He would start with the owners of the boarding house and the fishing boat business. Since Violet had been living in their boarding house, maybe they would have some information.
He wore his uniform to talk to them. He was not an investigator, so the owners didn't have to give him any information. But most people just did. Nothing had ever been this important to him before, so he hoped he could charm them, at least a little.
The owners were at their property, digging through the rubble. They were in good spirits though and walked up to shake his hand. They were also grateful, which might help them want to talk about Violet.
"You saved our lives. We also own a restaurant down the street. Our daughter runs it. Give them this card and you'll be able to eat free over there – for life.”
He was touched. That was one reason he loved this job – he actually got to do some good, and people appreciated it.
“A lifetime of food is not necessary, but I'll definitely stop by and try it,” he said.
“Nonsense. You saved our lives, and that's worth any amount of food.”
“I'm assuming you have commercial insurance for your building and boat?” he asked. The boat had been damaged by a few stray sparks.
"Yes. The house is going to be a total loss. The boat can be fixed. We may have to focus on the restaurant for now and regroup with our fishing boat once it’s repaired.” They finally seemed to realize that he had his uniform on. “Is there something we can help you with?”
“There was a woman here, a resident. She was trying to get to you. That's how I knew you were in here. I was going to see if you knew who she was. She didn't go with the medics last night.”
“Oh yes. Janie! She's a lovely girl. I hope she didn't hurt herself trying to get to us. I was worried about her, but her friend came back this morning and said they were moving on. We actually gave them the name of our cousin who runs a deep-sea fishing tour boat not far from Anchorage.”
Janie?So Violet was using a fake name. Or maybe she'd given him the fake name.
He had to be casual. He didn't want them getting suspicious. "Oh yeah? She’s in the tourism industry too?"
"Yes. Our whole family has always worked out on the ocean as much as possible. I think they'll be happy over there.”
“And it's in Anchorage?”
“Yep,” the man said.
That was all Tristan needed to know. If he could just get close to her, he would feel her presence. At least he had a starting place. Which was more than he’d had for the last seven years.
He made his way back home, thankful that he had a few days off. He went home to the pack and checked in with Roman.
"Hey, Eliza, how's my favorite niece?" he called out to Roman’s daughter.
"I'm good!” she yelled. Eliza was always emphatic.
He didn’t have an address for her newest job, but there were a couple of deep-sea fishing boats for tourists in the area.
Tristan would just go ten miles east, and ten miles west, and see if he felt anything. Having such a specific location sure beat the entire world as a possibility.
He had a connection to her, but it had not been developed enough to feel her halfway across the world. Especially because she had not wanted to be found. If she had been open to the bond, then who knows what they would've been able to do. They might have been able to communicate telepathically. But she'd only wanted to escape.
The first boat was a bust.
But the second?
Fucking hell. He'd finally found her. There she was. Working with tourists.
She was telling them what they could expect from their deep-sea fishing trip. He inched closer. She hadn't given any indication that she was aware of him. Could she feel his presence? He had no idea.
He watched her work, admiring her slender form.
My mate, he thought, before reminding himself that he had to play it cool.