Free Lost and Found by Tamara Larson Page A

face until he wasn’t quite so pretty anymore, but he reined in his anger and just glowered at the couple.
    “I couldn’t catch up with them,” he said, addressing Jessie and completely ignoring Clay. He couldn’t even bare to look at him without feeling his temper flare. “I’m going to walk around a bit downtown and see if I can spot them. Can I call you later?”
    “I’m coming with you,” Jessie said, defiantly, moving away from Clay and walking past Duncan to the door. “I can look in one direction while you’re looking in the other. We can cover more ground that way. While we’re looking, maybe you can tell me exactly what’s going on here. It’s pretty obvious that Theresa is more than just another missing person to you.” She waited impatiently for him with her hands on her slim hips.  
    “Clay, don’t you have a date tonight? You should close up and get going, shouldn’t you?” She looked at her watch meaningfully. “Didn’t you say it was Sissy Boy Night at Odyssey? Half price Crantini’s will be over in another twenty minutes and you want to stock up, don’t you?” Both men gaped at her bossy tone for a moment and then followed her out the door, Clay setting the alarm and closing the iron security gates behind them and then heading off toward Davie Street with a mouthed “Call me” to Jessie behind Duncan’s tense back.
    Jessie and Duncan walked the streets of downtown in silence, looking for some sign of Theresa. It was a Monday night, and downtown sidewalks weren’t terribly crowded, but there were enough people to fill the tables at most of the sidewalk cafes, and the usual homeless people in doorways and on corners. Duncan flashed Theresa’s picture at many of them, asking if they’d seen her and thanking them for their time. Jessie was impressed by the polite way he spoke to everyone, and she kept sneaking glances at Duncan , admiring the way he carried himself. People seemed to part for him like the red sea. It wasn’t just that he was bigger than most everyone they passed; it was his energy and intensity that they responded to. She felt very safe next to him. He held her elbow and glared at anyone who came too close to her.
    “So, that guy isn’t your boyfriend,” Duncan asked after a about a half hour into their search. He didn’t look at her. His tone was purposely casual and Jessie got the impression he really cared about her answer.
    “Did you actually think I’d let you maul me in the store if I thought my boyfriend might be coming in? What kind of women have you been dating?” Jessie asked angrily, pausing to look in the window of a sub shop. She thought she saw a familiar blond head, but moved on when it turned out to be a man.
    “Maul you? I didn’t maul you. And what was I supposed to think when you acted so weird when he came in. You jumped away from me like I was dipped in shit or something.” Duncan said, throwing up his hands in exasperation. He looked over at her for the first time since leaving the store, and noticed that she had her arms crossed and was rubbing at them like she was cold. She was still wearing just the thin, white, sleeveless blouse she’d arrived at his place in. He shook his head in disgust and paused, pulling off his leather coat and placing it around her shoulders without asking.  
    Jessie stopped and watched him do up the zipper and roll up the sleeves like she was a five-year-old. The coat hung to her knees and smelled like leather, rain, and him. She wanted to be defiant and shrug it off, but it felt too good—toasty warm from his body—like an embrace from him. “Thanks,” she said, and reached up with one hand to touch his cheek tenderly.
    He stared into her eyes for a moment and then his gaze skittered away from her like he was embarrassed and he said quietly, “As for the women I’ve been dating, There hasn’t been anyone. Not for a long time.”  
    They started walking again as Jessie digested this new