Sometimes, when a case has you stymied, you get help from unexpected places. In this particular case, it was a phone call. One of Jamie's friends, a woman named Rebecca, called me up, out of the blue. After the preliminary pleasantries and her verifying that I was in, fact, working on the case, she dropped some info that had me nearly rushing out the door.
"I have heard," she said, "That you are looking for Jamie."
"That's right. I've been meaning to contact you, since you were in the group that was with her on the last night she was seen."
"That's right. But I saw her more recently, than that."
"Really? How much more recently?"
"Just last year. I was in Lincoln, and saw her at the stadium."
"At the stadium? I asked, incredulous. "What was she doing, there?"
"I just saw her talking to a girl who was on the sideline. The girl was wearing the equipment of a training staff assistant. I know, because I'm an assistant trainer for Michigan State, and everyone uses the same medical gear. At first I didn't register it, but the two of them looked so much alike. The girl looked just like Jamie did, when I saw her last."
I nearly knocked the chair over. Things were falling into a certain picture. A theory that I had been kicking around, was starting to solidify. "Last year? On the football training staff?"
"Yes. And Yes."
"Would you be able to go over the events on the night of her disappearance, with me? Then we'd be able to possibly fill in some of the gap," I said, trying to not sound overly excited.
"I could," Rebecca sounded a little hesitant, "But not over the phone."
"How about in person? We could set up an interview."
"I don't have time, right now. I can't get to Lincoln, anytime, soon."
"How about if I came to you?" I asked. I was calculating just how long it would take to road-trip to East Lansing. Maybe Lloyd was ready for another road trip.
"Sunday would be the only time I have free. Between 2 and 3 p.m."
"I'll be there. I'll call you at this number to arrange the spot, okey?
"That sounds good. I hope it was her. Because that would mean she didn't die, all those years ago."
"That's right. Hopefully we'll be able to figure out exactly what happened."
"I hope so," she said wistfully as she hung up.
My brain started bopping as I bounced the theory around the rubber room inside my dome. I had been kicking around the idea that Jamie had bolted because she had a passenger, on board. One that Ricky-boy couldn't or wouldn't handle the news about well. To go into the wind, with a kid was either extremely brave or extremely foolhardy, and I didn't have the necessary info to make the call, on that.
I had to make two calls. The first one, to Lloyd, would be easy.
"Lloyd, do you want to road-trip to East Lansing? I'm covering expenses." I asked staccato, burst-style.
"Who's driving?" he asked, deadpan.
"Me. We'll take the Mk VII, that way you don't risk the Hornet." Lloyd drove a beautifully restored 1948 Hudson Hornet. I drove an early 90's Lincoln. "The mileage will suck, but it will be a comfy ride."
"It will take about 11 hours to drive," he said, evenly.
"I know."
"It'll cost about $150 in gas money."
"I know."
"Tickets to the game?"
"No promises, but I might be able to score a couple."
"Pick me up at 5. We'll split the driving."
"Good. You're in. See you then."
I hung up with Lloyd, and dialed up Betty to see if she wanted to follow up on her offer to be an 'Operative'. She picked up the phone with a groggy, "Hello".
"Betty? Sam, from the golf course. Are you still interested in doing some leg work?" I asked, with a bit of reservation.
"Sure," she said, waking up, quickly. "What do I have to do?"
"Slow down, first of all," I laughed. "Are you a student at the U?"
"Yes."
"Great. I need for you to understand something, first."
"What's that?"
"Since you are not licensed, I need you to keep it on the down-low. I'm going to send you a picture, and I want to see if you can figure out if the girl is a student there, and if so, who she is."
"That's not illegal...is it?" She asked, with a healthy dose of apprehension.
"Just some discrete inquiries and a point in the right direction. You don't need to search any files are call any authority figures. If you cant find the needle in the haystack of 25,000 students, don't sweat it," I said.
"I'll do it," she said brightly. "It sounds like fun."
I sent her the copy of Jamie's pic from the file. "The girl will look similar to this, but maybe not exactly. She can only be about 16 or so, so she has to be a sophomore at the most."
"16? How's that work?"
"I don't have all the details, but I have heard of same cases of super-smart kids getting into college early. She could be one of those super-smart kids."
"All right. I'll do my best. And I'll keep it quiet." She hung up.
At this point I was beginning to hope that my excitement didn't outpace my logic. It was starting to gnaw at me that if the kid in question was Jamie's daughter, she would only be 16, now. If she was 16, and got into a college, why would she allow her to go to the city she disappeared from. Crap. I was beginning to get a bad feeling about this.
I started gathering the necessary items for the road trip. I threw an extra set of clothes into my get-out bag and made a trip to Hy-Vee for some road grub. My Spidey senses were tingling and I had no way of sussing out why they were. Lloyd and I would have much to discuss on the trip East. Well, I knew I would talk a lot. Lloyd would think and offer the occasional noise to indicate he was listening.
Three things. 1. Eleven hours is a long way to drive. 2. I was beginning to think it was either a trap, or a red herring. 3. It would be awesome to watch Nebraska beat Michigan State, in person.
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