Dean’s concerned face was suddenly inches from mine. “Juliet, I’m so sorry.” His gaze zeroed in on my nose, and he grimaced. “We’re going to need to get that looked at.”
When I opened my mouth to respond, I tasted the unmistakable copperiness of blood. “Am I bleeding?”
“Um…yeah. Let’s get you to the first-aid station.” Dean helped me up.
Dr. Keaton rushed over, a clean towel in hand. “Let me take a look at that, young lady.” He peered at my nose for a moment, then laid the towel over it and squeezed with his fingers. Pain ripped through my nose again, and I cried out. He nodded. “Your nose may be broken.”
“Broken?” I wailed. That was just what I needed.
“You’re in good hands,” Dean said to me. “Doc Keaton is the best ear, nose, and throat guy in town.”
To Jenny’s dismay, Dr. Keaton left her to help Dean get me over to the first-aid station, which was manned by several doctors and nurses. Dr. Keaton had me lie down on a gurney and then began to examine my nose. Between the incessant pain and stressing over the thought of having a broken nose, I was kind of out of it. Dr. Keaton chatted with Dean the entire time he was working on me, but I was in no shape to listen to what they were saying or contribute to the conversation. When he was finally finished with me, Dr. Keaton explained that he had cleaned and dressed the small cut on the bridge of my nose, but other than that there was no real damage. He thought I probably had suffered a minor fracture, but since he saw and felt no displacement of bone or cartilage, there was nothing else to fix. He said to call him if I had any changes in the shape of my nose or a great deal of bleeding. He handed me a business card, an ice pack, and a couple of Tylenol, then went on his way.
Dean was in my face again. “It’s not that bad. I’m really sorry.”
“What the hell were you trying to do, anyway?” I asked.
He hung his head. “I got a little overzealous about winning.”
I sighed. “It’s okay. It happens to the best of us.”
“You’re not mad at me?”
“Well, I’m not thrilled about my nose, but no harm done.” The corner of my mouth pulled up. “But you’re going to have to tell your sister why we lost.”
“That’s going to be way more painful than your broken nose.”
I glared at him.
He smiled. “Ooh, sorry. Too soon?”
“A little.”
Chapter 11
Stan studied the bandage on my nose while our team was sitting in the bar at Whiskey Kitchen, waiting for Mallory and Jack’s team to show up. “Dean, I still can’t get over the fact that you broke poor Juliet’s nose.”
Dean shook his head. “Neither can I.” He turned to me with a sad smile. “You know it was an accident, right?”
“You may have mentioned that, yes,” I replied. He had only been apologizing for the last hour or so. “And my nose isn’t broken. Doc Keaton said there was only a possible minor fracture. I’ve had worse.”
Stan went on, “And in the middle of the last match. How disappointing.”
I frowned at him. “How disappointing for you, you mean?”
Stan smiled sheepishly. “I had a bit of money riding on our team.”
Lucinda’s jaw dropped. “You bet on a charity tournament? Isn’t that a little skeevy, Stan?”
“It was only a couple thousand dollars.”
I threw him a disgusted look. “Pocket change, right?”
“Ri—” He stopped himself. “I mean, yes, I’m a jerk. How about a round of drinks on me?”
As Stan was waving over a server to give her our drink order, I noticed Mallory in the doorway to the bar. I caught her attention, and she led another couple to our table.
She sat down next to me and winced when she took a look at my nose. “I heard you had an accident. Feeling okay?”
“I’m fine. It looks much worse than it feels.” A total lie, but I was really tired of talking about it.
“That’s good to hear.” She added gently, “But you know you may have a black eye or two tomorrow.”
Damn it. I knew it was possible, but I was hoping for the best and trying not to think about it.
Stan asked Mallory, “Where’s Jack?”
Mallory’s brow creased momentarily, but she quickly recovered. “Jack’s been called away for a while. He volunteers working with troubled youth, so he often has to drop everything and go. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.” She gave a little wave to Dean and Lucinda and gestured to the other couple. “Hi, Lucinda. Dean. It’s been awhile. These are our friends, Ranjit and Zara Shah.”
We all exchanged names and handshakes and got Mallory’s team a round of drinks. Everyone began conversing, mostly with the people they came with, except for Mallory and me.
She asked, “So, what’s the deal with all the gorgeous men in your life? You’ve got Stan, Pete, and that hunky guy from the hospital. If I weren’t a happily married woman, I’d be jealous.”
I laughed. “Stan and I dated for about a month and decided to be friends. Pete and I are too good as friends to mess it up with dating. And Ryder, well…I don’t even know how to describe our relationship.”
“If I were you, I’d persuade him to put a ring on it.”
“I have a feeling I couldn’t persuade him to do much of anything. He’s extremely hardheaded. And I’ve been engaged before. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
Mallory smiled sympathetically. “Touchy subject? Sorry. Jack and I are still in the blissful stage of our marriage, even after eight years. I have a bad habit of thinking everyone should be as happily married as we are.” She changed the subject quickly. “So how is Pete’s arm healing?”
“He seems to be doing okay. He’s cranky about it, but I guess that’s to be expected.”
She laughed. “I can’t imagine Pete Bennett being cranky about anything. He’s always so upbeat.”
I tried not to frown when I thought of Pete’s recent change in behavior. “Right. It’s definitely not like him.”
Her phone beeped, and she looked at the screen. Her brow furrowed again, but then she broke into a smile as she addressed our group. “Everyone, Jack says we should start dinner without him. Shall we?”
We all agreed and ordered several appetizers to share. After a while, the entire group was joking and laughing as if we’d known one another for years. Between dealing with my injury and all the fun we were having, I had completely forgotten my mission to find out who Chelsea’s mystery boyfriend was.
My phone rang, and it was Pete. I excused myself to answer it.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey, Jules,” he replied, his voice sounding strained.
My stomach clenched. “What’s wrong?”
“Um…Kira went outside to take a break an hour ago and never came back. We found her phone smashed in the alley. She’s not at her apartment, and none of her friends have seen her.” He sighed. “She’s missing, Jules.”
My heart hit the floor, and I started feeling nauseous. “This cannot be happening.”
“I know. Hey, I gotta go. Detective Stafford just arrived.”
“I’m on my way.”
Shaking, I returned to the table. When Stan looked up at me, his face fell. “Are you okay, Juliet?”
I struggled to keep my voice steady. “I have to go. There’s a problem with one of my employees.”
Mallory reached out and grabbed my hand. “Oh, I hope everything’s okay.”
I nodded, trying to stay calm. “Me, too. It was nice to meet all of you.”
Everyone murmured their replies, and Stan jumped up, whisking me out of the restaurant.
Once we were in his car and speeding down Seventeenth, he asked, “What’s really going on, Juliet?”
“You remember me telling you about finding my neighbor dead? Well, her roommate works at Java Jive, and she just went missing during her shift. Pete said she went outside for a break and never came back.”
“
And he’s sure she didn’t simply up and quit?”
I shook my head. “Her phone was found in the alley behind the coffeehouse, all smashed up. The police have been called.”
Stan made the short drive to Java Jive in record time. As I was getting out of the car, he took my hand. “If there’s anything I can do for you, call me.”
I smiled. “Thank you, Stan.”
Someone had put the closed sign on the front door of the coffeehouse. My stomach rolled as I stepped inside and felt the eerie vibe hanging heavy in the room. My employees were huddled behind the counter, talking quietly with Detective Stafford.
Pete came from the back hallway to meet me. He was about to speak, but then stopped and stared at my nose. “What the hell happened to you?”
“I got smacked in the face with a tennis racket. I’m okay. Tell me more about Kira.”
He wiped a hand down his face. “We don’t know much. Cole said she got a phone call and then told him she was going on break. That was the last anyone’s seen or heard from her.”
“I don’t like this. Not after what happened to Chelsea.”
“I don’t, either. That’s why I called the cops.”
Stafford appeared next to us. “Juliet, can I have a word with you in private?”
“Sure,” I replied, leading the way to the office.
“What happened to your nose?”
“Tennis injury,” I answered shortly. I wished my wound hadn’t been in such a noticeable place.
“Oh.”
“John,” I said, closing the office door behind us, “I have a bad feeling about this.”
He frowned. “Me, too, and that’s why I wanted to speak with you alone. My gut says Kira’s disappearance is connected with Amelia Zhou’s. And I’m afraid it’s also tied to Chelsea Stone’s murder.”
A tear slipped out of my eye before I could stop it.
He placed a hand on my shoulder, saying gently, “Hey, come on. Keep your head up.”
I struggled to hold the rest of my tears in check. “You have to find her, John.”
His blue eyes were solemn. “I’ll find her. But I need you.”
Without thinking, I wrinkled my nose, causing pain to shoot through it. “Ow,” I muttered, putting a bit of light pressure on it with one finger. Stafford quickly removed his hand from my shoulder. I asked, “Me? What can I do?”
“Start a search effort. Call everyone you know. Have them call everyone they know. Flood social media with information on how people can help. Do whatever you can to get the word out that we need as many people as possible helping to search for Kira.”
“Normally, the police tell me to butt out. Are you sure having me incite a bunch of civilians to run amok in the streets isn’t going to hinder your investigation?”
He smiled. “Not in this case. I’ll take all the help I can get.”
“Then count me in.”
“Good.” He handed me a card after scribbling something on the back. “Here’s my cell number. I want you reporting anything you find out directly to me, even if you think it’s unimportant. Okay?”
I nodded. “I will.”
His cheeks tinged pink. “I meant to give you my contact info the other day at your apartment, in case you remembered something later you wanted to tell me, but…after what happened I was a little flustered.”
“Right,” I said, trying not to crack a smile. “Oh, actually, I do have something I want to tell you. I had an odd phone conversation with Kira on Thursday, and an equally troubling conversation with her earlier today.”
“How so?”
“I called her Thursday to let her know she could have time off, considering the circumstances, but she was very adamant that she come in to work. She mentioned that she’d need the extra money now but didn’t say why. I don’t know what she meant by it. What really troubled me was that I heard a man’s voice yelling in the background, and after that, she couldn’t seem to get off the phone fast enough.”
“Could you hear what the man said? Was he yelling at her?”
“I couldn’t make anything out, but yeah, it seemed like he was yelling at her, or at least what he was saying was affecting her. She told me she was terrified after what happened to Chelsea.”
“That makes sense. Anything else?”
“Earlier today, I told her that if she was afraid, the police might be able to do something to help. She said, ‘I don’t think there’s anything the police can do to help me.’ ”
His eyes got dark. “Something is going on with Kira.”
“I agree. When I asked her if she had a place to stay, she said she did, but she wouldn’t tell me where. I asked her about it twice.”
“Does she have a boyfriend?”
“Yes, he comes in to see her sometimes while she’s working.”
“Do you know anything about him?”
I shrugged. “His name is Martin, and I think he’s kind of an asshole.”
“The kind of asshole who might verbally or physically abuse his grieving girlfriend?”
“Maybe.”
He nodded. “That’s a good start. Thanks. I’m going to find him and pay him a visit. I’ll get someone from my department out here to help you coordinate the civilian search, okay?”
It wasn’t lost on me that Stafford was taking me seriously. Cromwell and Ryder nearly always brushed me off anytime I tried to give them any help or information on a case.
He turned to leave, but I caught his arm. “Thank you.”
He blushed again. “I’m just doing my job.”
“I meant thank you for caring, which is not a job requirement.”
He nodded and ducked quickly out of the office. I sat down at the computer and got to work.
Chapter 12
After sending a slew of mass texts and mass emails, setting up a “Find Kira” Facebook page, and having the staff tweet and Instagram from their personal accounts, I felt like I had done everything in my power to get the word out that we needed every able-bodied person in the area to meet at Java Jive to help look for Kira. Stafford was true to his word about sending over someone from his department to help organize the search. Polly Kane was a no-nonsense mother of five who could get shit done. She was a volunteer who had begun helping facilitate searches for missing persons after her sister went missing years ago.
“I’ve contacted all the local TV and radio stations and the newspapers. I’ve also spoken with my contacts at Vanderbilt and Belmont, who are going to send out messages to the students and spread the word on both campuses. Kira’s parents have been notified and are on their way with everyone they can find to help,” Polly said. “If we’re lucky, within the hour we should have more people here to help than you can shake a stick at.”
“That would be wonderful. I feel like we need to get this search going as soon as possible,” I replied, nervously tapping a pen on the desk.
She covered my hand with hers, ceasing my tapping. “Don’t worry. We’ll find Kira. Detective Stafford is one of the best cops on the force. If anyone can find her, he can. And besides, I’ve already sent a group of volunteers out. Several of your employee Shane’s friends showed up a while ago, so I had them start with the area between here and Kira’s apartment.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “We’re going to find her,” I said with more determination than I felt.
“Damn right we are.”
The door opened and Ryder strode in, scooping me out of the chair and into a crushing hug. “I came over as soon as I heard.” He let me go and looked me in the eye. “Are you handling this okay? Wait. What happened to you?”
I smiled, although tears were threatening. “I got hit with a tennis racket, but I’m fine.”
His eyes grew dark. “Did Stan hit you?”
“Calm down. It wasn’t Stan. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Okay,” he grumbled, giving me a kiss on the forehead. He turned to Polly. “Hey, Polly. I’m glad you
’re helping coordinate the search.”
Polly smiled. “Thank you, Detective Hamilton.” She stood up and winked at us. “I’ll leave you two alone. I need to go round up the troops.”
After she left, Ryder grabbed me and gave me a thorough but gentle kiss. He said, “I’m sorry I can’t stay to help with the search, but I’ve got to keep working on my case. Did you get anywhere with finding out which professor Chelsea was having an affair with?”
“Sort of. He’s a pre-med professor, but I haven’t found out a name yet.”
“That’ll narrow it down quite a bit. Good work.” He smiled at me. “I know you didn’t want to do it, but getting this information was a big help to me.”
I nodded. “I made some gossipy doctor friends today. I’m hoping they’ll be able to help me find out who it is. I’ll keep at it.”
“Thank you. In light of what’s gone on today, you are not to go anywhere alone and you’re staying at my house indefinitely.”
The independent part of me balked at his orders, but the exhausted part of me didn’t feel like fighting about it. “Okay. But I’m kind of doubting I’ll be sleeping tonight. I’m going to look for Kira nonstop, as long as it takes.”
Frowning, he said, “I was afraid you’d say that, but I’m not surprised. You’ll go out in groups during the search. Just…make sure you’re with Pete. I trust him to look out for you.”
I bit my lip to keep from smiling. It no doubt pained Ryder to admit that someone besides him was capable of ensuring my safety. “I’ll stay with Pete. I promise.”
“Good. Now put some ice on that beautiful face. You’re getting the beginnings of two black eyes.”
I hadn’t looked in the mirror lately. I blew out a disgusted breath. “Great.”
A Whole Latte Murder Page 10