by Aria Ford
The girl with the cherry red lipstick and efficient hairdo smiled politely and raised an eyebrow as if to prompt Megan to explain any reason at all that she might be standing in front of her desk.
Megan said, “I’m here to do some questioning.” She stood up straight and elongated her neck. “I’m Detective Lowe, I’m here to ask a few questions regarding the disappearance of Charlotte Mortez.”
The girl nodded. “ Okay, well Mrs. Mortez’s office is on the sixth floor. Would you like someone to escort you?”
“No, it’s probably better if I feel the place out.”
The girl shrugged and pointed Megan to the elevator. “That will get you where you need to go.”
“Thanks,” Megan mumbled as she walked over to the elevator and pressed the UP button.
When the doors slid open, a gaggle of men and women in pencil skirts and suits came rushing out of the elevator.
Megan stood off to the side until the crowed thinned out. She had the entire spacious box to herself for the whole ride up the sixth floor.
When the doors opened, she stepped on to a solid tiled floor decorated in black and white specks. There were sixteen cubicles on this floor; eight on either side.
She walked over to the first cubicle on the left, and peeked in. A woman with huge glasses sat in front of what appeared to be a $2,000 company computer.
“Excuse me.” Megan rapped her knuckles on the fake wall of the cubicle.
The woman jumped and looked over her shoulder. “Yes?” she asked.
Before Megan could respond, the woman spun around in her chair. “Are you the one bringing the muffins today?”
“Muffins? What? I’m not an intern, I’m a detective actually. I just wanted to know if you could help me answer some questions about Charlotte?”
“Sure.” Her voice was airy, but there was no mistaking her disappointment in not getting a muffin.
“Okay.” Megan sat on the edge of the woman’s desk and took out her notepad. “Okay, so what was your relationship with Charlotte?”
“She supervised this floor. ”
“Was everyone happy with her leadership?”
She shrugged. “Just like any other boss. She's frighteningly pretty, though.”
“Hmm.” Megan took a mental note to look especially hard into Charlotte’s love life.
“What’s your name, again?”
“Holly. Charlotte was an okay boss, did anything happen to her? Did they find her body or something?”
Megan shook her head. “No, not to my knowledge.”
Holly wore a contemplative expression. “Okay. I wonder when Mr. Geroux is going to choose someone to replace her.”
Megan grunted in disgust. “I would like to focus on finding Mrs. Mortez, not the corporate ladder. Was there anyone else that worked pretty closely with Mrs. Mortez?”
“Peter from accounting,” Holly offered.
“Thank you,” Megan said as she left Holly’s cubicle to find some sort of directory to tell her where the accounting floor was.
After exhausting all methods of obtaining any information about Charlotte Mortez beyond her being “pretty” and “an okay boss”, Megan steered her sedan down the streets of Charlotte’s subdivision.
When Megan was just a patrolwoman, she learned that neighbors always spilled the beans or dialed the phone first on domestic abuse. In some cases, they’re tongues itched to share gossip, and they would tell a cop all but their neighbor’s social security number if given the chance.
She parked in front of a lavish house with an Olympic sized pool in the backyard. Megan strolled up the walk and stepped onto the porch. She pushed the doorbell, sending chimes echoing off the home’s high ceilings.
A woman opened the door with rolls of bleach blonde hair on top of her head. Her eyes widened at the stranger on her front porch.
“Can I help you?” Her voice carried a slightly country accent.
Megan cleared her throat. “Yes, I’m Detective Megan Lowe- I’m investigating the disappearance of your neighbor, Charlotte Mortez. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
She gasped. “Charlotte’s missing?”
Megan nodded. “You haven’t noticed that she hasn’t been coming home or leaving for work?”
“I’m a bit absent-minded sometimes, I’m afraid. Why don’t you come in Detective? I’ll make us some tea.”
Megan followed her the well-decorate home. The walls were a quaint baby blue and there were small, porcelain animals all over the living room.
Megan sat at a small table in a corner of the kitchen. The neighbor bustled about, setting a teapot on the stove to boil.
She sat down in the chair across from Megan. Megan pulled out her notepad. “Okay, state your name, please.”
“Lindsey Coolidge.”
“Okay, Lindsey. How long have you known Charlotte Mortez?”
“I met her last summer when I moved here from Oklahoma.” She crossed her legs. “She and her husband have always been nice people, they smile when you see them and such.”
“Did it ever seem like they had any marital troubles?”
Lindsey got up to grab the tea kettle that had begun to whistle. “Green or black tea?”
“Green tea is fine. So, did you notice anything strange about Charlotte at all?”
“No, not really. Her husband is a really handsome stock broker.”
“Okay. Is he faithful? Have you noticed any strange women visiting their residence?”
Lyndsey blew on her chamomile tea and shook her head. “No, I haven’t. He’s a very nice man.” They almost always seemed that way on the outside, in Megan’s experience.
“How long has she been missing, Detective?”
The bitterness of Megan’s tea lingered on the center of her tongue. “The last time anyone heard anything from her was on Monday at work.”
Lyndsey stirred her tea and furrowed her eyebrows before asking, “Wait. She came home Monday night, I saw her come home and then a couple of hours later she left in a black dress. I thought she might be meeting her husband for a dinner date.”
“She went out on Monday?”
“Yeah, she was all dressed up like she was going on a date. I saw her husband’s car pull up maybe two hours after she left. I remember because I’d gotten up to make some tea,” she said, raising her cup in punctuation.
“Was she with him?” Megan asked, jotting down notes.
“I’m not sure.”
Megan drained the rest of her tea and smiled at Lyndsey. “Thank you so much for your time. I’ll see myself out.”
Megan walked through the living room to get to the front door, and the porcelain dogs and cats grinned at her as she shut the door behind her. It kind of creeped her out. She stretched once she was back outside and glanced around the neighborhood.
She didn’t see any of the other neighbors out and a sleek black car was parked in the Mortez’s driveway. Megan ventured over and rang the bell.
It was silent for a moment as the bell finished singing. She peeked through the windows that flanked the door and rang the bell again. This time, she heard faint footsteps and a dog barking.
The cream-colored door was pulled open and an English bulldog stuck its head out. “Well, hey boy. ?” She reached down and scratched the dog behind an ear.
She lifted her eyes and was met with the sweatpants-clad Mr. Mortez. For his wife to have such famed looks, he was an average looking man. He was on the shorter side, but lean. His long, black hair was like an oil slick falling just in front of his eye.
“Can I help you?” He coughed.
“Yes, I’m Detective Megan Lowe. I’m investigating the disappearance of your wife, Charlotte. May I come in?”
His eyes lit up with hope and he nodded with vigor. “Yes, please. Can I get you anything, Detective?”
The living room was decorated with a sleek, modern look. Megan invited herself to a seat on a small suede loveseat. “I’m fine, your neighbor just gave
me some tea.”
Mr. Mortez sat on the sofa across from her. The English bulldog jumped up into his lap, and he stroked his back while keeping his eyes on Megan. “Have you heard anything about her?”
Megan shook her head. “I’m just trying to connect some dots so far. So, Lyndsey said that on Monday night Charlotte came home for a couple of hours and left pretty dressed up. Did you guys have any plans?”
Mr. Mortez narrowed his eyes while he toyed with the bulldog’s ears. “ No, we didn’t. I came home from work at about nine, I fed Stuckey. When I woke up the next morning, she still wasn’t in bed. I thought that she had come home late from LoveConnect and then set out early the next day. Her boss, Gabriel, usually has her running errands during their busier periods.”
“Mr. Mortez, did you and your wife have a healthy relationship?”
He shrugged. “I think so. I mean, we have this nice house together and a dog. We both have pretty good jobs, and we don’t really fight.”
“No disagreements lately?”
“Not really, even when we do disagree on something we don’t fight. Charlotte will just become pretty distant and I wait for her to come back.”
Megan scribbled on her pad. “So, she does this often? Just leaves?”
“No. She’s never just left. She usually just stays later at the office and dives into her work so she doesn’t have to think about the problem.”
Why didn’t anyone at work mention that she was a workaholic? Megan stood up and stroked Stuckey’s forehead. “Well, thank you very much for speaking with me. If you can think of anything else, please don’t hesitate to call,” she said, handing him a business card. “I’ll let you know if I have any new information..”
“Thank you, Detective. I’ve been lonely without her, I just want her home safe.”
Megan nodded. “I’ll keep in touch.” She walked out of the front door and back to her sedan. I need to lay everything out, she thought, as she put the car in drive and headed toward the station.
After a half hour in traffic, she finally made it back to her office. She walked up the steps and waved at Georgina as she left for the day. She strolled to her department and to her messy station. I’ll organize everything else later. She wrote down all of the facts about Charlotte’s case that she had so far on large index cards. She laid each card out in the order she received the information on her desk.
Megan dragged her pen from the first notecard to the fourth one, formulating different hypotheses in her mind as she went. She called the husband’s work and they confirmed that he had been at the office until 8:45. She asked for their address and was able to determine that it would only take him about fifteen minutes to arrive home. His story seemed to check out.
So far, Lindsey was the last person to see Charlotte alive and she stated that she’d been dressed like she was going on a date. Megan had a hunch that this was the direction she needed to go in. Her husband had claimed that she often worked long hours. Perhaps she needed to start looking into a possible workplace affair. Wouldn’t be the first one she’d come across in her career. Chief Cole shut his office door and passed Megan’s desk on the way out. “Better get a lead on this case quick, Lowe. I’ll keep a patrol car warm for you.”
Megan slammed her hand down on the hard wood of the desk once he left. “I’ll tell you what you can do with that patrol car Chief.”
Chapter 3
“Hi? Yes, this is Megan Lowe. I’m a Detective, I came by the other day? No, no I cannot hold. Don’t put me on hold!”
Megan let her head fall on her desk and Georgina’s snickers could be heard from across the aisle. Clearly, the receptionist had no respect for authority. Megan spared her a glare and ended the call on her phone. In front of her, were 52 pages of phone records.
She had been skimming Charlotte’s phone records from three days before she went missing since dawn. Even the effects of the chocolatey coffee she had this morning began to wane, and she found herself losing patience. And sleep.
Charlotte Mortez had been missing for four days now. This clearly wasn’t a case of a wife who just needed a day or two away. At this point, foul play was definitely suspected. Megan rubbed her eyes and tried to refocus. Everyone, especially the chief, was just waiting for her to screw this up. She had to solve this case. Had to.
She sighed and peeled the corner of the reports and let her fingers walk her to the second to last page. “The night before she went missing she called her manicurist before the time she arrived at her home. Right before she left again, she sent a text to her boss?”
Georgina rubbed her shoulders. “Hey, at least you’re closer.”
“If I can’t even get past the damn receptionist, how am I going to get to the friggin’ CEO?” she nearly whined.
“I’m going to grab a coffee, do you want a refill?” Georgina asked, pointing to the empty paper cup. Clearly, she was feeling sympathetic toward Megan; at least for now.
“No, I need to see if I can get an appointment with the elusive Gabriel Geroux.”
Georgina nodded and headed out for lunch. Megan sighed again and dialed the number that the internet turned back for LoveConnect Corporate. This might be easier than going through that ditz at the switchboard.
“Hi, I’d like to make an appointment with Mr. Geroux.”
The voice on the phone said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Geroux is completely booked for the next six months.”
“That’s fantastic- I’m not trying to propose a business deal to him, I’m actually a Detective. I just want some information from him on his employee, Charlotte Mortez? She went missing earlier this week?”
“I can schedule you in for May?”
Megan’s fingers flexed and she squeezed her bright red stress ball. “I cannot wait until May, this is an investigation- she could be dead by May.”
“End of April okay?”
“No! No, it is not. What part of ‘I am a Detective and I’m investigating a missing person’ do you not get?” she yelled into the phone. Nothing but silence answered her.
Frustrated, she slammed the phone down on its cradle. She had to get in to see Gabriel Geroux. From what she could tell, he was the last person she’d talked to.
“I need a solid lead,” she said to herself. Chief Cole walked by and smirked. “I agree, Lowe. You’re going to need a real solid lead to find that poor woman because you clearly can’t rely on your skills alone.”
Megan stood up, ignored her boss, and collected the phone records, her notes, and her gun. “Here goes nothing.”
She drove down to LoveConnect Corporate and once she entered the building the high fashion receptionist waved at her.
“Oh, hello Detective Lowe! What can I do for you?”
“I just need to go upstairs and ask some more questions.”
“Sure! Who are you looking for? I’ll page them?” she was much more cooperative than before and it almost threw Megan for a loop.
Megan leaned over the desk and the directory was in view. “Mr. Geroux,” Megan mumbled.
“Oh, Mr. Geroux is all wrapped up-”
“Do you think I give a shit what Mr. Geroux is doing? A woman’s life is in danger.”
“I can’t just let you up to his office-”
Megan snatched the directory sheet and jogged onto the opening elevator.
“Miss! You can’t do that! I’ll be in so much trouble!” the receptionist howled as Megan punched in the top floor on the elevator. The doors slid open and Megan was released into a penthouse office. Glass windows sectioned off different rooms, and it was really more like a second apartment at work. She could see the tile of the kitchen peeking out from the entrance and if she looked to her left she would find a shower room.
“Hello?” she called out. She passed the shower room where she found another set of glass barriers. Behind those doors was a lush private office. The desk was an intimidating glass design and the camel colored leather chair swung back and forth just slightly.
&n
bsp; She cleared her throat. “Excuse me? I’m Detective Megan Lowe and I need to speak with Gabriel Geroux.” She tried to sound as authoritative as possible.
The chair swung around all of the way, and Gabriel’s harsh hazel eyes focused on her as he spoke into his phone, “Yes, I see her now. Looks like security wasn’t fast enough. No, it’s fine.” He ended the call and appraised her.
Megan had long, brown curls that fell down her back and around her shoulders. She was a petite woman, but she looked muscular under her suit. She was pear-shaped, with round breasts and if she turned around he’d probably get an eyeful.
“Megan Lowe,” he drawled. “What can I do for you, Detective?” he smiled at her and it came off as predatory.
Megan nearly shuddered as his eyes grazed over her. He was definitely a good-looking man, but something about him seemed a bit dark and dangerous. She wasn’t sure what kind of dangerous just yet, though. Was he ‘murder your employee’ dangerous, or ‘rip off your panties and bend you over his desk’ dangerous? She found that she had a really strong desire to find out. Before her facial expressions could give her away, she cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry if I’ve caused your employees any difficulties. I seem to have thrown some of them into a tizzy,” she said, trying to sound apologetic even though she wasn’t.
He shrugged. “They get like that. No worries, Detective.”
She nodded. “I’m here to ask a few questions about Charlotte Mortez?”
His expression darkened and he sighed. Megan made a mental note of his reaction. “Yes, I suppose this is unavoidable. What would you like to know?”
“Well, Mr. Geroux-”
“Please, call me Gabriel,” he interrupted.
“Very well, Gabriel. According to Charlotte’s phone records, you were the last person she spoke to. Can you tell me what that was about?”
Gabriel appraised her again, deciding how much he should admit. He knew enough not to out himself as Charlotte’s lover; it would make him the prime suspect. He also knew that if he gave too little information, he would look suspicious as well. Finally he gave his carefully considered answer.
“I needed her to drop off a contract for me early the next morning at the LA Note. I was just reminding her of that. Honestly Detective, Charlotte is one of my best employees, I’m quite concerned for her.”
