Page 21 of Archer

“This is the first big lead I’ve had since I got to town.”

“Is that why you moved here?” Bram asked.

“It was. I’ve been taking other PI jobs to pay the bills and looking for him on the side, but I haven’t had any luck.”

Crispin looked at him wide-eyed. “And now, because of Archer’s photos, you’re gonna find him.”

“You must get a lot of tips,” I said. “What made you stay here this long?”

“This wasn’tjusta phone call. It was someone who knows Jordy. They saw him at a holiday festival in the park across the street. They said they called out his name, and he turned to see who was calling him, but a large group of people in costumes got in the way, and Jordy didn’t see them. After that, they tried to catch up with him to talk to him, but he got lost in the crowd. He was with a small group of kids, and the whole group just vanished.”

“That must’ve been at the annual tree lighting. It’s a big deal here in the downtown area, and that park is swamped with people. I’m not surprised they lost him.” Hitch sighed. “That sucks, man. But if that’s him, he’s still here in town, and you’ll find him.”

“I sure hope so.”

“Especially if he was seen in the same area twice,” Bram pointed out.

“I’m glad you convinced me to work on my webpage today, Archer.” Crispin smiled up at me. “This gives us our first big lead.”

“Us?” I asked.

“Sure, we’re all in this area all the time, and Cort’s brother’s missing. We have to help find him. No one who has family that loves them should be out in this world all alone.”

“I appreciate you wanting to help, Crispin, but this is what I do. But please, keep an eye out, and if you see him, let me know.”

“We all will,” Hitch said. “Why don’t you print out a few of those photos you showed me? I’ll take them to all the shop owners here in the building and tell them to be on the lookout, too.”

“Thanks, Hitch.” Cort stood. “I need to get going. I’m staking out a house over on the south side of town. Some guy thinks his wife is cheating, and he’s out of town tonight, so he wants me to see if anybody shows up after she gets home from work.”

“You really do that?” Crispin asked. “Try to catch people cheating and stuff, just like in the movies?”

Cort chuckled. “Trust me, it’s not as great as the movies make it sound. That’s probably my least favorite kind of job, but sadly, it makes up the majority. It pays the bills so I can keep looking for Jordy.”

“I should get going, too,” Crispin said.

“Let me walk you to your car. We’ll make a plan for finishing up your website.” Not that I needed to walk him to his car for us to do that, but I didn’t like the idea of him in that parking garage all by himself at night. But mostly, after spending the whole day getting to know him, I wasn’t ready to let him go.

Crispin

My brain spun. Today had to have been the most exciting day that I’d had in… I didn’t even know. My classes this morning were full, then Archer had taken me to lunch, then brought me into his home and listened to me go on and on and on all day, only to take me to the bar tonight with his friends. That would’ve been enough, but hearing Cort’s story… holy shit. I couldn’t imagine knowing my brother was out there but not being able to find him.

“Jordy must be so scared,” I said, stepping closer to Archer as we walked out to my car after grabbing my bag from the studio. “Can you imagine how hard his life has probably been for the last four years?” A gasp caught in my throat as images of the horrors that he might’ve experienced started flooding my mind.

Archer immediately wrapped an arm around my shoulders and drew me in even closer. “Don’t let yourself go there. For all we know, he ran away with a friend, and some sweet old lady took them in, and she’s given them the best possible life.”

I stopped dead in my tracks and peeked up at him under my lashes. “Do you really believe that?”

Archer reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “No, I don’t. But we know that he was with a group of kids recently,so he wasn’t alone, and he’s seventeen now, so there are more opportunities available to him for finding a job and improving his quality of life than there were when he was thirteen. We can’t borrow trouble.”

It only took me a second to think about that before I grinned widely and resumed my trek to my car. “And he’s got Cort on his side, whether he knows it or not. I know Cort said he wasn’t great when Jordy was younger but look at the effort he’s putting in now. Seriously, big brothers are the best.”

Like I’d summoned him, Ben’s ringtone went off. “Hold on. It’smybig brother.”

I answered immediately. “Hey. I’m about to get in my car and head home.”

“Don’t do it,” he whispered into the phone. “Mom and Dad just showed up out of nowhere. They didn’t even let me know they were coming this time.”

I groaned. “It’s like they’re trying to trap me.”