onslaught of noise.
“What?” an equally loud bellow comes from inside the dingy house.
“Two chicks here to see you!” Nice. Real nice. About a minute later, thuds on the stairs indicate the arrival of Dan “El Duche” La Roche. I try to hide a smile upon seeing that he’s stopped to do his hair and throw on what was probably yesterday’s outfit, judging by the smell of fabric freshener that wafts after him.
“Sorry about that,” he apologizes, smiling at us. “Jordan can be an ass, and he’s hungover as hell.” This is obviously the moment we’re supposed to laugh, so I do. Cooperative witnesses are much less work. Lia’s laugh sounds more like she just got punched in the stomach. Laughing at things that aren’t funny is one of the niceties that I haven’t been able to re-teach her since she lost her memories.
“No problem. We actually had a few questions for you? See, Shane is my cousin...I’m Summer Collins,” I say, extending my hand. “We were at a party with him last night, he hooked up with some girl and we haven’t been able to get a hold of him since.”
Dan listens to me closely, his eyes going dark at mention of the girl.
“Sorry, ladies,” he eventually says. “Shane’s sort of a...free spirit. Kinda shitty of him to ditch his cousin like that but…”
“Well, do you know where he might be?”
He runs his hands uncomfortably through his hair. “I...don’t know where any of them go. Never been invited myself,” he says with another attempt at a reckless grin.
“Any of who?” Lia pipes up.
“Well...we’ve had a couple guys go missing. It’s pretty normal for them...Cody will sometimes disappear without his phone, and we’ll get a collect call from him a week later asking for a ride from the airport. And Mike throws like...tantrums and goes home for a while, then comes skulking back like nothing happened.”
“But...you don’t seem to think that’s the case this time?” I ask, kicking myself again for not having the sense to stick to High Boots McFrenchalot.
He shrugs and tries to look like he’s not worried. “I dunno. It’s just stretching on a little long. Even Cody’s parents have called, asking if we’ve seen him, and they’re like...real hippies. No cell phones. No cable. Spend more time in a tent than their house.”
“That’s really unsettling,” I tell him. “You can understand why I’m concerned for my cousin, then. Is there...is there some place local that he and that girl might go, if they didn’t want anyone to know?”
He snorts. “You kidding? We’ve got abandoned buildings out the ass. Hell, half the mall is empty. There are hotels and motels and trailer parks, and it’s not like it’s that hard to get from here to somewhere else….” He shrugs again. “Sorry. I wish I could help, honestly. But I don’t know where they might be, if something is even up.”
Bummer. I was hoping for more. “Well, can I give you my number, in case you hear from him or think of anything?”
“Yeah, sure.”
We exchange numbers and I thank him for his time.
In the car, I can feel Lia glancing at me nervously.
“What is it?” I lead in.
“You’re just taking this really hard, and I’m worried about you.”
I snort. “About me? There are seven people who range somewhere between dead, undead, and dying out there.”
“And we’ll find them.”
I nod absently. “It doesn’t feel Celtic. I think I’m going to officially remove them from the list.”
“No? Don’t think they’re going under the hill?”
I shake my head. “No...the MO is wrong. If it was the Fair Folk it’d be like...people lured off from the group, or somehow ‘lost’ on their way home. Making out with a dude and taking him away is a little more vulgar than they tend to be. I’m also going to say not Hindu. I’m not seeing a connection with justice or godliness or
“What?” an equally loud bellow comes from inside the dingy house.
“Two chicks here to see you!” Nice. Real nice. About a minute later, thuds on the stairs indicate the arrival of Dan “El Duche” La Roche. I try to hide a smile upon seeing that he’s stopped to do his hair and throw on what was probably yesterday’s outfit, judging by the smell of fabric freshener that wafts after him.
“Sorry about that,” he apologizes, smiling at us. “Jordan can be an ass, and he’s hungover as hell.” This is obviously the moment we’re supposed to laugh, so I do. Cooperative witnesses are much less work. Lia’s laugh sounds more like she just got punched in the stomach. Laughing at things that aren’t funny is one of the niceties that I haven’t been able to re-teach her since she lost her memories.
“No problem. We actually had a few questions for you? See, Shane is my cousin...I’m Summer Collins,” I say, extending my hand. “We were at a party with him last night, he hooked up with some girl and we haven’t been able to get a hold of him since.”
Dan listens to me closely, his eyes going dark at mention of the girl.
“Sorry, ladies,” he eventually says. “Shane’s sort of a...free spirit. Kinda shitty of him to ditch his cousin like that but…”
“Well, do you know where he might be?”
He runs his hands uncomfortably through his hair. “I...don’t know where any of them go. Never been invited myself,” he says with another attempt at a reckless grin.
“Any of who?” Lia pipes up.
“Well...we’ve had a couple guys go missing. It’s pretty normal for them...Cody will sometimes disappear without his phone, and we’ll get a collect call from him a week later asking for a ride from the airport. And Mike throws like...tantrums and goes home for a while, then comes skulking back like nothing happened.”
“But...you don’t seem to think that’s the case this time?” I ask, kicking myself again for not having the sense to stick to High Boots McFrenchalot.
He shrugs and tries to look like he’s not worried. “I dunno. It’s just stretching on a little long. Even Cody’s parents have called, asking if we’ve seen him, and they’re like...real hippies. No cell phones. No cable. Spend more time in a tent than their house.”
“That’s really unsettling,” I tell him. “You can understand why I’m concerned for my cousin, then. Is there...is there some place local that he and that girl might go, if they didn’t want anyone to know?”
He snorts. “You kidding? We’ve got abandoned buildings out the ass. Hell, half the mall is empty. There are hotels and motels and trailer parks, and it’s not like it’s that hard to get from here to somewhere else….” He shrugs again. “Sorry. I wish I could help, honestly. But I don’t know where they might be, if something is even up.”
Bummer. I was hoping for more. “Well, can I give you my number, in case you hear from him or think of anything?”
“Yeah, sure.”
We exchange numbers and I thank him for his time.
In the car, I can feel Lia glancing at me nervously.
“What is it?” I lead in.
“You’re just taking this really hard, and I’m worried about you.”
I snort. “About me? There are seven people who range somewhere between dead, undead, and dying out there.”
“And we’ll find them.”
I nod absently. “It doesn’t feel Celtic. I think I’m going to officially remove them from the list.”
“No? Don’t think they’re going under the hill?”
I shake my head. “No...the MO is wrong. If it was the Fair Folk it’d be like...people lured off from the group, or somehow ‘lost’ on their way home. Making out with a dude and taking him away is a little more vulgar than they tend to be. I’m also going to say not Hindu. I’m not seeing a connection with justice or godliness or
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