was a great story. Maybe Sheena was still the little lamebrain she was when they had dated.
He puffed up his chest and scrolled through his contacts list. He never deleted anyone’s number, just in case of situations like this one. He dialed her number. It went to voice mail. “Hi ya. You’ve reached Sheena.” Giggles. “Well, not really.” More giggles. “Hit me with your best shot. Bye for now.” Rick gave the phone a disgusted look. Some people never change, but that could easily work in his favor.
“Hey, Sheena. It’s your old pal, Ricky Barnes.” He cringed at referring to himself as Ricky, but that’s what she had called him. “I heard you’re doing well out in La La Land. Thought I’d give a check-in and see how things are with you. I’ll call back again. Ciao.” Rick didn’t want to leave a number, and his caller ID said OUT OF AREA. And he was. He had bought a burner phone with cash. That was the only kind of financial transaction he had made for the past two years. Cash. Ever since he had bolted. Some people thought he was backpacking in Guatemala; others thought he was doing a walkabout in Australia. Obviously, neither was true. But there was one thing he was certain of. Nobody really cared.
Even his own mother had thrown him under the bus after she wired him $10,000. She had forgiven him for bolting out of town without giving her any notice, but then months went by after she sent him the first $10,000. And he never contacted her, not until he needed more. She was livid at the audacity he showed to call and ask her to wire him cash again.
Initially, she was worried. Why had he left so abruptly? Why was he at an airport in Chicago? The second call was the last straw. She had babied him all his life. It had practically ruined her marriage after she insisted that her husband give him a job. When that went south, she pushed his father to find him another means of support. Richard Senior was done having his ungrateful, lazy son embarrass him. He was furious when he discovered she had wired him $10,000 without discussing it with him. But that was the point. She knew that if she had brought it up, he would have uttered a resounding “over my dead body.” She loved Richard and knew he was right. Enough was enough. Tough love. Rick needed to figure it out on his own, and that would never happen if people kept bailing him out.
Rick scrolled through his contacts list again. There had to be somebody who was still speaking to him. Someone who had some spare cash. He thought about Christian’s offer to send a check via FedEx. The question was where to have it sent without making it easy for anyone to find him. The airport routine had worked for his mother. People just assumed he was traveling. He could be going anywhere. But that meant he would have to pick it up at a FedEx location at an airport. He had to think. And think fast. The opportunity to get someone to find her was not going to last forever.
He thought about the casinos in Atlantic City. He could still probably get comped for a hotel there, but sending money to the Atlantic City airport would be too obvious. There is nothing else to do there but gamble. No, it had to be an airport that was in a large hub but was also close to a casino.
He pulled out his phone and hit the app for casinos. There were several in Black Hawk, about forty minutes from Denver. Perfect. If his luck held, he could probably get a free room at the Ameristar. He had walked away from their tables with almost twelve grand. They might want him back to see if they could recoup. It was worth a try. If he got the room, he’d give Christian the address of the FedEx at the Denver airport.
Rick was feeling pretty positive about his chances of completing his search and locating her. Several things had to happen. First, he had to get himself to Denver. Second, he needed to get the cash. Third, he had to get the money to the person who would do the job. Fourth, he needed to secure a hotel room. He thought about it. A lot of “ifs,” to be sure, but he had gotten