Beth put her hand on his arm. “Wes, I need your help on this. If Mikey comes back by himself, I want someone there to let me know he’s safe, and I trust you to do that.”
“What about Uncle Ted?”
“If Mikey’s failed to get to see his father, the last thing he’ll want is an adult telling him all the things he’s done wrong. He’s way more likely to confide in you, and I want him to stick around until I can get back and talk to him, okay?” Wes looked unconvinced, so Beth kept talking. “Please, Wes.”
“Okay.” Wes glanced over at Conner, who had been listening quietly. “But only if you take this guy with you.”
Beth tried not to roll her eyes. “I’m perfectly capable of traveling on my own, Wes.”
“Sure you are, but I guess if I can’t be there, Conner’s a good man to have your back.” Wes turned to the man in question. “You’ll keep an eye on her, won’t you?”
“I absolutely will.” Conner nodded. “I give you my word that I’ll do everything I can to make sure she and Mikey make it home safely.”
“This isn’t some kind of disaster movie,” Beth reminded them both. “All I have to do is locate Mikey and bring him back. It’s not exactly rocket science.”
“I know.” Wes grinned. “It’s just way more fun and dramatic my way.”
Beth poked him in the arm. “Get along with you.” She watched as he sauntered out of the building and disappeared in the direction of the college.
“Do you think he’ll do what you asked?” Conner asked.
“Yes,” Beth said. “He’s a smart kid.” She hesitated. “Can we talk about what to do next?”
“Sure.” Conner got out his phone. “The bus to Gardnerville takes a very circuitous route, but I still think he’ll arrive before we can make it. Our best bet, in my opinion, would be to drive directly to Reno, which is roughly two-and-a-half hours away from here, and meet him there before he boards the Greyhound to Oakland.”
“You’ve already worked it out?” Beth stared at him.
He shrugged and showed her the information on his phone. “You don’t have to do it that way if you don’t want to. We can stop off in Gardnerville to make sure he didn’t get stranded there, and still get to Reno before he will. The bus is that slow.”
“Okay.” Beth nodded. “If you’re still willing to come with me.”
“I promised Wes I’d keep you safe. I’m not the kind of person who breaks his word.” He glanced down at her as they headed for the door. “Do you want to find someplace we can have lunch or get takeout? We’ve got time.”
CHAPTER SIX
There was no sign of Mikey in sleepy Gardnerville and no one around to ask if he’d gotten on his next bus. The town was so small they only spent twenty minutes checking out every possible place he might be. Beth topped up the gas tank and settled in for the drive to Reno with Conner at her side. For once she really appreciated his disinclination to chat, as inwardly she wrestled with a thousand questions and increasingly scary scenarios.
“Would you like me to drive?” Conner finally broke his silence about an hour into the journey.
“I’m good at the moment,” Beth said. “It gives me something to concentrate on rather than wondering if Sean set up a prison visit for Mikey and neither of them bothered to tell me.”
“It’s possible.” Conner nodded. “From what I read on the Department of Corrections website, the inmate has to send the visitor a questionnaire to fill out and return before they can be approved to come in.”
“So, Sean would have instigated this.” Beth nodded. “Of course, he would. What gets me is that Mikey didn’t mention it.”
“Maybe he just heard back that he’d been approved and grabbed the opportunity to go for it when you were out of the house?”
Beth groaned. “Don’t make me feel even worse.”
“I’m the one who dragged you away,” Conner reminded her.
“You didn’t ask me to come and interfere in your life. That’s totally on me.”
“True.” Conner stared out of the window for a long while. “But I’m glad you did.”
Beth snorted and used the opportunity to check her route on the navigation system.
“If Sean is in general population, and Mikey has his visitor clearance, he can visit over the weekend,” Conner added.
“I don’t know where Sean was placed,” Beth said. “I’ve tried not to have anything to