I Was Here(72)
“That narrows it down to a few hundred million people.”
“I have more. I think he might work at a casino. So, casino on the West Coast. Las Vegas?”
“Which has a population of, what, a million people? If he’s even there. He could work anywhere in Nevada,” Harry says. “Gambling is legal statewide.”
“Or he could work at an Indian casino anywhere,” I add.
“Exactly. What else you got?”
“His last name might be Smith. Someone called him that.”
“It’s helpful to have a name, even if it’s the least helpful name in existence.” He pauses. “You have anything else?”
“No. Our call got cut short.”
“Call? He called you?”
“Yeah.”
“Landline or cell?”
“I don’t know. It came up as blocked. But he was at work, so I’d guess cell.”
“On your cell or landline?”
“Cell. I was at work, and we gave up our landline.”
“When?”
“Did we give up our landline?”
“No, Cody. When did he call you?”
“Earlier today.”
“Seriously?” Harry’s voice perks up.
“Yeah. Why, is that bad?”
“Careless.”
“So, bad for him, but good for us?”
“Could be.” I can tell, even through the phone, that Harry is smiling. “You’ll have to give me complete access to your mobile account.”
“Fine.”
“And send everything you have on this Smith guy. Usernames. Any accounts you used to communicate. Anything you have on him. Any electronic trail. Email it all to me.”
If I have to go stand outside Mrs. Chandler’s driveway to pick up a Wi-Fi signal, I’ll do it. Though Mrs. Banks said the library is reopening any day. “Done.”
“And understand I’ll be doing some quasi-legal things.”
“For a good cause,” I remind him.
“I’ll say. I’m going a little crazy at my grandmother’s, so it’ll be good to have a project. I’ll be in touch when I find something.”
x x x
That afternoon I stand outside the Chandlers’ empty house, pirating their Wi-Fi signal, and I send Harry everything. The next day, the library reopens. I go in with the laptop and check the anonymous messaging service All_BS and I used, but there’s nothing. I check the Final Solution boards, but there’s nothing from him there, either. I am pretty certain there will be no more communication from him. But maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe I’ve gone from being the mouse to being the snake.
x x x
After three days Harry calls.