Free Chasing Shadows by Valerie Sherrard Page A

showing it. If anything, he seemed a bit annoyed at being bothered.
    â€œNope.” He took a step, as though to walk away, then hesitated. “Why? Was she lookin’ for me?”
    â€œActually,
I’m
looking for
her
. I haven’t been able to find her since she quit her job at The Steak Place. I really need to find her.”
    â€œWhoa, whoa. Back up there. Did you say she quit her job?”
    â€œYes. On Sunday.” I tried to tell if his surprise was genuine or not but it was pretty hard. He seemed sincere, but he could have been acting. I didn’t know him at all, so I had nothing to compare his reaction to.
    He looked at me for a moment and then shrugged. “Well, I haven’t seen her,” was all he said.
    â€œYou seemed surprised about her quitting her job,” I blurted, hoping to keep the conversation going. “I take it that she hadn’t mentioned anything to you about looking for work somewhere else or anything.”
    â€œNope. In fact, I thought she liked the job there real good. Made a lot in tips and stuff. She never said nothin’ to me about quitting.”
    â€œWell, I wonder, would you maybe know how to get in touch with either of her parents? I’m guessing they’ll know where I can find her.” Truthfully, I doubtedthat her parents knew a thing about Nadine’s disappearance, but I really wanted to get in touch with them anyway. I knew that if the police were to be called in, it would be best for her mom or dad to do it.
    â€œAll I know is her dad’s out west somewhere.” Leo looked around impatiently as he spoke. I wondered what his reasons were for so clearly wanting to end the conversation. “Her mom is remarried and lives, I think, in Nova Scotia. Halifax or Dartmouth maybe, I’m not sure. I couldn’t tell you what her new last name is, though.”
    â€œYou don’t know her dad’s first name?”
    â€œNope. Look, I gotta get going.”
    â€œOkay, well, thanks a lot for your help.” I smiled brightly at him, so he’d never guess that he was my prime suspect at the moment. “Oh, is there somewhere I could reach you if I have any more questions?”
    â€œIf you have any more questions? What are you, the police?” He laughed and walked off without offering an address or phone number.
    It struck me right away that I’d probably been pushing it asking for contact information. Still, it was kind of alarming how immediately he’d made a mental connection between perfectly innocent questions and an official police investigation. Would an innocent person do that?
    Of course, Greg was pretty upset when I told him I’d gone to see Leo — he said I’d made a few promisesthat I wasn’t sticking to. I guess that’s true, but as I said, I was kind of distracted when I said yes to all that stuff Greg wanted me to agree to for the sake of, as he put it, my protection and safety. Sounded like an ad for a home security system to me.
    Really, it was hardly fair for him to ask me to make this big deal right after he’d just told me that he loves me. How’s a girl supposed to concentrate when she’s all aflutter inside?
    â€œA person would need the memory of seventeen elephants to keep track of all your rules,” I told him.
    â€œShelby, first of all, they weren’t, as you put it,
rules
. They were just things to make sure you stay safe. Furthermore, there were only
three
things!
Three
. One: That you wouldn’t go anywhere near any of the possible suspects alone. Two: That you wouldn’t go back into the apartment by yourself. And three: That you’d let me know where you were going to be at any time you were looking into clues. Isn’t it enough that one girl has disappeared? Are you
trying
to be the second?”
    â€œYou’re getting on my nerves,” I said, mostly to cover up my embarrassment. I’m not sure how I got so