I'm sure she's fine but I still worry something might've happened to her. Ever since she told me about her ex and what he did to her, I've been worried about her safety. Maybe she's right and he's moved out of the area, but that doesn't mean she's safe. He could have people looking for her, trying to finish the job of silencing her.
I'm not telling Raine this but I've been researching cases involving dealers selling pain meds. Given the rising problem of people getting addicted to them, or dying from them, judges are being tougher on dealers. If I could find that bastard who hurt her, I might be able to have him locked in prison for a very long time. But in order to do that, I'd need Raine to tell me more about him and she won't.
I get a coffee, then go wait in the alley, sitting in Gladys' lawn chair. I text Zoe to see how Gladys is doing.
She's feeling much better, Zoe texts back. The girls are having a tea party in her room.
Tell her I said hi.
I will, she texts back. I'm working tomorrow but I don't think I'll bring Gladys. She needs to rest. Let Raine know.
I will.
"Miles?" Raine walks up to me. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you." I stand up, putting my phone away. "Where were you?"
"Just walking around. Did you need something?"
"No. I just wanted to see you. I missed you."
"Okay, well, you saw me." She goes around me to the tent.
"Wait." I stop her before she goes in the tent. "You want to go to dinner?"
"I still have some of the food you left. I'll just have that."
"It's not enough. And it's not dinner. It's just snacks. Why don't we go somewhere? Or we could make dinner. Do you know how to cook?"
"A little but I'm not very good at it."
"I'm not either but I'm sure together we could figure it out. Let's go." I take her hand.
She pulls away. "Miles, I can't."
"Why not?"
"I just can't. I can't be at your place all the time."
"Why not?"
"Because then we'd be living together."
"What's wrong with that?"
"I can't pay you rent."
"You don't have to."
She folds her arms over her chest. "So I'd be living there for free? Letting you pay for everything? Sorry, but I tried that before and it didn't work."
"I'm not him. For the millionth time, I'm not Rob...or whatever his name is."
"It's Rob," she says. "Marchisis."
"What?"
"That's his last name. Marchisis. I never liked that name. Too hard to spell."
"How do you spell it?" I ask.
She spells it out and I quickly record it into my memory so I can look him up later. I never thought she'd tell me his last name. Now that she has, I can try to find him.
"What about mine?" I ask.
"You're what?"
"You like my last name?"
"Canfeld? Yeah. It's easy to remember. Easy to spell."
"Raine Canfeld." I grin. "Sounds good, don't you think?"
She laughs. "Never going to happen but sure, it sounds okay."
"Never say never."
She just smiles.
"Let's go." I reach for her hand.
"I'm going to stay here. It's not going to be that cold tonight."
"If you're not going, I'm staying here too."
"Miles, don't do this. Just go."
"I won't be able to sleep tonight if you're here alone. It was different when you had Gladys."
Raine laughs. "Yeah, because Gladys was great protection with her crippled hands and hip problems."
"You know what I mean. You'll feel better with someone else around. You're not going to like being alone out here at night."
"Let me try it and see."
I sigh. "Would you at least go to dinner with me?"
"Okay, but nothing fancy. How about the taco truck down the street?"
I agree to it and we head down there.
"Oh, I texted Zoe," I say as we walk. "She said Gladys is getting better but she's not bringing her here tomorrow because she wants her to rest. She asked me to tell you."
"Maybe I could call her tomorrow if you don't mind me using your phone."
"It's yours whenever you want it. Actually, I was thinking maybe I could buy you one."
"Don't. They're too expensive and I don't need one."
"I'd feel better if you had one, even if you only use it for emergencies."
"I don't need it. I've gone this long without one. I can go another six months or however long it takes to get a job."
"Speaking of that, how was the job search?"
She sighs. "Not good."
"Why? What happened?"
"I'll tell you while we're eating."
We place our orders at the taco truck, then take our food to the park, sitting down at a picnic table.
"So what happened?" I ask.
"I went in some fast food places and filled out some applications. But when they saw I didn't have an address or phone number, they told me they couldn't hire me. Apparently you can't be homeless and get a job."
"Use my address. And my phone number."
"I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because it's not mine. If I got hired and we were no longer friends, you'd get all my checks."
"If that happens, I'll bring them to you. I promise."
"It's not going to work. I don't want to use a fake address."
"It's not fake. And if it's the only way you'll get a job, then do it."
"Let me think about it."
We finish our meal, and despite me practically begging her to spend more time with me, she insists on going back to the tent. I return to my apartment and fire up my laptop. I'm really behind at the office but I have no desire to do the work. All my clients are rich assholes being sued by people they screwed over, but because they have money and can hire the best lawyers, they'll win their cases. I know it's my job but helping them win seems wrong, which is why I keep putting off doing the work.
Clicking on a file, I start reading through client documents but it's so boring I can't stay focused. My mind keeps going to Raine, which leads me to think of her ex and reminds me I have his last name. I open a browser window and type his full name in the search bar. The results pop up and I see listings for a guy that seems to fit the description of Raine's ex. He's in his thirties. Single. Has lived in several different cities in Colorado. He doesn't have much for an online profile. No social media links. No website. All I can find is basic information like where he's lived and his age. I'm sure that's intentional. He's trying to hide in case someone comes after him. An addict. One of his workers. The close friend of an ex-girlfriend he tried to kill.
If I could, I'd show up at the guy's house and put him in the hospital like he did to Raine, but I can't do that. I need to figure out something else. If I could catch him selling drugs there's a good chance I could put him behind bars for a very long time but I have no idea how to get the evidence to prove it. He's protected himself with his team of sales guys who I'm sure are loyal to him. Raine said Jacob, the guy who sold her pills, refused to give up his dealer's name when he was arrested.