When the bartender picked up the bill, Jack asked, "Does a Geraldo Muñoz work here?" Jack's eyes flickered between the twenty and the bartender's eyes, making it clear that he was willing to pay for the information.
"Yeah, man. The dude washes dishes and cleans up. He'll be in about two this afternoon." He tucked the twenty into his jeans.
"Do you know if he's ever served time in jail, say in Florida?" Jack pushed another twenty across the bar, keeping his finger on it.
"Don't know. He's been working here about six months and I don't know nothin' about him before that." He put his hand on the twenty and challenged Jack with his eyes.
Jack held onto the bill for a few beats, nodded and removed his hand, letting the man take it. He took a sip of the beer and left.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Damnit, Daniel. Everywhere I look, I see mothers and children." Rori turned her blue eyes toward her friend.
Daniel wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in for a hug. "I know, Rori, I know."
"I know you do, Daniel. It's just that… I keep thinking…" She sucked in a slow, shaky breath and buried her face in his shoulder.
"Breathe in through your nose to the count of four and out through your mouth to the count of eight. Works every time. Trust me. I've been doing it for years." Daniel's wry grin was lost on Rori as her face was still hidden in his shoulder.
Jack walked in, located his friends and headed for the counter to order some breakfast. He brought his breakfast sandwich and coffee over to the table and sat in the chair opposite Daniel and Rori. He unwrapped the hot food, took a huge bite and searched in his pocket for his cell phone. Taking another bite, his punched in the number for the FBI agent working on Connor's case.
He picked up his coffee and walked outside to get away from the noise of the kids in the restaurant. Daniel watched Jack through the window and knew from the frustrated look on his face that the news wasn't good.
Jack came back in, sat and finished his food in silence. He leaned back in the chair and looked at his companions. "Well, they traced Jason as far as San Antonio and then lost his trail. Seems that he's been stealing a new vehicle in almost every large town, but nothing has been reported in San Antonio that might have been Jason. I think he's on his way here and, hopefully, to meet our guy from the bar. We'll just need to wait until this afternoon to talk to him."
"So, what do we do for three hours?" Rori hugged her broken arm closer to herself. "I'll go nuts without something to do. I hate not knowing!"
Daniel and Jack exchanged worried glances. Daniel cleared his throat and suggested that they go to a movie. Jack nodded in agreement and both men looked at Rori. "Yeah, OK. I guess it's something to do for a while - as long as it's not a horror or SciFi movie. I hate those."
Jack sighed. He just knew they'd wind up watching some stupid chick flick.
XXXXXXXXXX
Jack was right. It was sappy and disgusting, but at least Meg Ryan was hot, and it passed the time. "Let's head out to the bar and we'll see what he knows."
The trio piled back into the rented car and Jack drove them back to the bar.
"Daniel, come in with me. Your Spanish is much better than mine, if we need it."
"Jack, we can't just leave Rori alone in this area of town!" Daniel was clearly not willing to go with Jack into the bar.
"Daniel, the woman is an Air Force officer. She can take care of herself." As far as Jack was concerned that was it. Daniel glanced back at Rori who nodded her head in agreement with Jack.
Jack pulled off his sunglasses and hooked them onto the neck of his t-shirt, then pushed open the bar door. Taking a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dimly lit room, Jack headed back to the bar and ordered two beers.
The same bartender came over and nodded his head toward a door behind the bar, apparently leading to a back room. Jack slid another twenty toward the man. He and Daniel sipped at their drinks while the barkeep went into the back room. A moment later, he came out with a Hispanic man in his mid twenties who moved hesitantly toward them.
Jack gave Daniel a sideways glance and then turned back to the man. "Are you Geraldo Muħoz?"
"Sí. Soy Gerardo Muñoz."
"Do you speak English?"
"Un poco. A little bit."
Jack turned to Daniel. "You're up, Danny."
Daniel spoke to the man in rapid Spanish for several minutes, then thanked him and handed him a fifty dollar bill.
"He's not the man we're looking for. He just came to this country six months ago and hasn't left Laredo at all. He's very sorry he can't help us." Daniel sighed with frustration. "Now what?"
Jack shoved his hand through his hair. "I guess we go see the old guy on our list. Maybe he knows something."
Rori was pacing up and down the sidewalk next to the car, not able to sit while she waited for Jack and Daniel. She kept flashing back to the look on Connor's face when Jason ran off with him. She looked down at her hands to see she had been twisting the hem of her t-shirt into a knot. She consciously relaxed her hands and attempted to smooth out the wrinkles she had made.
She jumped when she heard a noise that sounded like her cell phone, but it was a car passing with loud music blaring on the radio. If they didn't find Connor soon she was going to explode from nerves.
She looked up to see Jack and Daniel walking back to the car. She knew immediately by the look exchanged between them that they hadn't gotten any useful information. It had been a long-shot, but tears of disappointment burned unshed in her eyes anyway.
Jack enfolded her in a hug. "We're not finished. Not until Connor is home with you. We've got another guy here in town we're going to check out."
Jack gave her one more squeeze and opened the passenger door for her. She reluctantly slid back into the car and fastened the seatbelt. Daniel climbed into the back seat and the three silent friends headed for the next Geraldo Muňoz on their list.
XXXXXXXXXX
Jason parked the car in the mall lot. He woke Connor up and pulled him over to a phone booth outside the mall. "Don't move," Jason directed Connor as he dug into his pocket for some change. He flipped through the phone book, found the number he wanted and dialed. "Yeah, I need a cab." He gave directions and hung up.
"So, what should we do while we wait for the cab?" Jason stared at his son and considered what he had done. He had every right to Junior. He was his kid! But he'd never known how much work having a child around all the time was. He'd just have to find some hot chick who liked kids. Junior had his uses.
"I know." Pulling out more change, Jason dialed a number and waited for someone to pick up. "Hey. It's me. Wanna talk to your kid?" Jason shoved the phone at Connor.