Cursed Romance Read online

  At the nearest window, someone peeked out through the blinds. By the time she had stopped the engine and stepped out with Eric, the front door was opening. “Sorry we keep missing each other,” said a thin woman with shoulder length black hair. She looked a bit like a tan skeleton with too much skin. It bunched and folded in places like an iguana. Her bony fingers clasped and unclasped repeatedly as she waited for them to come inside.

  “It’s all right,” Eric assured them. It wasn’t really all right. It would have been a lot better had they been able to speak with them before now. Who knew? They might have found her by now. Not that Rowen was going to mention that. There was no point in saying it now.

  “It’s good to finally meet you,” Rowen said instead, putting on a smile and offering a hand for Mrs. Halifax to shake. “Sorry it’s under these circumstances, of course.”

  Mrs. Halifax nodded. She shook Rowen’s hand while blinking back tears. “It’s… It’s been a difficult week.”

  “Understandably so,” Eric shook her hand next and together they all stepped inside.

  “Take a seat anywhere,” said Mrs. Halifax, hurrying to the den ahead of them. “Can I get you anything? Water? Coffee? Tea? I think we have some soft drinks.”

  “That’s all right,” Eric said quickly.

  “We’re fine,” Rowen echoed.

  A man was already seated in the living room. He didn’t stand when Rowen and Eric entered. Instead, he regarded them with a distinctly unfriendly frown. “You must be Mr. Halifax,” said Eric, offering the same hand he had extended to the man’s wife.

  “Oh, I’m Miranda and that’s Lenny,” said Mrs. Halifax, still wringing her hands.

  “Mr. Halifax is fine,” said Lenny, still glaring. He refused to shake hands.

  “Lenny,” snapped Miranda. “Don’t be rude. They’re trying to help. They’re working with the police.”

  “Only because the chief of police is in bed with the Greensmiths.” Mr. Halifax made a face as he spoke, like there was a bad taste in his mouth.

  Rowen couldn’t really argue that point. Ben was Lainswich’s chief of police, and he was married to her cousin Rose. That didn’t say anything bad about him, though. He was good at his job, certainly better than the last chief of police had been. That guy had been crooked. He was still serving time in Lainswich Correctional last time Rowen had thought to check.

  “Also because we’re the only private investigators in town, I would imagine,” Eric said with a good-natured smile. He was so much more patient than Rowen ever had been. She admired that in him, wished it was a trait they shared. “I understand that you’re reluctant to trust us with—”

  Lenny snorted, cutting Eric short. “You run that newspaper. How am I supposed to say all this stuff you want me to say to a person who runs a newspaper?”

  “Eric here isn’t involved in the newspaper,” Rowen explained, trying Eric’s patience on for size. It was plain to see that Lenny was a man who had always disliked the Greensmiths. That was a fairly common opinion in Lainswich. She reminded herself that his daughter was missing, and that it was a bit off that a journalist doubled as a private eye. “I do work with the paper, but not when I’m on cases like this. Our work with the police is very by the book, I assure you. If I fed information to the Lainswich Inquirer, I’m sure you would have heard about it in the news by now.” Rowen was speaking of Channel 2, of course. Channel 2 was the local news station that she and her family had a long and complicated relationship with. If anyone was going to sensationalize something and report even the facts they probably shouldn’t, it was Channel 2.

  “Be nice,” said Miranda, frowning at her husband. “This is our best chance at getting Andrea back. We need to try everything.”

  Lenny crossed his arms and settled back into his chair. He didn’t look happy about cooperating, but he did it anyway. “Fine. Hurry up and ask what you’re gonna ask.”

  Rowen settled on the sofa with her husband. She removed a tape recorder from her purse. She always brought it along for occasions such as these. It made it easier to review things later and make sure no one’s story had changed. “Do you mind if I record this?” she asked.

  “I don’t see why not,” Miranda said before her husband could speak. He kept his arms crossed and gave a little huff, like he didn’t want to be recorded but also didn’t want to waste energy arguing about the matter.

  Rowen set up the recorder, placing it on the coffee table between them. “So, when was the last time you saw your daughter?” Rowen already knew the answer, but she hadn’t heard it in the family’s own words. Given her particular skill set as a witch, she liked to hear that sort of thing first hand. Sometimes she picked up on things that others couldn’t.

  “It was last Saturday,” said Miranda, her gaze going to the floor. “She was playing music in her room, and I asked her to turn it down.” Her eyes grew wet as she spoke, like she was suddenly filled with regret. “I was always asking her to turn her music down. God, I miss it now.”

  “I don’t,” grumbled Lenny. “She had terrible taste in music.”

  “Lenny,” hissed Miranda, shooting him a glare.

  “She’s out with some fella,” said Lenny. “She didn’t think to tell us about it and just took off with him.”

  Rowen couldn’t tell if Lenny actually believed that or not. She could see by how stiff he was that he was worried about his daughter. Whether he genuinely believed she had gone off with a guy or he was just saying that because he hoped it was what happened was hard to say. “Is she dating anyone right now?” Rowen hadn’t heard about a boyfriend.

  Miranda shook her head. “No. I mean, she wasn’t seeing anyone that I knew of.”

  “Not that she would tell us,” Lenny added.

  “Does she have a history of this sort of thing?” asked Eric. “Going away with guys you don’t know?”

  Again, Miranda shook her head. “No,” she said. “This isn’t like her at all.”

  “That’s not true,” said Lenny, earning another glare from his wife. “She’s gone away with boyfriends before.”

  “Never for this long, though,” Miranda added. “Never without calling home and letting us know that she’s okay.”

  “Do you know these other boyfriends of hers?” asked Rowen, pulling a pad and pen from her purse. “Do you think you could write down some names and numbers for us?”

  “I already gave them to the police, but… sure.” Miranda took the pad of paper. “I don’t really know their numbers or last names. I’m not sure how much help they’ll be.” She started jotting them down anyway.

  “Do you know what your daughter generally does when she disappears for extended periods of time?” asked Eric.

  “Parties mostly,” said Lenny, grumbling as he spoke. He didn’t approve. “She’ll come wandering in all sheepish sooner or later. I keep telling Miranda here it’s just a matter of time.”

  “And I’ll be thrilled if you’re right,” snapped Miranda.

  Rowen was sure now more than ever that Lenny’s grumbling was just a defense mechanism. He was as worried about his daughter as Miranda was. “She has a sister, right?”

  “Dedra,” said Miranda, nodding. “Yeah, she doesn’t live in Lainswich, though.”

  “She lives in Tarricville, right?” asked Eric. He had his own pad of paper in hand and was flipping through some of the notes he had taken as he spoke.

  Miranda nodded again. “She’s just a year older than our Andrea. She moved out there about three years ago for college.”

  “And she knows what’s going on, correct? You’ve asked her if she has any idea where her sister might be?” Eric glanced up from his notes.

  “I’m not sure she knows that it’s gotten serious,” Miranda admitted, brows drawing together like she felt guilty about that.

  “We don’t know that it’s serious enough to worry her yet,” said Lenny.

  The police wouldn’t be involved if they didn’t feel it was serious. Rowen d
idn’t point that out, but she felt like it should be obvious. “So, she hasn’t come down here or anything?”

  “We told her not to,” said Miranda. “She’s so busy with school, and… Well, it would just worry her. It’s enough that Lenny and I are worried, I think. I don’t want to subject her to that unless I have to.”

  Rowen nodded like that made sense. Personally, she would have told her. It wasn’t like she wouldn’t find out soon enough, assuming she hadn’t already. Surely the police had spoken with her by now. “Does Andrea ever go out of Lainswich with these men you say she’s left with?” Rowen asked instead.

  Miranda looked at Lenny, but he didn’t seem to have an answer for them. “I don’t know,” Miranda said, finally. “She never really told us where she goes. I’ve tried to figure it out, but… I don’t know. I guess she goes to wherever it is these guys she dates live.”

  “She likes parties,” said Lenny. “She’s been partying since she hit high school.” He shook his head like he disapproved. “I don’t know why. We raised her better than that. I’m sure of it.”

  Rowen could guess why Andrea had gone partying without telling them. It certainly seemed like Lenny was the sort of parent you would do anything to get away from if you had even the slightest of rebellious streak in you. “Do you know who hosted these parties?”

  “Her friends would know better than we would,” said Lenny. “I swear, I tried everything with that girl. I’d give her a curfew, ground her, even take her car keys. It never worked. She would just climb out her window and hitch a ride with some guy. I should have sent her off to some… I don’t know… military school. They have those for girls, don’t they?”

  “It’s a little late for that now.” Miranda took a deep breath like she too had regrets about the way Andrea turned out. “She’s an adult, but… She’s still our baby.” She looked up at Rowen and Eric then as if she needed to appeal to them for their help. “You have to find her. You just have to.”

  “Everyone is doing their best,” Eric assured her. “Do you mind if we take a look at your daughter’s bedroom?”

  Lenny put on a scowl again. Miranda glanced his way but ignored his obvious annoyance. “If you think it’ll help,” she said, pointing down a hallway to her right. “It’s just down there. It’s the room at the end of the hall.”

  Rowen and Eric both stood and headed that way. “Do you mind if we look in there alone?” Eric asked when Miranda started to follow them to the door. “If you’re not comfortable with that, I understand.”

  “Oh.” Miranda stopped halfway down the hallway. “No, I suppose that’s all right. Just… call me if you need me.”

  “Will do.” Eric opened the bedroom door and stepped in. Rowen did the same, leaving the door only slightly ajar behind them.

  The room looked a little young for an eighteen-year-old. There was a twin bed and a chest of drawers covered in hundreds of stickers. The wallpaper was fluffy white clouds on a background of blue. Glow in the dark stars and moons were stuck to the ceiling. There were touches of a teenager here and there. Some posters of bands Rowen had never heard of were stuck to the walls. There was a desktop computer on a desk cramped with old textbooks and sheets of paper that looked to have been idly doodled on.

  “Do you think the cops have looked at the computer yet?” asked Rowen. She felt herself immediately drawn to it.

  “Probably not,” said Eric. “I mean, it’s still here, isn’t it? They would still have it as evidence otherwise.”

  He was right, of course. That had been a silly question. The police didn’t even know if a crime had been committed. For the moment, it still seemed like Andrea could still be out with friends. By her parent’s own admittance, she had been out nearly this long before. Rowen flopped down into the desk chair and rode it to the computer.

  “What are you doing?” asked Eric.

  “I’m gonna see if there’s anything useful.” Rowen wiggled the mouse, waking up the monitor. The computer asked for a password.

  “Want me to go ask Miranda?”

  Rowen let her fingers hover over the keys for a few moments before trying her luck with a guess. The computer let her in after her first try.

  “Did that come to you psychically?” asked Eric, sounding genuinely impressed.

  “Not really. The password was ‘password’.”

  “Ah. Of course it was.” Eric turned back to look through the rest of the room. He stopped at her nightstand and went through a stack of papers and books there.

  Rowen tried pulling up Andrea’s e-mail first. There was an icon for it on the desktop, but she didn’t have much luck. It seemed Andrea hadn’t kept herself logged in all the time and Rowen had no way of guessing what her username was, never mind the password. It didn’t seem to be the same as her computer’s login information, so that was that for that particular route of investigation.

  Rowen pulled up Andrea’s internet browser next. She checked the history. It was normal stuff. There were shopping sites, social media and some celebrity gossip sites. The only thing that really stood out to Rowen were a bunch of links to online tutorials, all about the same thing— photo editing. She clicked one. There were pictures of models, touched up and untouched. The tutorial seemed to be about how to use filters and free image programs to easily make your selfies look better. The idea that Andrea had a boyfriend occurred to her, not for the first time. Her parents hadn’t mentioned anything about a boyfriend, but it wasn’t like they would necessarily know.

  Rowen opened up a folder and went to the computer’s images. “Oh!” she exclaimed, turning her head from the monitor.

  “What?” Eric turned to look. “Oh!” he echoed, turning his head as well.

  Rowen hadn’t been expecting a bunch of thumbnails of Andrea naked. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t expected that. It seemed like a very teenager thing to do, especially if she was going to all the trouble to touch up the photographs and make herself look good.

  “Is everything all right in there?” called Miranda.

  “Everything’s fine!” Rowen shouted back, quickly closing out the folder before she could walk in and catch an eye full.

  “Any idea who those were meant for?” asked Eric.

  “Not a clue.” Rowen kept searching the computer and Eric kept looking through the room. Neither of them found anything else that was particularly helpful. They would see if they couldn’t pay the sister a visit tomorrow, but for now, they decided to call it a day.

  Chapter Two

  "I dunno,” said Dedra, continuing to be especially unhelpful. She was lounging back on the sofa, wearing pajamas even though it was well past noon. She had her bare legs draped across her boyfriend’s lap. A cigarette dangled from her fingers. Something told Rowen that if Miranda or Lenny knew she was living like this they would immediately cut off whatever money they were sending that allowed her to live in this rather nice apartment. “She’s a big girl. She can do what she wants.”

  “We understand that,” said Eric, not for the first time. “But the police are involved right now. We just want to get in touch with her and make sure she’s all right. Your parents are worried.”

  Dedra groaned, her eyes rolling back into her head. “What else is new? They’re always worried. She’s not a baby. You know what? She probably figured out people think she’s missing, and she’s doing this on purpose to teach them all a lesson.”

  “What kind of lesson could this possibly teach?” asked Rowen.

  Dedra shrugged. “I dunno, like I said.”

  Rowen took a deep breath, trying to keep her cool like Eric was. Try as they might, they couldn’t impress upon this girl how important this was. “What about you?” she asked, shifting her attention to the boyfriend instead.

  Boyfriend perked up. He had been staring out into the middle distance. Now his gaze darted back to Rowen and Eric. “I dunno,” he said, unhelpfully. He and his girlfriend were really two of a kind.

  “Did you ever meet Andrea?
” asked Eric.

  “Yeah.” Boyfriend was a slim guy. He had short dreadlocks and a nose ring he kept touching and spinning. It was distracting.

  “Want to elaborate on that?” Rowen prompted.

  Dedra wiggled her legs, giving her boyfriend a light kick like she was trying to get him to pay attention. “We went to some parties together,” he added. “She seemed cool, I guess.”

  “Sorry, I don’t think I caught your name?” Eric had his pen poised above his notepad.

  “Marve,” said the boyfriend. His dark brows came together a second after that, like he was suddenly concerned. “You don’t think I had something to do with this, do you? I barely knew the chick.”

  “No,” Eric said quickly. “We don’t actually ‘suspect’ anyone. We’re just trying to figure out where she might be at this point.” He was right, but Rowen couldn’t help but be a little suspicious about Marve’s outburst. He seemed awfully defensive for a bystander in all of this. Even Dedra was frowning at him like she was troubled.

  “And you really have no idea who she might be with? Or who any of her friends are?” Rowen asked one last time.

  Dedra took a sharp breath like she was beginning to get annoyed. “I’m not sure how many ways I can say that I don’t.”

  “What about some of the places where you partied?” Rowen didn’t believe she couldn’t remember some of the places where they went for a good time.

  “We go to some of the same parties, but we don’t have the same friends,” said Dedra. “Our parents probably know them better than I would.”

  “And the parties are where?”

  “I dunno, different people’s houses.” Dedra was being evasive on purpose now. She didn’t want to give away the places she and her friends partied. Maybe they did illegal things there and didn’t want the cops raiding the place.

  “You know we’re not with the police, right?” Rowen leaned forward and lowered her voice. “In fact, it’s probably better if you go ahead and tell us anything you might not have mentioned to the police. We’re not under any sort of obligation to report anything but the girl back to them. If the police find something incriminating on their own, well, who knows what will happen?”