Page 6 of Logan

Dinah tipped her head and gave me a teasing look. “I advised him to use an alias instead of his real name, if that helps.”

She was joking, but that info might actually help. Even if I didn’t know what name he was using, the fact that he probably wasn’tgoing by Clay Dahler would keep me from overlooking potential leads in the future.

Having gotten what I wanted, I stood from my chair and headed for the door. “Thanks for your help. There’s no need to see me out. I can find my own way.”

“Don’t forget our deal, Hollingsworth,” she called after me. “I told you what you wanted to know, so don’t go spreading lies about this honest business.”

“Honest.” I rolled my eyes. “Right.”

Outside her office, the music and lights assaulted me once again. I dodged a few more wandering hands and nodded to Jerome on the way out the door. Then, I was once again back in the blissful fresh air of the outside world.

Looking back atDinah’s Place, I was overcome with a sense of ambivalence. A small part of me had hoped that the case of Clay Dahler would have a simple solution. That he had been under our noses all this time, working at a seedy strip club for money.

But no.

Clay Dahler was in the wind once again, and my search was going to be a lot harder than I’d hoped. I didn’t have any contacts in San Francisco to rely on. I’d have to make the trip myself, and I had no idea where to start when I got there.

However, there was also a small feeling of accomplishment buried under my worry. The last time anyone had seen him for certain was almost a decade ago before he was taken. Now, I’d found someone who could confirm he was still alive just five years ago. It was an improvement, at least.

Walking away from the club, I sent a text to Sebastian about my progress, then started composing an explanation in my head to my boss to explain why I needed to suddenly run off to California on short notice.

Maybe I’d just call Roland and let him explain to his brother for me. There were perks to being best friends with the Boss’s older brother.

CHAPTER 4

Logan

San Francisco wasa lot warmer than I expected. Although I had lived in Baton Rouge for four years now, and grew up in Maryland before that, I’d originally been born in New England, and the cold was still in my bones. Heat and I did not agree, and the dry heat of California was even worse. It felt like there was something missing in the air, and every breath seemed to scratch at my throat.

The smog choking the city didn’t help, either.

When I arrived in the city, I’d started out by first checking in with the local police department. The detectives there were obviously overworked and not interested in helping me track down a missing person. They took a copy of the old photo I had and promised to contact me if they found anyone using the name Clay Dahler or matching his description, but I didn’t hold out hope.

However, my trip to the local precinct wasn’t a complete bust. One of the more sympathetic officers did give me a list of placesaround the city where sex workers tended to congregate. It was a place to start, at least, and would hopefully guide me to a more concrete lead.

I still held out a small hope that Clay had managed to find legitimate work somewhere. Even after my trip toDinah’s Place, I couldn’t let go of the thought that maybe Clay had gotten lucky somewhere. Even if it was a simple job flipping burgers at McDonalds, or even something less legal like working an under the table construction job. Those options would at least be better than selling himself.

Still, I would canvas the areas on the list I’d been given and see if any of the local street workers recognized him.

Even so early in the day, people were blatantly hooking in the back alleys. It was a shock. Baton Rouge had plenty of prostitutes as well, I’d both arrested and rescued plenty of them, but they usually didn’t work so blatantly out in public during the day.

The first street I visited, I was immediately propositioned by three separate people at the same time, who then got into a squabble about who had seen me first. I barely managed to get a word in edgewise, and it took me nearly ten minutes to explain that I wasn’t a potential client and what I was there for. As soon as they realized they wouldn’t be getting any money from me, they immediately lost interest, barely looking at the photograph I showed them before dismissing me.

The second street I had a little more luck, because I made sure to state my intention right away before anyone could get into an argument. This time a few people took a moment to look at the photograph before shaking their head with genuine sorrow about not being able to help me.

The third location I visited was a nightmare from the get-go. The street was ruled over by an iron-fisted pimp, who was absolutely convinced that if I wasn’t there as a client then I must be looking for a job. I’d had to physically restrain him to keep him from dragging me into the backdoor of a shady looking building. The photograph never even left my pocket on that trip, and I fled from the street without even uttering Clay Dahler’s name.

It was the same no matter where I went. No one had any idea where Clay might be, or if he was even in the city. Granted, it was a large city, with millions of people. I probably hadn’t even scratched the surface of possible places he could be, but I was still disheartened.

The sun had passed the halfway point and was on its way back toward the horizon when I stopped to rest under the covered archway of an abandoned building. Hanging my head in exhaustion, I sighed deeply.

“You having a bad day, too?”

I jumped at the sound of the unexpected voice. I hadn’t even noticed the young man hiding in the shade of the archway, probably using it as cover to stay out of the midday sun.

He didn’t come any closer and remained huddled against the dirty brick wall, but he also didn’t seem afraid of me as he regarded me with curiosity and concern.

“I’m looking for someone.” I shrugged. “I know he came to this city a few years ago, but I don’t even know if he’s still here. If he is here, he might be working the streets, so I’ve been checking around.”

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