Free The Hostage by Jonas Saul Page B

colleagues were by an hour ago,” the bartender said as she walked away.
     
    Elmore left the bar, his spirits buoyed. If the cops were still in the area looking for Sarah, that meant she hadn’t been picked up yet. She could be around the next corner.
     
    He picked up his step and hit business after business along Front Street. He worked Bremner Boulevard and York Street until finally, two hours after the stampede at the Rogers Centre went live on Twitter, he turned up Spadina where he headed north. With no luck, his mood soured.
     
    His suit jacket covered the police uniform, and the fake mustache he had applied in the car was as thick as Magnum P.I.’s. He felt quite confident he’d never be placed in the vicinity as people wouldn’t think to finger a detective when Sarah’s missing person’s case went into full gear.
     
    All he needed was someone who had seen her enter a building or take a subway. Someone, anyone, to give him direction and then he’d be on his way. Or if the police had her, at least he’d know.
     
    The area quieted down as evening approached. The baseball fans had already left, except for the few stragglers who stayed behind to drink. Even the police presence had grown lighter.
     
    “Shit, I was so close,” he mumbled to himself as he passed Adelaide Street.
     
    He looked up at the Tim Horton’s and decided to go in. Out of options, he walked up to the till in the near empty coffee shop and ordered a large black coffee.
     
    The young girl behind the counter smiled at him and turned to pour it for him. As a last resort, he pulled Sarah’s picture out and set it on the counter.
     
    The clerk turned back and set the coffee down beside the picture.
     
    “Have you seen this girl today?” Elmore asked in his official cop voice.
     
    The girl smiled at him. “Have I seen her? I’m the one who saw everything.”
     
    “Everything?” Elmore asked, instantly realizing he was just given another chance. “What does that mean?”
     
    The girl looked around, her gaze stopping on the two customers in the store. Neither one paid them any attention. She turned back to Elmore.
     
    “I work the three to eleven shift. Just before my shift I was in the back office getting my cigarettes for a quick puff before my shift started. Two people came into the back and asked for some guy named Mike. Something about complaints from corporate.” She waved her hand in the air. “There’s no Mike here, so we brushed it off.”
     
    The girl leaned in closer to Elmore and whispered. “This girl in the picture and the guy she was with ran out the back and disappeared. I went to leave out the front door to have my cigarette and walked past a man with, like, four guys in tow. He looked seriously pissed. He also had a photo and Louise told them the girl they were looking for just ran out the back.”
     
    “Wow,” Elmore said to egg her on. “That’s quite a story.”
     
    “But that’s not the best part.”
     
    “It isn’t?”
     
    The girl shook her head hard, hair tossing about. “Nope. I ran up to the corner on Adelaide and at the last second saw the girl and the guy getting into a Beck cab. The taxi raced across Spadina and was lost to traffic as the angry guy stood at the end of the alley still looking for her. I thought when I saw him turn around and disappear back into the alley that he was heading to Timmy’s again so I walked back to tell him what I saw.”
     
    “Did you end up telling this angry man what you saw?” Elmore asked, barely able to contain himself.
     
    “No. When I walked back into the shop here, that angry man and his four goons weren’t here. You’re the first person I’ve told. No one else asked me shit.”
     
    Elmore could tell she was pleased with herself. The girl looked young and naive. He wondered how much excitement she got out of life. He almost made the mistake of handing her his photo studio card to invite her to do a few pics. He would have blown his cop