Page 97 of Better to See You

“Tell Jordan to get to the marina,” I yell as I run full throttle out the door. “Send as many guys as possible.”

Our office is two blocks from the ocean and marina.

My phone vibrates. I hold it out in front as I weave through sidewalk pedestrians. I dig my EarPods out as I break into a full run, and answer as I round a corner.

“Patel.”

“Checked the police scanner. All calm.”

“Almost there.”

“Erik says it’ll take him a few to hack into the cameras. And he says to remind you he can only do so if they loop back to a server or are online.”

“Where was the car?”

“What?”

“Lucca’s car. On the street?”

“In her driveway.”

Damnit. Why the fuck would he do that? Her neighbor’s fence provided cover.

I round the corner, and the marina comes into view. Nothing is amiss. Tourists ramble along the boardwalk in front of the marina. The Santa Barbara Harbor holds over a thousand boats. A man in a police uniform strolls casually along on the far end.

My phone vibrates.

“Row twelve,” Erik says into my ear.

A neatly painted six marks the piling I passed. I reverse course, running back down the boardwalk in the opposite direction, scanning for the white painted number twelve. If she’s out in the ocean—Don’t go there.

“She boarded a boat with a man who looks a lot like Wayne Killington. Couldn’t see his face. Only his back.”

I skid to a halt at the end of the row. There’s an empty slip.

“Patel said her phone is here.” I press her name on my phone and scan the boats. Nothing.

“Listen for a beep,” Erik tells me.

“Why?”

“I have everyone’s phone in our system so I can locate it. It’s the find-my-phone beep. Just listen for it.”

Beep.

I spin, searching for the sound.

Beep.

It’s louder. And then I see it. A dark green rectangle on the deck of the adjacent boat.

“Fuck. She must’ve thrown her phone. How do we track her?” I shout into the air at Erik, knowing he’ll find a way.

“There’s a camera at the entrance to the marina. Let me see if I can get the name of the boat she’s on.”

“What did it look like?”

I scan the marina. I don’t want a big boat. I want a fast boat.