“Do you know where this tournament is?”

“Probably at the same place I went to. It was this grungy former multiplex over near Central Plaza.”

“I know where that is,” Drue said. “I’m gonna call Hernandez and tell her to check that out.”

Rae Hernandez picked up after the first ring. “No, we haven’t located Ben Fentress yet. And yes, we are actively looking. I met a St. Pete patrol unit at his address. He wasn’t there, but his car was. We even woke up his landlady, but she said she doesn’t keep tabs on him.”

“We think we know where he might be,” Drue said excitedly. She looked over at Jonah, who’d looked up the tournament information on his phone.

“It’s at that same place I went to,” Jonah confirmed. “It’s called Central Gaming.”

“Oh God,” Hernandez moaned. “My kid made me take him to one of those tournaments. Once and only once. A huge room full of testosterone-challenged dudes pretending to do battle with cartoon monsters and extraterrestrials. Kill me now.”

“So you’ll call me once you find him, right?” Drue repeated anxiously.

“I’ll call you, and then I’ll call your dad, who I just got off the phone with,” the detective promised and disconnected the call.

“I can’t sleep,” Drue told Jonah. “I’m dead on my feet, but I know I can’t sleep.”

“Me neither. You wanna watch some television?”

“Great idea, except I haven’t gotten around to having cable hooked up.” She pointed out the door. “We could take a walk on the beach.”

“I like it.” He picked up the revolver from the end table where she’d placed it. “We should take this, right?”

“What for? You don’t do guns, and I don’t have any pockets in these pants.”

He looked down at her. “Are those pajamas?”

“Who wants to know?”

“Okay, I’ll put it in my pocket.” He thrust it into his hip pocket, where it stuck out comically.

“No. You’ll probably shoot yourself in the nuts, like that guy in the Walmart.” Drue laughed. She knew she was punchy, but she didn’t care. “Leave it here.”

She went to her purse and dug out the can of Mace, which she promptly stuck in her bra.

“Where’d you get that?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes. “A gift from my ‘uncle Jimmy,’ as he put it. Let’s go.”

They kicked off their shoes and left them on the edge of the deck. When they got down to the water, they both rolled up their pant legs and walked companionably along, letting the warm water lap at their ankles.

At one point, Jonah stopped and pointed at the lights of Sharky’s. “Look,” he said, a devilish glint in his eye. “Someday, we’ll tell our kids that’s where we met. And had our first kiss.”