“And how long have you been here?”
“Ten days, four and a half hours, and seven minutes-”
“No, seriously, how long-any idea?” I joked. Erica just stared at me. “Right. Maybe she got someone to take her there.”
It was unlikely but not impossible that the kidnapper might pass through the area as a way of preventing Tammy Susie from making a fuss in public. Besides, it was a place the police would have to cover anyway. I slid out a few more fries. “It’s worth a try. But I mean a really fast try.”
“Then let’s get moving,” Bailey said. “If this doesn’t pan out, I’m pulling the plug and calling the cops.” She pushed her fries toward me.
“No, thanks,” I said, and pushed them back. Bailey rolled her eyes and started to toss them into the trash, but Toni snatched them from her.
“My mama didn’t believe in wasting food,” Toni said.
“Your mama wouldn’t have let you say the word ‘french fry,’ ” I said.
Toni gave me an icy glare, then turned to Erica. “Can we walk there? Or do we need a cab?”
“We can walk,” Erica said. “It’s just a few minutes.”
Erica led the way. The Harbor Outdoor Market was a series of connected stalls on the waterfront where lots of brightly colored gewgaws stamped ARUBA were sold-nearly all of which were manufactured in the United States. It reminded me of an upscale version of the boardwalk in Venice, California.
Just feet away, the afternoon sunlight danced across the gently undulating water in the harbor. I deliberately turned my head to block out the sight. We moved from one stall to the next, showing Tammy Susie’s photo and, as before, getting nowhere. Suddenly, Erica stopped, her cell phone held out in front of her with both hands. “Shit, shit, shit!” she cried.
“What?” I asked.
“They keep texting me, asking me about Tammy Susie. ‘Did she find her skirt? Where are you now? Have you given her lunch?’ Damn it!”
“Who keeps texting you?” Toni asked.
“The producers! All day long. And now they’re telling me to bring her back to the hotel!”
“What’ve you told them so far?” I asked.
“That she was fine, still hasn’t found the skirt she wants. Stuff to buy some time.”
I considered our depressing lack of progress and looked down the row of stalls. We didn’t have many more to go. “Let’s get through this market and then you can text them that you’re coming back. Better to tell them about Tammy Susie in person.”
Erica nodded, tight-lipped, more nervous than ever. We resumed our hunt but to no avail, and within ten minutes we’d reached the end of the row. We were waiting for Bailey to wrap up her conversation with the last vendor when I noticed something shiny under the canvas partition of his stall. I nudged it with my toe, and it slid out. It was a cell phone with a Hello Kitty cover.
