Samantha pulled over when Vivian called with a list of rental car agencies in a 20-mile radius of the Jackson Heights bus terminal. She wrote down seven names and addresses and nodded as Vivian explained that Danny and her would split the remaining names on the list. Heading to the first one on the list, she started the routine of showing Jack's picture and asking if they had seen him anytime since early Wednesday morning. Striking out on the first three, she got caught in a traffic jam for a full hour and thought she was going to kill someone. Danny and Viv reported throughout the day, but never with any good news.
At the fourth place on the list a man behind the counter said, " Yeah, I think this guy was here the other day," causing Samantha's mind to kick into another gear. She asked, " Are you sure? It is very important." He studied the photo again and said, "I dunno, but let me get Julie from the back. She thought he was hot and tried like hell to get his cell number." Samantha actually felt herself get jealous as she waited for this Julie person to come up front. But, after looking at Jack's picture she scoffed, "Dude! What were you thinking? This guy is way better looking than the guy the other day. I would have pulled out all the stops for a guy who looked like this."
Samantha snatched the photo back, grunted a thanks, and stomped back to the car. It was getting late on Thursday evening as she leaned her forehead wearily against the steering wheel. Time was going by quickly and the team was turning up nothing. She pounded the steering wheel and yelled, "Damn it Jack! I'm sorry. Okay? Give me a break here!" She then touched the photo and vowed, " You are crazy if you think I will give up," and pulled out into traffic heading to number five on the list.
Wearily showing the photo to the young man behind the counter and asking the same questions again, the young man said, "I wasn't working on Wednesday, but let me get Cindy. She is the assistant manager and was in charge that day." As soon as Cindy looked at the photo, Samantha's trained observation skills saw immediate recognition cross her face, but she handed the picture back saying, " No, sorry. I've never seen this man before." Samantha pressed, "Look, Cindy. This man has gone missing and we know he rented a car in this area. Take another look. It is very important that we find him." Samantha caught her eyes and almost pleaded, "Please help me if you can."
Something in the way Samantha's voice cracked caused Cindy to ask the beautiful blonde agent, "Why are you looking for him? He looks like a nice guy that wouldn't hurt anyone." With that comment Samantha knew he had been here and her hands trembled as her FBI agent facade gave way to a broken and desperate heart. She answered honestly, "He is my boss, my best friend and someone I care for very much. I made a huge mistake and I have to find him to make it right. Please, tell me what you know." Her voice was almost a whisper by then. Cindy nodded slowly and said, "Yes, he was here early Wednesday morning. Let me get the rental contract."
Samantha's heart was beating at a fever pitch as she finally got what she hoped to be a solid lead. When Cindy came back with the contract, Samantha scanned it quickly and immediately recognized his signature. She looked for the place of contact and found it empty. Puzzled she asked, "You are positive he rented this Jeep?" Cindy replied, "Yes, what is wrong?" "Well," Samantha said, "we have been tracing all credit card activity and nothing has shown up from your company. Don't you require a credit card for all rentals? And, the place of contact is not completed. Isn't that required too?"
Cindy averted her eyes and said sheepishly, "Look, he paid cash for two months up front, so I told him I would record his card number but not run it. And, I told him he could let me know when he got where he was going. Look, Agent Spade, this guy had the saddest eyes of anyone I've ever seen. I figured he could really use a break, so I gave him one. I didn't mean any harm. I just couldn't give those eyes any more bad news."
Now it was Samantha's turn to avert her eyes as she said softly, "No, there is no problem. Jack's natural charm is pretty unavoidable. Did he say anything that would give me at least a hint of where he was heading?" Cindy's face lit up now, eager to help this woman who was urgently trying to find her love. "Jennifer showed him some remote places up in the mountains. He took Route 37 north, but he didn't say exactly where he was going--only that he was looking for some place quiet." Samantha thanked them heartily and ran to her car. It would be dark soon, but the more ground she covered the closer she would be in the morning.
Suddenly energized, she called the office to report to Danny and Vivian and was shocked to hear Martin answer the phone. "Oh, hey, Martin, is Danny or Viv around?" she asked. He gruffly told her to wait and when Danny came on the line she said, "I see he is taking all this well." Danny smiled at her comment and said, "Apparently you are a hard one to lose. We have our supervisor on the run and junior stomping around here like he can't go to the prom and his daddy took away the keys to the Mustang." She rolled her eyes and then excitedly told him of her lead. He asked her to wait for him but she said she was already on the road and needed to take it from here by herself. After promising to check in every so often, she sent her sincere thanks to him and Viv for all their help.
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Jack went back to the Jeep and pulled it around closer to Buddy's Grocery Mart. Lillie's words kept ringing in his ears, "Everything happens for a reason." I guess this happened to make me see she doesn't have any feelings for me anymore. I waited too long and blew my one big chance in life. But then he saw his little girls' faces and convinced himself they were worth the fight. The internal monologue thankfully ended as he began picking up some basic food and cleaning items. He picked up an ice chest and a bag of ice to keep things cold on the trip back to the cabin. Once he got everything squared away, he ventured down to the lake and sat down on a rock ledge and let his mind relax. He smiled ironically at the thought that he was sitting beside Sam's Lake. Even when he tried to run, she was always around him. The warm sun continued to relax his exhausted body and he nodded off for a while but woke with a start when he heard voices.
He recognized Bob with a young boy coming down the path. Bob introduced him to his grandson and asked if everything was okay in the cabin. Jack assured him it was just fine. Bob reminded him there was some fishing equipment in the closet he was welcome to use and headed on down the path with his grandson. Jack spent the rest of the day hiking around the lake and even built a fire when he got back to the cabin. His mind did feel a little rested and the ache in his heart at least had dulled. He went to pour a drink, but remembered how shitty he felt that morning and decided to pass. He told himself out loud, "No Jack, you are going to have to get over her sober. You already ran. You can't hide now in a bottle." Night fell quietly as he sat on the porch and listened to the sounds of nature. That night, he actually slept pretty well, only waking a dozen or so times when he thought he heard her voice.
TBC