Simon Cullen turned out to be a difficult man to track down. Emma spent sixteen hours just trying to pinpoint him to a location. It seemed the man erased every trace of his presence after leaving a place. That was another red flag. What was he trying to hide?

Right now, she was at a dead end in Romulus. According to the Intel she managed to put together, Simon was last seen exiting the Metro Airport. She now had the unpleasant task of tracking him down. It was a good thing she knew the area well. Her small chat with his last girlfriend before he went to jail also proved to come in handy. According to her, Simon was battling depression and anger management issues after the failure of his auto dealership business. It was the main reason for their breakup, which he didn't handle very well either. He began spending most of his time in secluded bars and strip clubs - that was before they lost touch.

That information helped Emma narrow the breath of her search. If Simon was having money troubles, he would most likely hang out in the cheaper clubs. She just needed to hop to a few strip clubs and bars, asking the relevant questions. If he was anywhere around, someone would say so.

It turned out 'hopping a few bars and clubs' didn't do the magic. She had to resort to a card she didn't like pulling - except she absolutely had to. She booked a room for the night and switched out her clothes. It was time to go out and party. 

Emma chatted up one bartender after another. She pulled all the tricks in the book - from twirling the strands of her red wig, to batting her false eyelashes. All she got was laughter and unnecessary passes. No one seemed to have seen anyone that fit Simon's description. That was until she met Matt. He looked reserved, more from his desire to keep information to himself than from nature. Emma could tell. She had a trained eye for people like him and didn't waste any time before getting to the crux of things.

"I'm trying to find my boyfriend. He got pissed off and walked off after a little argument. I mean, who does that? Men can be so dramatic." She paused for the added effect before continuing. "Do you happen to have seen him? He's five, eleven with shoulder length black hair and a strong build. He's got icy blue eyes - very cute, those eyes."

The bartender raised an eyebrow before replying.

"Who's asking?"

"His girlfriend." Emma rolled her eyes. "Didn't I say that before? Oh wait... you think I can't be his girlfriend? What? I'm pretty enough to be with a guy as cute as him. You don't really think I'm not, do you?"

"No offense, Ma'am. How many shots have you had tonight?" The bartender asked.

Emma laughed. It was a drunk laughter she had conjured up for the part.

"How many do you think?"

"Never mind. Simon must have a good reason to want to stay away from you." He replied.

"Wait... What does that mean?" 

He didn't bother to reply her last question. Instead, he asked one of his own.

"How long have you two been dating?"

Emma knew that was a trick question. The bartender had referred to Simon with his first name. That meant he knew him well. If he did, then chances are he would have seen Simon with some other girl before. He could also be wondering why he had never seen Emma before. 

"Only three days." She replied.

Emma gave a pitiful sigh and looked down at the table. That seemed to do the trick. 

"He left for Bevs Backstreet Lounge ten minutes ago." He replied.

"Thanks, Matt."

Emma read his name off the name tag on his left breast pocket. She smiled at him and made her way out of the bar.