by R A Wallace
“Good.” Nate smiled hesitantly.
“But the space.” Callie looked at both of them. “Your drawings are using at least twice the space that we have here.”
Again, Nate and Bree shared a look.
“Yes, just as we discussed on the phone with Mr. Divine,” Bree said enthusiastically. “It’s going to be wonderful to have the space next door as well. It really made our jobs so much easier to match up with your hopes.”
Callie felt her heart sink. “You spoke with Greyson?”
“Yes, of course. Your partner has been actively working with us on the designs. He’s already seen them all, of course.” Bree smiled again.
“Of course.” Callie sighed as she closed the binder. “Unfortunately, we don’t own the space next door.”
Nate chuckled. “Wow. It must be a surprise.”
Callie shook her head. They just weren’t getting it.
“Greyson said… That is, Mr. Divine said he’s already handled all of that.” Bree began flipping through her copy of the binder. “Here. Page seventeen. You’ll see a signed copy of the agreement. Indigo Investigations now has access to both spaces.”
Callie couldn’t believe it. Quickly, she flipped to the page in question. She shot Sierra a look. Sierra raised her brows in response. They had been trying to wrest the space next to them from old Mrs. Brzeski for months. The woman had refused to budge. It had never occurred to her that a dark-haired, blue-eyed mystery man would succeed where she had failed. Or that he would even know to attempt it.
For that matter, how did Greyson know anything about it? Callie thought back to the time she’d seen Greyson with Sierra and Michael. They’d been so comfortable with each other. Sierra had hugged Greyson and Michael had done that guy-thing, where they half hug while shaking hands and slap each other on the back. Callie looked at Sierra with narrowed eyes. Sierra smiled serenely.
Callie didn’t know if she should be mad at Greyson or allow herself to be happy that she was going to have the office of her dreams. She glanced around the office before returning her attention to Nate and Bree. She took a deep breath and made up her mind. She was going to be happy.
“Okay then.” Callie flipped back to page one. “Walk us through it.”
She’d explain to Greyson later that he shouldn’t be making decisions without her. The man had to understand that there were some boundaries he shouldn’t cross. Passing himself off as her partner was one of them.
***
Greyson stretched his arm out and clasped hands with the other man.
“Greyson Divine, Indigo Investigations. I understand from our mutual friend that you were in need of my services?”
Greyson studied the man in front of him. He knew that Adam Winslet was around fifty. He looked older. Greyson assumed it was from the distressing subject they were about to discuss.
“Please, have a seat.” Adam waved to the other chairs around the table.
The restaurant Adam had chosen for the meeting was a quiet one. A waiter appeared immediately. After taking their drink order, the waiter had retreated to the other side of the room, leaving them to their conversation.
“I was sorry to hear about your sister.” Greyson sat back in his seat and prepared to listen to Adam’s story.
“Thank you. It’s been several years now, but I still feel her loss. I think it’s the not knowing.” Adam took a breath then met Greyson’s gaze. “Obviously, she must be gone. I know that. My sister never would have left everyone wondering about her like this.”
“I understand she was a university professor?” Greyson prompted.
“That’s right.” Adam paused as their drinks arrived.
The waiter left again as soon as he set them down.
“Gale, that’s my sister. Was my sister.” Adam corrected himself.
Greyson nodded.
“Gale has been missing for about ten years now. The police did what they could. I had another private detective looking into it afterwards, but… they just haven’t turned anything up. I was speaking to our mutual friend. They recommended you.” Adam motioned toward Greyson with his hands. “I’m told that Indigo Investigations is the best in the business. At this point, you’re my last hope.”
Greyson nodded to show his understanding. The man had suffered enough. It was time to find some closure for him. Greyson hoped that he’d be able to do that. He asked Adam several questions and took careful notes as the other man spoke. After several minutes, he had exhausted the limited knowledge that Adam had of the events surrounding his sister’s disappearance.
After closing his notebook, he promised to be in touch soon. Before stepping out of the restaurant, Greyson buttoned up his coat and braced himself for the wind he knew would hit him as soon at the door opened. It was cold in Colorado this time of the year.
Chapter Three
Her mind told her that she needed to deal with Greyson and his interference with her remodeling plans. Her heart told her that her new office was going to be amazing now that it was doubling in size. Callie was still debating the issue when she parked in front of her sister’s business. Sumner Curtains and Blinds was in a small modular home. Gemma opened the business shortly after she and her husband, Max Sumner, were married around fifteen years before.
Callie found her sister in a rare moment of inactivity when she entered the shop. Instead of working on an order, Gemma was staring at some paperwork, her brows drawn together. Her cell phone was lying on the counter in front of her.
“Are you okay?” Callie asked after entering the shop.
Gemma hadn’t even acknowledged her presence. Her sister looked up in confusion at Callie. A moment later, her face cleared.
“Yes. It’s just… this!” Gemma held up the paperwork.
Callie closed the space between them and glanced at the paper.
“It’s a bill?” She knew it was a stupid thing to say, but the amount on the bill had been way larger than any she might have expected to see.
“Remember when Josie got hurt playing soccer?” Gemma said as she continued to frown at the bill.
“You took her to the emergency room for that, didn’t you?” Callie didn’t remember it being a particularly bad incident.
“Yeah. Just to be safe, you know? But the doctors said she was okay.”
Callie leaned over and looked at the amount again.
“That’s a pretty big bill for a kid who was okay,” Callie pointed out.
“No kidding.” Gemma sighed loudly. “The problem is, they entered a code wrong in the system.”
Now it was Callie’s turn to frown. “You mean, it was just a mistake?”
“Yeah. They didn’t perform this procedure on Josie. They were, like, one character off or something when they entered the code.” Gemma dropped the papers on the counter and stepped away from it as she shook her head. “I don’t know exactly how it happened. I just know it did.”
“Sounds like it’s easily fixable,” Callie said.
Gemma ran her fingers through her hair. “Fixable, yes. Easy, no. I’ve been on the phone most of the morning trying to get it straightened out. The hospital is claiming one thing, the insurance company is arguing about it, and I’m stuck in the middle.”
Callie gave her sister a sympathetic look. “Sorry.”
Gemma’s shoulders drooped. “No, I am. You’re right. It’s fixable. It will just take some more time. And probably several more phone calls. I think I’m just frustrated because Max is away on FBI business and I don’t have anyone to whine to at home about it. Thanks for listening.” She gave Callie a half smile. “What brings you by?”
Callie told her about her meeting for the office design.
“That’s right, I forgot it was today. How did it go?” Gemma walked over to a small fridge and pulled out two bottles of water. She lifted one and raised her brows at Callie.
Callie nodded agreement. “Somehow, Greyson managed to convince Mrs. Brzeski to let me have the office space next t
o us.”
Gemma handed Callie the water. “He’s sounds like a handy partner to have.”
“He isn’t my partner.” Callie twisted the cap from the bottle.
Gemma chose not to argue with her.
“How are you doing with our baby sister?” she asked instead.
Callie leaned against a counter. “We’re getting there. We’ve been spending more time together.”
“Something I should be doing that as well.” Gemma frowned as she took a swig of water. “Maybe she would like to spend some time with Josie and Cassidy, too.”
“She is their aunt,” Callie agreed.
Gemma nodded. “I should call her. I don’t know why I’ve never done it in the past.”
“No time like the present,” Callie agreed. “Speaking of which, I have to go. I have an insurance fraud case.”
Gemma glanced back at the paperwork. “Maybe someone just entered the wrong code.”
“Not this time. The insurance company suspects he’s faking a back injury,” Callie said as she left.
She entered the address into her GPS and followed the directions to the home of Randy Albright. She knew that he was still off work from the injury he had sustained while on the clock. Based on the hospital records, the insurance company was questioning the severity of the incident and the extent of his injuries. It was a common theme and Callie was happy to say that the insurance company was calling her more and more often, ever since Indigo Investigations had been featured so prominently in the media.
She parked her car about a half a block down from the Albright home and prepared to wait. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw a man emerge from the house and head for the truck in the driveway. At around five ten with dark hair and carrying a few extra pounds, the forty-something man matched the description she had. Callie waited for a short time after Randy had driven away from his house before she began to follow him.
He didn’t go far. The neighborhood grocery store was within an easy distance from the house. Callie mentally pulled up her own shopping list. While she was there, she should probably get a few things for her mother. She pulled out her phone and quickly texted Margaret before she followed Randy into the large grocery store, careful to maintain a discreet distance.
Callie was in the produce section when she received the first response from her mother. As she continued following Randy around the store, she received several more texts. Her cart was relatively full by the time she got to the cashier a couple of aisles away from Randy. Callie and Randy began emptying their carts onto the conveyor belt at around the same time.
Although Callie declined the assistance of the bagger to get her groceries out to her car, she noticed that Randy took his young bagger up on the offer. Callie transferred her groceries into her car slowly, watching as Randy kept up a conversation as the young bagger transferred his groceries to the passenger side of the truck. So far, Randy was acting like a man who didn’t want to lift anything heavy.
After securing her cart in the return, Callie jumped in her car and waited for Randy to leave the grocery store parking lot. She didn’t tail him home. She figured she already knew where he was going and she wanted to know if he carried his own groceries into the house. She circled around his block and approached from the opposite direction but parked about a half a block down. From this angle, she should have a clear shot with her camera lens.
Callie lifted her camera and waited. Randy entered the house after getting home but left the groceries in the car. A van approaching from behind her caught her attention as it drove past. She watched as it pulled into the Albright driveway. A woman and two children exited, a young girl and an older boy. Callie guessed the male was in his teens.
The three of them grabbed the groceries from the truck and began carrying them into the house. Randy met them at the front door of the house and held it open for them. Callie could see that the family was laughing and enjoying their shared task. Randy kissed his wife as she passed by him into the house. Once the groceries were all out of the truck, the front door of the Albright home was closed. Callie pictured the family working in the kitchen together as they shared interesting tidbits of their day.
By all accounts, the Albright family looked like a happy one. Callie almost allowed herself a moment to think about what that would be like. Almost. Then she started her car and drove away. She needed to get the groceries for both of them put away. First, she would stop at her mother’s place, and then she’d go to her own house. After that, she needed to get back to work. Her mind flashed back to Greyson. She told herself it was because of his uninvited involvement in the office redesign.
***
Greyson followed the directions he’d been given to the building that used to house Gale Winslet’s office on the university campus. The main entrance of the building was a large, open space with comfortable chairs. Looking down the halls, Greyson found signs pointing toward the different departments within the building. He followed the direction the signs indicated down a long hall and ultimately stepped through another set of glass doors where a woman sat working at a desk.
“Can I help you?” The fifty-something eyed Greyson inquisitively.
He introduced himself and watched a wave of compassion cross her face.
“Mr. Winslet said that someone might be stopping by. My name is Carol, by the way. I’m the department secretary. I was here when Gale disappeared.”
Greyson took the chair across from her desk so he wouldn’t tower over her.
“Can you tell me anything about her?” he asked.
The smile on her face was sad. “The students loved her, which was odd.”
Greyson knew the confusion showed on his face.
Carol chuckled softly. “It isn’t odd that students should love their teachers. What I meant was, Gale was one of the unusual ones. She excelled at both research and teaching. Her contract was actually split. She received a load lift because of the large grants she secured. She also worked closely with several of the graduate students on some of the grants. It was a wonderful opportunity for them.”
“Did you know anything about her private life?” Greyson asked.
Carol grimaced. “With her schedule, I can’t imagine she had one. Her track record with publications was unprecedented. The department actually offered to remove her teaching responsibilities altogether so she could focus on her research.”
“She didn’t take the offer?” Greyson guessed.
“No. She said she enjoyed the students too much.” Carol’s eyes drifted over Greyson’s shoulder for a moment before snapping back. “You might check in the library. She spent a lot of time there.”
Greyson asked a few more questions before following Carol’s directions to the library building. He found a man matching Carol’s description of the library director, Dr. Zavala. Greyson introduced himself and explained the reason for his visit. He saw the same sad look cross the library director’s face.
“I still miss her,” Dr. Zavala said. “She was such a nice person to be around.”
“Can you tell me anything about her personal life?” Greyson asked.
Dr. Zavala gave him a look of chagrin. “That I can’t. I only knew her on a professional level. I can tell you that her research interest involved Yellowstone.”
Greyson was beginning to realize why the police had come up with little involving the case.
“Did you try talking to her teaching assistant?” Dr. Zavala asked.
“She had one?”
“Oh, yes. The university did everything they could to support her research.” Dr. Zavala frowned as he thought back. “Her name…” He tapped his pen on the counter a few times. “Ally? No, that’s not right. Addie.” He dropped the pen. “It was short for Adelaide. Adelaide Carson.”
Chapter Four
Although it wasn’t something she would readily confess to her friends, Ariana always looked forward to going to school in the morning. It wasn’t the school itself that pu
lled at her. It was her first period class. Ariana hadn’t missed any of them so far in the school year and she didn’t intend to.
She didn’t know until Inez Chen opened her eyes to the world of art just how much she enjoyed it. Thanks to Ms. Chen’s wide range of artistic abilities, her students had been exposed to projects in several different mediums.
The project Ariana was currently working on was a mixed-media design incorporating many different materials. It was something she particularly enjoyed working with although she’d also enjoyed all of the other assignments as well.
“Ariana, that’s an interesting color combination.” Inez Chen stood behind the young student admiring her work.
Ariana turned her head to smile her thanks. She could tell by the inflection in Ms. Chen’s voice that she was impressed with her work.
“Have you thought more about what you’re going to major in when you go to college?” Ms. Chen asked.
It was a subject she broached with Ariana often. At first, Ariana hadn’t responded to the many queries about her plans after high school. She realized now it was because she hadn’t known herself what she was going to do. Lately, she’d been more willing to discuss the options.
“I don’t know. I like what my sister does for a living.”
“That’s right, the private investigator. I’ve been seeing her everywhere lately, on the news, on the Internet. She’s really made a success of herself.” Inez watched the young girl’s face fill with pride. “Have you two been spending more time with each other? You mentioned that you were hoping to.”
“We have been, yes. It’s been really great.”
“I’m sure your sister could tell you about the classes she must have taken. I’m sure she must have majored in criminal justice, or something like that, for her career.” Inez didn’t really care where her students went to school or what they majored in. She just wanted them to continue their education and to be happy with whatever they chose.
Ariana tried to remember back. She knew that Callie had gone to college, of course. But it seemed so long ago.
