One Night In Amsterdam (11 page)

I silently counted to five to steady myself and calm down. “Max, cut the crap and listen. We were together last night, but when I woke up in the morning, she was gone. I don’t know what to do. We need to find her immediately, alright!”

“Hey, chill out man. She is just another chick.”

“No, she is not just another chick. She is THE girl. Please man, help me out. Did I ever beg you for anything before? I am begging you now.”

“Alright! Fine!” He said and held up a placating hand with a solemn expression on his face. “But what can I do? I don’t know anything about her.”

“Did you take Sydney to her hotel after you guys hung out yesterday?”

“Yes, I did but nothing happened between us. I didn’t fuck her if you are implying that. I promise.”

“I am not implying anything. I am just saying if you have taken Sydney to her hotel, then you know where they are staying. We can go there and find Emma. Do you remember the hotel?”

“Not sure about the name of the hotel. If I see the building, I would recognize it.”

“Okay, then, let’s go!”

“We haven’t even had breakfast.”

“Since, when do you have breakfast?” I scolded him for being difficult again. “We will grab some coffee on the way. Come on now, hurry.” I rushed him to dress up.

Max shook his head. He didn’t understand what was going on, but he complied with my gruff orders anyway. I didn’t have time to explain to him that I found the girl of my dreams and let her slip away.  I was more upset with myself than I was with her. Why didn’t I peek into her backpack or her purse? Why didn’t I try to check her phone?   I should have learned more about her, even if it meant sneaking around. It wasn’t the time to be virtuous. I felt so stupid.

In less than a minute, we were outside the hotel with two dark coffees on our hand. Max took a cigarette for himself and passed the pack to me. I took one out and lit both his and mine. I took a long drag and asked, “So, which way is the hotel?”

“I remember it was by a canal.”

“You gotta try harder than that buddy,” I said annoyingly. ‘Hotel by a canal’ was not helpful information in a city full of canals.

“I think it was close to that funny ‘Iamsterdam’ sign.”

“Okay, that’s better. Now let’s hurry. I hope they haven’t checked out yet.”

Unfortunately their hotel wasn’t by the ‘Iamsterdam’ sign. We wandered around the narrow streets of Amsterdam for an hour without success. With every passing minute, I was getting more edgy and anxious. I was ready to take it all out on Max. “What the fuck, Max! How high were you? God damn it! How can you not remember?” I grumbled.

“I am doing you a favor here, man. If you don’t mellow down soon, I am getting the hell out of here.” He burst out angrily.

“Fine! Just think and try to remember,” I asked calmly this time.

After walking hastily up and down every street around the museum, Max finally spotted the hotel. I rushed into the lobby and was disgusted by the smell instantly. The hotel was a dump.  Why in God’s name would two beautiful girls stay in a hotel like this, I had no idea.

A young guy, dressed like a hippie at the front desk greeted us with a very heavy accent. He had Bob-Marley-like long, greasy hair, braids sticking out everywhere. The stinking smell coming out of him was so strong that I had to hold my breath as I stood in front of him. Max didn’t even bother coming inside. He was waiting by the door, lighting another cigarette.

I took a hundred Euro from my money clip and slid towards him. “I am looking for two girls, staying at this hotel.  Emma and Sydney. I need their room number.” I said and glowered at him, demanding an answer immediately. He took the money and cast a sideways look at me and then at my money clip. He checked the old fashioned log book without objecting.  God, what kind of a hotel was this? Didn’t they register their guest names in a computer or something?

“We don’t have anybody with those names staying in the hotel.” He mumbled.

“Two young girls around early twenties: Sydney, a blonde and Emma, auburn hair, green eyes. I am pretty sure you would remember them.” I explained patiently. Two beautiful girls in a slovenly place like this would be as conspicuous as a Hollywood celebrity dining at a fast food joint.

“Oh, those two! They checked out this morning in a hurry.” He said, and shrugged off.

“Would you please give me their information?” I asked and took another hundred from my stash and passed it to him.

“Sure,” he said and gave me the guest book. “You can check it for yourself. Here are their names and the room they stayed in.”

I checked the book carefully but there was nobody named Sydney and Emma in the book as he said earlier. Then, I studied the names that he pointed at. The names of the girls that checked out this morning were ‘
Elizabeth Bennet
’ and ‘Elinor Dashwood’.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I realized that they were the names of two famous Jane Austen characters.  Reality dawned on me immediately. They didn’t use their real names and the guy didn’t care to question it. He didn’t strike me as smart enough to figure out the names were fictional characters, but at least their credit card information should have told him that they weren’t real.

“These are not their real names. Do you have their credit card information?” I asked solemnly.

He shook his head. “They paid cash for three days up front, but only stayed one night.” He explained with an ‘I don’t give a damn’ expression.

I was devastated, realizing that I had no way to track them down. No names, no credit card information, no phone numbers or address. What the hell was I going to do, now? Anxiety rushed through me.  Fear of losing her forever left me in a bewildered state of trepidation. How would you find a ghost of a girl in city with millions of visitors? My logic told me it was impossible, but my heart was making me try.

“Let’s go to the airport.” I told Max when I got out of the hotel.

“Why?”

“Maybe we can find them at the airport. There cannot be many morning flights from Amsterdam to America.”

“Come on, Dylan. We don’t know their last names. We do not know where they are going. It is impossible to find them.”

I was still not willing to accept the inevitable fact that I lost her. I was holding on to the tiniest possibility that I could still find them. “She said that her aunt just got off work when she called her around midnight. Considering the six hour difference, I think they may live in the East Coast. We can check out all the East Coast flights.”

“We don’t know if her aunt lives in the same city. We don’t know if they are flying direct. They could catch a connection from London or Paris to go anywhere in America. Let it go Dylan. We cannot find them like this!”

“It sounds impossible, doesn’t it?” I admitted grudgingly. “But I cannot let it go, Max. You don’t get it.”

“Yeah, I get it. She is your girl and all. You need to find her and be with her again. Right now, you are not thinking logically.”

“I guess, you are right.” I sat down on the bench with an unenthusiastic slouch.  I rubbed my forehead with my fingers, trying to ease my headache. I searched my pocket for a pack, but couldn’t find it. Max handed me a cigarette he just rolled.

“No, I don’t want that shit.” I rejected immediately.

“It would help you relax, even forget...”

He lit it for himself, took a drag and passed it to me. I shook my head again. I didn’t want to relax or forget anything. I wanted to remember Emma, her beautiful face, her sexy curves, her wavy auburn hair and her deep green eyes. I wanted to remember how sweet she tasted. I gave Max a despondent look. He probably had not seen me this desperate in a very long time.

“How about this… Let’s go back to the hotel and check out. Catch the first flight home.” Max talked slowly.

It was either the weed making him more considerate or he pitied my desperate state. “I don’t mind returning home a few days early. When we are back in New York, I will call Nolan. Maybe he can help us out,” he said, sounding sincere.

“Nolan who?

“Nolan Whitaker.”

“Isn’t he your private investigator we used when we were tailing my dad years ago?”

“Yes, the one and only, and he is the best. Since he is a retired cop, he has great connections. He can track anyone. If you need someone to find Emma, he would be the one.”

“Alright then... Let’s head back home!” I agreed.

I was determined to find Emma. However long it took or whatever I had to do. I needed to make her part of my life, now that I knew how empty it was without her.

CHAPTER 9

DYLAN

The office intercom buzzed. “Mr. Hamilton, your two o’clock is here,” announced Mrs. Donnelly on the speaker.

“Please, send him in.” I said tersely. I was anxiously waiting for this meeting. Nolan Whitaker was a hard man to get ahold of. Since he was the best private investigator in the city, he was booked solid for two months. I had to get Max to arrange the meeting for me, and thank God, it worked. As soon as Nolan arrived in New York from whatever assignment he had in Florida, he agreed to meet me at my office.

“It is great to see you Nolan. I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice.” I said and extended my hand.

He took my hand with a strong grip and gave me a firm handshake. He was well built and had at least two inches over me. Once a lieutenant in NYPD, Nolan Whitaker exuded confidence. No doubt about it.  “No problem Dylan. I’d be happy to help.” He drawled. “Max said it is quite important, but he didn’t mention anything else.  Is Richard bothering you again?”

“No, I haven’t seen him for a long time, but thanks for all you did for me back then.” I replied trying not to show my annoyance when I heard my father’s name.  “This time, I need your help for something completely different, but, I need you to sign a confidentially agreement before I can explain it to you.” I added.

“Of course, Dylan. You know I honor the same level of confidentiality for every case I take on. It is part of the job.” He said courteously and signed the non-disclosure my attorney prepared in a rush without even reading. “Now that we are done with formalities, how can I help you?” He asked respectfully.

“I need you to find someone for me.”

“Sure. No big deal. We do that kind of thing all the time. Does someone owe you money? I can use some of my other resources if you need to get your money back.”

“No, it is nothing like that. Let me explain,” I paused and took the photo-copy of the drawing from my desk drawer. It was showing Emma’s face only, enlarged into a full-size paper. “I need you do find this girl,” I said and gave the copy to Nolan.

“Hmm, okay,” Nolan uttered looking confused.

“Her name is Emma. She is a senior med student. I believe she has a brother named Steve, a cousin named Sydney, and her aunt’s name is Helen.”

“Alright. Good start. What else?”

“Unfortunately, this is it. This is all I know about this girl and I need your help to find her.”

“You are kidding right.”

“No, I am not. I don’t know her last name, her school, or her phone number. I don’t have any personal information on her other than what I have told you.”

“But Dylan, it is impossible to find someone with this much information.”

“Max told me you are the best with this kind of thing. You know, money is not a question. I just need you to find her.”

“I understand Dylan, but you are not giving me much.”

“I think you can start with checking the med schools in America and look at all their senior student list. Find any girl with first or middle name Emma. Then you can face-match to the picture I gave you.”

“Do you have any idea how many med schools are there in United States?”

“I don’t know, but I am sure you will find out.”

“Some schools might not want to disclose their student list.”

“I am sure you have resources to find a way around that problem.” I lifted my brows, implying that I was aware of his computer guy who could hack into any database and find information.

“This could take a long time.”

“It is okay. I am patient and I can wait. Just do whatever you need to do. I can even write you a blank check right now, if you need extra resources. I also have the foulard she left, if you need to get her DNA sample or something.”

Nolan laughed. “Unless the girl you are looking for is a criminal, I don’t think her DNA would help us. It wouldn’t be in any system.”

“Then, you can probably start your search with the med schools. Can’t you?”

“I don’t know,” he murmured. “Let me think about this and get back to you. I don’t like taking cases I cannot solve.”

“Please Nolan. I ask your help as a friend. If you do this one big favor for me, I’ll be in your debt forever, and you know I always pay my debt.”

He held his intent gaze on me for a long minute, probably judging what to make of this unusual task. I was getting more nervous every passing second. I was praying inwardly that he wouldn’t reject my offer when he finally uttered. “Okay!”

“You mean… you will help me find Emma.”

“Yes, I’ll take your case. Do you have any gut feeling where we should start our search?”