Safe Harbor – 25

"Nothing, nada." Bobby told Kurt as he and two of the other older boys came into Kurt's office. "It’s like she vanished off the face of the earth."

One of the boys nodded as he flopped down in a chair. "We even ran into the guy she’s been sneaking out to see. Didn’t know it was him at first. Just handed him her picture and he was like all up in my face about how come I was looking for her."

"Did he see her at all last night?"

"No, Father, and he was pissed about it. Said she never stands him up."

Kurt rapped his fingers on the desk, frowning. "So somewhere between the time she left Cry at their place and wherever she was supposed to meet him she vanished."

"And from what he said it wasn’t too far away, like five blocks at most."

Bobby paced to the window, staring out for a minute before turning back to face the others. "Those bastards came after them once. I wonder if they somehow managed to follow us back here last night. I mean I was watching out for them, all of us were, but…" He shrugged.

Kurt shook his head. "If they did, why not take her and Cry on their way back to the squat? Why wait until it was just Bets?"

"They’re crazy?" one of the boys said sarcastically.

"That’s a given." Bobby pounded his fist into his open palm as he started pacing again. "It’s a good point though…Kurt. So maybe they were cruising around looking for another vic and just happened to spot her and decided to finish the job they started earlier."

Kurt smiled slightly at Bobby’s using his name, even if he had hesitated first. "Let me call Detective Denton with this bit of information. It will give him a starting point. Or it will if one of you knows where the girls are staying."

All three boys shook their heads. "We tell you and the cops will kick them outta there," Bobby told him.

"So no address, just a block, somewhere to fan out from." Kurt looked at the kid who’d talked to Bets’s boyfriend. "I don’t suppose the guy told you where he lives did he?"

"Didn’t have to. He always meets her at a coffee spot. Umm, Joey’s Java he said."

By then Kurt had the phone to his ear and was dialing. When Daniel answered he passed on what little the kids had discovered. "I know it’s not much but…" He nodded at Daniel’s reply and hung up, looking at the boys. "The problem, of course, is even if they did grab her we have no idea where they would have taken her." From the looks on their faces he knew the boys understood and were not happy about the idea.