Out of Hand

Previously: Carole & Spiro Thomas file a missing person's report about their daughter, Alexa. They mention that she and her friend Ryan Dominguez left for the Gatsby Halloween party together on Halloween night, and that Ryan is on probation. Jeannie phones the Chief Probation Officer to learn about Ryan and gets some history…

1:45 PM - Saturday, November 1, 2014

Rose’s Cafe, Union and Steiner Streets, San Francisco

Paco had passed Rose’s Cafe countless times but had never stopped. The busy blue and yellow cafe had a cheerful, French look about it, but it was always crowded with people waiting. Even now, the Saturday brunch rush was in full effect, with white-aproned waiters rushing around and a general din of laughter, glassware, and plates.

“God, I just got hungry.” Greenberg said to him.

“Me too - look at the pastry.”

“I can’t, I’ll have to have one.”

Paco saw a tall, young Latino rushing around with a busing tub and recognized Ryan Dominguez from the photo with Alexa Thomas. Jeannie was working her magic, asking for the manager who finally appeared looking a bit beleaguered at the pace of the busy weekend service.

“I’m so sorry - I know you’re busy, but if we can just speak to Ryan for 10 minutes it would be a real help to us.” Jeannie explained. The manager exhaled. “Ed Ganey was just telling me how good he’s doing.” The manager looked her in the eye and she smiled. “Please. He’s not in any trouble.” Paco saw her eyebrows raise in a question.

“Okay.” The manager finally heaved. “I can give you 10 minutes but nothing more. He’s my best busser and the dish room gets backed up quickly.”

“That’s great, thank you.”

“Can you meet him around on Steiner - our kitchen door is over there. I’d just rather this didn’t happen in front of my guests.”

“Understood. We’ll meet him at the side door.”

Jeannie turned around and the three of them navigated through the crowd of waiting diners and busy outdoor tables, overflowing onto the sidewalk. About a quarter of the way down the Steiner Street side, a portable hedge concealed towers of empty milk crates and a well-stained doorway. The door into the kitchen was open with loud ranchera music playing from inside. Paco saw multiple cigarette butts all around the sidewalk - a tell-tale sign of a professional kitchen.

The three waited at the curb, huddled around a parking meter. 

Finally, the manager led Ryan Dominguez out from the kitchen door. Ryan looked reluctant to leave the safety of the kitchen, eyeing the three of them suspiciously. The manager motioned him forward and he finally joined them. 

“You’re not in trouble Ryan, these officers just need to ask you a few questions.” The manager told him quietly, squeezing his shoulder for reassurance. The manager looked at the three of them. “Ten minutes.” Jeannie nodded at him, and then smiled at Ryan.

“Hi Ryan. I’m Jeannie. This is Mark, and Paco.” Ryan’s eyes were squinted, assessing him quietly and Paco didn’t blame him. Kid’s probably scared to shit. “Sorry to interrupt you at work, but we were hoping you can help us.” Paco was wondering how Jeannie would approach the question. “Can you tell us the last time you spoke to Alexa Thomas? She didn’t come home last night.” Ryan looked confused, shocked even. He was a tall, thin, handsome kid with big light brown eyes and high cheekbones.

“What…?” He finally asked, his voice was soft but clear. “She didn’t come home? That’s not like Alexa.” 

“That’s what we heard. Her parents are concerned, so we’re trying to figure out what happened last night and where she could be.” Paco was amazed; Jeannie kept her cool through everything. Ryan’s demeanor changed a little, his shoulders sagging. “Alexa’s parents thought you might be able to point us in the right direction.” Jeannie continued. Ryan was quiet, staring at the concrete below his black sneakers. Jeannie let him think.

“Um…um, I don’t know. She stayed at the party when I left.” He looked up at Jeannie. 

“Yeah, Carole & Spiro mentioned there was a Gatsby Party?” Jeannie said gently. “She said you were dressed as Yves Saint Laurent - I saw the picture. It was perfect.” God, she was good. The kid will trust her now. “Who put on the Gatsby Party?” Ryan took a breath.

“It was that guy Tripp Hartman. He’s somebody Alexa knows from Seb? He’s some rich guy - lives in Presidio Terrace?”

“Sure, I know the name.” Jeannie said, encouraging. “Tell us about the party.”

“Well, we got there around 8 maybe?”

“How did you get there?”

“Um, Spiro - Mr Thomas - he gave us a ride up the hill. He left us at the corner on Arguello. There was a lot of trick-or-treating happening, so driving was tricky.”

“Okay. And which one is Tripp Hartman’s house?”

“It’s across from the big white one that looks like a wedding cake? You know the one on the middle island? It’s right across - it’s a really big, beautiful house. There’s like a driveway that goes up the side and you’re right below the golf course. Everyone came up the driveway - they made sort of a haunted house tunnel there - all decorated with black lights? You went through that way to the patio and into the living room from the back. It was really insane, and the house - his mother is apparently a decorator - I was obsessed.” Jeannie smiled. 

“Yeah, some of those houses are incredible.” 

“Yeah. And everyone looked great. You didn’t have to be Gatsby or whatever, but a lot of people were. Lots of flappers and people trying to be Leo DiCaprio.” Jeannie chuckled a little. “Alexa was Effie Trinket - you know from The Hunger Games? She made the dress - it was amazing. Just like the McQueen one from the movie. It was so so so fabulous.” Jeannie smiled, letting him go on.

“So, it was fun?”

“Kind of, I guess. It was…a little crazy. People were dancing - Tripp had a DJ there - and there was a punch to drink, but I just had Diet Coke. Alexa had some of the punch and she said it tasted like pure vodka. The girls came out and were just tipsy enough to do this little flapper dance, like the movie?”

“Which girls?”

“Um, it was MJ, Tally, ZiZi, and Carolina, I think? They did this sort of Charleston dance routine and then things really got kind of crazy. A lot of people dancing on furniture, falling down…It was fun, but kind of…out of hand? But Alexa was cool with it. We kind of kept to ourselves, but then Seb arrived…and some of the guys from his school.”

“Sebastian Podesta?”

“Yes - how did you…?” 

“Alexa’s parents told us about him, but they said they were broken up.”

“Well, they were…kind of?” Ryan was looking at the ground again. “I mean. She didn’t want to forgive him about what happened in Tahoe, but I think she still wanted to be with him, you know?”

“Do you know what happened in Tahoe?”

“Not really. She wouldn’t tell me everything, just that something happened with Seb and that girl Jen…Jennifer Tyson?” Paco heard Jeannie make an encouraging noise to keep him going.

“Was Jen Tyson at the party?”

“She was there…but kind of stayed away from us, even though Alexa helped her with her costume. Alexa is just so nice, you know? She doesn’t like conflict, so like, she wanted to smooth things over, even though nothing was her fault. She’s kind of a pleaser, you know? And I think she felt bad for Jen - everyone kind of makes fun of her.”

“Who makes fun of Jen?” Jeannie asked, confused.

“They all do. I mean, those guys from Seb’s school I guess knew her in grade school and they call her The Dyson.”

“The Dyson? What does that mean?” Jeannie sounded even more confused.

“Tyson the Dyson?” Ryan offered. “Because a Dyson never loses suction?” It took a second for the penny to drop with the three officers. Jeannie seemed stunned. 

“Are you kidding?” It was Mark who asked. 

“No. It’s gross, right?”

“It’s disgusting. So, what…Jen…?” Jeannie began, her face contorted.

“Apparently, she’s hooked up with like…everyone? But she’s always kind of had a crush on Seb, and then Seb met Alexa, and…”

“And what? Can you fill in the blanks there?” Jeannie prompted.

“Well, Seb met Alexa last January after this really important basketball game. He kept saying he was on court playing and like, saw Alexa in the stands and he wasn’t sure if he could focus on the game..” Ryan’s voice reached a fever pitch as he tried to tell the story of the Sebastian-Alexa meet-cute, “and then after the game introduced himself and that was it. They were basically together. And they were like, great. Seb is awesome, and also very easy on the eyes,” Ryan tossed his shoulders a little while his voice dropped conspiratorially, “which is why the whole Tahoe thing seemed really weird.”

“And was Alexa still upset about Tahoe?”

“Of course, but you know - they’re hot together. Like really hot, but also like…really respectful and sweet.”

“And Jen? How did she feel about Alexa and Seb?” Ryan sighed.

“I mean, I don’t really know her, and she seems kind of sad and a little desperate, but you know, I’ve seen her at a few parties and she just seems like…like, sad. Like, she just needs a good makeover and she’d be back in the game, you know? She’s pretty, and everyone knows her, but just for the wrong reason.” He sighed again, while Jeannie let him come to the answer. “I mean, she was always making eyes at Seb and seemed like she was trying to make him jealous with other guys, but like, Seb Did. Not. Care.”

“And you saw that at just a few parties?” Jeannie probed.

“I mean, yeah, it was obvious. And after I heard about the Tahoe thing, I knew she had to be a part of it.” Jeannie’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t seem to have a new tack.

“Sorry to jump in,” Mark began, “but do you know anything else about the Tahoe trip? Do you know whose house everyone was at? Who was there?” Ryan seemed guarded, looking from Jeannie to Mark.

“I wasn’t there. I wasn’t invited.” Ryan said simply. Inscrutably.

“Right. But do you know whose Tahoe house it was?” Mark raised his eyebrows in a question. Ryan shifted his feet a little, looking at the ground. “Ryan?”

“I think it was Tripp Hartman’s.” His voice was low and soft. Mark glanced at Jeannie and she nodded slightly.

“Okay.” Jeannie began again quietly. “Let’s go back to last night. When Sebastian arrived at the party, what was the vibe?” Ryan’s eyes got big again. He exhaled and looked upward, thinking.

“Ah! The vibe? The vibe was electric…like, everyone loves Seb - and Dash. That’s his guy on the basketball team. They got there and it was like pure excitement. They’re like, celebrities.” Jeannie smiled halfway.

“And what did Alexa think of that?” Ryan smiled.

“I mean, like, she plays it really cool, but I know she wasn’t immune.” Ryan bobbed his shoulders side to side, explaining. “And he’s not either - lots of looks across the crowded room kind of thing. They can’t stay away from each other.”

“And you’re sure they were dating again? The Thomases didn’t seem to think so.”

“Well, I don’t know, actually.” Ryan looked at the ground. “I mean, Alexa has been kind of quiet since the Tahoe thing.” Eyes back on the ground again. “With the new year starting she’s just been kind of focused. I don’t see her as much - I mean, we still hang, but not as often. We’re both busy. But we chat and text and Snapchat and IG all the time.” Ryan sighed. “I mean, with Seb - he keeps calling her, even though she doesn’t talk to him. I think she still likes him but wants to see how hard he’s going to try? I don’t know. It’s just weird - they were so into each other last year.”

“How hard did he try last night?” Mark asked. Ryan looked at him and sort of shrugged.

“I mean, I don’t think they’d even seen each other much since the Tahoe thing. So, like I said, it was kind of electric. They were in the same room together and it was all the same crowd too. He was kind of staring, or like, trying not to? And she was trying to ignore him, but I saw her looking too. It was just like, total tension but kind of the good kind.”

“Was Seb wearing a costume last night?” Jeannie ventured.

“Yeah, he was Teen Wolf. It was really good - he wore his senior jacket and put extra hair on his hands…the dark glasses…He had a full wolf head mask too. But he only wore that when he sort of turned into the wolf, you know? It was kind of perfect because he’s a basketball player too.” Paco smiled, thinking of the movie from the 80s with Michael J. Fox playing basketball as a hairy wolf. 

“And Jen?”

“Well, no one was looking at Jen. Everyone just wanted to see what would happen with Seb and Alexa.”

“Sure, but was Jen in a costume? What did she wear?”

“Oh…Jen? I don’t remember.”

“So, what happened with Seb and Alexa?”

“Everyone was dancing. They started on either side of the dance floor, but you know - they came together. Seb kept trying to pull her closer but she kept shrugging him off. But still danced with him. I had to go then - I started to see these little bottles of “Trick or Tito's” and some joints going around, and I heard that guy Charlie Dagonet had brought some ecstasy, so I knew I had to head home.” Ryan got serious.

“Trick or Tito’s?”

“Yeah, like those little airplane bottles of Tito’s - as like a trick or treat?”

“Wow, who brought those?”

“I don’t know. They were just there. I’d guess it was that guy Charlie Dagonet too. I mean, I’ve heard rumors that guy has used GHB on some people, you know? Unconfirmed, but I can’t be around that kind of thing. Plus I have to be home by 10 - it was time.”

“Of course. And that’s a really good instinct, Ryan.” Jeannie affirmed. “So how did you get home?”

“I called an Uber. I know it’s close, but like, I’m not going hiking by myself in the dark of night, even if it’s like 5-10 minutes. It’s spooky down in the woods at night.”

“Do you think Alexa would have walked herself home?” Jeannie tilted her head, considering Ryan closely.

“No way! Are you kidding? She hates being in the woods at night. Daytime was fine, but never at night, even if there was a bonfire or outside party or something. She is SUCH a city girl. And The Presidio is like living in the country, except we have great restaurants really near by.” Jeannie smiled at him.

“When did you last hear from Alexa?”

“Um, I texted her when I got home, at like 9:45?” Ryan said, pulling out his phone, “and she texted back to say she was going to stay a while - she had a late curfew and Seb was really making an effort.” 

“What time did she respond?” Mark asked. Ryan looked at his phone again.

“Um…10:07.”

“Okay.” Jeannie said in a way to say the interview was over. It had been just short of ten minutes. She looked at Mark and he nodded briefly. “Ryan, you’ve been really helpful. We’ll let you know what we find out, okay?”

“Okay, thanks. Tell Alexa she needs to get home!” 

“We will.” Jeannie said. “And Ryan - you should be really proud of all you’re doing. We chatted with Ed Ganey and he’s really proud of you. You’re making great grades, meeting all of your responsibilities. You’re doing great, so keep going, okay?” Jeannie reached into her front pocket, pulling out a business card. “If you ever need anything, you can call me.” Ryan beamed at her, holding the card like it was precious.

“Thank you. That’s nice to hear.” 

Ryan smiled at all of them. It broke Paco’s heart.