Lauren looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

The girl on the other end laughed. “Close. Fourth floor. Four-thirty-two.”

“I knew there was a three in there somewhere,” I said.

“I’ll connect you now.”

“Thank you.”

I waited for the line to go quiet, then covered the phone with my hand. “Remember four-thirty-two.”

She nodded.

The line buzzed and my stomach jumped.

So close.

After five rings, the girl came back on the line. “Sir, I’m sorry. There’s no answer on that line. Can I connect you to the voicemail for that room?”

“Sure, that would be fine,” I said.

“One moment.”

I waited until the automated voice came on, then hung up.

“What the hell was that all about?” Lauren demanded.

I held out my hand in warning, telling her to chill out. “Easy. We go marching in there without any info and just start asking for names, it would go nowhere in a hurry. It doesn’t look good and the desk is trained to protect their guests’ privacy. They won’t give us the time of day.”

Lauren didn’t say anything.

“The phone is easier,” I explained. “They’re supposed to get the room number from you so they can verify you know who you’re calling, but it’s an easy bluff. Most desk clerks just want to transfer the phone call and if you’re nice to them, they’ll put you through.” I nodded at the phone. “And sometimes you get lucky and they give you the room number without thinking because you sound like a confused dad.”

She nodded slowly. “Why did you say the third floor?”

“The hotel only has four floors,” I said. “Look at the windows.”

She did.

“I had a twenty-five-percent chance of getting it right and an even better chance of there being a three in the number,” I said. “It’s like those TV psychics. I made her think I had more information than I actually had.”

“How’d you know she’d do that?”

“I didn’t,” I said. “She could’ve stonewalled me and not connected me. But I’ve done it enough times to know it usually works. It was a bonus that she said the number without thinking. People want to help. I was nice to her. She gave it to me without even thinking.” I shrugged. “We caught a break.”

“Okay,” Lauren said. “So now what?”

“Now I want to walk the lot,” I said, opening my door. “Look for Minnesota plates.”

The morning air was cold and dry and my nostrils tingled when I breathed in. The snow had been shoveled from the parking lot and pushed to the sides, dirty mounds surrounding the lot. I walked slowly between the aisles of cars, checking the plates of each one. Lots of Colorados, a bunch of Nebraskas, a few from Kansas and a couple from Florida. I did not see any blue and white Minnesota plates.

I glanced at Lauren, who was walking the aisle next to me.

She shook her head. “I don’t see any from Minnesota.”

Which meant one of two things. They’d driven a car with plates from a different state or they weren’t there.

I didn’t think they’d driven a car with different plates. They were probably in Ponder’s. But if they’d checked out, the desk clerk would’ve told me.

We needed to go inside.

Or, rather, Lauren did.

“You need to go knock on the door,” I said.

“What about you?” she asked.

“I don’t want to go in yet, in case they aren’t there,” I said.

“Why?”

“Just trust me.”

She sighed, exasperated. The tension was wearing on her.

“What do I do?” she asked.

“Call me,” I said. “When you get to the fourth floor, call me and leave your phone on. Just hold it in your hand so I can hear. Knock on the door. If someone answers, just stand there.”

“Just stand there? Like a mute?”

“You can do whatever you want. Act like you got the wrong room. Start yelling at him. Whatever. But it’ll take me less than two minutes to get up there if I hear someone answer. If no one answers, just come back outside.”

“Okay,” she said. “But I still don’t understand why…”

“I know,” I said, cutting her off. “Just trust me.”

She was still shaking her head when the glass sliding doors opened and she disappeared into the hotel.

I blew on my hands, the cold starting to do its thing on my fingers. I pulled my phone from my pocket and held it so I wouldn’t miss Lauren’s call. I walked quickly toward the front door and sat on the stone bench a few feet from the entrance, making sure whomever was at the front desk couldn’t see me. My heart rate was accelerating and I kept reminding myself to settle down, to stay in control, to keep thinking logically.

The phone buzzed in my hand and I held it to my ear. “Hey.”

“I’m on the floor,” she said, quietly, breathing a little harder than normal.

“Okay. Just get to the door and hold the phone in your hand at your side,” I said. “I’ll be able to hear you.”

“Almost there,” she said. “Hang on.”

There was a rustling over the line and I listened closely.

A moment later, Lauren’s fist knocking on the door echoed through the phone.

I held my breath and listened.

She knocked again.

I exhaled and listened.

The rustling crackled through the line again.

“No answer,” Lauren said.

“Put your ear to the door,” I said. “See if you hear anything. TV, hair dryer, whatever.”

After a moment, she said, “I don’t hear anything.”

I exhaled again. The parking lot was right. They weren’t there.

“Okay,” I said. “I’m going in to talk to the front desk. When you come down, ignore me. Just walk out. I’ll meet you outside at the car.”

“Joe, I don’t…”

“I know,” I said, standing. “I know you don’t understand. I’ll explain when I come out. I’m trying not to waste time, alright? You need to trust me.”

The line buzzed for a moment.

“I do,” she said. “I’ll meet you outside.”

THREE

The girl behind the desk, the same one I’d spoken to on the phone, smiled at me as I approached. The narrow brass pin on her shirt told me her name was Kelly. She was short and stout, with dirty-blonde hair cut in a bob. The smile on her face looked like it was ever-present.

“Good morning,” she said. “Can I help you?”

“Well, I’m not sure,” I said. “I think we just spoke on the phone a little bit ago? I’m trying to reach my son?”

Recognition flashed through her eyes. “Oh, sure.”

“I was driving here when I called,” I said. “That’s why I was having trouble finding Bryce’s room number.”

She nodded sympathetically.

“Anyway, I got here quicker than I thought I would,” I continued. “I was wondering if you’d seen him come back yet? Since he didn’t answer the phone and his cell went right to voicemail when I tried that.”

She shook her head. “I’m afraid not. You’re the first person to come through since I spoke to you.”

I nodded, expecting that. I saw Lauren out of the corner of my eye. She didn’t glance in my direction and walked quickly out the front doors.

I glanced at my watch. “Just happens that he and I are both here on the same day and we were hoping to catch up before my meeting later today. Would you have any idea if he went to breakfast or anything? He’s not from here, either. Just wondering if he might’ve asked for a recommendation or something.”

She thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t think I talked to him. But hang on a sec. Let me ask someone here in the back.” She stepped away from the desk and disappeared around a corner.

I tapped my fingers on the countertop, waiting. I wondered if Elizabeth had stood in the same spot at the counter, waiting to check in.

Kelly returned, shaking her head. “No, I don’t think he talked to anyone. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, that’s OK,” I said. “Let me ask you one more question and I’ll get out of your hair. Are there any breakfast places close by? Or coffee shops? I might see if I can catch him.”

“There’s a Starbucks about four blocks to the north,” she said, gesturing in the general direction. “And a bagel shop next to that. And a diner another block up the road. The diner actually advertises in our room information guides, so it’s possible he might’ve seen that and headed there.”