CHAPTER SEVEN
I had promised Blaine three hours and no more to find Melissa. However, hearing that Kandinsky, supposedly the main focus of my investigation, had been hanging around the art school raised a red flag or at least presented the possibility that Melissa and Kandinsky knew one another better than my client thought. It could have been a coincidence, but I’m not a big believer in that. Even so, I couldn’t jump to any conclusion based on what little I knew at that point.
Nonetheless, I had a name—Jen Gardiner. To save on minutes of data usage, I sought out the nearest free wi-fi connection and did a simple directory search on Gardiner’s name. Couldn’t even come up with a J. Gardiner, but I did find the name on Facebook. Location: Baltimore City. The avatar: a flower. That’s helpful. I would need to check my subscription databases for more.
At that point, I had to make a choice. I could wander around the campus asking random bystanders about Melissa and Jen Gardiner, or I could move on to what I thought should be my priority—investigating Kandinsky. I went back to my car and checked my file for Kandinsky’s home address. He lived in Ellicott City. Not exactly around the corner from Java Joe’s. Talk about a red flag.
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