by Regan Black
There was no way to convince law enforcement professionals, though. They’d heard it all, seen it all at the school and the police station. There was no reason to make Lara a priority.
“Come on.” Leo marched across the empty room, speaking aloud. “I know you. You had a good reason for doing this. Why didn’t you talk to me?”
This time when worry stole his breath and made his pulse race, he didn’t have Officer Rawlins to help. He slumped onto the bench at the foot of the bed and fought through the desperation by ticking through the short list of facts.
Chief Jones had told him Lara had put her belongings into storage, but there was no record of a transaction with a self-storage business in her banking or credit card statements. Charges like that would’ve shown up by now. Unless she’d prepaid in cash. Or used a different name.
Avoiding another panic onset, Leo grabbed his phone and logged in to her back account. Though he scrolled back through two months of activity, there was no sign of a cash withdrawal large enough to prepay for a unit.
In fact, there weren’t even any charges that might be related to packing or moving supplies. She hadn’t just shoved her belongings away haphazardly. Lara was too conscientious. He guessed she could have found boxes from local stores or around campus. That didn’t answer where those items might be right now.
She might have donated her possessions and let people assume she’d stored them. Whatever she’d done, it had to be close. Lara didn’t have a car in town, so moving her belongings from her dorm to wherever meant she’d had to enlist the help of a friend or a car service.
A few minutes later Leo hit another dead end on transactions that might be traceable. He leaned back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling. He only knew her friends by first names. He’d never be able to track them down without a lot more information.
He covered his face with his hands and muffled a string of curses. It shouldn’t be this hard to find the one person in the world he knew better than anyone else.
Pacing again, he knew Jones and even Officer Rawlins believed he was overreacting. But he wasn’t. As well as he knew Lara, she knew him, too. She knew the silent treatment wouldn’t work, so he had no other conclusion to draw than the obvious. Whatever she’d intended when she’d left school, something had gone wrong.
Otherwise, she would’ve told him she was fine just to keep him off her trail.
* * *
After confirming Lara Butler’s information and picture were in the system, Aubrey created the standard flyer for a missing person and printed out a dozen. She uploaded the same report to the PPD website, asking that they share the information on the public pages.
Fixating on one particular case wasn’t her job. That was best left to the detectives. Her role was to keep the peace from the ground up, by staying visible and present in the community.
At her last performance review, she’d been asked if she aspired to move up the ranks. It had felt like a trick question. Yes, she wanted to advance in her career. Yes, being a woman in a male-dominated field meant navigating a few more potholes and pitfalls on that path.
And yes, the major screwup with her ex early in her career eroded her enthusiasm about advancement. She wasn’t the first officer to be fooled by a close friend, but her error in judgment had been broadcast in front of the entire department and made for weeks of embarrassing media headlines. Any step up the PPD ladder would come with more scrutiny as well as more skepticism about whether or not she’d earned it.
If she’d wanted an easy career, she should’ve chosen differently. It wasn’t too late to shift gears, but when she imagined attempting anything other than police work, she practically broke out in hives. Mistakes or not, this was where she belonged.
At the bulletin board across from the desk sergeant, she found a space and posted Lara’s missing person flyer. The officer on the desk was one of her favorite people in the precinct. Sergeant Hulbert was a third-generation cop near the end of his career. His bright red hair had faded to silver long before Aubrey graduated the police academy. Built like a bull, he could move as quick as a whip and he was generous about sharing his wealth of experience on the streets of Philadelphia.
“What are you still doing in here?” Hulbert asked, his voice booming across the lobby. “Too cold on the street for your wee bones?”
She grinned at the jibe. Of all the ribbing she took in a week, Hulbert’s teasing came from the heart. He was a grandfather, a supervisor and a mentor all rolled into one. With her parents retired in Florida to avoid bitter winters, she felt like she still had family in town, thanks to Hulbert. He invited her over for hockey games and cookouts and she’d spent three of the past four Thanksgivings with his ever-growing brood.
“My bones can take it,” she said. “I’d be out there already if you hadn’t stopped me.”
“My knee says we’re getting more snow tonight.”
“Your knee is exaggerating as usual,” she teased. “We’ll only get a dusting tonight. Just enough to keep us humble before that big front moves in.”
“That big front can move right on,” Hulbert rumbled.
“I hope it does,” she agreed, thinking about Rosie and all the people who relied on the shelters and soup kitchens to survive.
“What’s that you posted?” Hulbert queried.
She handed him a flyer from her stack. “Missing person. Best guess is she’s been out of contact for seven to ten days. Her brother is desperate to find her.”
Hulbert shook his head, his blue eyes sad. “I bet.” He pulled out his phone and took a picture of the flyer, then gave it back to her. “One of the saddest parts of the job. Was she sick or in a bad relationship?”
Aubrey agreed with him one hundred percent. “By all accounts she was healthy and single. She’s a college student. Her brother found out earlier she also volunteered at Rosie’s soup kitchen.”
Hulbert snorted. Everyone in the precinct knew Rosie. “What does she say?”
Aubrey stared at the picture of Lara’s smiling face. “Rosie confirmed the brother’s assessment. Says the girl is kind and reliable and healthy.”
Hulbert released a gusty sigh. “Officer Rawlins, tell me you didn’t?”
Caught by his scolding tone, Aubrey looked up, met his gaze. “Didn’t what?”
“Did you promise the brother you’d find her?” He tsked at her. “Girl, that soft heart will get you into more trouble. What will it take to toughen you up?”
“Almost,” she admitted. “He was so sad. But I did not make him any promises aside from telling him we’d do our best.” Though she’d been gentle with the facts, she’d been straight enough with him that he freaked out. She should get responsible cop points for that.
The sergeant harrumphed this time. “You sure?”
“Yes,” she replied, reining in her frustration. “My heart may be soft, but I know the job and I do it well.”
“That’s the spirit. Keep that soft heart behind body armor and you’ll be just fine.”
With a smile and a wave that weren’t as sincere as they should’ve been, Aubrey left the station. The soft heart issue didn’t bother her quite as much from Hulbert, but it sure would be nice to shake off that reputation.
Apparently, two and a half years wasn’t enough time for the department to forget she’d been fooled by her boyfriend in her own home. The whole mess underscored the rose-colored sunglasses in her locker. It shouldn’t matter what her peers thought of her. As long as she remained her chipper self and refused to believe the worst of every person who crossed her path, the skeptics and doubters would consider her an easy target.
Neil Crowder hadn’t actually been living with her when she’d arrested him for dealing drugs. That had been the logical next step in their relationship, a milestone she happily anticipated until she’d caught him in the act of making a sale. Appalled, she
’d seized the drugs, cuffed him and called for backup to handle the evidence and make the arrest.
Her soft heart had been blamed for not seeing the signs of his criminal activity sooner. For letting it slide when she’d discovered he occasionally smoked pot. But the pot had been the only infraction he’d revealed to her. Still, her judgment had been questioned in a thousand little ways for months. The Internal Affairs investigation was arduous, but the unofficial reckoning among her coworkers had stung more. The pressure cracked her pride as everyone felt compelled to share an opinion of the way she’d ignored and then ratted out her dealer-boyfriend.
Ex-boyfriend.
She’d handled everything by the book when she’d caught Neil. Not that it mattered. She hadn’t given her ex an opening to request any favors, discretion or leniency. She didn’t expect a commendation, but she’d assumed IA would stop looking over her shoulder. Two and a half years and they didn’t seem to have anything better to do than keep tabs on her and dig into anyone who asked her out on a second date. Did they think “criminal tendencies” were something she actively sought in a partner?
Though guilt still prickled along the back of her neck occasionally, she believed time would smooth it over. Her parents and Hulbert and even Calvin reminded her of that when she’d been in the thick of it, when she was sure IA would force her off the PPD. Yet, that one mistake continued to haunt her. Her biggest fear of a promotion was the possibility of media finding out and dredging up the old story.
At the end of her shift, Aubrey picked up the flyers. Her building was only a few blocks away and she could post the flyers on the way home. She stepped outside, into the teeth of a gust of cold air. Lousy winter conditions wouldn’t deter her from posting it at the shelter or the soup kitchen. There were several stores between Lara’s college campus and the soup kitchen Rosie managed. Aubrey would check with the staff in each of those locations, as well. As she’d told Leo, there wasn’t much anyone could do unless Lara wanted to be found.
He’d presented a fair argument, assuming he was as close to his sister as he claimed. Why would a girl with seemingly everything going her way disappear?
She popped into the deli where she’d ordered her smoothie and spoke with the manager on duty. Lara wasn’t a regular customer, but Aubrey tacked a flyer to the community board anyway.
When she returned to the soup kitchen, normalcy had been restored. Rosie and her staff were settled, chatting away in the kitchen. Everyone in the dining room seemed content, savoring the hot food and the break from the weather.
She posted the flyer of Lara on the bulletin board, alongside several other faces of people who were missing. Yes, her soft heart gave a pang of distress. These flyers rarely came down due to a happy resolution. Most of the faces were runaways or addicts. It hurt to contemplate how many families would never find closure.
Not Leo, if he had his way. He was determined to have answers. Either the man was too compelling, or she was as soft as everyone believed. Aubrey couldn’t ignore the instinctive nudge that Lara’s disappearance was different, though. At some point she had to start trusting her intuition again. The odds of Leo being a criminal, someone like a handsome and manipulative drug dealer, were ridiculously low. Still, she couldn’t toss out PPD protocol because of one distraught and persuasive brother. She’d do her job, add in some extra effort and let the system work the way it should.
She found Rosie in the kitchen and asked to speak privately. Rosie led the way to the office, which doubled as an overstuffed supply closet. A battered metal desk wedged up against one wall had just enough space left for a laptop. Aubrey didn’t envy the administrator who had to work in here.
Rosie unfolded a chair and sat down with a sigh. “How is the brother?”
Aubrey closed the door and unfolded a chair for herself. “Distraught,” Aubrey replied candidly. “He’s sure something terrible happened.”
Rosie’s lips thinned and worry pleated her eyebrows. “He might be right.”
Aubrey’s intuition snapped to attention. “I knew you were holding back. Spill it.” They were friendly and shared a mutual respect and concern for the people who utilized Good Samaritan services. If Rosie was reluctant to share, there was a good reason.
“Lara has a heart of gold. She treats everyone with equal compassion.” Rosie twisted a towel in her hands. “It’s a rare gift, beautiful to watch and oh-so-necessary in places like this.”
Aubrey agreed wholeheartedly, wondering if Leo had ever given Lara a pair of rose-colored glasses. “People like her, like you, make a world of difference.”
“Thank you. But Lara. She wanted to do more.”
“How so?”
Rosie pressed her towel-clinging hands over her mouth, then dropped them again. “She sometimes talked to me about going out, living on the street. Just to understand the situation and where, um...where the assistance broke down.” She shook her head, frowning. “Something like that.”
“Why didn’t you say anything about this earlier?”
“She asked me not to say anything at all.” Rosie swallowed a small sob. “She wants to do this. To feel what the others feel.” She pressed her lips together. “What she is doing is important.”
There was more to it. Had to be more than curiosity for a girl to withdraw from classes and attempt life on the streets in the dead of winter. “The others feel cold and hunger because they have no other choice.” Aubrey was inexplicably angry. “Her brother feels miserable.” It seemed like a heartless experiment for a compassionate woman to conduct. “Is she checking in with anyone? Is there a time limit?” she asked. “I can keep her brother out of her way if she’ll give him some sort of assurance.”
Rosie shook her head again, lips clamped together as if she couldn’t risk uttering even a simple “no”.
“You realize I have to work this as a missing person case, since he filed the report. The flyers go up, we’ll ask questions and be on the lookout for her.”
“You can’t shuffle it to the side?”
Insulted, Aubrey had to take a deep breath. “No.” She let Rosie feel the full pressure of her silence.
The woman didn’t crack. “Is there anything else, Officer Aubrey?”
Aubrey had encouraged people on her beat to call her by her first name in an effort to be more approachable. This was the first time she regretted it. Wanting to shake the woman, Aubrey stuffed her hands into her pockets. There was no way to hide the clenched teeth. “If you hear she’s in trouble, you’ll let me know?”
The small dip of the chin wasn’t a resounding confirmation, but Aubrey took it as an affirmative anyway. If Lara was so valuable and such a good person, surely Rosie wouldn’t want her to freeze to death. Or worse.
She wouldn’t get anything more out of Rosie today. Summoning the self-control to walk out of the office without slamming the door, Aubrey aimed for the dining room. She had no evidence of any wrongdoing and these people needed the relief provided by the soup kitchen.
She chatted about nothing in particular with a few of the regulars, just to make Rosie nervous. Shuffle this to the side? That rankled.
Leaving the flyer in place, Aubrey headed toward the next shelter. Lara was welcome to conduct what sounded like a poverty experiment. This was a free country after all. But if Aubrey could reel her in just long enough to convince her brother everything would work out, that would be perfect.
From his perspective the siblings were close, and a decision like this wouldn’t have been made without a discussion and plan. Granted, Lara might well have had an opposing view of her and Leo’s relationship and the effect her abrupt choice would have on her brother. An only child, Aubrey had no personal frame of reference on sibling dynamics.
“Officer Aubrey?”
Hearing her name, she turned toward the voice and spotted the woman everyone called Mary-Tea in the delivery alley behind
the shelter.
Aubrey had no idea if Mary’s last name began with a t or if her real name was Mary at all. She’d been living in and out of shelters since before Aubrey had joined the local precinct. Everyone knew the woman preferred tea over coffee and that was likely the reason for her name. Impossible to know for sure as Mary never discussed her past or her plans. Mary did, however, have a good line on the happenings of the homeless community and she cautiously shared information with the PPD from time to time.
Most days she simply greeted Aubrey and went on about her business. Today she motioned Aubrey closer, skulking in the shadows between the buildings.
“How are you doing, Mary? Staying warm?”
“Warm enough.” The older woman bobbed her chin behind the faded scarf wrapped around her head and neck. The ends were tucked into the collar of the military surplus peacoat. “The young woman you’re looking for. She’s out here with us.”
“You’ve seen her?” Aubrey managed to keep her voice casual. It was a bigger fight to hold back the avalanche of questions that would send Mary-Tea scrambling away.
“I have.” She studied her mittens. “She’s nice.”
Yes, by all accounts, Lara Butler was the nicest woman in the city, possibly on the planet. Her brother wanted more than that. He needed to know his wonderfully nice sister was safe and secure. And pressing Mary-Tea for details and more information before she was ready would backfire.
“I’m glad to hear it, thank you. Are you going in for dinner?”
“I will.”
“Good.” Aubrey worried about the older woman. “If you need anything, or if she does, you find me, okay?”
“She says the same thing,” Mary-Tea mumbled through her scarf. “Says she’s out here with us to find what we need.”
“That’s good.” Aubrey’s intuition leaped. “That’s good for everyone.” This could be a lead to follow from another angle. If compassion and research had pushed Lara to leave school and live on the streets, there had to be a catalyst. She needed Mary-Tea on her side, needed the older woman to bring her tidbits on Lara.