The Vanishing

by Jana DeLeon

  * * *

  MAX DUHON HANDED A BOARD to his brother Holt, who was up on a ladder replacing a rotted section of roof trim on his little cabin on the bayou. “It doesn’t sound like much of a case,” Max said.

  Holt held the board in place with one hand and secured it with his nail gun with the other. “It’s not sensational or meaty, no, but Alex agreed to take the case, and you’re the only one available at the moment to handle it. She’ll bring you a folder tonight, but what I told you is the gist of it.”

  “But the entire case is based on Alex’s opinion of someone else’s opinion. That’s hearsay in court. Why in the world is it good enough for you to launch an investigation?”

  “The client meets our criteria. She suspects something has happened, and the police won’t open an investigation. The client is credible, even if the missing person is questionable.”

  “And if it turns out to be nothing but a loose woman taking an unscheduled weekend with her latest passing fancy?”

  Holt climbed down the ladder and placed his nail gun in its case. “Then we’ve still solved the case and earned our fee. We find answers here, Max, and the answers don’t always have to be criminal in nature. Turning her away would be going against the very reason we opened the agency in the first place.”

  Max sighed. “I get it. I just don’t know how much more I can do than what the police have already done.”

  “Talk to the client and try to find a new line of investigation. Poke around into things the police wouldn’t have bothered with—question classmates, see if she had a favorite hangout.” Holt clapped him on the shoulder. “Do what you do best. If anyone can ferret out an answer on this, it’s you.”

  Max picked up the ladder and followed Holt to the storage shed. He wished he had as much confidence in his abilities as his brother did. Maybe that was why Alex had assigned him a relatively straightforward, boring and safe case. Maybe they didn’t really believe he could handle the work, either. Not now.

  The old Max was invincible…indestructible. At least that’s what he’d thought.

  The bullet wound ached in his shoulder as he lifted the ladder onto the rack in the back of the shed—a constant reminder of what had happened.

  Of his failure.

  Chapter Two

  The knock on Colette’s apartment door sent her into a nervous flurry. Holt’s brother was right on time, but despite a sleepless night, she still didn’t have a single thing to add to the information she’d already given Alex. She smoothed the wrinkles out of the bottom of her T-shirt and took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly, before opening the door.

  Then sucked it back in when she saw Max.

  She shouldn’t have been surprised by the prime male specimen in front of her. After all, Holt was an attractive man, but his brother was a work of art. The dark hair, finely toned body and beautifully tanned skin were an equal match for Holt, but the chiseled facial features and turquoise eyes belied a Nordic mother. It was a masterful combination of DNA.

  “Colette Guidry?” he asked, his voice as smooth and sexy as his appearance.

  “Yes.”

  He stared at her for a couple of seconds. “Can I come in?”

  “Oh, yes, of course.” Colette opened the door and allowed him to pass, flustered that she’d completely lost her sense and her manners. “I’m sorry. I just feel so scattered.”

  He stepped inside her apartment and glanced around the open living room, kitchen and dining area. Colette got the impression that he was sizing her up, both by her own appearance and by that of her home. For a moment, she bristled, but then remembered he was a career cop. His mind probably automatically shifted to such things if he was working, and she could hardly fault him for assessing her when she was paying for his natural ability to do just that in the first place.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked. “I just made a fresh pot of coffee.”

  “That would be great.”

  “Have a seat,” she said and waved a hand at the kitchen table. “How do you take your coffee?”

  “Black.”

  He slid into a chair at the table, and she poured two black coffees and carried them to the table. “I guess Alex filled you in on everything?” she asked as she took a seat across from him.

  He nodded.

  “I know it’s not much, and given Anna’s past, it’s probably less than anything, but I can’t help but think something has happened.”

  “You care about her, so you’re worried,” he said simply. “I’m here to get you answers.”

  His words were meant to be comforting, and Colette didn’t doubt their sincerity, but something in the tone of his voice made her think Max considered this entire case a waste of his time, which only strengthened her resolve. Regardless of Max’s opinion, she’d paid for his services and she was going to get her money’s worth.

  “I’ve thought about it all night,” she said, “but haven’t been able to come up with anything I didn’t tell Alex.”

  “It’s hard to know what may be important. Likely, you’ll think of things as I move through the investigation.”

  “Where would you like to start?”

  “At her apartment. I know the police went through it, but they would only have looked for signs of a crime. Since we have to assume at this point that she left of her own accord, I want to look for things that might tip me off as to where she may have gone and for what reason.”

  Colette nodded. “Now that I’ve had the police out, I don’t think the landlord would have a problem letting us back in.”

  “Us?”

  “Yes. The landlord isn’t likely to let you in without me. She’s very particular about the rules.”

  He frowned. “I suppose it’s all right for you to accompany me to her apartment.”

  “Actually, I’ve taken some long-overdue vacation time. I intend to accompany you everywhere.”

  His jaw dropped then clamped shut and set in a hard line. “I can’t allow that.”

  “I wasn’t aware that I had to have permission when I’m footing the bill.”

  “It’s a matter of safety,” he said, not bothering any longer to hide his frustration. “If Anna is in some kind of trouble, then the investigation could be dangerous.”

  “Then I guess it’s good you’ll have a medical professional with you.”

  * * *

  MAX CLIMBED INTO HIS JEEP, completely frustrated and with no outlet for expressing it, as the main source of his frustration was perched in the passenger seat. If he’d known he was going to be playing escort to an untrained civilian, he may have told Alex he couldn’t take the case. The young, shapely Cajun woman with miles of wavy dark hair and green eyes was the last thing in the world he’d been expecting.

  When Alex had described Colette as one of the head nurses where she used to work, he’d immediately formed a picture in his mind of an old, blue-haired woman with ugly white shoes and a perpetual frown. But there wasn’t a single thing about Colette that was old, blue-haired or ugly. Even in jeans, T-shirt and tennis shoes, and with her hair in a ponytail, she was still one of the sexiest women Max had ever seen, and he couldn’t help but wonder how those long legs would look without the jeans encasing them.

  She’s a hard-core, hardheaded career woman, just like Mother.

  And that was really where all train of thought came to a screeching halt, which was just as well. Max knew better than anyone that combining pleasure with work was a huge mistake.

  He shook his head to change his train of thought and get back to the business at hand. They’d talked to all of Anna’s neighbors at her apartment building but gotten only the same story: Anna was a quiet, polite woman whom they rarely saw. The search of her apartment had yielded nothing but more questions. Max hadn’t located a single thread of information that might give a clue as to why the young woman had left. She kept no diary, no notes and, oddly enough, nothing related to her past.

  It was as if she’d material
ized out of thin air two years ago on the streets of New Orleans. And that, in itself, was very suspicious.

  He could tell by Colette’s expression that she was also bothered by the lack of personal items in Anna’s apartment, but she wasn’t about to admit it to him. And apparently, it hadn’t changed her mind about accompanying him to the bank to see if they’d part with information on Anna’s bank transactions.

  “Don’t you need a warrant or something to get information from the bank?” Colette asked.

  “Usually.”

  Colette raised one eyebrow, clearly waiting for an explanation, but he didn’t feel like giving one. He may have to let her along for the ride, but that didn’t mean he had to consult with her on his actions or explain the way he worked. She was paying for an expert to handle the situation, and that’s what she’d get. Teaching wasn’t part of the job description.

  She was smart enough not to press the issue, but she still followed right behind him as he parked in front of the bank and went inside. A young woman in a glass office at the front of the lobby jumped up from her chair and beamed as he walked in the door.

  “Max,” she said and rushed to give him a kiss on the cheek.

  “Brandy,” he said, both embarrassed and flattered by the attention.

  “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  Max glanced around the lobby and was happy to see all the other employees and customers were out of hearing range. “I need your help,” he said and explained the situation to her.

  Brandy’s eyes widened and her mouth formed a small O. When he finished, she nodded and gestured toward the office she’d come out of earlier. Colette and Max stepped inside and took seats across the desk from Brandy, who sat down and immediately started typing.

  “There’s been no other activity on the account since the withdrawal last Friday, but there’s only thirty dollars left in the account.”

  “What about the month before that?” Max asked. “Is there anything unusual that you can see?”

  Brandy scanned the screen, shaking her head. “It all looks like normal stuff—a check for rent, automatic draft for utilities and Netflix, and a couple of small cash withdrawals—never more than twenty dollars at a time.”

  “Can you tell where she made the withdrawal on Friday?”

  Brandy nodded. “Let me look up the branch number associated with the transaction.” She typed in some numbers and then said, “It’s located on Highway 90 close to Old Spanish Trail, northeast of New Orleans.”

  Colette sucked in a breath. “That’s on the way to the village where Anna’s from. But she said she had no family left there.”

  “Maybe she lied.”

  Colette frowned, and Max knew she wasn’t happy with the thought that the girl she’d invested so much in had been lying to her all along. “Maybe so,” she said finally.

  “Can I get a printout of the transactions and the address of that branch?” Max asked.

  “Of course,” Brandy said.

  Max felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket and pulled it out to check the display. “It’s Holt,” he said. “Excuse me for a moment.”

  He left the office and stepped outside onto the sidewalk in front of the bank. “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Alex got a call this morning from the morgue at West Side Hospital outside of New Orleans. They have a body that matches Anna’s description.”

  Max’s heart sank.

  He’d known there was a possibility that Anna had met with foul play, but he’d really been hoping for a happy ending for Anna and Colette.

  Unfortunately, it seemed that the worst-case scenario was visiting the investigation before he really got started.

  * * *

  COLETTE WATCHED AS BRANDY stapled the printouts together. The girl was certainly attractive and apparently knew Max well enough to risk being fired for what she was doing, but Colette couldn’t help but think she was a little too young for him. She couldn’t be over twenty at the most.

  Whatever the status of Max’s relationship with Brandy, it was none of her business, but that didn’t prevent her from wanting to know. “You’re not really supposed to give out that information, are you?” Colette asked, figuring she couldn’t be faulted for the mostly innocent question, even if Max found out she’d asked.

  “No, but you want it for a good reason. Besides, I owe Max.”

  Colette wasn’t sure she really wanted to know the answer, but she couldn’t help asking. “Owe him for what?”

  “I wasn’t the most respectable teen,” Brandy said, looking a bit sheepish. “Max busted me with the wrong crowd three years ago in Baton Rouge but agreed to let me go if I would go back to school and ditch my troublemaking friends. He lied to his captain and told him I got away while they were rounding up the others. If anyone had found out, he probably would have been fired.”

  “Wow. That was really nice of him.” And totally not the answer Colette had expected. So far, she’d seen only the hard-nosed-cop side of him.

  Brandy smiled. “You know how he is.”

  “No…actually, I just met him this morning.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. It’s just that you two looked nice together. I guess I figured you were together.”

  “No, we—”

  Before she could explain, Max stepped back into the office.

  “We have to leave,” he said.

  Brandy handed him the printouts. “Let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”

  “I will. Thanks.”

  “I hope you find her soon.”

  Max nodded and left the office, but not before Colette saw something dark pass over his expression.

  “It was nice meeting you,” Colette said to Brandy and hurried out of the office behind Max.

  “What’s wrong?” Colette asked as soon as he pulled the car away from the bank.

  His jaw flexed and a wave of fear washed over her. Whatever he was about to say, Colette knew it wasn’t going to be something she wanted to hear.

  “Alex got a call from the morgue at West Side Hospital.”

  Colette felt the blood rush from her face. “Oh, no!”

  “I need to take you over there. You’re the only one…”

  “Yes, of course.” She stared out the windshield as he made the twenty-minute drive to the hospital, unable to believe it may all be over. That Anna could be inside the morgue on a cold slab of metal.

  Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d known that if things went horribly wrong, she’d have to be the one to identify her friend, but she was completely unprepared for it to happen in a matter of minutes.

  She felt as if she was almost out of her body as she walked into the morgue, Max close behind. Feeling numb, she waited while Max spoke with the clerk, who gave her a sad glance, then buzzed them through a secure door. A medical technician met them on the other side. He spoke to them, but Colette didn’t hear his words or Max’s reply.

  Anna’s gone. Anna’s gone. The cry repeated in her head.

  Finally, they stopped in front of a window with closed blinds, and the tech looked at Colette. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

  A chill washed over her and she crossed her arms over her chest. She felt Max’s arm encircle her shoulders. The warmth should have been comforting, but she was too numb to feel it. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then nodded to the tech.

  Every muscle in her body tightened as the tech opened the blinds. She took one look at the girl on the table and almost collapsed.

  Chapter Three

  “That’s not her,” Colette gasped. “Oh, thank God.”

  Everything hit her at once, and she began to cry. Max pulled her close to him and stroked her back. She buried her head in the crook of his shoulder and struggled to get herself together.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, as she broke free of the hug and took a step away from him, embarrassed that she’d fallen apart.

  “It’s okay,” he said.

  “I�
��m so relieved, and at the same time, it feels wrong to be relieved, because there’s another family that won’t be.”

  Max nodded. “Every time I had to bring bad news to a family, there was a tiny voice in the back of my mind giving thanks that it wasn’t my own. That’s not wrong. That’s human.”

  “Thank you. I thought I’d prepared myself that things may end this way, but I guess I was fooling myself.”

  “There is no preparation for someone close to you dying. If they’re younger than life expectancy and it’s not from natural causes, then that makes it a hundred times harder.”

  Colette studied him for a minute, struggling to hide her surprise. The empathy and understanding he shared with her was the last thing she’d expected from the hard-nosed, closed-off cop who had entered her apartment that morning. But then, Brandy’s story about Max had already alerted her to the fact that Max ran a lot deeper than what showed on the surface.

  Unfortunately for her, every layer she uncovered made him even more attractive than before, and falling for emotionally unavailable men was her Achilles’ heel. She needed to shut down her overly active imagination and focus on finding Anna. She couldn’t afford to be personally invested in the situation any more than she already was.

  “So what’s next?”

  “A visit to the bank where Anna made the withdrawal. I’m hoping I can charm them into letting us review the tape of the ATM, maybe see if she was with anyone when she withdrew the money.”

  “You don’t have a Brandy tucked away at every branch?”

  He grinned. “Unfortunately, no. I’ll have to wing this one.”

  “Then we better get going.”

  She started to move toward the exit, but he placed one hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” he said, “are you sure you want to continue this? Working with me, I mean? This isn’t really what you’re trained to do, and as much as I’m hoping for a good outcome, things could get more unpleasant.”