"Excuse me, sir, is it cool if I ask you a few questions" I asked.
"May I have your time very quickly?"
"Is it alright if I can have just a moment of your time?"
"Want to see a magic trick? I promise it won't disappoint."
"Please, just wait I'll do anything," I exclaimed exasperated, while still getting ignored for the twelfth time.
Just great I thought, after walking around Pines Center for so long, I still couldn't even get anyone to stop for a quick question, It was almost like their all avoiding me or something. How will I find out anything useful if they refuse to even entertain my existence? The only acknowledgment I've gotten so far is the occasional head nod and smile. If I can't get anything useful Ace is going to be fuming and I'm not in the mood for a lecture. Then what should I do? Should I go back and talk to Mrs. Gibbens? No that would make my trip here all the more useless, wait actually what about if I start to think more like a high school guy? Most times when teens get out of school they don't just go home, they'd either go to hang out or get take out. So firstly the main places I should focus on are places where teens should hang out. The first place I found was a small family-run Italian shop called "Pesci Italian Cuisine".
"Welcome s-sir I am Carlo Pesci you must be the new g-guy, if you could give me one minute, my daughter would come and attend to you." The owner of the restaurant said he was a round pudgy man, with very fine thin jet black hair. His face was almost a dull red with sweat dripping from his forehead making it seem that he was under a lot of stress.
I may not be as elusive or manipulative as Ace, but I am a people person I thought. He looks like a pretty nervous guy, getting what I need from him should be a breeze in the park, I thought.
"Actually before I get a table, I want to ask you some questions if that's all good with you," I said
"Umm, I don't know if the-that's a good idea," Carlo said nervously.
I was right, he does have a structuring problem. Now I just got to turn on the Ruben charm, and let it fly from there.
"Come on man, what does a guy like you have to be worried about I mean look at you, hell I wouldn't even want to get on your bad side. Plus you're the owner here it's not like you have a boss you answer to, look at it this way you're simply providing a service to a new guy looking to learn his way around here." I said trying to appeal to him.
"It depends on w-wh-what you want to ask me," Carlo said with beads of sweating rolling from his forehead.
"Theirs my guy," I said with a huge grin on my face. "What type of customers do you usually get coming here?"
"I never really thought about it but most of the people who come to eat here are young between 13 to 19, and the older people who come ar-around here are usually over 60," Carlo said.
"Are you close with any of your customers? I mean I'm assuming that you're pretty close to them considering that this feels like one of those places you hear about where everyone knows everyone." I said knowing damn well that he wouldn't be able to deny my claim.
"Ye-Yes as you know this is-isnt a very place, so I pre-pretty much know everyone who comes in and out of m-my place." Carlo stuttered.
"Ever seen a guy named Tim Jacobs come by around at all?" I asked feeling better that I was finally getting somewhere.
"Tim Jacobs, tha-that name doesn't ring a b-bell. Are you s-sure that someone like that has ever been here before?" Carlo asked
Could he be lying? Maybe he doesn't remember anyone who had the name Tim Jacobs here, but that doesn't make sense for two reasons. One he said that a lot of teens come here often and theirs only one high school in the whole town, so Tim would have had to come here at least once either on his own or with a group of people. Two even if Tim never came by, in Carlos's own words this is a small town where everyone knows each other.
"Hey, Dad" A girl came running hugging Carlo, She had bright ginger hair and she unlike her dad looked like a model, being both tall and slender.
"Hi d-dear" Carlo stuttered hugging his daughter back.
"Sorry, I had to go attend to another table. Hi, do you need help finding a table mister?" The girl asked.
"Ooh no I'm fine, I was just having a little chit-chat with your pops here his a pretty great guy you know that. Wait I'm sorry where are my manners, I'm Ruben and you are?
"Hey, I'm Cherry Pesci."
"Well nice to meet you Cherry, you look a little young to be working though," I asked.
"Oh no well thank you for the compliment though, but I graduated from high school last year," Cherry said.
Wait last year? That is the same year that Tim went missing, she has to know something. It can't hurt to be sure of it.
"So you went to Whispering Pines? You know an old friend of mine went there too, his name was Tim Jacobs. Does that ring a bell?" I asked her.
Please give me something I thought just anything would be good, however when I looked at her puzzled face I began to start losing hope thinking that I might have to call it a day and just hope that Ace was able to get more information than I was. Then something unexpected happened.
"I don't know anyone with the name of Tim, but I do know about the Jacobs family although it is only the two of them there, and as far as I know they don't have any other family members especially any named Tim," Cherry said.
That's It how could I have been so stupid, of course, his family might know something about it, they had to have been the ones to tip off the detective. Looks like I'm not gonna have to go back today defeated.
"Thank you so much, by the way. If I knew how I would leave you guys 5 stars. Y'all are killing it, also can I get directions to where they're staying at?" I wasn't expecting to get an answer on this, but surprisingly I was hit with another stroke of good luck.
"Of co-course, I can he-help you with that when lea-leaving here head down to Pines Center, and you should go straight down and when you reach the ho-hospital take a right and you'll arrive at the ar-area Pines Villas, and the address for the house your l-looking for is 19213," Carlo explained as I listened, but why is he telling me their exact address.
I began to run out of the store then stopped to ask one more important question. "Have the Jacobs ever left town or asked someone to help them deliver a message?"
"No, they haven't no one has ever left this haven that our lord has blessed us with," Carlo said in a completely serious tone.
"Ooh all right you guys have a good day," I said
It wasn't until I left the store that I realized that this was the first time Carlo had ever spoken clearly, for some odd reason I decided to brush it off instead of thinking deeper into it.
-Next chapter:(Case file break:???)