by F J messina
The atmosphere above Magee’s was quite pleasant, with wood flooring, exposed brick walls, and ceiling beams. Unfortunately, being a semi-finished attic, the slightly adequate heating and cooling system left a lot to be desired. Cheap rent and the smell of Magee’s baked goods floating through the vents were its only redeeming qualities─other than a great location, right on East Main Street.
The front half of their space had been turned into two offices with wood and glass walls, each with a window that looked out onto East Main. Sparsely decorated─old desks, comfortable desk chairs, simple padded chairs for clients─each office subtly featured a picture of Sonia and Jet at a shooting range. The message to clients was obvious. The back half of the space had been set aside as a waiting area.
It was almost ten forty-five when Sonia took a seat at her own wooden desk, smaller and a bit more modern than Jet’s. She, too, used an old armoire to create some sort of closet space in her office. Just before eleven, her phone sang out its silly version of The Star-Spangled Banner, a point of frustration for her at times, since it was Jet who had changed the ringtone on Sonia’s phone. Recently, however, Sonia had come to enjoy the subtle reminder of her relationship with her partner. Looking at the phone, she knew it was Brad calling. “This is Sonia Vitale, famous TV detective. How can I help you?” There was a smile on her face.
“Wow. This must be my lucky day. How’s it going, babe?”
Sonia loved the sound of his voice. “Better, now that you’ve called. What’s up?”
“Well, I’ve been at my desk since seven o’clock this morning and I’m thinking it’s time for a little break. I saw the light on in your office. Want to come downstairs for a cup of coffee?”
Just thinking that he’d looked out of his own office window and across the street to hers, Sonia could feel her heart warm. “Strangely enough, I had to skip my normal coffee run in order to catch the TV interview this morning . Just give me a minute to finish this one task and I’ll be right down.”
“Yes, ma’am. See you in a minute.” She loved the sound of his smile.
Sonia dropped one last piece of information into a file and stood to leave. As she did, she looked up and saw a man standing at the very back of the waiting area. Wearing plain, loose-fitting jeans, he had on a tee shirt bearing some sort of logo and held a faded, red ball cap in his hand. He was not tall; surrounded by the bare brick walls, he seemed even smaller. “Can I help you?”
The man walked to the door of her office. When he spoke, it didn’t surprise Sonia that she heard the rhythms and accents of a man whose native tongue was Spanish. “Are you Ms. Vitale?”
“I am. How can I help you?”
He spoke quickly, with great intensity. “My daughter. My daughter is missing. One night she was right here, with me at the restaurant. The next day she was gone. I don’t know where she’s gone, why she’s gone. I need your help. Can you help me?”
Sonia’s heart flipped at the thought of a missing daughter, any missing daughter. She sat back down. “Please, come in sir. Have a seat. Just give me a moment, would you?” She pulled out her phone and sent Brad a text. NEW CLIENT. WON’T BE THERE TIL 11:15 OR LATER. CAN U WAIT?
Sonia put the phone down on her desk. “Now, sir. Can we start from the beginning? Your name is?” She reached for a pen and pad.
As he answered, Sonia took in his plain clothing and simple manner. “My name is Francisco Castillo, but everyone calls me Paco. My daughter’s name is Mariana, and she’s missing now more than two weeks. I’m very, very worried.”
“And what makes you think your daughter is actually missing? I assume you’ve tried to contact her?”
The man clasped his hands, rubbing them together. “Oh yes. I’ve called over and over. She doesn’t answer. She doesn’t call back.” He sighed.
“And you’ve gone to her home?”
“Of course, Ms. Vitale, of course. She was not there. Nothing looks strange in her apartment.” He shrugged sheepishly. “I have a key.”
“And her car?”
“No,” he shook his head again. “Not there. It’s gone, just like her.”
“And have you been to the police, Mr. Castillo?”
“Paco. You can call me Paco. Yes, of course I went to the police. And they said they are searching, but they haven’t found anything. Not her. Not her car. Nothing.”
“And how old is Mariana?” Sonia was working hard at staying relaxed, exuding a professional calm that would help this new client tell his story accurately.
He looked up. “Twenty-six. She just turned twenty-six. His eyes brightened just a bit. She’s very beautiful and a nice girl.”
Sonia wrote as she spoke. “So, she’s twenty-six and missing. Is she married?” She looked up. Paco Castillo just shook his head.
“Do you think there’s any chance she’s just decided to go somewhere? Gone off with some friends, or to meet someone?”
“That’s what the police asked, too, but no, I don’t think so.”
“You know, Mr. Castillo,” Sonia tried to ask her next question as gently as possible, “a lot of women meet men on the internet these days. Any chance she’s been in contact with someone and has just, I don’t know, set up an opportunity to meet them in person?”
“You don’t understand, that’s not the kind of girl she is. She’s very reliable, and smart, too. She went to that school just north of Midway.”
“Midway University?”
“No, that one is in Midway. The other one, Mayweather College. It’s more out in the country.” There was pride in his voice. “She studied the horses.”
“You mean she was in their equine research program?” Sonia had stopped writing.
“Si. Yes.”
Sonia knew both schools were well known for equine studies. “Well, that’s a very prestigious program.” She smiled broadly. “You’re right. She must be smart. And is she still in school?” She made another note on her pad.
“No.” He reached for his wallet. It was fat and well-worn, over-flowing. “She graduated three years ago. See? Here.” He held out a worn photograph, his somewhat delicate hand shaking subtly. “It’s a picture of the whole family at the ceremony. We were all very proud.”
Sonia could see the depth of his pride as it radiated across the man’s face. Before she could respond, however, her phone cooed like a pigeon. “I’m so sorry. Give me just a second Mr. Castillo, would you?” She looked at the text. BE WAITING, COFFEE IN HAND, CROISSANT ON PLATE.
Sonia smiled and turned back to the man, his eyes looking down at the floor, clearly not wanting to intrude. “So, what does Mariana do now? Is she working with horses?”
Again, his face lit up. “Oh yes, she works at Downstream Farm out on Ironworks Pike.”
Sonia smiled. “How nice. What does she do out there?”
The man shrugged again. “I don’t really know. Helping to breed horses better or something like that.” He wagged his finger. “She’s no stable hand. She knows a lot about the horses. She does important work.”
Sonia nodded. “And everything is going well for her out there?”
“Si. Si. They like her very much.” He was almost smiling. “And she is so happy. She tells me how lucky she feels. Lucky to have gotten such a good job and still be close to her family.”
“And you, Mr. Castillo─”
“Paco.”
“Yes, Paco. Where do your work?”
“I work at Papi’s.” He gently pinched a tiny section of his tee shirt and stretched it, showing off the logo on its front. “It’s a Mexican restaurant here in town, on Euclid avenue, right above Charlie Brown’s.”
“Oh. I think my partner eats lunch there sometimes.” Sonia could hear, in her memory, Jet regaling her with stories of sumptuous Mexican meals she had eaten there, usually with an ample supply of margaritas to wash them down. “And you said she was at the restaurant with you the other night?”
“Yes. Yes.” He became more animated. “I am a ser
ver there and she said she was stopping by to see me, just to say hello.”
“And was that unusual?”
“No. She did that every once in a while.” His energy didn’t lessen. “We don’t get to see each other a lot. She works early in the day. I work at night. So, it’s nice when she stops in to see me there. Of course, sometimes she sees her mother and me at home, but you know, the people who work with the horses. They don’t have a very regular life.”
Sonia thought about her first year out of college. She had lived at home with her folks. It wasn’t the best, but she had fond memories of being surrounded by her family. She leaned forward on her desk. “Mr. Castillo, you say that the police are investigating her disappearance. Do you think they’re doing everything they can?”
His eyebrows rose and he leaned forward, putting his hands on Sonia’s desk. It was as if he was going to say something─something angry. Then he collapsed back into the chair, his energy slipping away. “I guess . . . but they are busy with many other things. After the first few days, it felt like they were just moving on to something else.” His energy, his voice, rose again as he sat up taller. “Still. She is a good girl. She wouldn’t just disappear. She wouldn’t do that to her mother. I told them that. I did.” His frustration hung in the air. Finally, his eyes fell to his lap. “Maybe they are just waiting for something to happen. Then they’ll look hard again.”
Sonia paused for a moment, knowing there were clear limits to what the police could do in the case of an adult who might be missing. Still, she could sense the pain in Francisco Castillo’s heart. She sighed. “And what makes you think that I, uh, we can help?”
The man brightened, looking directly into Sonia’s eyes. The shift in his energy was palpable. “You are the ladies that were on TV this morning, right?” He smiled. “You went after those other people and you found out about the man who died. I think you must be very special.”
Sonia was flattered that he had seen her and Jet on TV. Still . . . . “Mr. Castillo, it’s just that I don’t know that we can do anything the police can’t do.”
“Por favor, please. I don’t know who else to turn to. And my Mariana, she’s out there somewhere. I know she is.” His eyes became red and watery. “Who would hurt a beautiful young woman like her?”
Sonia brushed a wisp of hair out of her face as she thought. “Tell me again, Mr. Castillo─
“Paco.”
“Yes, Paco. What is it that you think the police haven’t done?”
Paco Castillo looked at her blankly. “I don’t know, Ms. Vitale. I only know that when I talk to them all they say is, ‘Be patient, Mr. Castillo. We’re doing everything we can. Something will turn up.’ There must be something, something else you can do.”
Sonia sat silently, taking a long, hard look at the broken man. “Okay . . . Paco. Let me talk to my partner and see what she thinks.”
“The lady, Jet?” His voice had perked up.
Sonia smiled. “Yes, the lady, Jet. Let’s see if she thinks we can be of assistance. Here, write your phone number down on this notepad and I’ll call you later this afternoon.” She pushed the pad across her desk. “And just know that I really want to help. I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for you.” She smiled. “Just let me talk to Jet. We’ll put our heads together and try to come up with a plan that can help us find your daughter for you.”
Sonia watched as Mr. Castillo stood up and walked out of her office, bowing slightly as he said goodbye. She had thought of him as smallish when she had first seen him. Now she believed some of that impression came from the great weight he was carrying. She hoped that one way or the other she and Jet would soon be doing everything they could to help this father find his missing daughter. They just had to.
4
After Mr. Castillo left, Sonia sighed, stood up, and walked through the empty waiting area. Pulling on her cloche hat for one last wearing before the weather became too warm, she pushed the ancient exterior door open and stepped onto a small landing. She looked straight down the old wooden stairs that went directly to street level. It was those steps, plus the steps to her apartment over a garage on Central Avenue, that sometimes drove her crazy. However, on a bright sunny day, and going down instead of up, the stairs didn’t seem much of a burden to her at that moment. Shortly, she was at the bottom of those steps and turning into one of the three places in town in which she felt most at home─Magee’s Bakery.
Magee’s had been around since 1956. It was an inviting environment, with brick interior walls, high raw-wood ceilings, a beautiful stained-glass sign, and one of the most engaging, full-wall murals Sonia had ever seen. More importantly, the room was filled with wonderful aromas, hot coffee, warm pastries, and friends.
Most mornings, before going up to her office, Sonia would stop in Magee’s. She was almost always greeted from behind the counter by Hildy, an older woman in her eighties who had worked there for years. “Almond croissant and a small coffee?” Hildy would ask. “As usual,” Sonia would reply and her day would be off to a pleasant start.
There was no need for that this morning, however, since she knew Brad Dunham had already gotten her coffee and an almond croissant and was waiting with those treats at a corner table near the front windows. Sonia thought back to how, just weeks ago, Brad had been an almost mythical figure to her─former Marine, proprietor of Semper Fi Investigations. She remembered having had no desire whatsoever to be in contact with “Mr. Hotstuff.” She remembered as well, however, that when she’d come to believe that the death of a local horse farm owner had not been what it seemed, he had been willing to help, willing to “do the right thing.” During the course of those investigations, she’d learned that he was not only a former marine but that he had been assigned to NCIS for many years.
Sonia smiled as she walked to the table at which Brad was seated, khaki pants and a white polo shirt giving him a crisp professional look─professional, but relaxed. His closely cropped brown hair fit the image, while his rugged face and bright blue eyes set him apart. She sat down. “What, no croissant for you, Captain Dunham?”
“Sorry, Ma’am. You know how we PI’s have to keep ourselves in tip-top shape.”
Sonia tore off a tiny piece of her croissant and brought it to her mouth. “Oh, and that’s why you’re plying me with hot coffee and a warm pastry? So I can stay in tip-top shape?” She popped the morsel into her mouth and grinned.
“Listen, sweet thing.” His smile was warm and inviting, “There’s nothing that can interfere with your staying beautiful, especially when you’re out there pounding out three-mile runs all the time. And,” he turned both of his hands upward, “should there be just the tiniest bit of slippage in that regard, I’m sure we can find some other physical activity that could work off any excess calories.”
Sonia liked the way Brad played. “Very clever. But I’m afraid I’m not really in the mood right now.” Her countenance had changed.
“Why, babe? Something wrong?” His face and voice reflected her shifting tone.
Sonia stirred her coffee then took a careful sip. “It’s that new client who came in unexpectedly this morning. The one that made me late getting down here.”
“What about him?” Brad’s voice was protective, almost accusatorial.
Sonia shook off his concerns with her hand. “It’s his daughter. She’s twenty-six years old and missing.” She took another sip. “It seems she graduated from that equine research program at Mayweather University, just north of Midway. Now she works at Downstream Farm. She’s been gone over two weeks and the whole family is going out of their minds.”
Brad swallowed a sip of his coffee as well. “He’s been to the police, I assume.”
“Yes, of course. But you know how it is. Once they’ve gone through the usual procedures to find a missing person . . . .” She raised her shoulders in a tiny shrug.
“Yeah.” Brad swirled the coffee in his cup. “They ask around, go to her apartment, the last place
she was seen. They put out a bolo alert, you know, ‘be on the lookout.’ After that, they just have to watch the electronic notifications to see if anything comes across the wires about the missing person being involved in an activity that caught somebody’s attention.”
Sonia nodded, her voice soft. “Right.”
“Look,” Brad shrugged, “it would be different if she were a suspect in a crime.” He put down his cup, his energy level rising slightly. “Then they’d be looking at credit card usage and all those kinds of things. But in a case like this, they’ve got to start from the premise that the girl had every right to just get up and go.” He raised an eyebrow before he spoke again. “And she’s an adult. They’re actually constrained by a lot of privacy issues.”
Sonia took a small bite of her pastry, then a sip of her coffee. “I know that. I could have told him so. But he, the dad, wants us to find her. He’s convinced that something bad has happened to her, but it’s obvious that he’s also convinced that she’s out there somewhere.”
Brad looked at Sonia with his bright blue eyes. They seemed just a little cold. “I don’t know. We’re so busy. We’ve got two different clients who need help with research on legal cases. That work pays big. And I just got a call from an old client up east. I may have to go do some work for him. All that’s going to keep us busy, really busy.”
“Us?” Sonia squinted. “Were you thinking we would work those cases together?”
“Of course.” Brad gave her his best smile. “Didn’t I say the other day that I’d have to hire you and your technology skills to work with me at Semper Fi?”
Sonia’s face didn’t respond in kind. “Well, in passing you did. I didn’t think you were serious.”
“Of course I was serious.” There was a bit of surprise in his voice. “We’re together now, aren’t we? We’re a couple, right?”
