Macy’s house was a picture of southern hospitality. The white-bricked plantation styled mansion had a columned porch that seemed to extend around the exterior of the house. Plantation shutters covered massive windows and that was just what Markie’s eyes could take in. She wondered what the back of the house looked like as she turned into Macy’s driveway and thought it must be equally as impressive if all the species of flowers planted at the front was anything to go by.
The birds on the edge of the three-tier water fountain in the centre of the circular driveway scattered as she pulled up beside Jamie’s black jeep.
“Nice piece of real estate,” Jamie said looking at the house as he came around and opened the door of her SUV and she got out.
“It’s similar to the house in Sydney’s picture.” Markie glanced at the photo she pulled from her purse then at the house.
“Almost. That house,” Jamie pointed to the left over his shoulder, “is four doors down the street on the right. I saw it on my way in. You missed it because you came from the opposite direction. We can take a look when we’re finished with Macy.”
She nodded. According to Carlos, Beck hadn’t gotten back to him regarding the address. With every thing that was going on at his company maybe he’d forgotten. She didn’t want to read more into it than that. They got the information they needed anyway.
“You look well rested this morning,” Jamie said when they started up the steps towards Macy’s front door.
Jamie kept staring at her with that knowing look ‘that I know what you did last night’ look. Maybe she was being paranoid. Whether she was or not, she didn’t want to discuss Beck with him.
“I’m well rested,” she replied without looking at Jamie and rang the doorbell. She didn’t have to look at him to know he was smiling at her.
A woman, with skin the color of caramel, dressed in a white linen pantsuit opened the door a few minutes later. She was on the cordless phone and the conversation with the party on the other end didn’t seem pleasant as she shook her head rolling her eyes towards the ceiling.
She covered the mouthpiece of the phone with her hand and asked, “Markie and Jamie?”
“Yes,” Markie replied.
“Come on in,” she said to them. “Yes, they just got here,” Macy responded to the person on the phone. She beckoned at Jamie and Markie to follow her. They proceeded through an arched doorway, the floor polished wood, as she led them into a front room.
Macy sat down behind a large desk that looked like it was carved from a tree trunk. Bookshelves lined the entire room from one end to the other.
“Please have a seat.” She pointed to the two chairs in front of her desk. “I’m going to put you on speaker, Brad,” Macy said hitting the speaker button as she put down the phone. “Brad Logan, Editor, Upscale Design Magazine. Marklynn Brooks and Jamie Wright are here.”
“I heard that you two wanted to talk to me about Sydney. I don’t know what for. As far as I’m concerned, she skipped out because she couldn’t hack it. You can tell that to your other colleague Melanie as well. Sydney probably ran off with some man. Isn’t that what women do?” The voice projecting over the speaker was nasal and loud.
“This is Marklynn Brooks. I disagree, Mr. Logan,” she said trying to keep her instant dislike for the man from showing. “Sydney is my sister and she didn’t run off with some man.”
“I agree,” Macy said combing her fingers through her hair. “If Sydney is missing then something happened to her. The fact that she disappeared after leaving my house is disturbing.”
“You mentioned someone called Melanie,” Marklynn said to Brad. “I’ve never heard of Melanie. You said she called you. What did she want?”
“I don’t care. We have our own photographer for the magazine, but Macy wanted to use Sydney. Well, either we get the pictures by the end of the day or we go with someone else’s house for the next issue.”
He hung up and Macy shook her head in disgust. “I’m sorry about that. He’s just as obnoxious in person I’m afraid.”
Wanting to save Sydney’s job Markie said, “Jamie retrieved some files on Sydney’s computer that were erased. If we can find the pictures of your house we’ll get them to you.”
“Let him go with someone else. Sydney didn’t like him anyway.”
“Brad said he gave Sydney the job as a favor to you. I don’t understand any of this. As far as I know, she didn’t have a steady job. She had shown an interest in photography but I didn’t think it went beyond that.”
Macy looked at Markie confused. “When was the last time you spoke with your sister?”
“A few days before she disappeared.”
“Before that?” Macy asked biting her thumbnail.
“I got the odd phone call when she dropped into town. The last time when we sat down together and talked was about a year or so ago at dinner.”
“I remember. She didn’t want to go. It was near to the end of Derrick’s tour of duty,” Macy said with a slight tremor in her voice. “
“Derrick?” Marklynn asked. “Who’s Derrick?”
Macy hesitated as if not sure if she should divulge Sydney’s secrets and Markie thought she wouldn’t continue. Macy had every right. Markie didn’t know her sister at all. It was clear Derrick was someone important in her life. What kind of sister was she? The disappointment must have shown on her face.
Macy got up and turned to the window behind the desk staring across a well-manicured lawn. The smell of fresh cut grass floated into the room on a gentle breeze through the open window.
“Derrick was my brother. He was in love with Sydney. They’d nothing in common. He was as straight-laced as they come being an army man and Sydney was unpredictable. To tell you the truth, I didn’t like her at first. She didn’t fit into our family.”
“Why? Because Sydney didn’t fit into the box you tried to put her in?” Markie asked sounding defensive and angry. She was also angry with herself. The same thing she accused Macy of doing was the same thing she’d done to her sister.
Macy turned from the window and laughed, then sniffled. “That’s an understatement. Did you know she jumped out of Derrick’s birthday cake wearing a bikini covered with pictures of the American flag singing the Star Spangled Banner? I’m sure when the man wrote the song that’s not what he had in mind.”
“That sounds like Sydney,” Markie smiled, a wistful smile. Her sister danced to the beat of her own drum. She did whatever she wanted to without giving any thought to the consequences.
“There were military personnel there as well as our parents. He was livid at first then he broke out into laughter. We all did. You see, Derrick had seen a lot during his military career and he didn’t laugh much anymore. Sydney brought laughter and hope into his life. I guess that’s why he loved her.” Macy rubbed the palms of her hands along her arms as if she was trying to keep warm. “He’d asked me if I could help Sydney with her career as a photographer since I had connections.”
“You said Derrick ‘was’ your brother?” Jamie asked.
There were tears in Macy’s eyes when she spoke. “He was killed by a road side bomb in Afghanistan a week before he was scheduled to come home.”
“When?” Markie gasped.
“Thirteen months, two weeks, four days,” Macy looked at her watch, “three hours ago our family was shattered.”
“I’m sorry,” was all Markie could say and it seemed inadequate.
“He’d told me he was going to ask Sydney to marry him when he came home.” Macy shook her head. “I shouldn’t have told her.”
Markie looked at Macy in shock. Her mouth opened then closed again. The last time she saw Sydney, Derrick was alive. Sydney was happy which explained why she was thinking of settling down. She suspected after Derrick died things changed.
“I called her after Derrick’s death, but she didn’t return my calls until I contacted her about the assignment. I owed it to my brother.”
“She never mentioned Derrick,” Ma
rklynn said softly. “And she never mentioned you.”
“I’m sure she talked Derrick’s ears off about you. As for me, she talked about you often enough. She was proud of you, but I got the impression from her that you were disappointed in her.”
“Did she tell you anything else?”
“Only that you set high expectations and…”
“…and she couldn’t live up to them,” Markie finished for her. “I knew of her interest in photography, but thought it was a phase. Derrick didn’t think so.”
Macy’s cell phone on the desk rang ending the silence that engulfed the room. She looked down at it but didn’t pick it up. “I’m sorry, but I have to get ready for work. I just got in an hour before you arrived and I need to be on a plane to Israel in two hours. Will you keep me posted? My assistant can always reach me.”
“I will. Thanks for all your help,” Marklynn said as Macy walked them to the front door.
“I miss not having her around with Derrick gone. After you find her, maybe we can all get together for dinner when everything settles down?”
“I’d like that.”
“You want the left or right side of the street?” Jamie asked as they walked down the steps, his hand shoved in his pocket. He glanced sideways at Markie.
“You go on back to the office and I’ll do the canvassing.”
They stopped in front of her 4Runner. Jamie cocked his head looking at her then blew out a puff of air.
“We can be more productive if we work together. You take the left side of the street and I’ll take the right.”
“I said no. I want to do it.”
“No. What you want to do is to take what Macy told you and saddle yourself with guilt like a mother with a baby strapped to her side,” Jamie said point-blank.
She remained quiet. Somewhere in the distant she heard a dog bark and the sound of children’s laughter as they splashed into a nearby pool. Jamie stood there staring at her as if waiting for her to say something, but she had nothing to say.
“What happened to Sydney is not your fault, Markie. Sydney had a different life from yours. So what if you didn’t know about her relationship with Derrick or of his death.”
“Maybe if I was more accessible…”
“Accessible to what? Markie, your grandmother and your parents pushed this role of savior upon you. It’s unfair for someone to carry such a burden. You can’t save the world.”
“I’m not trying to save the world, just my sister,” Markie said and headed up the street.
• • •
Something was crawling on Sydney’s face. She brushed at her cheek and opened her eyes just in time to see a cockroach crawling on the mattress in front of her eyes.
“Ahhh.” She swept the cockroach off the bed. When it hit the floor she jumped on it.
The cockroach was dead when she landed on it the first time, but that didn’t stop her from stomping on it a half a dozen more times. She imagined it was Blondie and stomped on it a few more times for good measure before her head started to spin.
Reaching for the water bottle, she tipped her head back and drained the last drop of water from the bottle. She had finished the water hours ago but she didn’t care. Her throat was so dry it felt raw.
Hunger twisted her stomach inside out and she slumped, exhausted, on the cot. When was the last time she’d eaten a real meal? She had dinner before arriving at Macy’s. What was it? Seafood. Yes. Seafood chowder, garden salad and a glass of white wine.
It was a nice restaurant. They had even given her a mint with the bill. A mint she’d shoved in the pocket of her jeans. Then it dawned on her she was wearing the same pair of jeans. Along with hating to cook, laundry was at the top of the list and she hadn’t gotten around to doing it. Who said procrastination wasn’t a good thing?
Sydney stood up, patted down her pocket, and started to laugh when she felt the candy. The ropes had loosened just enough for her to wiggle her right hand in her right jeans pocket to retrieve the mint.
It was the size of a quarter, white with green strips, wrapped in clear cellophane twisted at the ends. Normally she couldn’t stand restaurant mints. Some tasted like cough drops, cheap mints to be exact. But right now, cheap or not, the mint was her only food source and possibly, her last supper.
With trembling finger, she unwrap the candy. She was about to pop it all in her mouth but decided against it. With care, she put the candy between her teeth and bit into it. It broke into three small pieces. She placed one piece in her mouth and the other two pieces back into the wrapper sliding it back into her pocket. The mint tasted heavenly. Sweet. It felt cool in her mouth and soothing in her stomach.
She laughed and the laughter turned to tears. If she ever got out of this alive, she would not only be a better person, but also a better sister to Markie. Topping that list would be calling more often, and spending more time at home with Nan.
Sydney remembered one of the arguments she had with Markie about growing up and taking responsibility for her life. How could she live up to Markie’s expectations or Nan’s for that matter?
It was all about Markie and her accomplishments. She runs a successful private investigation agency. Sydney had lost count of the numerous awards Markie had won.
What did she have in her life? A string of broken relationships. But they weren’t all bad. Derrick had been good to her. Good for her. She didn’t have to be anyone but herself with him. Then he died and she had no one to be proud of her.
Don’t think about Derrick. Think about something fun. Photography. She was a good photographer. Yet no one seemed to notice. Not the people that mattered. Markie was too busy with her life and Nan was too busy doting on Markie’s life.
Anyway, why did she have to be good at anything other than photography? Markie was great at everything.
Markie can fix everything and she would find her.
• • •
Beck knocked on the door of Jamie’s office and he glanced up from the computer waving him into the room. The office was a step away from the server room at Jamie’s request. Beck didn’t argue.
At first Beck had some concerns about Jamie’s Mohawk and even wondered if the man would fit in. The man before him was neatly groomed from his trimmed Mohawk and beard, to the charcoal grey suit, down to his shoes.
Beck was taken aback by the complete transformation. His concerns became a non-issue and the only thing that mattered was finding Shadoe.
“Hi Jamie,” Beck said as he entered the office with his coffee cup in hand. Beck was on his way to his office when he’d decided to drop in on Jamie.
A desk and a wall covered with a white board was all Jamie had requested. On the white board were diagrams of what Beck assumed to be the solution as to how Jamie would solve his problem.
Jamie had brought in his own equipment and set up a stealth monitoring software of his own to track Shadoe and to watch him unnoticed.
Jamie knew more about computers than anyone Beck had ever met and that knowledge he was using to educate his team. His two hour meeting yesterday had led to an over whelming acceptance by everyone Malcolm had told him. Malcolm wasn’t used to taking a back seat to anyone, but he had stepped aside, leaving Jamie at the helm.
“Is that for me?” Jamie’s chin pointed towards the coffee cup Beck placed on the edge of the desk.
“Everyone around here gets their own coffee.”
“Then why are you here?”
The corner of Jamie’s mouth turned up into a scowl. A scowl Marklynn had told him not to take personally that it was a part of his character. Charm was also the word she’d used.
“You’ve regaled my staff with stories of famous hackers and I appear boring to them.” Beck took the seat in front of the desk, leaned back in the chair crossing his legs at the ankles.
“I wouldn’t worry. Once I leave, they’ll worship you again.”
Beck chuckled. He’d left half way through the meeting yesterday to drop in on an alarm i
nstallation job and wanted to catch up with Jamie. He could have gotten a full update from Malcolm, but he had an ulterior motive.
“Explain about this stealth monitoring software and how this is going to help catch Shadoe.”
“As I mentioned in the meeting yesterday,” Jamie began. “Erasing methods are not infallible. Whoever is uploading the virus is getting in and out of the system undetected. Often what are left behind are traces or fingerprints that can lead to another computer and this is how we’ll catch our hacker. Plus, hackers are big on ‘bragging rights’ so we’ll be monitoring the hack sites and blog sites as well.”
“We’re good to go then,” Beck said then got up but sat down again.
Beck wasn’t big on small talk. He’d gotten what he came for, a status report, but there was something else and he wasn’t quite sure how to approach the subject.
Not that Beck had a problem with saying what was on his mind. It was the fact that he was in unfamiliar territory where Marklynn was concerned. Once again he turned to Jamie.
“Something else on your mind?”
Beck had been thinking about Marklynn since she’d left his place that morning, more so after his meeting with O’Malley. He knew she wouldn’t voluntarily call and tell him about the meeting in Jamaica Plains.
“How did the meeting go this morning?”
“The meeting with Malcolm went well. I told him to put the word out to the team not to discuss what we’re doing with anyone. That should be a given any way, but just a precaution in case Shadoe finds out. We don’t want to spook him. We’ve to assume that this person is connected somehow to someone who works at Beck Security Systems.”
“That’s not the meeting I was referring to.”
“I know. Discuss it with Markie.”
“She won’t tell me anything.” He’d hit the brick wall, which was to be expected, but he had to at least try.
“That’s too bad.” Jamie turned his attention back to the computer.
Their conversation was over, at least the part about Marklynn anyway. Jamie was right. If he wanted to know about the meeting he should talk to Marklynn.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t be pumping you for information.” Beck got up and grabbed his coffee cup.
Hide 'N Seek Page 14