One Day Gone

by Luana Ehrlich

  “He’s the son of Malcolm Hayes of Hayes Energy, but instead of joining the family business, Charlie went into law enforcement. A few years ago, he got promoted to detective in the St. Louis Police Department, and when Malcolm heard the deputy investigator position was open, he suggested I take a look at Charlie.”

  “How long has he been a detective?” I asked.

  “About five years.” He gestured over at the computer on his desk. “I’ll email you his resume.”

  I detected a note of anger in Lockett’s voice. “I’ll also need a copy.”

  “Oh, sure. I was planning to discuss this with you today, but then this business with Lizzie came up.”

  “You said you offered him the position,” I said, hoping there still might be a chance for me to hire my own deputy. “Has he given you an answer yet?”

  “Yes, Charlie called me last night and accepted my offer.”

  Without a doubt, this day had definitely become my worst nightmare.

  Chapter 4

  When I walked out of the senator’s office with Lockett, he pointed across the hall to his own office and said we needed to talk.

  He didn’t get any argument out of me.

  After taking a seat on his sofa, I said, “The senator’s pretty shaken up, isn’t he?”

  “Anything that affects his kids tends to unnerve him, but I guess that’s true for most parents.”

  “How well do you know Lizzie? Is it possible she just took off and didn’t tell her friends? College kids can be very irresponsible. I should know. I did a lot of stupid stuff in college.”

  Lockett, who was seated across from me in a leather club chair, shook his head and said, “I believe that would be out of character for her. Of course, I’m no expert on the girl, but according to the senator, she’s a very dependable person. When I worked with her on the senator’s campaign, she was very reliable.”

  Lockett seldom said anything critical about the senator, so I should have known he would have been reluctant to say anything derogatory about the senator’s daughter.

  While I wasn’t sure this aspect of Lockett’s personality was due to his military background, I was fairly certain his clothing choices were.

  Today, he was wearing a dark blue suit—his usual attire.

  He had several blue suits, but they were basically the same color as the dress blues of the Air Force, and along with his ramrod stiff posture, they gave him a military bearing.

  That image was further enhanced by his neatly trimmed beard and his military-style haircut—a short crew cut on top and closely-cropped hair on the sides.

  Although he was about my height—a little over six feet tall—he followed a regular exercise routine, drank protein shakes every day, and had a lot more muscles than I had.

  Exercise was a big deal to him.

  Me, not so much.

  Perhaps the only flaw in Lockett’s appearance was his rectangular wire-rimmed glasses.

  It wasn’t a flattering style for his square-shaped face, and in my opinion, it added several years to his appearance.

  When I first met Lockett, I gauged him to be at least fifteen years older than me. But then, about a year ago, when I heard Jenna telling someone it was Lockett’s 55th birthday, I found out he was just ten years older than me.

  After hearing it was Lockett’s birthday, I left the office and returned a couple of hours later with four tickets to a Washington Redskins football game.

  I placed the tickets inside a coffee mug bearing the team’s familiar logo, and later that morning, I presented him with the tickets, along with the mug.

  He seemed genuinely touched by this gesture.

  Perhaps it was because he knew I hated the Washington Redskins.

  * * * *

  Now, as Lockett continued describing his observations about Lizzie, I saw him glance up at a display case containing his military memorabilia.

  “Lizzie’s a lot like the senator when it comes to wanting to know the truth about something,” he said. “I believe that’s why she chose journalism as her major.”

  His gaze drifted back over to me again. “If she decided to go off by herself for a few days, then I’m betting she’s doing research on a story for The Columbian.”

  “She works for the school newspaper?”

  “She’s one of their reporters. In fact, she called me about six months ago and asked me to verify information on a piece of upcoming legislation that could affect Missouri voters. She was writing a piece for the newspaper about it, and she didn’t stop asking me questions until I gave her all the details.”

  Suddenly, I realized I’d been so surprised by the morning’s events, I hadn’t even asked the senator some basic questions about his daughter.

  Overlooking such an elementary aspect of conducting an investigation wasn’t like me, and I was sure my dad would have been shocked by my incompetence.

  “I’ll need a recent photograph of Lizzie, along with her address in Columbia,” I said, trying to make up for my ineptitude.

  Lockett nodded. “I’ll have Jenna send you a photograph, along with an up-to-date resume on her.”

  “I’m telling you, Nathan, by the time I get there, she’ll be back in her apartment.”

  “Let’s hope that’s true. If that’s the case, you can be on the next plane back to D.C.”

  “Right. Except that as long as I’m there, I’ll have to stop in and say hello to my parents.”

  “Oh, sure, I understand that, and if you need to tell them why you’re in Columbia, that’s not a problem. The senator says he doesn’t want any publicity about his daughter’s missing status, but I’m not sure he really means that. You know how much he loves the media.”

  “If she’s really missing, they’ll get wind of it soon enough.”

  “He’s prepared to hold a news conference if that happens.” He glanced down at his watch. “I’ve got fifteen minutes before I have to leave for my lunch appointment. I think that’s enough time for us to talk about Charlie Hayes.”

  “Don’t tell me you weren’t shocked to hear the senator offered the position to the guy.”

  He tilted his head toward the ceiling. “I probably should have anticipated this. As you know, the senator loves to spring surprises on his Senate colleagues.”

  “It doesn’t sound like Charlie has enough experience to run a homicide investigation, much less an investigation on a Presidential nominee.”

  “You’re probably thinking the senator agreed to hire him because Malcolm Hayes is one of his biggest supporters, but the senator’s got great instincts about people, so maybe that’s not the case.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  Lockett looked amused. “Don’t forget, Mylas. You didn’t have much investigative experience, and yet the senator hired you.”

  “That’s true, but I’m pretty sure what I learned from my father was more beneficial to becoming an investigator than what this rich kid learned from his father.”

  “Even so, it sounds like Charlie chose police work over having a cushy job with Hayes Energy.”

  I shrugged. “Okay, I’ll try to keep an open mind about him, but it won’t be easy telling Leslie Irving she’s out of the running to be our deputy investigator.”

  “She was certainly a good candidate.” He gave me a knowing grin. “I can understand why she made it to the top of your list.”

  I smiled. “Well, Noah Phillips was also impressive. I imagine either one of them would have been an asset to the R & I Group.”

  Lockett stood to his feet. “Think of it this way. This is your chance to mentor Charlie Hayes the way I’ve mentored you.”

  “I guess that means I should take him to an NFL divisional playoff game and cheer like crazy for the Redskins while they annihilate his favorite NFL team the way you did with me.”

  “By all means. That’s exactly what you should do. You learn a lot about someone when you see what makes them cry.”

  * * * *


  When I left Lockett’s office, I walked down Corridor A to the reception area, where I took a right turn and entered Corridor C.

  Since Jenna was on the phone, I simply waved at her as I passed her desk. Actually, I was glad to see she was occupied. Otherwise, I would have had to stop and chat, and I didn’t have time to do that now.

  With my sudden change in plans, I needed to get to my office and make some phone calls.

  My office was located at the end of Corridor C, but I didn’t head there just yet. Instead, I stopped and knocked on the door next to it.

  The nameplate said R & I Group, Data Specialist, Nina Rivers.

  “Enter at your own risk,” Nina said.

  She wasn’t kidding. Her office was an accident waiting to happen.

  Although there were plenty of filing cabinets along one wall, Nina had cardboard boxes and stacks of files everywhere. Added to this chaos was a bunch of office equipment.

  Nina loved office equipment—printers, scanners, fax machines—you name it, she had to have it.

  Then, there were her computers.

  Nina had a twelve-foot-long credenza against one wall dedicated to computers. It contained three large computer monitors, along with a couple of laptops.

  She was staring at one of the screens when I walked in, but she immediately swiveled her chair around and smiled at me.

  “Hi, Mylas. Aren’t you supposed to be having lunch with the senator?”

  “There’ll be no Cobb salad for me today. I’ve been given a reprieve.”

  “I can’t believe the senator cancelled his Tuesday lunch. What’s up with him?”

  “Lizzie is missing.”

  When I saw the startled look on her face, I quickly added, “At least, that’s what he thinks. Lizzie’s roommate said she didn’t come back to her apartment last night, and now he’s sending me to Columbia to look for her.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. Nathan has me on a five o’clock flight.”

  I dropped my briefcase on the floor and sat down in the only empty chair in the room. “I’m betting she turns up before I land.”

  Nina was in her early 50s, had curly red hair, the bluest eyes I’d ever seen, and was a foot shorter than me. When I’d met her, I’d commented on the color of her eyes, and she’d immediately given me the statistics on the rarity of having red hair and blue eyes.

  I admit I’d been impressed, but I’d forgotten the statistical percentages the minute I left the room.

  I wasn’t into numbers.

  On the other hand, Nina was definitely into numbers.

  And statistics.

  And data.

  And assessments.

  “I don’t know, Mylas. I wouldn’t discount the fact something horrible might have happened to her.”

  “I really doubt it.”

  She pointed her pencil at me. “Do you know how often women are assaulted these days?”

  I listened politely as she rattled off the statistics.

  “You’re right, Nina,” I said. “When I talk to the police about other females in the area who’ve been reported missing, I’ll also ask them about recent female assault cases.”

  “Why would you ask the police for that information when I can get those reports for you?”

  “You’re busy gathering data on Judge Woodard. I couldn’t ask you to run down information on a missing person.”

  “It’s not a problem.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll get right on it. Do you need anything else? What about Lizzie? Is there any information you need on her?”

  “Nathan is sending me Lizzie’s resume. I’ll forward it to you, and you can work your magic on it when you have time.”

  “I’ll do it right away.”

  I stood to my feet and grabbed my briefcase. “I really appreciate this Nina. I couldn’t do this job without you.”

  She gave me a big grin. “Truer words were never spoken.”

  * * * *

  After leaving Nina’s office, I walked across the hall and took a peek inside Floyd’s old office. The sign on the door said R & I Group, Deputy Investigator. Floyd’s nameplate had already been removed.

  When I noticed that, I suddenly realized I’d forgotten to mention anything to Nina about Charlie Hayes joining our investigative team.

  Since it had been one of the reasons I’d stopped by her office in the first place—the other was getting her to help me—my forgetfulness was probably Freudian.

  On a subconscious level, I still hadn’t let go of my desire to see Leslie Irving sitting behind Floyd’s old desk.

  As I glanced inside the room and saw the empty bookshelves—devoid of Floyd’s old baseball paraphernalia—I suddenly realized how shabby the wooden desk looked.

  If Leslie had agreed to come to work for the senator, I would have insisted she pick out a new executive desk better suited to her more sophisticated style, and I would have paid for it myself.

  I also would have offered to replace the oversized leather office chair, even though it was less than a year old. Although it had been a perfect fit for Floyd’s physique, it would have swallowed up Leslie’s diminutive figure.

  As I shut the door and headed to my office, I decided when I made the call to Charlie to welcome him to the R & I Group, I wouldn’t offer him the chance to order new office furnishings.

  After all, a desk with a few nicks and scratches on it shouldn’t bother him all that much him since he’d spent the last several years as a SLPD homicide detective.

  I felt good about my decision, although I didn’t feel so good about making that welcoming call to him.

  When I walked in my office, I decided to put it off for a few days.

  * * * *

  My office was almost double the size of the other two offices in Corridor C, although it wasn’t nearly the size of Senator Allen’s office, and the view certainly wasn’t as spectacular.

  Nina had pointed out my office was divided into thirds.

  A small seating area was on the left side of the room near a set of double windows, and my desk and credenza were located in the middle section of the room. A rectangular conference table, with seating for six, was on the right side, a few feet away from my desk, and next to it was a door that led to my private bathroom.

  There was a stack of mail sitting on my desk, but before I went through it, I pulled out my cell phone to call Leslie Irving and cancel my appointment with her.

  I hadn’t decided whether to use the we’ve-made-the-decision-to-go-in-a-different-direction rejection line, or whether to tell her I would have hired her in a minute, but my boss managed to pull the rug out from under me and offer the position to someone else.

  Of course, there was a third option, a more appealing option.

  I could tell her something had come up, and I needed to reschedule our appointment. That way I could see her again, although I’d have to give her the bad news eventually.

  I decided to go with the third option.

  I’d entered the first three digits of Leslie’s phone number on my cell phone when my office phone rang. More specifically, my private line rang, the one Jenna didn’t answer.

  When I glanced down at the telephone console, I picked up as soon as I saw the Missouri area code because I figured one of my parents was calling me.

  “Is this Mylas Grey?” the male voice asked.

  “Yes. To whom am I speaking?”

  “Charlie Hayes. I hope you don’t mind, but I asked Senator Allen for your private number. I wanted to call and tell you how much I’m looking forward to working with you.”

  “Ah . . . no, I don’t mind. The senator just informed me you’ll be joining our team, and I’d planned to call you in a few minutes and welcome you to the R & I Group.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

  “Are you in town now?”

  “No, I’m flying to Washington tomorrow so I can take a look at some apartments. I was hopi
ng to rent a townhouse, but I heard those were hard to find.”

  “You heard right.”

  “I told the senator I wouldn’t be able to start work until next Monday, but I thought I’d drop by and meet you while I’m in town.”

  “Our data specialist, Nina Rivers, will be here, but I have to be out of town tomorrow. I expect to be back in the office in a couple of days. Give me your phone number, and I’ll call you when I get back.”

  Once he gave me his number, I said, “I haven’t had a chance to look at your resume yet, Charlie. Tell me a little bit about yourself. What’s your background?”

  “Well, the short version is I got my criminal justice degree at Rutgers University. After I graduated, I joined the St. Louis Police Department, where I was a patrol officer for six years before becoming a criminal investigator in the homicide division.”

  “You have a criminal justice degree from Rutgers?”

  “That’s right. My dad is an alumnus of Rutgers. He wanted me to get my law degree from there and then come to work for him at Hayes Energy. There was only one problem with that plan.”

  “Let me guess. You didn’t want to go to work for your old man.”

  “You got that right. I wanted to be a policeman. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do ever since I was a kid. When I graduated from Rutgers, I finally had a heart-to-heart talk with my dad, and after that I joined the police force.”

  “What made you decide to become a homicide detective?”

  “I discovered it was the investigative side of police work I enjoyed the most. I like interviewing witnesses, interrogating suspects; that sort of thing. You probably know what I’m talking about.”

  “Yeah, but the investigations we do around here don’t usually involve a dead body.”

  He chuckled. “No, I guess not, but that’s one of the reasons I told the senator I’d be interested in the deputy investigator position. I’ve seen enough dead bodies in the last five years to last a lifetime. I’m hoping investigating a live human being won’t be as depressing.”

  Throughout the conversation, I’d been looking for some excuse not to like Charlie Hayes, but so far I hadn’t found one.