Page 30 of Special Agent Murphy

Chapter Twenty

Kayti saw many of the spectators waiting to shake Murphy’s hand. And, at first, he took it in stride, but after a few rowdies began fawning, he stepped aside and looked her way.

At once, she sensed a change. He’d suddenly become a cop on the job. She followed his gaze to see who’d caught his attention.

Ahh, the man they were here to find, Alex. She’d noticed the guy earlier hovering behind other onlookers and hoped he didn’t recognize her as the FBI fighter from the night before.

She’d purposely worn her hair down and had dressed in a totally different way than she’d normally ever appear in public, certainly while on the job.

She’d changed her make-up from low-key warm tones to the in-your-face movie-star look, which meant red lipstick, heavy mascara, and sparkling shoulder-duster earrings to complete the new look.

Dressed so males would be more interested in her body, she kept her head down so her hair covered her face as much as possible without it getting in the way when her turn with the cue came along.

Murphy didn’t want her there; she knew it. But it was her place to be with him. It wasn’t right for any partner to leave her out of a possible arrest.

What if he needed back-up? That job belonged to her. According to her aunt, anyway. She might not have come right out and said they were working together, but she’d insinuated it when she’d promised to send Murphy along with her to see about the Fitbit at Senator Bond’s place.

Therefore, Kayti took it to mean they were working the case as a team. If the man didn’t like it, he could lump it.

Besides, she’d followed his instructions earlier. Had done what he’d asked. It hadn’t taken her long to get information from Mrs. Bond, though she wasn’t in too good a shape to do much but point Kayti to Misti’s bedroom and give her permission to look through anything she wanted.

She stopped to get a printout of all Misti’s cellphone contacts from the officers still waiting for a call from the kidnappers. Then she asked about her text messages, Facebook posts and other social media sites where all the kids her age appeared. The officers kept shaking their heads, meaning nothing new or unusual to report.

These were different from the men assigned there the last time she’d been to the house. She didn’t know either of them.

Finding no secrets in the girl’s room, no diary, no hidden drugs, she contacted Ryan to get the names of their friends who’d been with them at the Denver strip club the night before.

“There was only one other couple.” His voice sounded rough, as if he’d been crying.

“Yet, you led the Senator to believe a bunch of your school pals were going to be there.”

“They all planned it. I swear. But I guess no one, other than Misti’s friend Allie, showed up. And I didn’t even know that until Allie told me. We spent all the time with Gina and Alex, so I never really paid attention.”

She called the number for Allie Williams, Misti’s best friend, who admitted to being at the Denver and seemed willing to talk to her.

Kayti walked the block to her house and was pleased when Allie’s mother allowed them to talk privately.

“You and your date were at the Denver last night.”

“Yes, but don’t tell my mom, or I’ll be grounded until I leave home.

Kayti grinned, nostalgia materializing, reminding her of her many dilemmas with her mom, then got back to her questions. “You saw Misti and Ryan there?”

“Yes.” Allie held out hands that were as shaky as her voice and admitted, “Ryan called me earlier and said that Misti was in trouble. That I needed to talk with you and tell you whatever I could to help find her.”

“Good. Is there anything unusual you remember from last night?” Kayti saw the girl swallow and then the tears gathered in her eyes. “You say your boyfriend was with you. What’s his name?”

“Coleen Stubbs.” Once the name was whispered, Allie broke down and begged, “Please don’t tell my mom. She doesn’t know.”

“That you date girls?”

“Yes.”

“Honey, that’s your business. If you want some unsolicited advice, don’t let her find out from anyone else, or it might be harder for her to accept your truth.” Kayti put her arm around Allie’s shoulders. “Are you okay?”

Pulling herself together the girl nodded and wiped the tears away with her fingers. “I can’t tell you much. Ryan and Misti were in the lineup outside before us. An older couple joined them and got them in. From what little I could see, they seemed to be having a great time, laughing and drinking. Ryan appeared as if he knew them, and so we figured they were friends and didn’t want to intrude. We stayed away and kept to ourselves.”

“Were there others you recognized? Someone who knew Misti too?”

---