A.L. Jambor - Where's Audrey? (6 page)

“And you haven’t seen her in three months?” They all shook their heads. “And none of you went over there to see if she was all right?”

They all cast their eyes to the ground, then the tanned lady looked at Mel.

“You’re young. You don’t understand what it’s like to be older. If he hurt her, and we went snooping around, he might hurt one of us. He knows where we live.”

“Then why didn’t one of you call the police?”

Their silence implied the same thought – they didn’t want to get involved. Mel was getting angry. So many people hadn’t seen Audrey in months, and no one asked why.

Mel walked away. She wanted to yell something obscene at them, but what good would it do? Marge was right – they were a bunch of gossip mongers, not friends. Maybe that’s why Audrey invited Jason into her life, because he pretended to be her friend.

Mel pulled out her phone and looked at the time. It was nine-thirty. She could go to the sheriff’s office parking lot and wait for Conner.

Chapter 7

Mel parked near the front of the parking lot so Conner could see her. She watched the cruisers driving in and out of the lot, some with backseat passengers, some without. She wondered if Jason had ever been a backseat passenger in a cruiser. She’d have to ask Conner to look him up.

She pulled out her notepad. She had jotted down some questions for Conner. Number one was about the passport. Where would Audrey apply? If she had applied, it would lend credence to Jason’s assertion that she had gone on a cruise. If not, Mel would know he was lying.

Conner arrived on the dot of ten and parked behind her car. He wasn’t in uniform. Mel got out and went to him.

“You want to take my car?” he said.

“It’s easier. You know where you’re going. Just let me get my bag.”

She grabbed her purse and locked the doors on the rental, then she got into Conner’s 2008 Toyota. She was surprised to find it so clean as most of the guys she’d dated accumulated junk in their cars. They usually had to clear a space for her to sit on.

“Have you eaten?” he asked.

“Two hours ago. I
could
eat something.”

“I need coffee. Let’s go to Panera’s.”

The Panera Bread was located in the Largo Mall just down the street from the sheriff’s office. Conner got a parking spot nearby and they went inside. He got a large coffee and an Elephant Ear and she got a medium coffee and a banana nut muffin. They found a table next to the window and sat down.

“I went to Holiday Oaks this morning,” she said.

“I went yesterday.”

“I know. The old lady across the street from Audrey’s told me.”

“So much for stealth reconnaissance.”

“You’d never get past her. I think she sleeps out there.”

“Did she have anything new to add?”

Mel thought about their conversation. “She didn’t like Audrey very much. She also said the guy moved in there about five months ago. She keeps a record of everything that goes on around her in a notebook. Oh, and she said her dog started barking about three months ago. Apparently, he didn’t before.”

“Three months.”

“Yeah. Do you think it means anything?” Mel had her own ideas, but nothing she wanted to think about.

“It could mean he smells something he doesn’t like. Some strong smell.”

“Oh.” She looked at her hands. She looked upset.

“That doesn’t mean it’s a body. He could smell a dead rat. Dogs can smell anything. And it doesn’t have to be close.”

“A rat?” Mel said.

“Yeah. There’s water behind that park. They live there. They like to get the grapefruit that falls off the trees.”

“Oh, God.”

“I take it you don’t have rats where you come from?”

“Not in my backyard, no. Mice maybe.”

“Did she say anything else?” Conner asked.

“No. I went to the pool and talked to some women there. They said Audrey hadn’t been to the pool since September. They didn’t seem too concerned, which pissed me off.”

“Why?”

“Marge said they were her friends.”

“I think older people define friendship differently than we do,” Conner said.

“I don’t think so. I just think that group, well, they reminded me of the mean girls in school, only old. Real polite, but totally disinterested in Audrey’s welfare.”

Conner reached out and put his hand on hers. “We’ll find her.”

“Why didn’t anyone check on her?” Mel asked. “How could she be out of sight for so long without someone asking why?”

“They would have if she hadn’t paid the rent.”

“I asked the woman at the office and she said she’d been paying her rent with money orders.”

“That wouldn’t leave a trail. It wouldn’t matter who signed them.”

“I wonder if she gets a check in the mail every month from Social Security,” Mel said.

“I don’t think they get checks anymore. I think they have to have direct deposit. At least someone like Audrey would. She’s lived in the same place a long time. She had to have a checking account.”

“And to get the money out, someone would need her signature on a check, right?”

“Not if she had a debit card.” Conner said.

“That’s right. Shit.”

They ate in silence for a while, and when they were done, took their plates to the counter and left.

“Where do you want to start?” Conner asked.

“I want to find out if she had a passport.”

“Then let’s go see the Clerk of Court.”

They drove to Court Street. The county courthouse there was home to civil cases. Conner knew some of the clerks and knew this courthouse wasn’t as busy as the criminal one on 49th Street. He parked in a paid lot across the street and put in enough coins for an hour.

They walked inside and Mel was disappointed. She thought it would be more interesting. It looked like any other office building.

She followed Conner down a hallway and to a window that had the sign “Clerk” over it. A pleasant looking woman came to slide the window open when she saw Conner standing there.

“Hey,” she said. “How are you?”

“I’m good.”

“You’re here on your day off?” she asked, noting his civilian clothes.

“Yes, Ma’am. Penny, this is Mel. We were wondering if you could help us.”

“If I can, sure.”

“Mel’s aunt may have applied for a passport recently, say, within the last three months. Is there any way to look that up?”

“I can look up the application, but that’s about it. It goes to another department and they aren’t as nice as I am.” She smiled, then turned and went back to her desk. “What’s the name?”

“Audrey Glenn,” he shouted.

Penny typed something into her keyboard. “I don’t see any applications in here. I’m gonna go back farther.”

Penny went back a year and still came up empty. Conner looked at Mel.

“She didn’t apply for one in this county,” he said.

“Then he’s lying,” Mel said.

Penny came to the window with a sheet of paper she printed out. “She did apply for a new driver’s license. She didn’t follow through, though. She was rejected for her eyesight. All she needed were corrective lenses. I guess she didn’t like wearing glasses.”

“What about the registration on her car?” Conner asked. He had seen the Mercury when he stopped at the home.

“I didn’t check that. Wait.”

Penny went back to her desk. She looked up registrations under Audrey’s name. “She was due on her birthday, September 2, but she didn’t apply. Let me look up the VIN.” Penny searched for registrations by vehicle identification number. “The car is registered to a Jason Frye. Do you know him?”

“Shit,” Mel said. “He’s got her car.”

“What about her mobile home registration?” Conner asked. “Can you find it with her name?”

“I should be able to,” Penny said. Penny typed for several minutes. “I got it.” She then typed some more. “It was transferred to the same guy, Jason Frye. He’s the registered owner of the mobile home.”

“But how can that be? It’s an over fifty-five park.”

Penny did another search. “According to this, Jason Frye is sixty-two-years-old.”

“Bullshit he is,” Mel said.

“He’s a kid, Penny. There’s no way he’s sixty-two.”

“He would have had to get the park’s approval before the transfer of ownership,” Penny said. “That would mean a credit check. I know because I just moved my mom into that park. They are pretty careful about who gets in.”

“Thanks, Penny. I’ll bring you a mocha Frappuccino the next time I come in.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Penny said with a smile. “I just thought of something.” She went back to her desk.

“That son of a bitch stole her house and her car,” Mel said. “We can’t let him get away with this.”

Penny printed something out. “I printed out the title. The original with Audrey’s name on it. It has both signatures on it.” She brought it over and gave it to Conner.

“Can you print out a copy of her DL with the signature on it?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Penny said, going back to her desk. She found it, printed it out, and brought it to him. He and Mel looked at it.

“That’s not Audrey’s signature,” Mel said. “It’s totally different from the one on her license.”

“That would be fraud,” Penny said.

“Thanks for your help,” Conner said.

“Anytime.”

They left the courthouse and got into the car. Mel was fuming. She wanted to hang Jason by his testicles. Conner was comparing signatures on the driver’s license and the title transfers.

“You’re right,” Conner said. “Your aunt didn’t sign this title transfer.”

Mel looked at them again. The signature on the driver’s license looked similar to Grace’s handwriting, neat and perfectly executed. The signature on the title transfers looked like Mel’s, sloppy and illegible. At a glance, she knew her aunt hadn’t signed them.

Chapter 8

Conner was keeping his true thoughts about Audrey to himself. He remembered finding an older Jason Frye and knew he had to be the one who signed the titles. As they sat in the sheriff’s parking lot, Conner scrolled through the “Who’s in Jail” page on the sheriff’s website. The older one was sixty-two. The other was thirty. Both had been in jail on possession charges. He assumed they were father and son, and the elder Frye had helped the younger swindle Audrey out of her home and car. He jotted down the address for the older Frye.

“What’s the plan?” Mel asked.

“We are going to find Jason Frye.”

“We already did.”

“The other one. The older one.”

“You think there is another one?” she asked.

“I know there is.” He showed her his phone. “I think they’re father and son.”

“It would make more sense. Audrey might go for a guy over sixty. But why isn’t he living in her house? Everyone I talked to said the younger guy has been living with her.”

“That’s what I want to find out.”

They got out of the car and went inside to his desk. She sat in the chair in front of his desk while he did a search for Jason Frye, Sr. He had been bailed out of jail in 2011. Conner couldn’t find any more information on him.

“You got that printout Penny gave you?”

“Yeah,” she said. She pulled it out of her purse and handed it to him.

“The transaction was in 2013. The back of the title is signed. We need something with the younger Frye’s signature.”

“His driver’s license would have it.”

“I forgot to ask Penny for that. ”

She slumped a bit in the seat.

“It’s gonna be all right,” he said.

“Do you think he…hurt her?”

Conner hesitated. “I never jump to conclusions.”

“Even when they are slapping you in the face?”

“Especially then.”

She sighed. “I just want to know what happened to her. I don’t believe she’s on any cruise.”

Conner again put his hand on hers.

“I’ve done these kinds of cases before. It’s very possible she
did
go on a cruise. Don’t give up on her yet.”

Mel nodded, but the feeling in her gut didn’t go away.

Conner turned on the engine. He didn’t put the car in gear, though.

“Where are we going now?” she asked.

“I’m hungry,” he said.

“So do you want to get something to eat?”

“Do you mind?”

“No. I’ll eat something.”

He took her to a taco place on Starkey Road. The tacos were huge and tasted good. Mel kept looking at Conner. He was a nice guy. He was good looking. Too bad he lived in Florida.

“Both Jason and his father were arrested for possession. I didn’t see that either of them did any jail time, so they must have pled out at arraignment and were sentenced to probation and fines.”

“Was that the only time they were arrested?”

“In Pinellas County. I didn’t find either of them on the FDLE website. That means they didn’t go to prison.” He wiped his mouth. “I want to know where the dad is.”

“He would have had to be around to get the title changed over, right? The people in the park office would have wanted to
see
him, wouldn’t they?”

“You’d think so. But these guys may be slick enough to fool them, too.”

“The woman I met in the office had to be seventy. They might have caught her off-guard.”

“Is she the one who signs the leases?”

“I don’t think so. She wasn’t the manager. She did know how the rent was being paid, though.”

“She probably covers the office for the manager. We gotta talk to them.” He looked at her empty wrapper. “You finished?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

They got into his car and she sighed.

“I keep seeing her in a hospital, or nursing home.”

“They would have contacted her family.”

“Would they? What if Jason took her there? What if she was unconscious and
he
gave them her emergency contacts?”

Conner would be glad if they found Audrey in a nursing home. At least she would be alive.

“Be glad if we find her that way,” he said.

“What other way…oh. I can’t think about that.”

“We forgot to get something else from Penny.”

“What?”

“A copy of the
new
titles. The ones showing Jason Frye as the
owner
. We’re closer to the DMV. We can stop there and I’ll get copies.”