“You need to leave,” the receptionist said angrily. Isabella was so scared she was trembling when she gathered her purse to leave. She nodded at the receptionist and quickly left the building. When she got into her car, her phone started to ring. As she picked up the phone to answer it, she recognized the number on the small screen as being nearly the same as the one she had dialed for the state police. She dropped the phone, because her hands were shaking so hard. It had to be Detective Harding finally calling her. She burst into tears. Oh God, what was she going to do? She started the car and pulled out, narrowly missing another car.
She had to get herself under control. She pulled back into the parking spot and wiped her eyes. When she finally stemmed the flood of tears, Isabella turned back onto the road toward her motel. Then she remembered she needed to get to a pharmacy first. She needed supplies to take care of her ankle, so it didn’t get infected. When she got into her room, she started trembling again. She couldn’t seem to stop. What was she going to do? She had to help the Velarde family. She hadn’t felt this out of control since her parents died six years ago when she had just turned nineteen.
After taking care of her lower leg, Isabella doused her face with cold water in the sink. She looked like a wreck. Her skin was ashen. She had dark circles under her brown eyes. Her long brown curls were frizzy because she had no conditioner to use this morning, and her eyes were bloodshot from crying. As she studied her disheveled image in the mirror, Isabella thought, “You don’t look like the type of woman who could take care of anyone or anything.” But then she squared her small shoulders, set her fine jaw, and straightened herself, because she knew that simply wasn’t true. She’d done a lot in her short life, and she was proud of her accomplishments. She had a good mind, and she would figure something out. But she had better figure it out fast.
* * * *
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Pierson, what do you mean that Isabella has disappeared?” Leif Johansen asked in a quiet voice. Leif tried to appear nonthreatening, but the look on Shirley Pierson’s face told him that he wasn’t doing a good job.
“Shirley, what my surly friend is trying to say, is that we’re concerned, that’s all. And of course, we’d like to help.” Caleb gave her a very friendly and reassuring smile that immediately put the older woman at ease.
“I’ve already tried to put in a missing persons report, but the police wouldn’t let me.” The woman who had always seemed so confident and in control sounded defeated.
Leif couldn’t believe it. He and his partner Caleb Samuels had shown up yesterday to start renovations on the school lunchroom. They had noticed Isabella’s absence, but didn’t ask about it then, assuming she was out sick. They were volunteering hours at the school for disenfranchised and homeless children because it was a good cause, but mostly so they could spend some time getting to know Isabella Camarena. They had heard the other two teachers talking about her unexplained absence today during lunch, and came to ask the school administrator about it.
“Isabella called and left a voicemail after midnight Monday night saying she was ill, and would not be at work for a couple of days. That was unlike her. She has never called in sick.”
Leif breathed a sigh of relief. It was like he and Caleb had suspected. Isabella was home sick. But then Shirley continued talking.
“When I got in on Tuesday morning, I couldn’t get ahold of her. I tried to contact her repeatedly throughout the day. After school, I went by her apartment, and no one was there.” Leif looked over at Caleb, every sense on high alert. That just wasn’t Isabella. She wasn’t the type of woman to lie to her employer to take unplanned time off.
“I’ve tried reaching her on her cell phone, but she doesn’t answer. So I went to the police. They won’t start a missing person’s report, because she had called in sick, and they said that proves she had left voluntarily. She has a second job at Murphy’s Truck Stop. When I called there, I found out she hadn’t notified them that she was going to be absent, and they fired her. The police still maintained that the fact that she left me the voicemail proved this wasn’t a missing person’s case.”
“Murphy’s Truck Stop?” Caleb asked in an incredulous tone. Leif didn’t blame him, the diner on the 510 Highway was a dive.
“Isabella works there as a cashier from 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. to supplement her income. Unfortunately this school can’t afford to pay teachers a living wage. I was amazed when she had quit her post at the private school to come to work for us here.”
“She works until 1:00 a.m. every day? At Murphy’s?” Leif glared at Caleb.
“Focus!”
“So she didn’t call Murphy’s to say she wasn’t coming to work, she just didn’t show up. That was Monday night?” Shirley nodded. “But the police won’t file a report, because sometime after midnight Tuesday morning she left you a voicemail saying she was ill and wouldn’t be in for a couple of days.”
“That’s correct.” Leif watched as Shirley folded her hands and rested them on her desk. He saw the betraying tremor, and he knew the older woman was very upset, but then so was he.
“She wasn’t at her apartment on Tuesday afternoon, and you couldn’t reach her on her cell phone.”
“She also wasn’t at her apartment yesterday, Wednesday, when Belinda and I went over there.”
“So why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Leif all but snarled, and then remembered to smile when Caleb’s elbow hit him in the ribs. Shirley watched the byplay and wasn’t fooled in the slightest.
“Look, it just didn’t occur to me. I know you have…well, shall we call them romantic intentions toward Isabella?” she asked, arching her eyebrow. Both men looked at one another and nodded at the administrator.
“Let me be clear. Just because you’re sniffing around doesn’t mean you have any rights where she is concerned. This is a matter for the police,” she finished with a tone of authority.
Leif mentally counted to ten. He was surprised at himself. He was a career military man, so maintaining control and patience is what he had been trained to do all of his life. This situation, however, was killing him. “Mrs. Pierson…Shirley. I don’t care whether Bethany, Isabella, or Belinda turned up missing. You should have mentioned this to us. You know we were here as bodyguards to Olivia Prescott when she was here a few weeks ago. You also know that we have the perfect backgrounds to assist with something like this. You have our numbers. Why didn’t you call?” Leif kept his tone calm and reasonable.
“Do you want me to be frank?” her voice was sharp, her look steely. Caleb immediately jumped in before he could respond.
“We wish you would, Shirley, because we’re very concerned and I think you know that time is of the essence.”
“Fine, I’ll tell you. I think you are both much older than Isabella. I think she would be out of her depths getting involved with the two of you and I didn’t want her indebted to you.” Leif watched as she crossed her arms over her ample bosom. He really didn’t know how to respond, and he prayed that Caleb knew what to say.
“Shirley, we realize that what we want in a relationship with Isabella is unorthodox. But haven’t we proven ourselves to be good and honorable men over the last few weeks? We would never do anything to force our attentions, and that includes coercing someone.” Then Leif watched as Caleb’s charm took a little bit of a nose dive. “Ma’am, if you had a problem with us and our intentions, that’s understandable. But putting one of your teachers, any of your teachers, at risk because of your concern is unacceptable. Considering that one of your teachers could be in harm’s way, I don’t think that you behaved responsibly, do you?” And here was Caleb’s dark side on full display. He was a man who had commanded a Special Forces unit and whose ire made grown men want to wet themselves. Leif kept his smile on the inside, as he saw the school administrator lose some of her starch.
“I think you’re right, Caleb. I should have called you as soon as I realized something was wrong, no matter my reservations. You, too, Lei
f. Please accept my apologies. But, I still want you to know that I think the world of Isabella Camarena and I do not want to see you men playing fast and loose with her. She’s an innocent young woman, and you’re at least ten, if not fifteen years older and certainly worldlier than her. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Mama, we have no intention of playing fast and loose with your chick. You have our word on it. And that’s the word of two retired officers of the United States Army.” Caleb reached out and shook her hand. As Shirley eyed him carefully, Leif took a moment to look at Caleb to see what she was seeing. He was a thirty-nine-year-old African American male who was six foot three, easily two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle, with a bald head and a smile that set the hearts of women of all ages aflutter. Leif had been watching Caleb Samuels work his magic since they were fifteen years old. Hell, he had been watching a different version of it when they were six, and he was just a cute kid who got away with murder, and now was no different.
Shirley took his hand and shook it, with a smitten smile. Yep, score another one for Caleb Samuels. When she turned to Leif, the smile was gone. He knew why. He was considered the iceman. It was his Nordic looks. His mom and sister were always telling him to smile, but that just didn’t come easily to him, and this particular situation was only making him progressively more frustrated and angry.
“Look, Shirley, I’m serious. I would be concerned if it was any of the women that worked for you. However, Caleb and I are interested in Isabella and we have been coming here to see if we can get her to go out with us. We have been trying to take things slowly with her. We understand that she needs a softer approach. But you’ve been wrong not to get us involved.” Again he kept his tone even and mild, despite his anger.
“Yes, I was wrong not to consult you. I see that now. Let’s go into my office, and I’ll tell you everything that I wanted to tell the police.” They followed her into her small office. Caleb sat down in the chair, while Leif remained standing near the door.
“Shirley, have you called her landline?” Leif asked. “Maybe she’s checking messages there.”
“She doesn’t have a home phone, only her cell, but she carries it with her always. She even provides the numbers to the children, even though I tell her not to, but she does. Anyway, since she’s been missing, my calls have been going to her voicemail.”
“Does it go straight to voicemail, or does it ring first?” Leif wanted to know.
“It rings first.”
“It could be she’s ducking your calls.”
“But why would she do that? She knows I’m worried about her.”
“She doesn’t lie well, does she, Shirley?” Caleb stated it as a fact, and when Shirley nodded, he continued. “Then she probably needs her phone turned on. However, she doesn’t want to answer your calls because there’s something she doesn’t want to tell you and she knows she can’t lie to you.”
“But she knows I would only want to help her,” Shirley was clearly confused.
“She’s in over her head, and she doesn’t want to get you involved.” Leif saw it all clearly now. Isabella was the woman who left a good paying job at an exclusive private school to come work for next to nothing at a school for homeless kids while working at some crappy diner part-time to make ends meet. Now it appeared that this same Isabella would not hesitate to dive headfirst into something crazy, probably for the sake of these students she was willing to sacrifice so much for, without getting others involved. Fuck. He looked over at Caleb, who turned his head at that moment and nodded. Good, they were on the same wavelength, as usual.
“When you went to her apartment did you see her car?”
“I didn’t see her car, so I think she took it with her.”
“Give us her address,” Leif said, and Caleb turned and glared at him. “Please.” He added. Shirley looked from Leif to Caleb and then back to Leif again and shook her head. Leif understood that head shake, having received it often enough from his mother.
“Look Mrs. Pierson…Shirley. I…” he looked over at Caleb, who nodded. “We think that Isabella could be in real trouble. She’s not the type of woman to leave without providing an explanation. The police’s hands are tied. They can’t start searching for her, because she left you that message. Caleb and I can and will.”
“Incidentally, gentlemen, why do you have so much time on your hands? I’ve been meaning to ask you that since you’ve started volunteering here at the school. I understood that in the beginning your work here served as a cover to act as bodyguards to Olivia Prescott while her life was in danger. That made sense. But, spending time here after Olivia’s troubles were resolved and she left doesn’t make sense. What exactly do you gentlemen do for a living?” Yep, she was definitely reminding him of his mother.
“Shirley—” Caleb began.
“I would prefer that Mr. Johansen answer the question,” she said as she gave Leif a steely-eyed glare.
“Shirley, have you ever met my mother? Her name is Ilsa Johansen and she lives over in Fate Harbor. She’s very active in many charitable organizations, and you seem to have similar conversational styles.” Leif was a little relieved to see a tiny spark of laughter soften Shirley’s eyes, but she still stared expectantly at him.
“Caleb and I retired from the army a year ago. We’re building an auto body and restoration shop in Fate Harbor. We’re going to be partners with Caleb’s dad.”
“Shouldn’t you be onsite ensuring that it’s being properly built?” Shirley asked.
“One of my dads is a retired construction foreman. He agreed to come out of retirement to oversee this project.” Leif watched as Shirley took in the fact that he had more than one father. He watched her reaction carefully, and noted the exact moment when she decided to deal with her questions directly.
“What do you mean by dads?”
“I mean that my mother married two men,” Leif answered evenly.
“Then my assumption that both you and Caleb are interested in Isabella together is correct?”
“Yes, ma’am, that is a correct assumption.”
“I’m not sure that Isabella is worldly enough for such a relationship,” Shirley said in an almost kind voice. It was as if she was trying to let him down gently.
“Ma’am, that’s not your call to make. What’s more, that isn’t really what’s important at the moment. You asked me why we had time on our hands to search for Isabella. I believe I have sufficiently answered your question. I also think that the military training Caleb and I share, along with our ability to work as bodyguards should convince you that we can handle any situation that Isabella may have gotten herself into. Now I’ll ask you again, what is her address? Also, what information did you plan to provide to the police?”
Shirley looked at him for a couple of beats, and then finally nodded. She opened her desk drawer and drew out a file. “This is Isabella’s employment file. It contains her employment application. There are three sheets of paper containing all the information that Bethany, Belinda, and I could think to provide. We don’t think that Isabella made any real friends at Murphy’s. Unfortunately, she was looked down on because of her accent.”
“Probably her skin tone, as well,” Caleb added.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Shirley said sadly. Leif bit back an oath. He really didn’t like thinking of Isabella working in a place where she was subjected to discrimination on a nightly basis, besides the risks inherent in such a job. “Anyway, this is everything I’ve gathered for the police. Hold on and I’ll make a copy of it for you.” She left them in her office while she went to the copy machine.
“I don’t like the sounds of this,” Leif said to his friend.
“You and me both,” Caleb agreed. “I think our Isabella is into something way over her head. I’m betting it has something to do with her students. You know how involved she gets with them. I think we should ask Shirley which ones haven’t been back to school during the same time frame that Bella’s been
gone.” Leif was once again impressed with the way that Caleb’s mind worked. Isabella was always involved with the homeless and itinerant school children. Especially the children of the farm laborers who moved frequently, as she would often work with them early in the morning and late in the afternoon to catch them up when they had long periods of missed schooling after working with their parents in the fields.
Isabella also provided lesson plans for the children to take with them in both English and Spanish, so that they could work on them while following their parents from crop to crop along the Pacific coast. Caleb was right, it was extremely likely that Isabella’s disappearance had something to do with these children. What didn’t make sense is why she wouldn’t talk to talk to Shirley, unless she was doing something dangerous and didn’t want to worry and or involve Shirley. Anyway Leif sliced it, it just upped his blood pressure.
As soon as Shirley came back to the office, Caleb told her their suspicion. She agreed and pulled out her attendance records. Unfortunately, there were fifteen children who hadn’t shown up to school since Isabella had been missing. Of those fifteen, nine were still gone. Though she gave Leif and Caleb their names, there was only contact information for two of them. As Caleb and Leif left, they promised Shirley they would keep her informed on their progress.
Chapter 2
Food. She could at least get them food, milk, diapers, and anything else she could think of that they might need. Isabella didn’t want to attract attention, so she didn’t go into the small center of town. Instead she went to the large shopping center on the outskirts of Wilama. She had plenty of money. She lived extremely frugally. Her parents had taught her that, so when she had received a substantial life insurance policy upon their death, she immediately put it into CDs and other types of money market accounts. She was young and healthy, so she could work. She didn’t need much, so she contented herself to live in a small apartment.
Isabella's Submission [Fate Harbor 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 3
