James Andrus - The Perfect Scream

Zach had no idea if the cops were involved yet or if any of the Tau Upsilon brothers had been arrested or squealed.

His usual routine involved grabbing a meal at one of three places he liked: Sonic because it was cheap; Mario’s Italiano, when he was in the mood for pizza; and the Ponce de Leon Pub. After eating, he always walked over to the Castillo and soaked up a little more history. He loved walking the ramparts of the old fort.

Zach stepped out the front door and looked up at the gray sky trying to decide where he would go today.

John Stallings sat at a high-top table near the bar in the Ponce de Leon Pub, assessing the cute young bartender who acted as a waitress too. He was wondering if he should show her the photo of Zach and Jeanie. A cop’s entire day was filled with decisions like these. Would she help, or tell Zach someone was looking for him? He glanced around the quiet pub until his eyes fell on a single, older man at a booth, sipping French onion soup directly from the bowl.

Stallings had to admit his patience for finding Zach was running short and he decided it was time to be more overt and aggressive. He pulled the photograph from his rear pocket and came up with a story that he was looking for a friend. Just as Stallings was about to say Zach’s name and hold the photograph up to the pretty young bartender, the door to the pub opened.

Stallings casually glanced up and did an actual double take when he noticed Zach Halston walk in and plop down on a stool by the bar.

The bartender said to Stallings, “Know what you want yet?”

“Give me a few minutes and you can wait on your new customer.”

The young woman peeked over her left shoulder, then shook her head. “I don’t have to take his order. I know he’s going to have a hamburger and two Budweisers, just like he does every day.”

“Nice to have a regular customer.”

“It would be if he ever tried to tip me with anything other than a joint.”

Stallings gave her a smile and waited until she walked back behind the bar and into the kitchen before he calmly stood up from the table and took a few steps to the bar next to Zach.

Zach’s head snapped to his left quickly as he looked at Stallings and relaxed when he realized it wasn’t anyone he knew. Stallings pushed back his light jacket so Zach could see the badge and gun on his right hip.

Zach rolled his eyes in an effort to be cool, then managed to slide off the stool and start to run before Stallings could react.

Patty Levine had already talked to three distraught families and she could see why Tony had weaseled his way out of the duty. It was daunting and demoralizing and also educational. These poor families were looking for any shred of information or evidence that random chance hadn’t taken a loved one from them. They wanted someone to blame. They wanted someone on which to take revenge. There wasn’t a single parent who didn’t look tired and didn’t choke up when they discussed whatever accident had caused the death of their son.

She would’ve preferred to have her partner with her, but he’d called to say he was on a lead. Patty suggested she would come join him in St. Augustine, but he told her he had it covered and that he’d be back later in the day. Stallings had been acting oddly the last few weeks and she wondered exactly what was going on in his personal life.

The thought made her laugh out loud. She was worrying about someone else’s personal life. That made no sense whatsoever. She’d just laid a serious kiss on her ex-boyfriend who was already involved in another relationship. And Patty didn’t regret it one bit. Tony Mazzetti was a decent guy, and if it hadn’t been for her own issues and her fear about what police work would eventually do to the two of them, she never would’ve let him go. But she now realized she was not completely over him. She just hoped it wouldn’t be funky with him around the office.

Her cell phone rang and she saw it was Ken. She almost didn’t answer, but then, on the fourth ring, Patty popped it open and said, “Hey, Ken.”

“Hey, beautiful. Are we still on for dinner tonight?”

She thought about their last dinner, then about the kiss with Tony Mazzetti. Patty bit her lower lip and finally said, “I’m sorry. I’ve got to work late tonight.”

John Stallings was used to people running from him and didn’t let Zach get more than two steps away before he reached out and grabbed him firmly by the collar of his flannel shirt and jerked him back toward the bar stool. The quick action caught the attention of the old man sipping French onion soup, but he quickly went back to his task. By the time the bartender walked out, Stallings was sitting calmly next to Zach at the bar.

Stallings looked at the bartender and said, “We’ll both have his usual.”

The bartender gave him an odd look but nodded and turned back into the kitchen.

Zach said, “You’re not going to hurt me, are you?”

“Why the hell would I do that?”

“I don’t know who you work for.”

“I just showed you my badge. I’m a detective with JSO.”

Zach relaxed slightly, the white going out of his knuckles grasping the bar. “So you really are a cop?”

“Yeah, that’s why I have a badge, a gun, and no time for bullshit.”

Zach still looked worried and said, “How long have you been looking for me?”

“A couple of weeks.”

“What are the charges?”

“What the hell you talking about? I’m here because your parents are worried about you, idiot.”

“Really?” His voice cracked.

“Really.”

Then Zach Halston showed he had the ability to surprise Stallings. He started to sob uncontrollably and blew his nose into a wad of napkins sitting next to him on the bar.

Lynn had caught just a glimpse of Zach Halston as he turned and walked into a seedy-looking pub. She reached into her purse and found the Buck knife she’d been waiting to use. She’d found a better way to deal with Kyle Lee and this was still an option. Now the only question was if she wanted to walk into the bar and give Zach a chance to remember her.

The other option was to cruise the area a while longer and see if she had the opportunity to use the big Suburban again. There was no way the cops would link a traffic accident in Daytona and a traffic accident in St. Augustine. She could be back in Jacksonville and at her desk in less than an hour.

And one step closer to finishing her mission.

Zach Halston was nervous because he didn’t know if the cop was telling the truth. He’d seen too many TV shows where cops said all kinds of crazy things to get people to admit stuff.

The cop looked tough, with a hard body and stare to match. He pulled the photograph out of his rear pocket and slapped it down on the bar, letting Zach examine it for a moment, then said, “What do you know about the girl?”

“I thought you were looking for me because my parents were worried?”

“I was, but this girl’s parents are worried too.”

“Kelly? Is she okay?”

“What was her full name?”

“She said her name was Kelly Smith. We only went out for a few weeks and that was the only time she ever came by the fraternity house. She was secretive and didn’t share anything about her personal life.”

“When’s the last time you saw her?”

Something about this guy’s tone put Zach on edge and he knew there was a lot more to the visit than his parents being scared. “I guess about two years ago.”

“Tell me about her?”

What kind of a question was that from a cop? The whole situation was making Zach panicked. Who was this guy really? He sure acted like a cop, but not like a missing persons cop. Zach wondered if he was in narcotics or homicide.