I shook my head. "Heard about it, though. It's for real, then?"
"Guess so. Some kids camping over by the Potter place heard it. Came racing in here just before closing, huh, Larry?"
Larry nodded and poured fresh grinds into the coffee-maker.
"Scared shitless," Brett said, laughing. "City kids. Said they'd heard cougars on some wildlife show and they were sure that's what it was."
"Man, that'd be a trophy," Eric said. "Think Don'll let us hunt it?"
I tuned them out and sipped my coffee. Seventeen-year-old girl goes missing and no one even wonders why. But an escaped cougar? Now that's news.
Chapter Five
Tess arrived ten minutes early. She only had a half hour before she needed to begin the drive to school. Tess was in her last year and had crammed in enough credits that she only needed to attend afternoon classes. Mornings were spent working with her dad to save for college.
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We took a booth at the back and ordered burgers. When lunch arrived, Tess nibbled the crispy end off one fry, then stared down at the overflowing plate.
"Sorry," she said. "I'm not very hungry."
"That's okay. So the last time you saw Sammi was...?"
"Sunday. I was driving home from my grandma's, saw her walking to town from your place and gave her a lift. Kira and I usually stop by Sammi's around ten, after Destiny's asleep. That night, Sammi didn't come out, so Kira snuck in the back door. Janie was passed out on the couch, and Sammi and Destiny weren't home. Yesterday morning, I went back, 'cause I was worried, but Janie ran me off, said Sammi was gone and good riddance."
"Did Sammi say anything unusual when you gave her a ride?"
Tess shook her head and blew her nose on the napkin.
"New boyfriend?" I asked.
Another head shake.
"What about Trent? Did they get back in contact? Maybe she followed him out to Vancouver."
Tess made a noise of disgust. "That asshole couldn't get away from here fast enough, get on with his new college life where no one knew he'd had a kid. Sammi would never lower herself to going after him. And even if he asked her to, she'd tell him where to stuff it."
"Did she make a new friend? Acquaintance?"
"No."
"Did she say she wanted to leave?"
"No more than usual. She mentions it, but it's the same old 'God, I hate this town' shit that we all say."
"Had she said it more often recently?"
She shook her head. "Since she's been working for you, she hasn't said it as much. She has a plan now. Her mom makes her pay rent, but almost all the rest goes in the bank and she figures by the time Destiny's ready for school, she'll have enough to move to Oshawa or Kingston."
She circled a fry through her ketchup, then set it down and looked at me. "She's grateful, for the job and all. I'm sure she's never said so, but she is. It's just really hard on her. She wants to work, but she doesn't want to leave Destiny with a sitter. Sammi... she pretty much raised herself and I tell her it's not the same thing if she finds a good sitter, but to her it still feels like abandoning Destiny."
"Maybe she saw your point and decided the problem was that she couldn't find good child care here. In the city, that wouldn't be as much of a problem."
"I just... I don't think she left."
"Did she give you anything recently? An unexpected gift? Something she owned? Maybe seem more sentimental than usual?"
Tess paused to think, then shook her head.