“Zoe?” A feminine voice queried.
“Yeah. That's me. What is it?” She scratched her scalp and rubbed her eyes. She knew she sounded like a bitch and frankly she didn't give a rat's ass right now.
“Zoe, this is Alice Taylor. Have you seen your Daddy in a few days, honey?”
“Alice?” She tried to thumb through the recesses of her mind, searching for an Alice. “I don't know anyone named Alice...” She yawned, preparing to hang the phone up when the rest of the woman's sentence clicked in her mind. “What do you mean have I seen my Daddy?”
“Zoe, honey. I'm his boss. He hasn't been at work in three days. We are getting worried. Is he okay? Does he need to take some time off?” Alice's voice was soothing and warm, she sounded just like a grandmother. It brought a warm and fuzzy memory to mind of baking cookies. Then reality crashed against her subconscious, shaking her out of the reverie.
“Wait. What do you mean he hasn't been to work in three days?” She rubbed her eyes again and tried to focus. “He's been messing around with Minnie. Maybe she knows. I'll call you back. Can you give me about ten minutes, Alice?” She yawned again. Maybe he took off for the water or something, went fishing. Hell who knows.
“Of course, honey. I'll be right here waiting.” She hung up and searched around the kitchen for a phone book. Finally locating one that was stuck to the counter, it apparently had gotten wet at some point, she flipped open to the W's. She traced one fingertip down, searching for Minnie Wilder's name. She missed it the first time through.
“Fuck me,” she muttered, finally spotting it. “Two-two-five-four-oh-three-seven...” she muttered, punching the numbers into the phone. It rang twice before being picked up.
“Hello?” A soft voice picked up.
“Where is my Daddy?” She tapped her fingers on the counter.
“Excuse me? Who is this?” The woman on the line became indignant.
“Oh, so you have multiple people's Daddies over there? Zoe Parker. My Daddy hasn't gone to work in three days. I need to talk to him. Now.” She tapped her fingers harder, trying to stay under control.
“Honey. He ain't here.” Her voice was solemn, not a trace of deceit in it. Fear, maybe, worry clouded it a bit.
“What?” She felt like someone had punched her in the stomach, all the air whooshed out of her lungs. “He's not there.”
“No, Zoe. He hasn't been here in three days. I assumed he was with you.”
“Yeah, you and me both. Got any ideas? I thought he might have gone to the Gulf.” She twirled the cord around her fingers, trying to stem the panic clawing through her chest.
“No, I don't. Can you let me know when you hear something?” She heard the same panic tingeing Minnie's voice.
“Yeah. I can do that. Thanks Minnie. I'm sorry... For being a bitch.” She slammed the phone down and took a slow breath.
Amy came out from her bedroom, looking stressed. “Zoe, I need to talk to you.”
“I need to talk to you too.” She clenched the counter and leaned forward on her arms.
“Me first, please. This will be easier if I just rip the bandage off. So, let me do it.” She was picking at a small scab on her arm and wouldn't meet Zoe's eyes. The next few words came out in a rush and they took her by surprise. “I have been sleeping with Derek since I left for New York right after high school. Every time I came down we would sneak off and fuck. I am so damn jealous of you, Zoe. You don't know how pretty you are. How good your life is. You have no idea. I wanted to have what you had, even just a little bit. I was determined to tell you. Especially after Callie...” Her voice trailed off to a squeak.
Zoe turned and leaned against the counter, feeling a lot like a Mack truck had t-boned her. “What? How good my life is? Really, Amy?” She managed to squeeze out around the fist that had settled around her throat. She turned again and looked out the window, taking a slow breath and trying to relax. “You know, Amy... This is the last thing I needed today, but since you decided to drop the bomb on me that you fucked my boyfriend too, I think you need to get the hell out of my house. Now.” She was starting to shake, and tears were filling her eyes. She had always been the type of girl to handle her anger in only one way. If she ever got mad enough to cry, people were going to be hurt. She'd only gotten that way a few times in her life, and Derek had been the root cause of most of them. “Just tell me one thing. Did he come on to you or did you initiate?”
Amy looked at her toes. “I initiated.” She looked up finally, tears filling her dark eyes. “I'm sorry, Zoe...” She reached out to her.
Zoe smirked, tears filling her eyes as she threw her hand up like a stop sign. “Don't fucking touch me, you bitch, unless you want me to break your nose. Get the hell out of my house. I must be the ONLY girl in the world who would have two best friends fuck her boyfriend. So, it's been going on the whole time?”
Amy nodded, and reached out again. “I'm sorry.”
“Even after Mama died? That weekend too?” Amy nodded and Zoe took a slow breath, trying to get her shaking under control. “Get. Out.” She screamed, pointing at the door. “Take your shit and get the hell out of my house. I'm DONE.”
Amy took a step back. “You don't mean that, Zoe. We have too much history.”
She grinned wickedly through the tears. “Like hell I don't. I'm done. All the history we ever had has been a lie. Get out.” She pushed off the counter and went around her. “Let me get your things for you.” She stomped down the hall, grabbed Amy's bag, threw the rest of her things in it and hauled it back down the hall. Once she reached the front door she stepped out onto the porch and hurled it into the yard.
“Zoe! I have expensive makeup in there!” Amy came out the door and thundered down the stairs, going to check on her things.
“Yeah? You always were worried about having possessions instead of worrying about the people who fucking loved you. Take it and get off my property. I'll call your mom to come get you.” She rushed back inside the house and threw the bolt lock. Amy beat on the door.
“Let me in. Let's talk.” She pleaded.
“Go to fucking hell, Amy. I can't with you.” She picked the phone up and dialed a number she'd known since elementary school. “Hi, Mrs. Yoakum? You need to come get Amy.”
“Why baby? What's wrong?” The woman she'd considered a second mom asked, her voice honey smooth on the line.
“She fucked my boyfriend. Furthermore, she's been doing it for years now. I need you to come get her.” Zoe slammed the phone down. She realized she needed to call Daddy's boss back. “Fuck,” she grumbled as she looked up the work number.
She punched the numbers in viciously. Alice picked up on the second ring. “Alice Taylor.”
“Alice. This is Zoe Parker. His girlfriend hasn't seen him either.” She chewed her thumb.
“Zoe, I don't know what to say. Protocol says I'm supposed to let him go, but I'd like to hold his job until we hear what is going on. Do you want to come check his locker and see if there are any clues? Of course, you need to call the police too.”
She leaned against the counter and put her head into her hands. “Hell. Yeah, Alice I can be there in about ten minutes. I'll call the cops on my way. Is that okay?”
Alice replied quickly, “Yeah, that's absolutely fine.”
She hung the phone up, put her sandals on, grabbed her purse and flung the door open to see Amy standing on the porch with her arms crossed. “About time you opened the door and let me talk, Zoe.”
Zoe slammed the door closed and walked down the porch. “I know you are NOT standing there being a righteous bitch, getting angry with me.” She hurried to the Jeep and climbed in. Amy picked up her bag and started walking to the vehicle. “Oh hell no. I'm not taking you anywhere. I have a little bit more going on this morning than your bullshit. I called your mom. She should be here soon.” She jammed the key in the ignition and the Jeep roared to life. She threw it in drive and peeled out of the driveway. Amy was screaming and waving her ar
ms. She didn't give a fuck.
She called 911 and Maggie Hill, the dispatcher that had been working as long as she could remember, answered. “911, what's your emergency, Sugar?”
“Maggie, this is Zoe Parker. I need to report a missing person.” Her voice shook and tears filled her eyes.
“Who is missing, baby?” She could hear Maggie's manicured nails tapping her keyboard.
“My Daddy,” she whispered on a squeak.
“Oh honey. How long has he been missing?” She typed faster.
“About three days. I thought he was at Minnie's.”
“Oh darlin', I'm going to let Officer Taylor know. Where are you at right now, Sugar?”
“I'm on my way to Irving.” She took a slow breath.
“Baby, I'm gonna have him meet you there, okay? Don't you worry about it. The good Lord has him in His hand sweetheart. Don't you hesitate to call me, y'hear?” Sympathy oozed out of her voice.
“Thanks Maggie. I'll wait at the factory for him.” She hung up the phone and turned on the radio, spending the last few minutes drowning her panic in 80s music. She pulled into the Irving Glass Factory parking lot and threw the Jeep into park. She shut the engine off before taking a slow breath, trying to calm her nerves. She didn't know whether to cry from anger or worry. She pulled her cell out of her pocket again and called the number Calvin had called from last night.
He answered on the second ring, sleepiness clouding his voice. “Hey beautiful.”
Her throat got tight and she whispered, “Calvin, my Daddy is missing.”
“What?” His voice became clear and she heard him rummaging around. “Where are you?”
“I'm at Irving, Officer Taylor is gonna meet me here.” She ran a hand through her tangled hair before looking down and finding a pony tail holder. She snagged her hair up into a messy bun and wrapped the hair tie around it.
“Zoe, I am on my way.” She could hear him shrugging into clothes.
“You don't have to do that.” She rubbed her forehead, and took another breath. A migraine was brewing right behind her eyes.
“I want to.”
“You're not gonna be here in a few days anyway,” she sighed.
“But I'm here now, damn it,” he growled. “I'll be there in thirty.” He hung up and she closed the phone with a sigh before shoving it back into her purse. She popped the door open on the Jeep and climbed down. She stalked across the lot and flung the big glass door open. She had been there a few times before, so she knew exactly where she needed to go. From the main lobby, there was a left turn that led to the employee lockers and locker #47 was the one that belonged to her Daddy. As she walked through the lobby, an elderly lady wearing a floral dress from the 80s waved, catching her eye.
“Zoe, honey!” It could be no one other than Alice.
“Hi,” she murmured, her heart choking her throat.
“Hello, darlin'.” The older woman caught her in a hug and she fought the tears that popped up at being in the older woman's embrace. She had missed that, a lot.
“Officer Taylor is on his way to meet me here.” She murmured against the woman's shoulder. She smelled like musk perfume and lilac body powder. She took a slow breath; it reminded her a lot of her grandma, who had passed many years before.
The older woman pulled back. “That's my grandson. Good. They can start an investigation, then. Why don't we sit here and wait. He should be here in a few minutes.”
Zoe shook her head. “I want to go to my Daddy's locker. I know where it is.”
Alice nodded, touching her shoulder in support. “Alright, sweetheart, you go ahead.”
Chapter Ten – (Saturday)
She strode toward the doors that led to the employee lockers and maneuvered straight to his locker. She knew his combination by heart. It was the day she'd been born, May 18, 1990. 05-18-90. The lock came undone. Taking a slow breath, as if expecting a damn skeleton to tumble out of the locker, she cracked the door open and her face crumpled.
She backed up in horror, shaking her head. Her back slammed into the lockers against the other wall and the force jolted her to the core. She started shaking as she slid down, the metal of the lockers scraping her back. She didn't notice the pain but she'd have bruises later. Tears flowed down her face and she sobbed. All that was left in the locker was an envelope with her name on it. This was no missing person.
That was how they found her a few minutes later, shaking her head and sobbing against the lockers. Officer Taylor knelt beside her and she looked up before bursting into laughter and a fresh round of tears. “What the fuck kind of luck do I have to get the officer who saw me screwing around last night on my Daddy's case?” Her laugh was bordering on hysteria.
Officer Tim stroked her back. “Hey, I'm here to do a job. I will hold nothing against you. I know Calvin, he's a good guy, and if he's with you, I like you too. But this is business right now. What can you tell me about the situation?”
Alice was wringing her hands and looking at the letter. “Have you read the letter yet?”
Zoe shook her head firmly no. “I can't yet.” She took a slow breath. “He hasn't been home in a few nights. He's been screwing Minnie Wilder, and I assumed he was staying at her house. I got the call from Alice this morning that he hasn't been to work. I called Minnie, she hasn't seen him either.” She scrubbed her hand across her eyes. “God damn.”
Officer Tim stood and grabbed the envelope out of the locker. “We need to read it.” He handed it to her. “I'm going to give you a couple minutes and make some notes.” He pulled a pad out of his shirt pocket and started scribbling. She turned the letter over and over in her hands, finally breaking the seal. She unfolded the lined notebook paper and started to read.
“Zoe, I hope that you can one day forgive me for all of the things I've done, and all the things I have yet to do. I am in deep. I've been gambling. I can't stop. I don't know if I want to, or if I even can. When everything unfolds, I can't see you hate me. I'm going to Vegas. I'm hoping to find some odd jobs to maintain my habit. I can't do the small town bullshit life anymore, Zoe. It's something I never wanted. If your Mama hadn't gotten pregnant with you, I would have finished college. I would have made something of my life. When she died I had nothing left to give you. Not a damn bit of love was left. It died when she died. I'm sorry. I can't be the father you need. I wish you the best. - Dad”
Her mouth opened and closed like a fish flopping on a dry river bank, gasping for air. She felt like a rock had just sat square on her chest. She clawed at her throat. She vaguely remembered seeing Calvin bust in the room and lay her back on the cold linoleum. She saw his eyes filled with worry and heard the soothing tone of his voice. He could have been telling her to roll around in a pit of venomous snakes and she would have done any damn thing he asked. The lilt in his voice was like a cool rush of water, soothing her. She felt her chest slowly unlocking and the rush of air that flooded her lungs felt like elixir to a dying man. She took a couple more deep swallows of the cool air and her eyes slowly refocused.
“You okay?” His voice flowed into her ears and she nodded slowly. “What is going on?” She handed him the letter, still unable to speak. He rested her head back on the floor. “Lay still and let your breathing regulate before you try to sit back up.” He was reading the sentences and she watched his jaw lock and the muscles pop. His nostrils flared and his eyes went dark. “What the fuck is this?” He shoved it at Officer Tim. “Read this fucking shit, man!”
He read it quickly. “Damn it.” He rubbed his forehead and handed the letter back to Calvin. “Doesn't look like a missing person's case.”
Calvin shook his head. “No, it doesn't.” She watched the muscles play in his jaw in fascination.
Alice spoke up. “So, he won't be back at work, will he?”
Officer Tim shook his head. “It's not looking like it, Grandma.”
They turned back to Zoe to see her eyes closed and her face pale. She'd passed out.
She
woke up some time later on her couch at home. She smelled chicken and dumplings and her stomach rumbled. She lay perfectly still, closing her eyes again and wishing she could change everything from the past few hours. No one wants to be told they aren't loved, they are worthless and never even wanted by those they spent their whole damn lives trying to make happy. Tears filled her eyes and one slipped between her lids unbidden, coursing down her cheek and splashing on the soft pillow beneath her head. She squeezed her eyes shut and rolled so she faced the cushions on the back of the couch. She felt Calvin's hand brush her face.
“Hey, Beautiful. Wake up.” He stroked his hand through the dark hair that flowed over the pillow. “I know you're awake.” He sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch.
“I don't want to.” She sucked in air and it felt like razorblades cutting her insides. She squeezed her fists closed.
“I know. I'm so sorry.” He kept rhythmically stroking her hair.
“That feels good,” she murmured softly.
“I'm glad, sweetheart.”
“You don't have to stay with me, Calvin. This is too much. You should be out having fun on your time off. Not dealing with my bullshit.” She rolled and looked at his face.
“What if I want to be here?” He clenched his jaw.
“Why?” Her voice cracked.
“You are awakening something incredibly protective in me. I'm feeling things I'm not sure about, but I know that everything points right back to you.” His eyes were dark and solemn.
“What?” She scoffed. “Are you saying you're in love with me?”
He paused for a second and licked his lips before responding. “I think it is a distinct possibility. I've never felt like this. Not with anyone.”
September Tango Page 6