Page 47 of Second Dance
We wove through tables until we reached the bar at the far end. Behind it stood a tall blonde woman with a radiant smile and a softly rounded belly beneath her apron. She looked up from pouring a pint, her eyes friendly. Her name tag read “Sophie.”
“Hey, guys, you here for lunch?” Sophie asked.
“No, actually, we’re looking for someone,” I said. “And thought you could help.”
“Depends on why you’re looking for them.” Sophie raised a brow.
“My fourteen-year-old daughter came here looking for … someone from her past,” Alex said. “A man. Who could hurt her.”
“Fourteen? Oh dear. Hang on. Let me deliver this beer and I’ll be back.”
Sophie took the pint down to a customer at the end of the counter and returned as promised. “Tell me what you know about this man.”
“His name’s Darren Slater,” Alex said. “No, not Slater. Kincaid. Darren Kincaid. Does that ring a bell?”
Sophie’s face fell. She absently rubbed her pregnant tummy. “Yes, I know him. He ran up a tab not long ago and then ran out without paying the bill. I haven’t allowed him back since then.”
“Do you know where he lives?” I asked.
Sophie nodded slowly. “He lives in a trailer about ten miles out of town. From what I’ve heard, he inherited it from a relative a few years back. He’s been nothing but a menace ever since he moved here.” She lowered her voice, leaning closer. “He’s a drunk and a drug dealer. Nothing big time. He’s too lazy for that. But no one you’d want your teenage daughter around.” She reached under the bar for a pad and pen. “Let me draw you a quick map. A lot of the roads around here aren’t on GPS, but I can get you there.”
A few minutes later, she pushed it across the counter toward Alex, explaining the directions as she did so.
“Thank you. This is very helpful,” Alex said.
“You’ll find him,” Sophie said. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to make a quick call to our sheriff. Let him know to be on the lookout for your daughter should she show up anywhere. I can have him send a patrol car out to Darren’s place too.”
“I don’t want him provoked,” Alex said. “So it’s best if I just handle it myself.”
Sophie handed him a business card. “Call me if you change your mind. The sheriff’s good friends with my husband. I can have him out there in a flash.”
We thanked her again and headed to the car. My stomach roiled, thinking of what we might be dealing with, but I remained composed for Alex’s sake. One of us needed to keep a clear head.
The trailer sat at the end of a dirt road, half hidden behind scrubby pines. A single porch light buzzed over the sagging steps, attracting more moths than it chased away. The whole place reeked of stale beer, cigarettes, and something sour that might have been vomit. Siding peeled like diseased skin, a broken truck sat on blocks out front, and beer cans littered the weeds. A generator thumped somewhere from behind the mobile home.
And there she was. Bella. Sitting rigid on a cracked lawn chair among three men who looked as worn-out as the trailer. She was pale, hugging her arms tight around herself, her chin jutting forward as if trying to be brave. When she saw us, she startled, half rising. One of the men, gaunt, wiry, with patchy facial hair, pushed her back into the chair.
“That’s Darren,” Alex said, his voice hoarse. “I recognize him from his mug shot.”
Alex and I got out of the car, exchanging a glance over the top of the vehicle.
“Stay cool,” I said under my breath. “Easy does it.”
“Dad,” Bella yelled out to him, struggling to get up, but Darren placed a grubby hand on her head, stilling her.
“Dad, help me,” Bella whispered, starting to cry.
Alex went deadly still beside me. “You let go of her. Now.”
Darren made a big show of lifting his hand from Bella’s head as if he were totally innocent. “Nothing to worry about. Just visiting with my kid. Who was kept from me.”
Bella ran to Alex, practically launching herself into his arms.
“Are you okay?” Alex asked her.
“Not really,” Bella said.
“Well, well.” With his free hand, Darren lifted his beer with mock civility. “To what do we owe the pleasure of a visit from such a big shot?”
