty, which only added to the melancholy all over her face earlier today.Elizabeth hoped they could change that soon. She’d always been an optimisticperson, and she was clinging to that tendency now, willing it to provebeneficial. Yet it was hard. Jill was out there, and time felt like it wasn’ton their side. She pushed past the sudden nausea and rang the bell to Jill’shouse. Devyn answered promptly.

“Hi. Are you ready?” Devyn asked, and stepped from the house ontothe front porch.

The whites of her eyes were red, the lids swollen, and her hairdidn’t fall into place the way it had earlier. She’d been crying, hard. Herskin was pale. Elizabeth felt nauseated again.

“All set. I thought we’d take the most common route to Halper’sGlen and see about any possible turnoffs or detours.”

“Okay. Let’s do it.” Devyn followed her to the truck, pausingbriefly as she looked at it.

“What?” Elizabeth asked.

“Just didn’t peg you for a truck person.”

Elizabeth quirked her head. “Didn’t know you pegged me at all.”

They hopped in and rode in silence. Elizabeth stole an occasionalglance at Devyn to be sure she was all right. She felt strangely protective ofher, given the situation and her role in leading the volunteer search. In manyways, it seemed like it fell to her to shield Devyn from some of the fear thatmust have been eating away at her. When she saw tears roll down Devyn’s cheeksin the silence of the truck, she handed her the package of pocket tissues shekept in the center console. Devyn accepted them, yet said nothing.

“Do you have enough air?” Elizabeth finally asked. “If not, Ican—” She reached forward toward the controls, but Devyn waved her off.

“I’m fine.”

“Would you like some water? I have a case in the back seat.”

“No, thank you.”

“Or maybe—”

“Elizabeth. I’m fine. Really.” A pause. “What’s your last nameagain?”

“Draper,” she said, placing a hand on her chest. They came from agraduating class of under a hundred and had been in school together for over adecade. How was it that Devyn didn’t even know her last name? Ouch. Was shereally that inconsequential? Not the time for it, she reminded herself.

They drove on, stopping on each side street, exploring each turnin the road with hopeful curiosity, pointing out possible glimpses of white,the color of Jill’s Mazda. Each time, the glimpses proved disappointing,dropping the women’s morale more and more as the drive went on. Theforty-minute drive had stretched to two hours by the time they reached Mike’s.The freestanding building, painted green with bright yellow lettering, wasclosed, and not set to open again until the evening. But there was a car infront, and that meant someone was gearing up for tonight’s crowd. WhenElizabeth killed the ignition, Devyn didn’t hesitate. She walked like a womanon a desperate mission, leaving Elizabeth to walk double-time in order to catchup.

“Hey there, wait a minute.”

Devyn glanced behind her. The wind lifted her blond hair and blewit across her face in a messy jumble. It was like the weather had shifted tomimic the chaos of the day, scattered and haphazard. Devyn didn’t seem to careor notice. “Sorry.” She paused for Elizabeth to catch up while blinkingimpatiently.

Elizabeth met her gaze. “Do you know what you want to ask?”

“I want every detail they have and then more details, and I planto get them. If they have camera footage, I want that, too. I can’t believe thepolice wouldn’t already have it, but with Podunk Bertaw at the helm, whoknows?”

Elizabeth nodded, impressed with the new determination behindDevyn’s eyes. She stood next to her as Devyn banged loudly on the door to thebar. “Excuse me. Can you open up for a moment?” She exchanged a glance withElizabeth just as an older guy with a gut appeared wearing a stained whiteapron. Mike. Elizabeth had seen him before on one of her own trips out to thebar. It was a popular place, and a great spot to hit up when the same oldDreamer’s Bay locales felt monotonous.

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