by K. C. Crowne
“That's what everyone says. If only I could be as successful as she is,” she laughed. “Maybe one day.”
“Oh? What is it she does?” I asked before Rosa knocked on the large doors.
“She's second in command of the company,” Rosa said. “She's going to be taking over the business when Mr. Santiago retires in a few years. Julia is maybe one of the smartest people I've ever met.”
“I see,” I said. “I didn't know that.”
“I'm hoping to earn a senior role one of these days. But I need to finish college first, then maybe,” Rosa said. “For now, I'm just starting at the bottom of the ladder like everybody else, hoping one day they might trust me with the really important stuff.”
Before talking to Rosa, I'd have thought she and Julia were probably around the same age – maybe a few years apart. The more she talked about her cousin, however, it seemed like Julia was either older than I thought, or Rosa was younger than she looked. Maybe both.
Unless Julia was Ignacio's protege, which was also possible. She was his daughter after all, and he might have trained her well in the business. I would have thought, that dripping with that old school machismo Seth said he was, he'd have pegged a man as his successor. But, as far as I knew, she was his only child, so it made sense she'd take over the company one day.
Rosa knocked and opened the door, stepping inside a massive office with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking downtown San Diego. I'd never seen Ignacio Santiago before, but I quickly studied him carefully. I took in everything I could about the man, sizing him up with my cop's eyes and instincts instantly. He stood and walked over to us, giving Seth a firm handshake.
“Mr. Santiago, may I introduce you to Mallory, my assistant?”
I elbowed him hard in the side. Assistant? Really? Couldn't he have come up with something better? I glared at him, but he didn't seem to notice. He was too caught up trying to peacock around Santiago.
“Welcome, Mallory. I had no idea you were bringing company,” he said to Seth.
Ignacio leaned down as he brought my hand up to his lips and placed a gentle kiss upon it – some of that old school machismo and charm at work. His eyes met mine, and I would have known that look anywhere. His gaze washed over me, making me feel dirty instead of desired. He was sizing me up and he liked what he saw.
“Thank you, Mr. Santiago. It's a pleasure to meet you,” I said through gritted teeth.
“The pleasure is all mine, my dear,” he said. “Now please, let's have a seat and get down to business. Rosa, would you mind keeping Mallory company while we talk?”
My jaw hit the floor and my eyes nearly bugged out of my skull. I was being dismissed. Just like that – and I had no doubts that it's because I had tits instead of a dick. Rosa answered, “Of course. I'd be happy to.”
I looked at Seth and he shrugged, taking the seat across from Ignacio. Neither man looked at me again, but Rosa stared up at me expectantly, waiting for me to follow her out. When I didn't move, she stepped over to me and leaned close, speaking quietly, like we were conspiring together, rather than being sent out of the room to make them some sandwiches, so the menfolk could do their business.
“Let's leave the men to talk, shall we?” Rosa said softly.
It took everything in me to just smile and walk out of the room with Rosa, leaving Seth and Ignacio Santiago behind to talk “business”.. Every step of the way was a struggle as my blood pressure soared and my urge to punch Santiago in his sexist face grew stronger.
Once we stepped out of the office, Rosa closed the doors behind us, and we continued on. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, doing my best to bring my blood pressure down and calm myself. It took a minute, but I finally felt reasonably calm again.
“So what's it like working here?” I asked Rosa once I felt calm enough to speak. “Is it only family?”
“No, not completely,” she said. “But mostly, yes. We try to remain a family business, but there are some cases where nobody in the family has the experience we need, so we'll hire outsiders.”
“Like that behemoth Alfred out at the front door?”
Alfred was a white man – clearly not a Santiago. But, I felt like maybe this – talking about their hiring practices – was one way to get an answer about Chris. Or, at the very least, get us on the subject of him. Maybe, once we opened that door, more information would follow.
“Alfred is an old family friend,” she said. “My father has always trusted him like family. He's always done right by the Santiagos, so it seemed natural for him to be here.”
“Is he the only security guard you've had here?” I asked. “Or have there been others?”
“There have been, but none of them work out for long,” she said. “My uncle doesn't really care for people who aren't part of the family. He doesn't trust outsiders very much, which is why I'm surprised he's even talking to your boss in there. I guess he made an impression on him.”
“I guess so,” I said. “They met through Julia.”
“Oh, yes, just like the last guy who worked here,” she said.
“The last guy?” I cocked an eyebrow.
“Yeah, her boyfriend worked here for a bit,” Rosa said. “He started out in security. It didn't take very long, but I guess Julia got him a better job working directly for her father. I haven't seen him in a bit, so I guess that didn't end up working out.”
“Why's that?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I don't really know. He just stopped coming in last week,” Rosa said. “We were told he'd been let go, and I didn't ask why. That's business above my pay grade and I know better than to start asking questions about things that don't concern me. All I know for sure is that my uncle is hard to get along with sometimes, so I figured they'd butted heads somewhere along the line.”
“I see,” I said.
I glanced toward the two heavy doors and started to wonder if Seth was doing okay in there. Being a finance guy, he might be able to talk business, and technically his Marine training should help him a bit if there was any trouble. Santiago didn't look to me like a guy who could overcome the raw strength and physical skill of a guy like Seth, but it had been a while since he'd had to use those skills.
“Would you like some coffee or a bottle of water while we wait?” she asked.
“Sure,” I said, “That would be great. Coffee, please.”
“I'll be right back,” she said.
“Thank you,” I replied. “Take your time. No rush. I have a feeling they'll be in there a while.”
Rosa smiled at me as she walked into a room off the side of the lobby, giving me a moment alone. I strained my ears to listen at the big wooden doors, doing my best to hear the conversation inside, but had no luck. I could hear the muffled mumbling through the wood but couldn't make out anything else.
Without knowing what my next move would be, I just started moving on instinct. Keeping my eye on the door Rosa had gone through, I rushed over to her desk and started looking around. I didn't really expect to find anything of importance, but I remained hopeful. Plus, it was all I could think to do in the moment.
At first, it seemed like just a normal desk, a computer that had a lock screen on it. I looked at it for a long moment before realizing that I didn't have the time to try and figure out the code to get past the security and into it. There was a telephone. Her purse. Some files. A notepad next to the phone with some messages written down on the pages.
I didn't know what I was expecting to find – a map pinpointing Chris' exact location maybe? – but, everything seemed like what you'd expect to find on a receptionist's desk. Dammit.
I looked at the note pad, trying to drum up some inspiration, but was coming up completely empty. I had no time to break the computer password, no idea what I was looking for, and no idea what to look for next. As I stared at the message pad though, my eyes lingered on the writing, and I felt the faint stirrings of something. I couldn't say what it was, but there was something that dre
w my attention very quickly.
Scribbled on the pad was a name – Antonio – along with an address. Normally, it wouldn't have even caught my eye at all. Except for the one thing that stood out to me like a sore thumb.
The address written on the pad was 245 Vidalia Avenue, Harvelle, Nevada. I knew that Harvelle was a small, middle of nowhere town that nobody seemed to know existed, and is usually passed by folks heading for Vegas or Reno. There's literally almost nothing in Harvelle.
Nothing except Chris's family – and they lived on Vidalia Avenue.
Rosa called out from the side room, “Sugar or cream?”
“Uhh no thanks,” I replied. “Black is fine.”
I reached for my phone and snapped a picture of the note really quickly. I couldn't be sure it meant anything at all, but it seemed more than a little suspicious to me. Why on God's green Earth would the name of a nowhere street in a nowhere town be scribbled out on a message pad in a large financial firm in San Diego?
I heard footsteps and Rosa came through the door just as I stepped back around the desk. I was pretending to be admiring the artwork on the walls. I pointed to one particularly garish, hideous painting and smiled at it approvingly.
“It's beautiful,” I lied.
Rosa smiled as she handed me a large mug filled with piping hot black coffee. “Here you go.”
“Thanks,” I said, taking the cup from her hands.
She dropped down into the chair on her side of the desk and I walked over, sitting down in one of the large, overstuff chairs in the lobby. I barely sipped my coffee, not really needing anything to amp up my energy or anxiety any more than it already was. I pulled out my phone and texted both Jason and Liam, attaching the address and told them to be careful, saying I thought something was up.
Jason replied back almost right away, which meant they had either stopped or were there already.
Oh shit. That's Chris's parent's address, his return text read.
I sighed and felt my guts churning, even though I suspected it all along.
I was afraid of that, I messaged back. Be careful, you guys. Once Seth is out of there, we can head up your way.
6
Jason
“What is it?” Liam asked, taking a bite of his cheeseburger.
We were just outside of Harvelle, having arrived only about twenty minutes before. We stopped for a bite to eat when Mallory texted the photo of the page with the address written on it, and it raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I stared at it for a long time. Antonio – who the fuck was Antonio and what did they have to do with Chris?
I explained everything to Liam as best I could.
“Shit,” he said.
“My sentiments exactly.”
“What do you think this means?”
“I have no fucking clue, but I have a bad feeling,” I said.
Mallory had mentioned joining us up in Harvelle, but I couldn't wait for her to get out here. If Chris's parents were in danger, I needed to warn them. I started the truck, tossing my burger back in the bag, mostly uneaten, and peeled out of the McDonald's parking lot.
I didn't bother to watch my speed, I just tore down the road as fast as I could, focused on getting there as quickly as possible. My truck had a gun rack installed behind the front seats for when I went hunting, and I had a shotgun on hand. When we set out for Harvelle, I wasn't really planning on using it . But, if it came down to it, I would do what I had to do and not lose a wink of sleep over it.
We pulled to a stop in front of Chris's parent's house, having made it in record time. The house was a small, one-level ranch style. Neither of us came from money, but, it was a nice, if humble home. I'd been inside it more times than I could count. Hell, I'd practically lived there when I was younger, and his dad's truck was still parked out front as it always was.
I parked and gave a passing thought to grabbing the shotgun out of the rack but decided against it. If there was nothing going on, I didn't want to freak Chris' parents out by rolling in locked and loaded.
Getting out of the truck, the two of us walked up to the front door. I kept an eye out, scanning the street I knew so well, and didn't see anything suspicious in the neighborhood. Everything looked fine to me and nothing put up any red flags.
I knocked on the door and I heard their dog barking inside the house. Pepper was a little mixed breed rat dog of sorts, but damn, he sure acted big. For a dog that weighed less than twenty pounds, he had the balls of one five times his size. Footsteps followed the dog, along with a familiar voice scolding him.
When the door opened, I was relieved to see Lois Sturgeon, Chris's mother, standing there. She gave me a puzzled smile and opened the door for us.
“Jason, Liam, what are you two doing here?” she laughed.
“Actually, we – we just needed to know if you'd heard from Chris lately?” I asked, running a hand over my face.
“No – ” she said, her smile falling and her eyes flooding with worry. “He usually calls us at least once a week, if not more, but we haven't heard from him. Should I be worried?”
“Maybe, but it's too early to know anything for sure,” I said and glanced around – all of the sudden, I felt a prickling on the back of my neck and didn't like being so out in the open. “Mind if we come in?”
“Of course,” she said, opening the door wider. “I'm sorry, where are my manners? Of course, come in.”
The living room was small with the same light blue walls they'd always had. Pictures of Chris and his sister, Samantha, lined the walls of the place. A few pictures included Chris and me playing football together, as well as some of us graduating high school.
“How's Sam?” I asked.
“Oh, she's good. Finishing up med school this year,” Lois said, trying to sound casual and pleasant, though she couldn't keep the worry from her eyes. “How about you two? It's been a while.”
“I know, and I'm sorry. I don't come home often,” I said.
Truthfully, there wasn't much to come home to. Harvelle was pretty much a wasteland for me ever since my parents died. There were some good memories and good people, sure, but for me, the place was infested with old, unpleasant ghosts more than anything.
Lois motioned for us to have a seat. Always the proper hostess. Chris' parents were good people and I appreciated them. They were always more than kind and welcoming when I was growing up. Liam and I took the sofa, leaving her the chair. Pepper jumped up in her lap, growling at us even though he knew me well enough. I reached out and let the dog smell my hand until he stopped growling and he finally relaxed and curled up in her lap.
From his position, he kept a wary eye on Liam, though.
“I'm sorry to ask, but when's the last time you heard from Chris?” I asked her.
“Oh, maybe last weekend. He called to wish his dad a happy birthday,” she said.
“Did everything sound okay?” I asked. “Did he sound normal? Or did he say anything strange?”
“I didn't talk to him much,” she said. “Maybe I should call Frank? He's down at the garage – ”
“Maybe you should,” I said, remembering the note at IHS with their address on it.
If Santiago and his people had their address, the chances were good they would also know where they worked. Frank Sturgeon owned a well-known auto repair shop in town. Anyone who knew the Sturgeons could tell you exactly where to find his garage – and if Chris's parents were in any trouble, Santiago's people would know exactly where to find them.
Lois shooed Pepper off her lap and stepped into the other room to make a call on her phone. She spoke in hushed tones, but it was impossible to not hear the stress and concern in her voice. Liam leaned forward, pitching his voice low to keep from being overheard.
“You're freaking her out,” he whispered.
“I'm freaked out myself,” I said.
“We need to remain calm and level-headed,” Liam said. “If something is wrong, we need to be in our right minds. We need to keep
our wits about us and think everything through. Getting them all worked up about something we don't even know is happening might be counterproductive. Not to mention an unnecessary burden of stress on them.”
He was right. I took a deep breath, and when Lois came back into the room, I tried to tone down the concern in my voice. “I'm sorry if we're making you nervous Lois. I mean, we're probably overreacting,” I said. “It's just not like Chris to go completely off the grid like this.”
“I know, and it's worrying me too,” she said. “Frank said that when the spoke, he mentioned he might be going away for a while. But Frank says, Chris made it sound like a vacation. I would have thought that if he were planning a vacation, he would have told you guys about it too.”
“Maybe he really just needed to get away,” I said.
I didn't mention the open door we found at his place or the fact that he'd left his phone. None of that mattered and would only serve to scare her even more – and that's not what I wanted to do. We made small talk until Frank showed up. We did some catching up as I tried to downplay my concern and keep a level-head. The shop was within walking distance of the house, and when the old man stepped inside, his face was red, and he was drenched in sweat. He wiped his brow with a rag and greeted us, giving us both a firm handshake.
“You guys are looking for Chris?” he said.
“Yeah,” Liam said. “He didn't tell any of us where he was going. Did he mention it to you?”
“He mentioned Mexico, briefly. Maybe Ensenada? Or Cabo?” Frank said. “I figured you all were planning another booze cruise or something. Didn't exactly raise any red flags with me at the time.”
“No, no plans,” I said. “This is the first we're hearing about him making a run to Mex, actually.”
Mexico. It was a start. It was a big country, but we might be able to start narrowing down the places he could have gone. Still, it didn’t explain everything else we were looking at. Maybe he got into trouble and ran. Had to leave in a hurry, even leaving his car and phone behind. That seemed like the most likely scenario.
