“Not much.”
“I know better. It had something to do with me being there, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, well he just wanted ta’ remind me that you weren’t s’posed ta’ be,” he grunted.
“What did you tell him?”
“That I already knew that.”
“Do you think he’ll say anything?”
“Martin?” He shook his head. “Prob’ly not. I wish he would, but it really doesn’t matter. Your name is on the log, so it’ll come ta’ somebody’s attention soon enough.”
“What do you mean, you wish he would?”
He simply shrugged in answer.
“Well, how much trouble are you going to be in over this?” I asked.
He shrugged again. “Dunno just yet.”
“Could you lose your job?”
“Not very likely. But if I’m lucky I’ll get at least a two week suspension.”
“At least?”
“It’d be even better if it was a thirty day.”
“Better? You aren’t making sense.”
“Yeah I am. You just don’t know it.”
“Dammit, Ben, you shouldn’t have taken me there.”
“I keep tellin’ ya’, White Man, don’t worry about it.”
“How can I not? All that came from this was me standing there saying, ‘I don’t know.’”
“Yeah, but whether ya’ realize it or not, now ya’ actually do know more than ya’ did before, even if ya’ don’t know exactly what she’s up to… If that makes any kind of sense. Either way, it’s a start.”
“Not enough for you to risk your career.”
“Yeah, well, those’re the breaks. Besides, I told ya’ I ain’t gonna lose my job.”
“But you might get suspended, and I’m going to feel guilty about that.”
“Don’t. A suspension for somethin’ like this really ain’t that big a deal.”
“You’re being awfully calm about this,” I remarked, unable to keep the confusion out of my voice.
“Uh-huh.”
“Am I missing something here?”
“Apparently.”
I waited for him to expand on his answer, but he simply continued driving in silence. After a moment I prompted, “Well? Would you like to enlighten me?”
“Look, it’s simple, Row,” he explained. “If I can get suspended, I’ll be freed up ta’ spend my time makin’ sure you and Firehair are safe instead of dependin’ on someone else ta’ do it while I’m off chasin’ dead end leads.”
“So you’re trying to tell me this is all just part of your grand plan?”
“Somethin’ like that.”
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“Yeah, probably,” he grunted. “That’s why I’m hopin’ for at least thirty days. I could really use the vacation.”
The alarm system began to pulse out its countdown as we came through the front door. I stepped quickly across the room and stabbed in the disarm code on the keypad. It didn’t escape my notice that the display was reading that it had been enabled in the “away” mode, which meant the motion detectors scattered throughout the house were live. This certainly wasn’t the way it should be set if someone were home, which was supposed to be the case.
“Felicity?” I called out then waited for an answer.
We had been gone for almost two hours, and the crime scene van had no longer been parked in front of the house when we arrived. I had glanced around after climbing out of Ben’s vehicle but hadn’t seen any local police in the vicinity either, which bothered me quite a bit, given that Ben had arranged for them to be there keeping watch.
Getting no reply, I called out again as I headed down the hallway to our bedroom. I was afraid to admit it to myself, but I knew she wouldn’t answer the second time either. The house simply felt empty except for the cats and dogs. I reached the end of the hall and poked my head in through the door. My wife’s overnight bag was sitting on the end of the bed, but judging from its misshapen profile it was obvious that she had yet to put much, if anything, into it.
“Yo, Firehair!” Ben bellowed as I started back toward the living room.
I could feel my heart rate beginning to rise. I opened the door to the basement and called down the stairs, “Honey, are you down there?”
Again, there was no response.
I shut the door then stepped into the living room where Ben was still standing. “She’s not here,” I said, my voice a twisted mix of anxiety and confusion.
“Don’t panic, Row,” Ben said. “She set the alarm, so maybe she had to run out for somethin’.”
“Maybe so,” I replied, trying to believe what he was telling me, but my heart rate continued to ramp upward as I felt the thumping in my chest. “But, she hasn’t even really started to pack, and we were gone for quite awhile. It doesn’t make sense.”
I’m sure he could sense my growing agitation, and his words reflected as much. “I’m serious, Row. Don’t panic.”
“Aren’t there supposed to be police watching the house?” I asked.
“Maybe she’s with ‘em,” Ben suggested as he stepped around me and started toward the kitchen. “Give ‘er a try on ‘er cell phone, and I’ll check ta’ see if ‘er Jeep is here.”
I nodded reply then advanced across the living room and snatched up the phone from the bookshelf. With a quick stab at the keypad, I quickly dialed her number. While I waited for the connection to be made, I heard the sound of the back door open as Ben headed out to the garage. After a soft click, the handset began to trill with the audible tone of the ringer. A heartbeat later, as the second ring issued into my ear, a syncopated tune began to play from the vicinity of the dining room. I stepped forward and to my left then looked through the archway. There, on the buffet, was my wife’s cell phone.
Ben was just coming back around the corner as I was hanging up.
“Jeep’s gone,” he said.
“And, she left her cell phone here,” I told him, though I was certain he’d heard it.
My heart now advanced beyond a fast jog and directly into a sprint as panic wrapped its icy grip around my gut. Apparently it was obvious in my face as well because Ben looked at me and held up his hands.
“Stay calm, Row. Like I said, she probably just went to the store or something.”
“Dammit, Ben, someone was supposed to stay with her!” I spat.
“I’m sure they are, hold on a sec.”
He pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open then thumbed in a number. Placing it up to his ear, he waited a moment then began to speak.
“Yeah, this is Detective Storm with the Major Case Squad. Can you do me a favor and radio the unit you had watching the Gant household and check somethin’ for me?”
He waited a moment, turning to face me and nodding reassurance. “It’s fine, Row,” he said. “She probably just needed some girl stuff or somethin’.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Something doesn’t feel right about this.”
“Twilight Zone?”
“It just doesn’t feel right,” I repeated.
“Yeah, I’m here,” he said, turning his attention back to the phone. “What do you mean you hadn’t dispatched a unit yet? I called it in over two hours ago!”
He listened for a few seconds then spat, “Yeah. Thanks.”
