Beach Town (36 page)

“Gone, where?”

The clerk shrugged. “He didn't say.”

 

42

Greer sat in the golf cart, staring at her phone, wondering how she was going to break the news to Bryce that the only thing standing between him and his precious demolition permit was Eb Thibadeaux.

Her phone rang. Of course it did.

“Hey,” Bryce said. “What's the word on my permit?”

“I just finished filling out the paperwork.”

“Great. What's the time frame? I want to get the special effects guys lined up ASAP.”

“Not sure. The thing is, it has to be approved by the city engineer. And the city engineer happens to also be the mayor, Eb Thibadeaux.”

“Are you kidding me? One guy? The one guy who is clinging to that damned casino like a drowning man—he gets the final say? What kind of kangaroo town is this?”

“Sorry,” Greer said. “He did promise that he would give it ‘due consideration.'”

“Fuck that,” Bryce said. “Enough already. I'll deal with this.” He hung up.

Before Greer could start wondering how the producer planned to “deal with it,” her phone rang again. She picked it up and checked the caller ID. It was Eb.

“Hey, Eb,” she said. “Are you calling to tell me you've approved the demo permit?” It was her idea of a joke, but it was immediately clear that he wasn't laughing.

“Have you seen Allie?” His tone was urgent.

“When? Today? No.”

“You're sure? She hasn't been hanging around the set?”

“I haven't been on set today,” Greer said. “And I haven't seen her since you put her under house arrest.”

“Dammit,” he muttered.

“What's this about?” Greer asked.

“Rebecca, the manager at the Inn, just called. Allie was supposed to work lunch today, and then dinner tonight, but she never showed up.”

“Has Ginny seen her?”

“Not since this morning. Allie left there around ten. She told Gin she had to go in early to do some side work. Obviously that was a lie.”

“What about her girlfriends? Have you called them?”

“None of them has talked to Allie.”

“You're sure? They wouldn't just be covering up for her?”

“They all swear they haven't seen or talked to her. The only one I haven't talked to is Tristin Thomas, her best friend. I drove over to her house, but Gail, her mother, says Tristin has been at soccer camp in Gainesville all week. She texted Tristin to tell her to call, but we haven't heard back from her yet. Gail promised she'd put the fear of God into the kid, so that's something.”

“I'll call Zena and ask her if Allie's been around the set,” Greer said quickly. “I'll call the office, too.”

“Talk to that piece of shit Kregg, while you're at it,” Eb demanded. “I swear to God, if he's been seeing her again…”

“I'm sure he knows better, but I'll check with everybody, then I'll call you right back,” Greer promised.

*   *   *

“I haven't seen Allie,” Zena said. “You want me to ask around?”

“Yes, please,” Greer said. Before she could say anything else, her phone's call waiting line beeped. “Let me know if you hear anything.”

She switched over to the other line. It was Bryce.

“I see I have a missed call from you. What is it now?”

“Sorry, I'll make it short. Listen, have you seen Allie Thibadeaux around the set today?”

“The mayor's kid? No. I thought you said she wasn't allowed.”

“She's not. But Eb just called. She didn't show up for work at the Inn today, and nobody else has seen her, either. The mayor is worried she might be with Kregg. She hasn't been with him, right?”

“I'm not Kregg's babysitter,” Bryce said. “Anyway, Kregg hasn't been on set today. We've been shooting the scenes with Adelyn and the sheriff all afternoon.”

“But have you seen Kregg today? At all?”

“No. Look, I gotta go. I've got my guy on the coast on hold.”

“Wait! Bryce, I don't have a phone number for Kregg. Could you please do me a huge favor and call and ask him about Allie? The mayor is really upset.”

“Come on, Greer. I don't have time to play these games. I told him to stay away from that girl. That's the end of it as far as I'm concerned.”

“She's a kid, Bryce. Seventeen years old. And she's missing. This isn't a game.”

“One call. I'm making a film here, not running a day care.”

“Thanks. You'll call me and let me know what he says?”

“Whatever.”

*   *   *

Greer felt helpless. She called her best friend while she steered the golf cart back toward the motel.

“CeeJay? Have you by any chance seen Allie Thibadeaux today?”

“No. Zena already asked me about her, though. What's up?”

“She's missing. Lied and told her aunt she was working at the Inn, but never showed up there. Eb's worried she might be with Kregg. And I've got an awful feeling he could be right. Bryce says Kregg wasn't working today.”

“Yeah, that's right. I haven't seen him. What can I do to help, honey?”

“Are you done for the day?”

“Thank God, yes. I was just about to head back to the motel.”

“Feel like running a covert op with me?” Greer asked.

“Whatever it is, I'm in,” CeeJay said.

“Good. Meet me back at the motel in ten and I'll fill you in on the way. What are you wearing?”

“Why, is there a dress code?”

“No, but it'd be helpful if you looked, um, sexy.”

“Since it was one hundred ten degrees in the shade today I'm wearing the least amount of clothes I could legally get away with. Although, I must warn you, I smell like a goat.”

“All good,” Greer said.

Her phone rang again, and she saw that it was Bryce calling back.

“Kregg's phone went right to voice mail,” he reported. “I left him a message telling him he'd better not be with any underage girls. Where are you? I was thinking we could have a dinner meeting at Van's place tonight to discuss strategy.”

“I'm still tying up some loose ends at city hall,” Greer lied. “Can we meet tomorrow? I've still got a lot on my plate tonight.”

“Have you seen tomorrow's call sheet? We're starting at sunup, at the casino. I'll see you then.”

*   *   *

CeeJay hopped into the Kia's front seat. She appeared to be wearing an orange tube top that barely covered her assets.

“What's the plan?” she asked, as Greer swung the car on to Pine Street.

“I'm worried that Allie might be hiding out over at Kregg's house. Bryce tried calling him, but he's not answering his phone. So I thought we'd run by there and check it out.”

CeeJay hoisted her tube top up so that it was covering one more fraction of an inch of her boobs. “Let me guess. I'm some kind of decoy?”

“Not sure,” Greer admitted. “If Kregg's there, and his bodyguards are there, I'll need you to sweet-talk your way in the door, to look for Allie, since Kregg's probably not my biggest fan.”

“And if he isn't there?” CeeJay asked.

“Let's play it by ear,” Greer said.

*   *   *

When they reached the guard shack at Bluewater Bay, Greer lowered her window to speak to Marvin, the off-duty cop who was working security. CeeJay leaned forward and waved at the guard. “Hey, Marv!”

Marvin smiled broadly. “Hi, Miss CeeJay! Where have you been this week?”

“Oh, here and there,” CeeJay said. “Hey, Marvin, do you happen to know if Kregg's at his house right now?”

“I came on duty at two and I haven't seen him go in or out,” the guard said. “You want me to call up to his house to check if he's home?”

Greer and CeeJay exchanged a glance. Greer nodded.

“Yes, please.”

A moment later Marvin walked out of the shack and back to the Kia. “Nobody's answering on the house phone, but you know that gang of his. They might be out at the pool, as hot as it is today.”

“Okay. We'll just run up there and check,” CeeJay said.

*   *   *

There were no cars in the driveway at Kregg's leased waterfront home. “No Hummer,” CeeJay noted. “Which means the posse must be out.”

“And no Porsche,” Greer added. “Which means Kregg's not home, right?”

“Probably,” CeeJay agreed. “Kregg and his homeys like to shoot hoops at the city park, but they usually don't start playing until after dark, because of the heat.”

“Although maybe the bodyguards took the Porsche and the Hummer,” Greer said worriedly. “I wish I knew if they were together. Guess we should take a look around back, to see if Kregg's back there in the pool with Allie.”

“I'll go check it out,” CeeJay volunteered. “If Kregg is there, I'll just tell him Bryce sent me over to deliver a message about tomorrow's shoot. I doubt he realizes Bryce and I are no longer an item.” She pointed to the vacant house next door, with the large
FOR SALE
sign in the front yard. “Park in the driveway over there and play lookout, okay? If the guys roll up while I'm still back there, call my cell.”

She plucked her phone from her pocketbook, tucked it into her cleavage, and climbed out of the car.

Greer pulled into the circular driveway at the vacant house, parking with the Kia pointed in the opposite direction, on the off chance that Kregg's bodyguards might notice a strange car parked there.

It was after six, but still ferociously hot, so she kept the Kia's motor and air conditioning running. She trained her eyes on the road, hoping no cars would approach. After fifteen minutes, she started to worry. What was taking CeeJay so long? What if Kregg was in the pool, or in the house? Would he believe whatever pretext CeeJay came up with? And if he didn't believe it, what would he do?”

She felt sweat beading up on her neck, dripping down her back. After thirty minutes, she felt so anxious she knew she had to do something. She drove slowly up the driveway at Kregg's house, so that CeeJay would have a fast getaway, if need be. Her heart thudded in her chest, and the palms of her hands were slick with perspiration.

Greer was glancing in her rearview mirror for the hundredth time, when the passenger-side door opened and CeeJay slid onto the seat.

“Let's go,” CeeJay said calmly.

“What took you so long?” Greer fretted. “I was afraid you were being held hostage or something.”

“I was being thorough,” CeeJay said. “I went up to the deck, just to see what I could see, and I noticed that the French doors were unlocked. I might have thought I heard somebody tell me to come on in. And I might have looked all over the house, just to check it out.”

“You broke into Kregg's place? What about Kregg's bodyguards? What if one of them had walked in on you? Not to mention, I think that house has a security system. What if the cops showed up?”

“I thought he invited me in,” CeeJay said. “Turns out I was mistaken. Nobody was home. No bodyguards. As for the cops, I was in and out in five minutes. But Kregg better hope the law doesn't show up at his place. He's got bongs and weed scattered all over the place, and a cute little coke stash in his medicine cabinet.”

“You checked his medicine cabinet? Are you insane? I just wanted you to check for his car, I didn't ask you to do a search and seizure.”

“I had a headache, and I went looking for an aspirin,” CeeJay said airily. “It's not my fault if the guy has absolutely no imagination. Or discretion.”

“Did it look like a teenage girl might have been there earlier?”

“I didn't see any Taylor Swift CDs lying around, if that's what you're asking,” CeeJay said. “It just looked like your typical piggish man cave—beer cans and pizza boxes all over the place, the biggest flat-screen TV I've ever seen, a weight bench, like that.”

“Slow down,” CeeJay said, as they approached Bryce's house. “I want to see if Miss Richy McBitchy's Jeep is there.”

Both women craned their necks as they passed the house. But the driveway was empty. “Nobody home,” Greer commented.

“Hmm,” CeeJay said. “Maybe I should run inside and ransack his place, too.” She sighed dramatically. “Probably not necessary. I know he's sleeping with her.”

Greer gave her a sympathetic glance. “I thought you were over Bryce.”

“I am. Totally. Okay, semi-totally. I knew he was a player when I hooked up with him, but like the dumb bunny I am, I talked myself into believing that true love and great sex could make Bryce change his ways.”

“Not so much, huh?”

“Players gonna play,” CeeJay said. “To tell you the truth, I'm mostly bummed because it means I've got to move again, when we're done with this gig.”

“Since you brought it up,” Greer said, “Bryce wanted me to meet with him for dinner at Vanessa's house tonight, so we could discuss our strategy for getting the damned demo permit for the casino.”

“What did you say?” CeeJay asked.

“I lied and told him I had some other loose ends to tie up for tomorrow's shoot,” Greer said.

When they reached the security gate, Marvin waved and stepped out of the guard booth. Greer rolled the window down and he leaned in.

“Hey, Miss CeeJay, Dooley, the guy who works morning shift, just came by to pick up his paycheck, and I asked him if he'd seen Kregg or his bodyguards today. He said Kregg left out of here before nine. He was alone, and driving the Hummer, and he thought that was kinda odd, 'cuz since he bought the Porsche, his bodyguards usually drive the big car. Kregg hasn't been back all day.”

“Thanks, Marv,” CeeJay gave the guard a finger-wave.

*   *   *

“Well, that was fun,” CeeJay said brightly, as Greer pulled into the parking lot at the motel. “Almost like high school days with my tight girls, rolling past the head cheerleader's crib. All we're missing is some toilet paper and shaving cream.”