“Focus, Tyler,” I say. “You and Ashley dated?”
He shrugs. “I wouldn’t call what we did dating. I mean, we got on pretty well and hung out sometimes, sure. But it wasn’t romantic. She was more of a… customer?”
“A customer?” I ask.
He nods. “I made certain products available to her that aided her with her schoolwork. She’s always so serious. The girl needs to loosen up and live a little, ya know?”
“What sort of products did you make available to her, Tyler?” Astra asks.
“Still off the record?”
“Still off the record,” Astra confirms.
“Mostly Ritalin and Adderall… whatever I had a supply of at the time,” he says. “She would sometimes stay up for days studying and needed a little something to help her in that relentless pursuit of academic perfection.”
“What else did she partake in from you?”
“Nothing else. Honest. All she wanted was the stuff that helped her with her homework. I tried to tell her that she’d probably do better if she just relaxed with a joint every now and then, but she wouldn’t budge.”
“Hm.”
Taking Adderall or something to stay up for marathon study sessions jibes with what others have said about Ashley’s drive—her need to be perfect. She kept her relationship with Tyler secret, but it’s not what I expected it to be. It does give me a thought though.
“Tyler, was there anybody else in her life that you can think of? Anybody she might have kept secret from her father—or maybe from everybody?” I ask.
He purses his lips and looks off. “You know, now that you mention it, she did allude to seeing somebody on the sly a couple of times. We weren’t involved like that, so it didn’t really register at the time.”
“Do you know who this guy is?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “I don’t. But she made it sound like he was older, I guess. Somebody her dad wouldn’t approve of or something.”
“Any idea where we might find this guy?” Astra asks.
“Sorry. That’s all I got.”
“Okay,” I say. “That’s helpful. We appreciate your time.”
“Always happy to do my part for the FBI,” he says, slipping back into his party boy persona.
Having gotten what we could from him, Astra and I turn and head for the door.
“Agent Wilder… I mean, you’re not going to tell her dad what I did for her, are you?” he calls after me. “Like, I don’t need the next President of the United States pissed off at me.”
“Goodbye, Tyler,” I reply with a wry chuckle. “Clean up your life and do something with that brain of yours before it gets completely fried.”
“Sure thing. Right after this beer.”
FBI Operational Black Site, Foggy Bottom District; Washington DC
“No man should ever wear a Speedo. Like, ever,” Astra says.
“Especially not when they’re tall, lanky, and have absolutely no muscle tone. Maybe, if—”
“No. Not even then,” Astra cuts me off. “Speedos are the most unattractive thing in the history of unattractive things.”
“I don’t know,” Nina says. “I’ve seen some very handsome male models…”
Astra laughs so hard she snorts. “No, no. Absolutely not.”
“Sounds like someone needs to get over their outdated ideals,” Nina counters. “The human body is beautiful, and everyone deserves to show it off, if they want to.”
“Oh my God, who are you?” Astra says.
“Somebody who is not ashamed of my body,” Nina says. “I may or may not have enjoyed a nude beach in my time.”
“You’d get along great with Tyler then.”
“I just might.”
Astra looks at her with a sly curl to her lips. “Your parents were hippies, weren’t they?”
“Maybe a little. But I like to say they imbued me with a very healthy attitude toward my body,” she chirps with a playful shrug.
“Can we stop talking about naked bodies and get back to focusing on our missing girl?” I ask with a chuckle.
