by C. D. Samuda
The traffic to the office was almost to a standstill. According to the news, an accident happened somewhere on South De Anza Blvd. With the traffic at a standstill and Leah not picking up his calls, he was agitated. Quinn closed his eyes as their time together the day before resurfaced. Her sweet tender kisses, their bodies entwined made him ache for more.
He dialed her number once again with no answer. Quinn needed to hear her voice, if only to make sure she was okay. He dialed the bodyguard’s number. Perhaps he had some answers.
“This is Cal,” the man answered.
“This is Quinn. Did you follow Miss Brooks last night?”
“Mr. Quinn, Miss brooks never left the office building last night.”
Quinn puckered his forehead. “What do you mean she never left her office?”
“Sir, I was watching the exit to the parking area all night. By four in the morning, I decided to check the garage and her car was still there. At 5:30, I went home to shower and change and her car was still there when I returned. I figured she pulled an all-nighter.”
Letting out a breath, he relaxed his shoulders. Leah had mentioned she had a wedding in a couple of weeks and that sometimes she worked through the night to organize things. If she worked all night, she was probably resting in her office. He’d give her some time before calling again.
The traffic started moving again and by 7:30 he pulling into the basement garage. Leah’s car was there as Cal had told him. It was early and he knew not many people were in the building. Alan and Vita were not due for another hour.
When he reached the elevator, he was tempted to stop at her floor to check on her. Thinking that perhaps she might be tired, he punched his floor number and went up.
“She might be taking a nap after working all night. I’ll call her later.”
For the next half hour, Quinn read the proposal for a new company he was thinking of investing in. The young company started by a college dropout looked promising. After reading through the proposal twice, he was ready for his morning coffee fix.
Making his own coffee was beginning to make him feel normal. His secretary certainly looked at him with fresh eyes since the morning before. Alan had also reacted to hearing that he’d actually made the darn thing himself. Soon, another pot was brewing while a dark cloud overshadowed his mood.
Quinn fought against the gloominess, knowing what caused it. The report he received from Copeland was irksome. Could his best friend be guilty of attempted murder – his attempted murder? The door to the small kitchen area opened and he turned, expecting Vita. It was Alan, with red-rimmed puffy eyes. When the man saw Quinn, his face enlivened.
“Hey Bro, you at this coffee thing again?”
Quinn returned a grin, poured a mug of the hot steaming liquid, and handed it to him. He also poured one for himself and they both took a seat at the table. Alan sniffed the mug the way Vita had, then made his cross-like motion with his hand.
“What’re you doing?” he asked. Alan wasn’t a religious man, so it was amusing to see him in reverence.
“What if this shit kills me?”
He forced a dry laugh at his friend’s sarcasm. “Very funny. Vita said almost the same thing.”
That statement Alan just made, did not sit well with Quinn. If anyone should be afraid shouldn’t it be him? Sitting across from Alan, it was near impossible not to grab him by the neck and choke the life from him. His gun was in the shoulder holster, he could kill him right there if he had the mind.
Quinn shook the thought from his mind. There was over two decades of friendship at stake. No matter what some file said, he resolved to waiting for the final report. For the time being, he would give his friend the benefit of doubt.
They enjoyed their coffee together as old friends. The most obvious thing was that Alan avoided his eyes. Even the man’s hands shook when he lifted the coffee mug to his lips.
“Is everything okay with you?” he asked.
Alan shrugged. “Yeah, everything’s cool.”
“You look tired, man,” he observed. Perhaps it was guilt?
His friend shook his head. “Nothing to worry about. Was up late last night watching a movie with the wife.”
“You should take some time off. Take Nicole somewhere nice,” he advised. “Think about it.”
Quinn put away his empty mug, leaving Alan still sitting at the table. He took a moment to observe Alan further. Yes, something was definitely up with him. Could it be true? Was Alan the mastermind behind his attack?
“Think about that vacation,” he said to Alan, patting the man’s shoulder before leaving for his own office.
He forgot about Alan for the rest of the morning and concentrated on work. Near lunchtime, he called Leah. The phone did not ring at all. He decided to call the office.
“Fantasy Weddings, Bridget speaking,” the woman’s voice was crisp and clear.
“Quinn Harrison here, please put me through to Leah, I’m unable to reach her cell phone,” he said.
“Mr. Harrison. I’m sorry, Leah is out of office at the moment.”
“Have her call me when she gets back.”
“Certainly. Have a nice day.”
The rest of the day went slowly For Quinn. As the day wore on, that gloominess returned ten-fold. He could not quite pinpoint exactly what caused it, but he was sure something was happening of which he was unaware.
Alan left early, after receiving a call. The man appeared disturbed and when questioned, he told Quinn that Nicole was having some kind of meltdown. Vita left a few minutes after five. It was now 5:32 and Quinn thought it was time to depart as well. The only thing holding him back was that Leah hadn’t returned his call and neither was she reachable. He thought that maybe he’d stop by her apartment on his way home.
With his briefcase in one hand, he hooked his jacket with one finger and tossed it over his shoulder. He was almost through the door when someone breezed in. Bridget was breathing heavily and her face ashen.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
Tears brimmed her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. Quinn set his briefcase on Vita’s desk at the front office along with his jacket. He indicated that Bridget take a seat. The woman started pacing the floor like a caged animal. After some minutes watching her, she stopped and twirled to face him.
“Leah … I think something happened.”
“Where is she?”
Bridget’s face twisted in fear. “I don’t know. She hasn’t come in all day.”
“That’s not possible. Cal said she never left the building last night and I saw her car this morning.”
“I tell you, I haven’t seen her since I arrived at 8:30 this morning,” Bridget insisted. “I didn’t think anything of it since she left me a note that she had errands to run and that she was taking Lila to the vet.”
Quinn sighed. “Then she must be fine. She’s probably still at the vet’s or running her errands.”
“No, her car is in her parking space. Her bag and phone are on the passenger seat!”
Quinn didn’t quite comprehend what she was saying. Narrowing his eyes, he searched her face for answers. Leah’s car had been there when he arrived at the office in the morning. The dark cloud he’d felt earlier returned with a force.
“Are you sure about this?”
“She would never leave her bag and keys in the car.” She started trammeling the floor once more while wringing her hands together.
Quinn took her shoulders and willed her to calm down. His heart pounded like a Congo drum, trying to decipher what Bridget was saying.
“What … are you sure?” he asked and she replied with a nod. He repeated his question. “She never showed up for work today?”
“No, she never came in and yes, I’m sure it’s her car,” she replied, her voice cracking. “I didn’t notice this morning because I was in such a hurry. When I left the office a few minutes ago, I noticed a car that looked like hers. When I checked, her bag, phone and keys ar
e all there!”
No. This wasn’t happening. Quinn refused to believe that something was wrong, even though his gut wrenched violently. His mind went into a tailspin. Leah must be somewhere safe. Perhaps her car broke down? But why would her purse and phone be left in it?
Squeezing his eyes shut, he ran through his mind the possibilities of what might be happening. It occurred to him that he’d been trying to reach her all night and all day. The sinking feeling that something had happened to her made him lean against Vita’s desk. The very thing he’d tried to avoid was happening before his eyes. If Alan did this, their friendship would be forgotten in an instant. Quinn would not spare him.
Involuntarily, he dialed Alan’s number. It rang out. He dialed again and the phone went into voicemail mode.
“What the f*ck is happening?”
That prompted him to call Detective Lawson. Afterwards he called the security office on the building. Lawson agreed to meet him at the building security office. He also called Cal to confirm whether he’d seen Leah all day. He hadn’t.
“Let’s go,” he told Bridget. “The detective will meet us at the security office.”
Detective Lawson was there in less than twenty minutes with Nolan and another young officer. The head of security retrieved the tape from the previous evening from the time Quinn dropped her off. The tape showed a black screen for about an hour.
“Go back … do you see that?” Nolan said.
“What?” Lawson asked.
“Go back to before 8 o’clock,” Nolan said.
The security personnel rewound the tape to about 7:30 PM. It showed a few people leaving the building.
“Can you slow it down?” Quinn asked. “We might miss something. Wait!”
“What?” Lawson asked once more.
“It looks like someone put something over the camera face,” Quinn replied.
“I’ll have to take it to the tech guys, they’ll slow it down and magnify it to show exactly what’s going on,” Lawson informed them. “I’ll send a forensics team to check her car.”
“Please find her,” Bridget pleaded with the police officer.
“We will do our best ma’am,” Nolan smiled at her.
Quinn turned to Bridget. “You go home. I will keep you updated.”
“How can I go when I don’t know where my best friend is? We’ve been together since high school.”
“There’s nothing you can do here and the police will take care of it.”
Lawson nodded. “He’s right. We’ll do our best to find her. We can’t officially file a missing person until the 48 hours have passed, but I will do this as part of my investigation.”
A stricken look crossed Bridget’s face and Quinn scowled at the detective. He’d been trying to avoid alarming Bridget. The woman grabbed his sleeve.
“You think those who attacked you did this?”
Lawson looked apologetically at Quinn before addressing her. “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves here. It might be nothing. Just let me take care of it and you relax.”
Taking Bridget’s hand, Quinn pulled her aside. “Listen Bridget. Honestly, I don’t know what happened and to answer your question … there is a possibility it might be so. We don’t want to overreact or panic. Okay?”
Pulling away from him, she turned her back. When she whipped around to face him, her face was grim.
“So we’re clear, if anything happens to my friend, I’ll never forgive you.”
“I understand,” he nodded.
As she strode out of the office, Quinn instructed Cal, to escort her home. Lawson got the tape from the head of security and instructed him that he would need to talk to the guards on duty the previous night. They went back to Quinn’s office.
“I wanted to talk to you,” Lawson said, taking a seat in front of Quinn’s desk. “We have a suspect and we’re about to make an arrest.”
“Don’t tell me, it’s my partner,” he said to Lawson with much chagrin.
Lawson looked at him in surprise. “You know?”
He nodded slowly. “Hmm, I had a private detective do some digging.”
“This will delay the arrest. If he took her, we may not find her if he refuses to talk.”
Quinn thought about Leah and wondered why Alan would take her, if he did. “You honestly think he is responsible for this?”
“I don’t know, could be a coincidence. But she was the one who saved you. It might be that he thought she saw something that night that might implicate him,” Lawson said.
Quinn thought about that for a moment, recalling Alan’s reaction to him dating Leah. The man had gone ballistic that he’d put Leah’s life in danger. What if the goons thought she saw them?
* * *
Lawson fingered his chin. He needed a motive for the kidnapping, if there was one. Leah Brooks could walk in any minute now and prove them wrong. In any case, if Alan had anything to do with her disappearance, it would be better to keep a watch on him before making an arrest.
“So far, all we got is her car with her belongings. This does not prove anything. She could be out walking, or left with a friend,” the detective stated. “We can’t officially file a missing person’s report until after the 48 hours have passed.”
“Bridget said she left a note that she was taking her cat to the vet. Shouldn’t we check her home?”
“That’s a good idea,” the police officer replied. “We’ll check with the vet as well.”
With his partner and rookie, they left to pay a visit to Miss Brooks’ apartment. Quinn followed close behind. He had a hunch that they were on the right track, but it was risky. Kidnapping was a different matter altogether. Many victims never make it because their abductors never gave up the information after being caught. The guy could be a psycho for all they knew.
They rang the doorbell several times but there was no answer. Nolan checked with the maintenance office and the manager was reluctant to let them into her apartment.
“This is not done, it’s invasion of privacy,” the man in his late fifties, with greying brown hair said.
Both Lawson and Nolan presented their badges and told him they believed she was in danger. It was then he opened the door and let them in. The man lingered nearby, watching the police while they looked around for clues. A white and ginger cat, looking quite forlorn was sitting by the sofa. It shuffled under the furniture when it saw them.
Quinn strolled over to the sofa and called it by name, “Lila, come.” The little blue eyes stared at him, then slowly came out, and jumped into his arms. It began to nibble his fingers. “Are you hungry?”
Lawson watched as Quinn went to the kitchen and searched cupboards, until he finally found a can of cat food. He opened it and placed it on a saucer, which he set before the cat. By the way the animal gobbled the food, it was obvious it had not eaten all day.
“I’m taking the cat, she might be sick since Leah was planning on taking her to the vet,” Quinn announced.
“That’s a good idea. It likes you,” Lawson remarked.
“Her name is Lila,” Quinn corrected. “Isn’t she pretty, like her mommy?”
“Hmm,” Lawson murmured.
He wasn’t too keen on furry critters that scratched and clawed. He left Harrison to tend the animal while he looked around for clues that might lead them to where Leah was. While he browsed around, Nolan received a call from the forensics team who completed their search of her car. Nolan handed him the phone.
“Is this related to the case you’re working on?” the man on the other end asked. “You know we can’t process missing persons until they’re officially missing.”
“Look Stewart,” Lawson’s voice sharpened. “This guy might be dangerous and I think he’s responsible.”
“What if we process her car and she isn’t missing? It’s only been a day, maybe less,” Stewart replied.
“I tell you, I think she’s missing. She told her assistant she was going to the vet, but the cat is still h
ere. Hold on a minute,” Lawson said. He beckoned Nolan over. “Look, there. Is that the vet’s number stuck to the fridge? Get it and make the call.”
“Yes,” Nolan replied.
“Now back to you,” he continued on the phone. “While Nolan is making the call, tell me what you got.”
He could hear Stewart let out a heavy breath before he began. “We got some prints we’re now running. There are some marks near her car, as if someone or something was dragged…looks like shoes heel marks. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves until the report comes in.”
“What else?” he asked
“We found some hair, on the back seat that might not be the victim’s,” Stewart replied. “Sandy brown hair.”
“The suspect’s hair is brown. That should be enough.”
“We need to run the sample against his to be certain and no funny stuff, Lawson. You know illegal samples won’t hold up against an attorney,” the forensic man warned.
“Hold on a minute, Stewart,” Lawson said as Nolan approached. “What did the vet say?”
“Miss Brooks was supposed to take the cat to get her shots but never showed,” Nolan replied.
Lawson nodded, his eyes flicking over to Quinn. He was the suspect’s best friend and it occurred to him that he was the best person to ask for Smith’s DNA.
He returned to his call. “Stewart, let me call you back. Give me two minutes.”
Lawson walked over to Quinn, who was still nursing the cat.
“What’s the matter?” Harrison asked.
“I need a DNA sample,” he said.
The man replied without hesitation, “Certainly, whenever you are ready.”
“Not yours … his.”
“That’s easy, his office has a personal bathroom and the kitchen must have something.”
“He has his own bathroom?” Lawson gawked. “You rich guys know how to live easy.”
“I can get you your own if you come work for me,” Quinn teased.
Lawson grinned, “Tempting, but no. Who would catch all the bad guys?”
“Can we go then?” Quinn urged, obviously anxious to get this ordeal over.