Page 57 of Bishop's Flight
“Your match?”
She nodded. “Lucas has been teaching me chess. We met playing this game calledMystic Scrolls. We ended up playing at a lot of the same times, I guess? Anyway, he had this funny screen name. Rookosaurus.” She shrugged. “My son loves dinosaurs. I asked him about it and he just went on and on about chess. I admit, I was kind of impressed a kid that age was into chess. I always think of it as kind of an older game, you know?”
“So he was teaching you?”
She smiled. “I like talking with Lucas. He’s a really sweet kid.”
Carwyn returned her smile. “You became friends?”
“I guess you could say that. It was totally innocent.” She held up a hand. “I don’t even think he had a crush on me or anything. I think I was kind of like… a big sister maybe?”
“Makes sense.” Brigid was taking notes. “Just so ya know, we don’t suspect you of anything. We know who took Lucas—we’re just trying to find him.”
Jessica shook her head, and Carwyn saw tears pooling in her eyes. “How could anyone…?” She swallowed hard and wiped her eyes. “Yeah, whatever I can help with. His parents must be frantic.” She cleared her throat. “You know Agnes and Rose, right? His biological parents died when he was young, and I think it was his two aunts were raising him or something. Him and his little sister.”
“We’re working for them, yes.” Carwyn nodded. “What else did you talk about other than chess?”
“Um…” She sighed. “His parents obviously. He talked about his little sister a lot, but honestly? He seemed lonely. Said all the kids at school were spoiled rich kids. I got the feeling that his parents were pretty strict and expected a lot of him, but he clearly loved them. He wasn’t an unhappy kid. I told him that he was going to go to college—heneedsto go to college, the kid is brilliant—and he’d meet so many people there. I tried to give him advice about making friends and meeting girls.” She shrugged. “You know, just kind of big-sister advice and stuff.”
“Did he ever talk about a girl named Angel? Did he talk about meeting anyone outside of school?”
Her eyes grew wide. “‘Met an angel today, Jessi.’ I thought he was joking; I didn’t realize that was a name. That was a couple of weeks ago, I think? Maybe a week and a half.” She closed her eyes. “He met an angel at the gas station.” She frowned. “I don’t know why he was at a gas station—he didn’t have a license, but maybe he just stopped there after school. No idea.”
The video of Alina meeting Lucas in the elevator was three days before he went missing, so clearly the initial meeting was earlier than that.
“A gas station.” They could ask Miguel about that. “He met her at a gas station, and did he say anything else? Did he mention meeting her again?”
“He didn’t. I think they texted more than they talked in person, you know? And she was a gamer too, he did mention that. Said she liked chess.” Jessica closed her eyes. “I feel horrible.”
Carwyn frowned. “Why?”
“I was so excited for him. I thought it was sweet, you know? He met a girl! And she even liked chess. Did this girl Angel have something to do with him running away?”
“We don’t think he ran away. We think he was taken.”
She covered her face with both hands. “You have to find him.” She sniffed and looked up. “He’s so sweet. Just the thought of someone hurting him…” She wasn’t shy about her tears anymore. “I want to go home and hug my kids.”
Carwyn reached out and touched her arm. “Would you like us to speak to your manager?”
She sniffed and shook her head. “No, I can’t go home. The kids are in bed anyway, and I can’t afford to miss a shift.”
Brigid handed her a card. “If he texts you or messages you, will you give us a shout?”
“Oh my God, of course I will.” She took the card eagerly and held it with both hands. “I wish I knew more. Do you think this has anything to do with how much money he was winning at chess?”
Carwyn hadn’t even considered it. “He was winning, but by Las Vegas standards, we aren’t talking about huge amounts.”
Jessica huffed. “I don’t know. I know guys who would beat up a priest for a hundred bucks.”
“A priest, huh?” Brigid smirked. “Any of them looking for work? I’ll take their cards.”
“Very funny.” Carwyn angled his foot and stepped on his wife’s toe. “Jessica, I think that’s all. Please call us if you think of anything else.” Carwyn rose and waited for Jessica to walk away. “Did we learn a single new thing from that conversation?”
Brigid turned and started toward the door. “We learned that Lucas was a good chess player and that he met Angel before we thought. He was an innocent. She preyed on him; I’m certain of it.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I’m finding it harder and harder to blame Oleg for taking her out.”
“The only problem is that when Oleg takes out a player in this situation, that means we lose a line to where Zasha might be keeping Lucas.”
Two nights. One day. And half of one night was already gone.
