The Missing Piece

by Sala, Sharon

  “You can’t do that!”

  “I can and I will, and you won’t be able to say a word to the authorities without giving away the fact that you’ve been hiding money from the IRS,” she said.

  “Before you bother to answer,” Charlie told him. “One son of a bitch already hurt her this week, and you just gave her another bruise and her knuckles are bleeding.” Then Charlie yanked Doolin so close they were barely an inch apart. “If I ever see your sorry-ass face again in the city of Dallas, I will beat you to within an inch of your life.”

  Mack groaned. “I’ll quit. I choose the money, and I’ll be out of here by sundown. Is that good enough?”

  “You know the way out. Take it before I call the cops and get your license revoked,” Charlie said.

  Doolin ran.

  Wyrick hated to admit she was shaking and blamed it on adrenaline, but when Charlie tilted her chin so he could see the abrasion on her face, the urge to lean into his strength was so strong it scared her. She pushed him away.

  “I’m fine. He was a pain in the ass, but nothing I haven’t dealt with before. I’ve been dodging people like him off and on for the past ten years.”

  “Why?” Charlie asked. “Who is this company, and why do they want you?”

  And because she was so rattled, she finally dropped her guard.

  “Universal Theorem. UT for short. I used to work there. When I got cancer, they thought I was dying, so they no longer considered me of value and dropped me. When I survived, they wanted me back. That’s all.”

  Charlie had never heard of them—but then he’d never heard of Carter Dunleavy until he was hired to find him. He needed to get out in the world more.

  Carter had been quiet through all of this until he heard her mention UT.

  “Are you that good?” Carter asked.

  Wyrick froze. Charlie didn’t know squat about UT, but Carter obviously did as he revealed by asking that question.

  She shrugged it off. “Obviously. However, we need to save this for another time.”

  She gathered up what she’d dropped and put it inside her car, then got down on her knees. She found the tracking device he’d put under the front wheel well, another beneath the rear wheel well and one under her front bumper. She dropped them on the concrete and stomped them until they shattered.

  “I’ll meet you at the hangar,” she said, then jumped in her Mercedes and peeled out.

  * * *

  Charlie watched until she disappeared. He went back to get their luggage, loaded it into his Jeep. He said nothing until they were out of the garage and back on city streets.

  “Hey, Carter.”

  “Yes?”

  “What is Universal Theorem?”

  “Their public face is a think tank of some of the most brilliant minds in the world,” he said.

  Charlie thought about the abilities he’d witnessed over her time in his office, and wondered what other marvels she was hiding.

  “So what’s behind the public face?” Charlie asked, as he negotiated moving into another lane to take the next on-ramp to the freeway.

  “Oh, there are always rumors, but no one knows for sure, although I’m certain Wyrick does.”

  “What kind of rumors?” Charlie asked.

  Carter was silent for a moment. “Rumors about medical experiments. About gene-splicing and manipulating DNA, most of which is still illegal. But as you know, when you have enough money and power, you can rise above legalities. There was talk some years back that they’d sidestepped using lab rats and the like, and were experimenting on human embryos.”

  Charlie was silent, wondering how Wyrick fit into all of that, and was beginning to understand why she wanted nothing to do with them again. They’d left her to die and when she didn’t, they wanted her genius back.

  “That’s cold,” Charlie finally said. “And all kinds of wrong.”

  Carter shrugged. “But that’s all speculation and rumors.”

  Charlie nodded.

  Carter shoved his fingers through his hair. “I don’t have the words to express how much I appreciate all the effort you two are making on my behalf. I know I’m paying you, but I’ve paid thousands of people over the years to do jobs for me, and none of them have gone to the extent you have, Charlie Dodge. I won’t forget it.”

  * * *

  Miranda had cried for what felt like hours, until she was disgusted with herself for being this hurt. She wasn’t ugly. She wasn’t stupid. She could find someone else.

  She rolled off the bed and went into her bathroom to wash her face, grimacing at what she saw. Her eyes were red, swollen and streaked with black from the mascara she’d cried away. Her cheeks were tear streaked and puffy, so she began to clean herself up. Except that now, without makeup, she felt she looked like some long-ago European peasant woman with pink cheeks and a ruddy complexion. She made a face at herself and went back to her sitting room. She needed to eat something or she’d just fall asleep again. She called down to the cook, asked for soup and a sandwich, and then turned on the TV for something to do while she waited for her food.

  She channel surfed for shows to watch, but she never watched daytime television and had no idea what the programming was like. So she chose one of the local stations to see what was going on in Denver.

  As fate would have it, the first thing she saw was a picture of Jason’s face covering most of the screen and then some kind of update.

  Pissed off as she was, she still wanted to know what had happened, but when she heard “shot and taken to surgery,” she leaped up from the sofa, screaming as she ran.

  * * *

  Her father was outside in the greenhouse, working on one of his bonsai trees. He’d taken up the hobby years ago, and now the greenhouse was full of them.

  He had just taken a final snip from a lower branch of a miniature spruce when his cell phone rang.

  “Hello?” Then he heard his personal assistant’s voice.

  “Sir, I’m sorry to disturb you, but your daughter is in the office with me, very upset and calling for you.”

  Johannes could hear screaming in the background, and thought upset didn’t begin to describe what he was hearing.

  “I’ll be right there,” he said, giving the calm and beauty of his work a regretful glance before hurrying inside.

  Miranda was sobbing as she met him in the hall, and threw herself into his arms.

  “Father! Father! It was just on the news. Jason was shot! Gunned down in his car! He was taken to surgery. I have to go to him.”

  Johannes tore her arms from around his neck and then clutched her shoulders and shook her.

  “No! He discarded you. He used you and then dumped you. He treated you like garbage and threw you away, and he does not deserve one more minute of your life. No daughter of mine goes crawling back to a man who does this! No daughter of mine begs. Ever! Do you understand me?”

  Miranda was so startled that she sucked up her tears, hiccupped once and then stared at him.

  “What if he dies?” she whispered.

  “So what if he does?” Johannes snapped.

  “But, Father—”

  Johannes shook her again. “No buts. For once, you will act with dignity. We are not paupers. We do not need the Dunleavy name to matter in this world. I am the King of Sausages. I am enough. You are my daughter. You are enough. Go, and do not mention that name in our house again! Do you understand me?”

  Miranda nodded.

  “Make yourself presentable! Tonight I am taking you out to dinner. We will dress in our finest clothing and eat the best of fine dining. And other men will see you and want you. You do not chase after anyone. They come to you, Miranda! They come to you.”

  Miranda’s shoulders were smarting from his grip as she returned to her room. She was in shock. Her father had never spoken to he
r in such a way. He had never mentioned anything about her lifestyle, but it was obvious he had not approved. This was such a sobering moment that she gave up envisioning a mad rush into Jason’s hospital room and being the angel who pulled him back from the brink of death.

  Her food was likely in her room by now. She would have her soup, and then take a nice long bubble bath and relax. Later, she would go to dinner with her father. She still believed in miracles. Maybe one would happen tonight.

  * * *

  Wyrick drove like a bat out of hell all the way back to her apartment, and once inside, changed to tennis shoes instead of three-inch heels, jeans instead of turquoise pants, and changed the bolero jacket for a brown leather bomber jacket and her white blouse for a white t-shirt. Then she began throwing clothes, shoes and makeup into a suitcase.

  She gathered up two laptops, some flash drives, along with an iPad, another phone and the charging cords for all of them, then packed it all in a separate suitcase. Without knowing how long they’d be gone, she checked her fridge to see what was going to spoil. She put butter in the freezer and poured a small container of cream down the sink. The rest would keep, which said something for eating takeout most of the time. She loaded her car, sent a text to Merlin telling him she’d be out of town for a few days and then she was back on the street, heading for the hangar.

  * * *

  Charlie reached the private airport and drove straight to the hangar where Wyrick kept the Ranger. Benny came out to meet them as Charlie pulled up.

  “Hello, Mr. Dodge. Would you like to park your Jeep inside the hangar? It’s locked up when Miss Jade isn’t using her chopper. She always parks in there. It’ll be okay.”

  Shit. He calls her Jade. I’m not even allowed to admit I know that’s her name. “The owner won’t mind?” Charlie asked.

  “She owns it. It’s her private hangar. I’ve already pulled the chopper out. You can load your things behind the backseats. The boss lady will do her preflight checks, but the luggage won’t interfere with that.”

  Charlie was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that the hangar was hers as he drove to the chopper.

  “Sit tight, Carter. I’ll unload.”

  Carter simply nodded, and Charlie knew he was so shaken about Jason he couldn’t focus.

  Charlie off-loaded their bags, then drove inside the hangar and parked.

  Benny came out of the office, talking. “If you want something cold to drink, the refrigerator in the office has bottled water and some candy bars. She likes sweets when she flies.”

  “How long have you worked for her?” Charlie asked.

  Benny shrugged. “Maybe three years. One day she landed here in that fine jet chopper, asking if she could rent space. It’s a Bell 206 Long Ranger, you know. So she rented until she had her own hangar built.”

  Carter was watching Charlie’s face. The longer he knew these two, the more they intrigued him. They were lightning in a bottle when it came to working together. Then he remembered Charlie’s wife, and not for the first time, was glad he’d never fallen in love like that, and glad he’d never married. The pain of Charlie’s loss had to be hard to bear.

  “Hey, Carter, do you want a bottle of water?” Charlie asked.

  “Sure,” Carter said and then saw a door marked Bathroom and stepped inside to wash up before boarding the flight.

  Charlie handed him the bottle as he came out, and before he had the lid unscrewed, Wyrick arrived. She pulled up to the chopper to unload her gear, then drove into the hangar and parked beside his Jeep.

  “As always, thanks, Benny,” she said.

  “You’re welcome, Miss Jade.”

  Wyrick glared at Charlie, warning him without words that he did not have permission to call her that.

  Charlie handed her a bottle of water, too.

  She took it and walked off without comment. They followed.

  Charlie escorted Carter all the way to the chopper and then into the rear seating. Again, Carter chose the seat by the window, but this time, he leaned back and closed his eyes.

  Charlie got into the copilot’s seat and, like Carter, leaned back and closed his eyes.

  Sorry, Annie. I meant to go see you. I tried to go see you. It wasn’t meant to be.

  A few minutes later, Wyrick slid into the pilot’s seat and shut the door. Both men appeared to be asleep as she started the engine. The rotors began to turn in a slow, steady swoosh, then faster and faster. She put on her headset, wincing as it brushed across the wound from being hit in the head with the beer bottle. She tapped Charlie’s arm.

  He roused, then sat up and shook Carter awake. “Buckle up,” he said.

  Carter reached for the seat belt to comply.

  Charlie buckled up and reached for his headset. As soon as he had it on, Wyrick started talking.

  “I rented an SUV on my way here. It’s being delivered to a small airport outside Denver, which is where we’re going to land. I’ll store the Ranger there until we’re ready to go home. The car will be waiting when we arrive.”

  “Do you pay attention to driving while you’re conducting all this business?”

  “Hands-free calling, all kinds of neat apps on my iPad,” she said, then looked over her shoulder. Carter had his headset on, too, and when he saw her, he smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.

  Wyrick resisted the urge to smile back. It wouldn’t take long for Carter Dunleavy to work his way into her good graces.

  After liftoff, she made a half circle above the airport, then headed due north.

  * * *

  The Dunleavys were on their second hour in the waiting room. The longer they waited, the more tension mounted. For Dina, time had slowed down to heartbeats.

  “Who is doing all of this to us?” she wailed.

  Kenneth hugged her. It wasn’t the first time she’d asked that.

  “The police don’t know yet, but they will, I’m sure.”

  “They couldn’t find Carter,” Dina said. “It took that investigator to make it happen.”

  She laid her head against Kenneth’s shoulder and closed her eyes. Edward sat beside her, nervously tapping his cane on the floor. They were still sitting in silence when a man in surgical scrubs walked into the waiting room.

  “Are you the Dunleavy family?” he asked.

  Dina stood abruptly. “Jason is my son.”

  “I’m Dr. Wagner, his surgeon. Jason is doing great. The bullet broke his collarbone and lodged near his rotator cuff. There were bone fragments, as well. But he’s young, and he’s healthy. Barring any complications, I expect a full recovery.”

  “Thank God! When can we see him?” Dina asked.

  “He’s still in Post-op. A nurse will come let you know when he’s moved to a room.”

  Edward stood and held out his hand. “Thank you, sir, for taking care of my nephew.”

  The doctor saw that he was blind and grasped Edward’s hand firmly. “You are most welcome. I’ll check on him again tonight before I leave the hospital,” he said and left the waiting area.

  Edward felt for his chair, then sat back down. “What a relief not to be sitting here wondering about worst-case scenarios.”

  Dina kissed her brother’s cheek. “Yes, dear, it is a relief.” Then she walked to the window overlooking a parking lot, bowed her head and wept quiet tears of gratitude.

  Kenneth came up behind her and gave her a hug.

  “It won’t be long now before you see him,” he said.

  “I love my son so much, and you are such a dear. It hurts me that the two people I care for most don’t get along,” Dina whispered.

  Kenneth sighed. “I’m sorry. I sensed his dislike early on and I could have been more understanding, rather than responding to his remarks. I promise to do better. Okay?”

  Dina leaned back against him.

&nb
sp; The waiting wasn’t over yet.

  * * *

  Carter fell back asleep within fifteen minutes of being in the air. Wyrick was visibly intent but silent, which left Charlie with too much time to think.

  Before all this began, he’d never let Wyrick irritate him for long, because they went their separate ways at the end of a day. But right now she was in his home from early morning till late afternoon, and the vibe that lingered after she was gone messed him up.

  Today changed things between them even more. Coming out of the building into the parking garage and seeing her take that bastard down in a flying tackle had rattled him. There’d been a moment of sheer panic before he got to her and pulled her off. Maybe it was just responsibility that he was feeling.

  He didn’t know what to think about the bits and pieces of her past she’d revealed, but he’d learned more about her this morning than he had in the years she’d worked for him. At least now he understood why she kept moving.

  He was itching to Google UT and see what kind of organization would stalk an ex-employee. It was harassment, pure and simple, but he guessed Wyrick would never call them on it. He glanced at her once. She looked like she’d been in a bar fight. He turned away. Damn Mack Doolin. It was one thing to trail someone. That was part of being a private investigator. But he’d damn sure never stalked or attacked anyone.

  He was back to thinking about possible areas to consider for new office space when Wyrick touched his shoulder.

  “We’re coming up on the airport,” she said, then radioed the tower.

  Charlie reached behind Wyrick’s seat and tapped Carter on the knee.

  “What? Are we there?” he asked, blinking in confusion.

  Charlie nodded, then pointed down.

  Carter glanced out the window, saw the mountains in the distance and sighed. He wasn’t there yet, but it already felt like home. Now all he needed was for Jason to recover. He felt guilty as hell for leaving, and no matter what happened next, he wasn’t running again.