shocking for her.”
“Specifics, Colin.”
He thought. They’d talked about everything—and yet nothing, he realized. Instead, he rattled off what he did know. “She doesn’t drink anything fruity or fancy. Her elbows are double-jointed. She knows all the words to both ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and ‘Ice Ice Baby.’ And she knows a lot about baseball.”
Callie’s eyebrows had gone higher with each inane detail, and when he finished, her mouth twisted. “ That’s what you know about this girl?” she asked, sarcasm dripping off each word. “She likes Led Zeppelin and baseball.”
“No,” he corrected. “She knows a lot about baseball, but I don’t think she’s actually a fan.”
“Why?”
“Not a clue.”
If he kept this up much longer, he might actually get to see Callie’s head explode. “Colin Raine, I can’t believe you. You spent all day with this woman and you don’t even know the most basic information about her?”
Tell me something I don’t already know and am not already kicking myself over. “It was Mardi Gras. We were watching parades, barhopping, dancing...you know, having fun. ” The embers deep in his belly flared up a little as he remembered exactly how much fun. “It wasn’t exactly conducive to swapping life stories.”
“Name, location, profession—the basic requirements of a freaking online dating profile is hardly someone’s life story.” She sighed and shook her head. “I’m almost afraid to ask now, but how did you end up with her watch? And don’t you dare say you don’t know.”
That part of the story was easy enough to tell and believe. “We got caught on Bourbon at midnight. The crowds were really bad, and Jamie’s really small. I was trying to get us off the street, but someone pushed between us and Jamie got pulled away from me. I had her wrist, but when the clasp on her watch broke, she slid out of it and I lost my grip. The crowd moved her away, and I couldn’t find her after that.”
Callie paled. She knew the dangers, the bad situations Jamie could have gotten into. “Oh, God. I hope she’s okay.”
“Teddy said she left a message on the Lucky Gator’s answering machine—that’s where I’d met her that morning when I was relieving Teddy. She says she made it home—wherever that is—safely.”
“And you haven’t seen or heard from her since?”
“Nope.”
“Have you looked for her?”
He didn’t try to hide his exasperation. “Like I can find one woman in all of New Orleans when I don’t even know her last name?”
“Please tell me you at least tried.”
“I waited at the Gator for over two hours that night. I figured she’d show up there. She never did.” He really hated how pathetic that sounded, and it made him angry all over again.
“You said she left a message, though...”
“No last name, no number.”
He could practically see the wheels turning in Callie’s mind. “What about caller ID on Teddy’s phone? You could match up the number to the time of the message...”
He was shaking his head even as she spoke. “Teddy’s phone only holds the last ten numbers. It was gone by the time I checked.”
“Then call the phone company—”
“Let it go, Callie.” He’d played amateur detective for two days, even tracking down the band and the guitar player David, hoping for a lead to Kelsey. David hadn’t even remembered Kelsey’s name, so that was a bust. And although she’d left that message, he’d still called a friend at NOPD and had him check the jails, the hospitals, even the morgue. No one matching Jamie’s description. He was out of ideas. And it turned out the phone company didn’t like to give out that kind of information without a warrant. “She knows my name, and she knew to call the Gator to get a message to me. If she wants to find me, she can.” The fact she hadn’t really ticked him off. She hadn’t gone back to the bar in the following days. And it didn’t seem as if she was
“Specifics, Colin.”
He thought. They’d talked about everything—and yet nothing, he realized. Instead, he rattled off what he did know. “She doesn’t drink anything fruity or fancy. Her elbows are double-jointed. She knows all the words to both ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and ‘Ice Ice Baby.’ And she knows a lot about baseball.”
Callie’s eyebrows had gone higher with each inane detail, and when he finished, her mouth twisted. “ That’s what you know about this girl?” she asked, sarcasm dripping off each word. “She likes Led Zeppelin and baseball.”
“No,” he corrected. “She knows a lot about baseball, but I don’t think she’s actually a fan.”
“Why?”
“Not a clue.”
If he kept this up much longer, he might actually get to see Callie’s head explode. “Colin Raine, I can’t believe you. You spent all day with this woman and you don’t even know the most basic information about her?”
Tell me something I don’t already know and am not already kicking myself over. “It was Mardi Gras. We were watching parades, barhopping, dancing...you know, having fun. ” The embers deep in his belly flared up a little as he remembered exactly how much fun. “It wasn’t exactly conducive to swapping life stories.”
“Name, location, profession—the basic requirements of a freaking online dating profile is hardly someone’s life story.” She sighed and shook her head. “I’m almost afraid to ask now, but how did you end up with her watch? And don’t you dare say you don’t know.”
That part of the story was easy enough to tell and believe. “We got caught on Bourbon at midnight. The crowds were really bad, and Jamie’s really small. I was trying to get us off the street, but someone pushed between us and Jamie got pulled away from me. I had her wrist, but when the clasp on her watch broke, she slid out of it and I lost my grip. The crowd moved her away, and I couldn’t find her after that.”
Callie paled. She knew the dangers, the bad situations Jamie could have gotten into. “Oh, God. I hope she’s okay.”
“Teddy said she left a message on the Lucky Gator’s answering machine—that’s where I’d met her that morning when I was relieving Teddy. She says she made it home—wherever that is—safely.”
“And you haven’t seen or heard from her since?”
“Nope.”
“Have you looked for her?”
He didn’t try to hide his exasperation. “Like I can find one woman in all of New Orleans when I don’t even know her last name?”
“Please tell me you at least tried.”
“I waited at the Gator for over two hours that night. I figured she’d show up there. She never did.” He really hated how pathetic that sounded, and it made him angry all over again.
“You said she left a message, though...”
“No last name, no number.”
He could practically see the wheels turning in Callie’s mind. “What about caller ID on Teddy’s phone? You could match up the number to the time of the message...”
He was shaking his head even as she spoke. “Teddy’s phone only holds the last ten numbers. It was gone by the time I checked.”
“Then call the phone company—”
“Let it go, Callie.” He’d played amateur detective for two days, even tracking down the band and the guitar player David, hoping for a lead to Kelsey. David hadn’t even remembered Kelsey’s name, so that was a bust. And although she’d left that message, he’d still called a friend at NOPD and had him check the jails, the hospitals, even the morgue. No one matching Jamie’s description. He was out of ideas. And it turned out the phone company didn’t like to give out that kind of information without a warrant. “She knows my name, and she knew to call the Gator to get a message to me. If she wants to find me, she can.” The fact she hadn’t really ticked him off. She hadn’t gone back to the bar in the following days. And it didn’t seem as if she was
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