Page 22 of Lost Truth
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Hayden motioned for Cady and Abby to follow him up the boardwalk to Ride the Tide Surf Shop, his conversation with Nick Thorn still on his mind. The thumb drive might be the key to their entire investigation. But Kai might need them now, and Nick had no idea how long it might take to get to the data.
Time.Their investigations always came down to time. The last thing his team had when they were hunting for a missing person, and the pressure to find Kai was already starting to weigh on Hayden.
He took a moment to compose himself, then pushed open the door. Brightly colored surf and boogie boards, along with wetsuits, beachwear, and diving paraphernalia, stuffed the small shop.
Behind a long counter located close to the door, a blond-haired twenty-something guy stood pricing T-shirts. He looked up and shoved a wayward strand of hair behind his ear. “Yo. Welcome.”
Hayden passed a stand of Ride the Tide logo T-shirts and stopped at the counter. The guy’s surfboard-shaped name tag pinned to his tie-dyed T-shirt read “Ziggy.”
“Hayden Kraus.” Hayden smiled. “I work with the Lost Lake Locators.”
“Oh, right, dude. You bought the inn.” He pointed in the direction of their building up the cliff. “Super cool what you do.” He looked over Hayden’s shoulder. “You two locators too?”
“I am.” Abby gave a little wave. “Abby Day.”
“Cool. Cool. I love that chicks do something like this too.”
“Abby is a former sheriff,” Hayden said, hoping to make this guy think twice about lying to them.
“Dude, I hope we never crossed paths.” He grinned, looking about twelve years old, then glanced at Cady and sobered. “I know you somehow.”
Cady offered a faint, unsteady smile. “I’m Cadence Vaughn.”
“Oh, yeah. Yeah. Percy’s daughter.” Ziggy shook his head slowly. “I heard he passed. Sorry, man. He was a great guy. A good surfer for an old dude. He was big-time buds with Kai.”
Cady’s smile gained confidence. “He always spoke highly of Kai and his surfing skills.”
“Man, Kai’s the best. Taught me so much. He shoulda gone pro, you know?” He stared ahead as if lost in memories. “But then I wouldn’t have this awesome job. If you’re here to see him, he’s on vacay.”
“We heard he’d be gone for a week,” Hayden said.
Ziggy’s gaze drifted back to Hayden, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. “Yeah, man. Kinda weird. It’s hard to get him to take a day off, and then he ups and goes for a week. And at the start of the summer season.” Ziggy scratched his head. “Strangest thing is, he didn’t even take his board with him, and he never goes out of town without it.”
Perfect. Information they needed without asking. Hayden held out the picture Jake had given him of Kai’s favorite board. “So this board is still here?”
“Yep, so I doubt he’s surfing. I dunno. He didn’t even say where he was going and doesn’t want us to call him unless the place is on fire. His words not mine.”
“Have you tried calling him?” Hayden asked, though Rocco had called and hadn’t gotten an answer.
“As you can see, the place isn’t on fire, so…” Ziggy laughed.
“You saiduscall him.” Cady looked up from her notepad with a pen poised over it. “Who all works here?”
“Full-time, just me and Bodhi. I do days. He does nights. Guy likes to party and can’t get up before ten to save his life.” Ziggy gave a long-suffering look. “Then we have a couple of college kids for the summer too. Kind of hopeless cause they don’t really surf, but I’ve done my best to train them on the lingo and gear. When they put down their phones, that is. Bodhi and I have keys. I open. He closes.”
“Kai’s son is worried about his dad,” Abby said. “He thinks something bad has happened to him.”
“Rocco? Weird. He didn’t call to say anything about it to me. Don’t know about Kai being in trouble, but like I said, leaving like this is odd. Especially this time of year.” He frowned. “And another thing. He said if anyone came looking for him not to tell them anything. I don’t think he meant you guys, but he whispered it like it was some deep secret.”
Cady took a step closer. “Do you have any idea what that might be about?”
He shrugged. “Maybe something to do with money.”
Hayden’s interest perked up. “You have a reason to think Kai had money issues?”
Ziggy waved a hand. “Nothing like that. I get my paycheck on time, and the shop is doing well. So nah. He seemed good, but it was the way he mentioned someone might come looking for him.”
