Jed was good at this.
“What can I do for you, Elena?”
“I’m out of touch with my mother. I was wondering if she’d passed by this way lately.”
Paco frowned. “No, baby, I haven’t seen your mama in a long time. Last time she was here was—hmmm, let me think—probably six months or so. Said she was going legit. Can you believe that shit?”
“No. I can’t. What did she mean by that?”
“No idea. Said something about wanting to go back to school to finally finish up that degree she’d started. You know me, I’m always half buzzed anyway, so in one ear and out the other. But I haven’t seen her since.”
She couldn’t help being disappointed, but Paco had no reason to lie to her. At least she hoped not. “Okay. Thanks, Paco. If you see her, could you tell her to call me?”
“You know I will. But you know what else, two jokers who also looked like feds stopped by here today looking for her.”
She feigned surprise. “Really? What did they look like?”
Paco spat on the ground. “Tried to look like tourists, but I can spot a fed a hundred yards away. I sent them packing. They were lucky I didn’t shoot them.”
“I wonder why they would be looking for her?”
He shrugged. “No clue, baby girl. I hope your mama isn’t in any trouble.”
“God, I hope not, either. I guess I’ll have to find her before they do.”
“You do that. And if you need any help, you come get me. We’ll get a posse out looking for her.”
She climbed up the stairs and kissed his cheek. “Gracias, Paco. You take care of yourself.”
“You, too, chica.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jed said with a nod.
“Take care of this lady,” Paco said. “She’s special.”
Jed slung his arm around Elena. “I know she is. And I will.”
They headed back to the car. Now that they had Paco’s approval, no one watched them.
As they drove toward the next destination, Elena was silent, thinking about what Paco had said.
“What’s wrong?” Jed asked.
“Paco said my mother was thinking of going back to school. I never knew she was in a degree program. She never told me about it.”
“Maybe she didn’t want you to know.”
“It’s possible. She rarely finished anything she started. And who knows, maybe it was just one of those bucket list items. You know, before I die, I want to climb Mount Everest, go to Italy, get a degree, et cetera, et cetera?”
“Or maybe she had a goal in mind and wanted to change her life.”
Elena stared out the window. “Maybe.”
An hour later they were in Cocoa Beach, in a completely different environment than the first location. Mitzie Winfield was a rich woman who’d lived a solitary existence since her third husband died in the eighties. Elena never quite understood how Mitzie and her mother got to be friends since Carla Madison was a no-material-things love child and as far removed from wealth and society as one could get.
But Mitzie and her mother were friends, and occasionally her mom would stay over at Mitzie’s posh private home on the beach. They’d play cards and spend time on Mitzie’s yacht and shop and go to all these parties. Her mother would tell her stories about spending a few weeks with Mitzie and all the wonderful adventures she had. For a while, Elena thought her mother was full of shit, but Carla took her daughter once to meet Mitzie, and Elena had been stunned to find out it was all true.
Mitzie loved Carla, and Elena figured it was the simplicity of her mother’s existence that Mitzie appreciated. Or maybe because her mother didn’t want anything from Mitzie other than her company. Even when they went shopping, Mitzie bought things for herself but her mom never let Mitzie buy anything for her other than lunch.