One Day Gone

by Luana Ehrlich

  “He’s actually a very nice guy.”

  “You said, ‘I think everything will be okay.’ What did you mean by that? It sounded a little ominous to me.”

  She let out a short laugh. “Yes, after what you’ve been through, I suppose it does, but I didn’t mean it to sound ominous. Derek called to let me know he was laid off from his job, and he wanted to get my advice about what he should do next. I’m sure he’ll be able to get another position soon, and that’s why I said, ‘I think everything will be okay.’ ”

  “What does he do?”

  “He’s an architect, so it shouldn’t be that hard.”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to suggest Derek make an appointment with a career counselor or perhaps consult a headhunter, but instead I made a comment about how hard it was to be without a job—not that I would know anything about that—and how I understood why he would want to talk to her.

  “You’re an easy person to talk to, Whitney. I’m sure he’ll feel better after he sees you.”

  At that point, Whitney changed the subject, or maybe the subject she brought up was related to her seeing Derek next week.

  I really wasn’t sure.

  “When do you plan to fly back to Washington?” she asked.

  “Unless the senator wants me to stick around here, I’ll probably fly back on Monday.”

  I wanted to ask her when she planned on seeing Derek, but I decided I was finished talking about Derek.

  “Are you still okay about having dinner with me tonight at my parents’ house?”

  “Yes, I am. I can’t wait to meet your parents, and needless to say, I can’t wait to spend time with you again.”

  That was music to my ears, and I told her I’d pick her up at her house at five-thirty.

  After hanging up, I considered calling Nina and asking her to see what she could find out about Derek the architect.

  It might be a little harder for her since Whitney hadn’t told me Derek’s last name. I knew if Nina had his last name, she could come up with a full background check on the guy by the end of the day.

  She’d done it for me before when the people involved didn’t have anything to do with the R & I Group.

  This time, though, I was having second thoughts about it.

  Would I want Whitney to sneak around behind my back and try to find out things about Paige or one of my previous girlfriends?

  The answer was obviously no.

  I knew very little about the Bible, but I knew one of the teachings of Jesus was that we should do unto others as we wanted them to do to us, and here I was, barely twelve hours after promising to obey his teachings, and I was already ignoring one of the basic principles he’d taught his disciples.

  Although I remembered Whitney telling me I should think of myself as a baby when it came to living out my faith, I had a feeling it might be a long time before I made it into adulthood.

  However, I took solace in the fact I hadn’t made that call to Nina.

  Despite that, Derek the architect kept messing with my head the rest of the day.

  Chapter 30

  Whitney and I arrived at my parents’ house, just as Curtis was pulling his SUV into the driveway, and as soon as his kids saw Whitney waving at them, they ran over to give her a hug.

  Heather immediately reminded them to give their Uncle Mylas a hug too, but only ten-year-old Benjamin actually gave me a hug.

  Both of their teenagers, Joshua and Elizabeth, shook my hand.

  After Heather and Whitney walked into the house together, Curtis and I stood in the driveway and talked for a few minutes.

  He asked me how Lizzie was doing, and a couple of questions about how I was able to find her, but then he told me he’d been surprised to hear I was bringing Whitney to dinner.

  “I don’t know why you’re surprised,” I said. “You told me I should ask her out, and I’ve always followed your advice.”

  “Yeah, right. Since when?”

  We both laughed, and then he said, “It’s nice to see you smile, Mylas. I was actually a little worried about you when you dropped by the office the other day. You seemed pretty anxious; maybe even a little irritated.”

  “That’s probably because I didn’t want to be here in Columbia, and I didn’t think I’d have much success finding the senator’s daughter.”

  “It only took you three days to find her. I’d call that a success.”

  “Would you believe the night I took Whitney to dinner, she figured out something that helped me solve the case? Without her insight, I’m not sure I would have found Lizzie that quickly.”

  “Sure I believe it. Whitney’s not only very creative, she’s also very smart. I’m glad the two of you have hit it off.”

  “I admit it, Curtis. I like her a lot.”

  “She’s had her share of tragedies, but she’ll be the first to tell you it’s her faith in God that keeps her going.”

  I suddenly realized I might be able to find out more about Derek the architect from Curtis, but I didn’t want to be too obvious about it.

  “Whitney told me she’d recently broken off a relationship with someone. I believe she said the guy’s name was Derek. Do you know anything about him?”

  “His name is Derek Davis, and he’s an architect. That’s about all I know. I’ve met him before, but he doesn’t go to North Point. I believe he goes to the Baptist church downtown.”

  Curtis had a tendency to describe people in terms of their church affiliation, but since I usually described people in terms of their bank accounts, I suppose I couldn’t fault him for that.

  “Any idea why she broke up with him?” I asked.

  “Hey, you two,” Dad said, as he stuck his head out the door and motioned us inside, “come on in. Your mother’s almost got dinner ready.”

  As we walked inside, Curtis gave me an amused smile. “That sounds like a question you should ask Whitney.”

  * * * *

  I found Whitney in the kitchen. If dinner guests offered to help out in the kitchen, Mom always let them, but I always suspected it was because she enjoyed seeing how well they followed her instructions.

  Whitney was making a tossed salad, and Heather was placing hot rolls in a breadbasket. As this was going on, my mother was carving the roast beef while she was carrying on a conversation with them.

  “Hi, Mom,” I said, when I walked in the kitchen and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Don’t work these ladies too hard now.”

  “Oh, Mylas,” she said. “I’m so glad you found that poor girl. I can’t begin to tell you how many prayers I’ve said for her.”

  “I know, Mom. I’m sure that’s the reason we found her.”

  She gave me a funny look, but I headed down the hall toward my dad’s study before she said anything. My intention was to put his gun back in his safe, but when I walked in the study, I found Elizabeth, Curtis’s daughter, curled up in the leather recliner reading an eBook on her cell phone.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know anyone was in here,” I said.

  “That’s okay. I don’t mind.”

  I walked over to the closet and entered the code for the gun safe. Once I’d removed the weapon from the side holster and placed both of them back in the safe, I turned around and headed for the door.

  Before I got there, Elizabeth asked me a question.

  “Are you dating Whitney?”

  I paused in front of the recliner. “I guess you could say that. We’ve been out a couple of times.”

  “Where did you take her?”

  “Arturo’s Steakhouse.”

  “That’s a nice place. My girlfriend’s brother took his date there on Prom Night. Where else did you take her?”

  “Ah . . . let’s see. We went for a drive up at Finger Lakes State Park.”

  “Why?”

  “Because . . . ah . . she wanted some photographs of the fall foliage.”

  “Well, that was a cheap date.”

  “You’re right. I guess I sh
ould try and make it up to her when we go out again.”

  “Oh, definitely. I know she enjoys going to concerts. You might want to try that.”

  “It sounds like you know Whitney pretty well.”

  “She was my camp counselor last summer at church camp. That was when she was dating Derek, but he never took her to a concert. She told me he only likes to go to football games.”

  “Is that right? Well, I’m a big fan of concerts.”

  Our discussion was interrupted when Curtis came in the study and told us dinner was ready. He seemed surprised to find me in there carrying on a conversation with Elizabeth.

  After she left the room, I said, “I have a feeling your daughter may have inherited some of our mother’s personality.”

  “There’s no doubt about that, and speaking of our mother, I believe Whitney passed her inspection. She made the tossed salad exactly the way Mother told her to make it.”

  “You mean she tore the lettuce into bite-size pieces?”

  “You got it.”

  * * * *

  The formal dining room in my parents’ house was large enough to accommodate a dining table that seated twelve people, a china cabinet that took up an entire wall, and a fireplace with a mantle.

  It was one of my mother’s favorite rooms in the house, and for this occasion, she’d brought out her best china, along with her crystal water goblets.

  She sat at one end of the table—the end nearest the kitchen—while my dad sat at the opposite end. Whitney and I were seated on the right side of the table, nearest the fireplace, and Elizabeth was seated next to Whitney.

  Curtis and Heather, along with Joshua and Benjamin, were seated on the left side of the table in front of the china cabinet.

  Once everyone had taken their places, my father clinked on his water glass with his fork to get our attention.

  “Your mother and I are feeling so blessed tonight to have our family gathered around our table. And, Whitney, your presence here at this meal is a blessing as well. Thank you for joining us. Now, I’d like to thank the Lord for our food.”

  As everyone started to bow their heads, I said, “No, Dad, I’d rather you not ask the blessing over the food tonight.”

  Suddenly, heads popped up and every eye turned in my direction.

  My dad looked angry. “Look, Son, I know you don’t—”

  I cut him off.

  “The reason I don’t want you to ask the blessing tonight is that I would like to be the one to ask the blessing.”

  I looked over at Whitney who gave me an encouraging smile.

  “I know this may come as a shock to all of you,” I said, “but last night, with Whitney’s help, I prayed and asked God to make me a Christian. I believe he did that. I still don’t know how to pray very good yet, but, if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask the blessing tonight.”

  I’m not sure what kind of response I was expecting from my announcement, but the one I got surprised me.

  My dad’s eyes filled with tears; my mother got out of her chair and came around the table and hugged me, and Curtis sat across from me with a silly grin on his face while he kept repeating the words, “Thank you, Lord,” over and over again.

  As for everyone else around the table, I’m not sure what they did or said, because I was trying my best not to become emotional.

  Once the excitement had subsided, my father blew his nose on his napkin—much to my mother’s embarrassment—and said, “Mylas, would you like to ask the blessing on our food tonight?”

  “I would be honored.”

  Later, all I could remember about my prayer was that it was extremely short, and at one point, I thought I heard Benjamin giggle.

  * * * *

  While my mother was a great cook, and the food was delicious, what I enjoyed most about the meal was having Whitney by my side.

  As I was driving her home afterward, I told her as much, and she said, “That’s very sweet, Mylas. I’ve enjoyed being with you too. You have a wonderful family, and I hope you realize how much they’ve been praying for you to come to faith in Christ.”

  “I can’t say I realized it until tonight. I suppose I should have; it just never crossed my mind.”

  “You may see a lot of things differently in the days to come.”

  “At the moment, I’m trying not to think too much beyond the present. I admit the prospect of flying back to Washington on Monday and not being able to see you isn’t something I want to think about right now.”

  “Have you ever considered moving back to Columbia?”

  “Only in a negative context.”

  She didn’t have any reaction to my statement, and neither one of us said anything until we arrived at her house.

  “I have a suggestion,” I said, after I walked her to her door.

  She smiled as she looked up at me. “I’m always open to suggestions.”

  “Why don’t you plan to come to Washington soon?”

  She stared at me. “Uh . . . you mean to see you?”

  I nodded. “Yes, to see me, but I’d also like to take you sightseeing, and I’m sure you’d enjoy attending a concert at The Kennedy Center.”

  When I saw the look of excitement on her face, I kept on going.

  “There’s always a party happening somewhere in the D.C. area. We could attend several of those, and I know you’ve never had a tour of the Capitol Building like the one I’ll be able to give you.”

  “I’ve never been to Washington before.”

  “Well, there you go then. You could stay with me; I have plenty of bedrooms, and I guarantee Mrs. Higbee will make an incredible fuss over you. You might even enjoy meeting the people in my office. I know I’ll enjoy introducing them to you.”

  “Who’s Mrs. Higbee?”

  “She’s my housekeeper. Sometimes she acts like she’s my mother, but I usually just ignore her because I know she has good intentions.”

  “You live in a much different world than I do, Mylas.”

  I reached over and took her hand. “You’re right, I do, but I’m asking you to come to Washington and be part of my world for a few days. Would you be willing to do that?”

  She stood there looking down at her feet for a minute without saying a word. Finally, she looked up at me and said, “I’m honored you’d asked me to come to Washington, Mylas, and I accept your invitation.”

  I bent down and kissed her softly on the lips. “I’ll be counting the days until you get there.”

  Never The End, Always A Beginning

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Although many people have given me support and encouragement in the process of writing One Day Gone, first and foremost, I wish to thank my husband, James, and my daughter, Karis, who have never failed to uplift me with their prayers, strengthen me with their love, and bolster me with their confidence.

  I also wish to thank everyone who’s given me advice, made suggestions, offered comments, and answered questions about everything from police procedures, to lawyering, to working on cars, to photographing small children.

  A special word of gratitude goes out to Lenda Selph, my incredible editor, and to all my beta readers, whose eye for detail continues to provide me with invaluable insight. You’re the best!

  Last, but not least, I’d like to thank all my faithful readers who never stop asking, “When is your next book coming out?” You are my inspiration, and the reason I stay up writing past midnight.

  A NOTE TO MY READERS

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading One Day Gone, Book I in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series. If you enjoyed it, you might also enjoy my other series, The Titus Ray Thriller Series, featuring CIA intelligence officer Titus Ray.

  You’ll find an excerpt from One Night in Tehran, Book I in the Titus Ray Thriller Series, on the pages that follow. All Titus Ray Thrillers are available in print, eBook, and audiobook on Amazon here.

  The next book in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series is Two Days Taken, due for releas
e in December 2020.

  Would you do me a favor and post a review of One Day Gone on Amazon? Since word-of-mouth testimonies and written reviews are usually the deciding factor in helping readers pick out a book, they are an author’s best friend and much appreciated!

  Would you also consider signing up for my newsletter? When you sign up, you’ll be offered the opportunity to download One Step Back, the prequel to the Titus Ray Thriller series, for your Kindle device. You can sign up here.

  One of my greatest blessings comes from receiving email from my readers. My email address is author@luanaehrlich.com. I’d love to hear from you!

  Blessings,

  Luana

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Luana developed her passion for spy thrillers and mystery novels at an early age, but she didn’t begin writing her series of Titus Ray Thrillers and Mylas Grey Mysteries until her husband retired from the ministry. Now, she writes from an undisclosed location, trying to avoid the torture of mundane housework, grocery shopping, and golf stories. However, she occasionally comes out of hiding to visit with her two grandsons or to enjoy a Starbucks caramel macchiato.

  Besides being an award-winning author, Luana is a freelance writer, minister's wife, and former missionary to Costa Rica and Venezuela. In addition to being an avid reader, Luana is also a news fanatic, following events around the world on a daily basis, particularly the Middle East. She and her husband are long-time residents of Norman, Oklahoma. She loves to hear from her readers! Email her at author@luanaehrlich.com.

  BONUS EXCERPT

  One Night in Tehran,

  Book I in the Titus Ray Thriller Series

  PROLOGUE

  In far northwest Iran, a few minutes after clearing the city limits of Tabriz, Rahim maneuvered his vehicle onto a rutted side road. When he popped open the trunk of the car to let me out, I saw the car was hidden from the main highway by a small grove of trees. In spite of our seclusion, Rahim said he was still anxious about being seen by a military convoy from the nearby Tabriz missile base.