Page 33 of The Unseen
“Quinn, let me do the talking, all right?” Drew said as they approached the door.
“Absolutely. I’m just here to observe.”
“Of course you are,” Drew joked.
Jesse Holt was in his mid-forties. He wasn’t very tall but looked fit, and his lanky frame showed no ill effects of middle age. His sandy hair fell almost to his shoulders, and his light blue eyes exuded friendliness and charm. Quinn could easily imagine how appealing he would have been to a seventeen-year-old girl fourteen years ago. He must have been very attractive; he still was.
“Good morning. You must be Mr. Camden,” Jesse Holt said as he came forward to greet them. He probably assumed they were a couple, Quinn mused, as she smiled in response to his greeting.
“Yes. And this is Quinn Russell. We’d like to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh? What about?” A wary look passed across Jesse’s eyes.
“Quentin Crawford.”
“God, that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time,” Jesse remarked as he invited them to sit down on twin sofas in the waiting area. “What’s the reason for your interest?”
“Quentin is my twin sister,” Quinn explained.
“Really? I didn’t know she had one.”
“We were separated at birth and adopted separately. I’ve only just found out about her.”
“Right. I see. How can I help?”
“Quinn is trying to get in contact with Quentin, but it’s proving rather difficult, as no one seems to know where she is or how to reach her, except her attorney, who is not being overly cooperative.”
“I’m sorry, but I have no idea where she is. I haven’t seen Quentin in over a decade.”
“But she used to live with you. Correct?” Drew asked.
“Yes, Quentin and I were involved for nearly four years. We didn’t keep in contact after the relationship ended.”
“She left you?” Quinn asked, ignoring the sharp look from Drew. Any tidbit about her sister was fascinating to her.
“Yes, she left me. The parting of the ways wasn’t mutual.” Jesse ran a hand through his hair, his relaxed demeanor gone.
“Would you mind telling us something about the relationship?” Drew asked softly. He was prying into the man’s personal life, and Jesse had every right to ask them to leave. Thankfully, he didn’t.
“There isn’t much to tell, really. I met Quentin at her school. It was a lucrative arrangement for me. I took photos of the graduating class and various school clubs and teams toward the end of every school year. She was one of the students I photographed. To be honest, I didn’t want to have anything to do with her at first. A romantic involvement with a student could have cost me the job, and I was just starting out then. I didn’t want to risk my reputation.”
“So, how did it begin?” Quinn asked.
“I saw her watching me while I worked. She smiled and asked if I needed any help. I politely refused. After I took her photo, she hung around for a while instead of returning to class. I didn’t encourage any banter or flirtation. I had a job to do. Once I finished for the day, there’d be no reason for us to meet again, so I wasn’t overly worried. A few days later, Quentin showed up at mystudio. I was at a different location then, in a less desirable area. I used to live above the shop.”
“What did she want?” Drew asked.
“She asked for a job. She said she was interested in photography and wanted to learn from a professional. She wanted to be my assistant.”
“Did you give her a job?” Quinn asked, impressed with Quentin’s forwardness at such a young age. At seventeen, Quinn had been shy and self-conscious. Luke had been her first serious boyfriend, and she’d been twenty-two when they got involved.
“Not right away. She came back again a few weeks later and left her information with me, but I didn’t call her until she finished the school year.”
“Did you hire her then?” Quinn asked.
“I did. I needed an assistant and she was willing to work for free in exchange for lessons. She was actually very helpful. She was great with the children. She could always cajole a smile out of them, especially the toddlers. She just had a way about her.”
“What was she like?” Quinn asked. She had a hard time keeping the desperation out of her voice. She needed to know.
