Part 23 (2/2)
The place looked like a typical, sloppy college student's studio apartment. Bed in the corner that doubled as a couch; large-screen television that dwarfed the room; a couple of chairs; desk with computer, books, and papers; and a small lopsided table. Dirty clothes were heaped in one corner. Two posters were tacked to the beige walls-one showing a sleek red Lamborghini with a naked blonde on the hood, the other commemorating the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl XLIII victory.
”I just found the phone.” Ryan stood next to the open door as if he would bolt at the first sign of trouble.
Sean spotted Kirsten's smart phone next to the computer. He picked it up. It had a crack on the front of the screen, but he didn't know whether the damage was old or new. It was on, with only one battery bar.
”You just now found the phone? I couldn't get a GPS lock on it, but it has one bar.”
”I mean, I found it Sat.u.r.day night, but I forgot. I was pretty wasted, didn't know I had it in my pocket. I was doing laundry this morning and found it. It was totally dead, but I had an old charger that fit and, um, I liked the girl who dropped it, thought we could go out if I gave her the phone.”
Trey stepped forward and opened his mouth to talk, but Sean cut him off. He showed Ryan Kirsten's photo.
”Is this the girl who dropped the phone?”
Ryan grinned. ”Yeah. Ashleigh. She's hot.” Then he looked nervous and said to Trey, ”You're not her brother, are you?”
”Boyfriend,” Trey said.
”I doubt that,” Ryan snorted.
Sean said, ”Trey, do you need to step out?”
”No,” he grumbled.
To Ryan: ”Tell me what happened Sat.u.r.day night.”
”Is she really missing?”
”Yes.”
”It was a rave. Seven hundred people, maybe more. I lost track of her.”
”When did you find the phone? I know she used it late Sat.u.r.day night.”
”Um, no. I was, um, dancing with her. We had a little action, she said she had to meet a friend but would be back. She took off, then I saw her phone on the floor.”
Sean kept his face neutral, but he knew what Ryan meant with his euphemisms. He wanted to pound sense into the jerk, but that wouldn't get them any closer to finding Kirsten.
”How did you know it was hers?”
”Saw her with it. She said she was coming back. But she didn't, and I pocketed her phone, got another drink. Forgot all about it until I found it this morning and remembered how she-” He cut himself off with a glance at Trey.
Trey burst out, ”And you didn't go look for her? You weren't worried that something might have happened?”
”Hey! It was a big party. I figured she hooked up with someone else. She was dressed for it.”
Trey stepped forward aggressively, and Sean had to put his hand on his chest to physically hold him back. Ryan backed up, obviously not wanting a confrontation. He was definitely not the stand-up-and-defend-your-girl kind of guy. Trey, however, was, and Sean needed to defuse the situation.
Sean showed Ryan Wade Barnett's photograph. ”Know him?”
”Sure. Wade.”
”Was he at the party?”
”Oh, yeah. He knows how to have fun.”
”Do you remember what time he arrived? When he left?”
Ryan shook his head and leaned against the door-jamb. ”Have no idea when he showed up, but he made a stink as the party was winding down that his ride had left.”
”Did he call a car service? Do you know how he got home?”
”He left with some girl, but he didn't look too happy about it.”
”Can I take your charger? You said it was an old one.”
”Well-”
Sean put a twenty-dollar bill on the desk and picked up the charger. ”Thanks for your help.” He walked out, Trey on his heels.
Before Ryan had even closed the door, Trey said, ”Do you believe that guy? Kirsten would never go out with a loser like that.”
”At least he tried to get her phone back to her. This is going to help.”
”He didn't even know her name!” Trey said, shaking his head.
”And you have to let it drop. He's a witness; don't tell him anything he doesn't already know, got it?” Sean was already scrolling through the text messages on Kirsten's phone. He skipped the messages that had been sent Sunday and Monday before the phone died-they were from her mother, Trey, and a few friends at her school-and looked at the messages during the time frame of the party.
At 1:13 a.m., a message from ”Jessie” came in: Don't be such a s.l.u.t and meet me outside. Now, Ash.
Twenty-three minutes before that last message from Jessie, she had sent another: Plz, K, need 2 talk 2 u. I'm freezing.
And eight minutes before that, at 12:42 a.m., Jessie had texted: i see u with that guy. we need 2 talk now. im getting worried. outside 10 min.
Sean frowned. There were other messages between Jessie and Kirsten, but the battery was flas.h.i.+ng low. He saw that there were nineteen voice mail messages, but didn't know if the phone would last until he could retrieve them all. He pocketed the phone. He'd go back to the hotel, charge the phone, and download everything. He'd listen to the voice mail while Lucy put together the text message threads chronologically.
”What did it say?” Trey asked.
”I'm trying to create a time line before she lost her phone. I need to download the text messages and retrieve her voice mails. Go home, Trey.”
”No.”
Sean stopped walking. ”I appreciate you calling me. You did the right thing, and I have information that may lead me to where she's hiding out. But it's going to take all my time and concentration, and I can't worry about you getting into trouble.”
”I'm not!”
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