AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Each second that passes, I fight, feeling myself being pulled under. Why is he doing this? Suddenly, clarity, like a beam of light piercing through a foggy patch, brightens my mind. I’m not in a seat where a murderer sat, I’m in a car with a murderer.
CHAPTER 42
Paxton
“I thought you were headed out to lunch,” Cates says when I walk into his office.
I thought so too.
Flicking my wrist, I check the time again even though I checked it seconds ago. I’m pretty sure I said noon. It’s one o’clock. Riggs nudges my side. “Yeah, I agree. We’ve waited long enough.” Zero texts from her either. I look up at Cates, staring at me as I try to call her again. My gut twists with unease. “Something’s wrong. Kali said she’d meet me here, and now she won’t answer her texts or calls. Calls go straight to voicemail.”
“Martinez put someone on her?”
I shake my head. “She refused.”
“Call Martinez and head over to her hotel. I’ll keep a lookout for her here.”
My fingers tighten around the steering wheel as I race toward her hotel. My mind floods with unsettling possibilities as I search left and right, scanning the streets, hoping I’ll see her.
There’s no way she flew back home. After learning the truth from my mom, I wouldn’t blame her, though. The thought keeps popping up, explaining the silent phone. But that makes little sense. She wouldn’t leave knowing her friend was still missing. Martinez is working on checking with the airline, just in case.
I pull up in front of the hotel and let Riggs out. If anyone can find her, it’ll be him. It takes a few minutes to hunt down the manager and get her to agree to open her hotel room door. As soon as I walk into her room, I know she didn’t leave. Her bags are open and rummaged through. Just like yesterday.
Dread coils my insides, squeezing like a vise. I’d rather she left me than face the possibilities of what happened to her, especially with Carl out there. I jab my finger at the elevator button five times, frustration mounting with each passing second. Once the doors open to the lobby, I release Riggs.
“Find Kali.”
Without hesitation, he darts off. He knows her scent, her sound. I follow him closely as he dashes to a small restaurant next to the lobby. His nose guides him to a table where two people sit. The pair startle at the sudden intrusion of a dog sniffing around the table and then sitting. She was here this morning. I pull up Kali’s picture, flagging down a passing server.
“Did you see this woman this morning?”
Studying the photo, she says, “I think so. Her hair is different, but I’m pretty certain it was her. She was with a guy.”
My mind bounces with who the hell it could be. “Did she look like she was distressed? Can you describe the guy?”
“Not at all. They were here for about an hour. Laughing. He has a really deep laugh. I remember glancing their way a couple times because it was so loud.” Who the hell was she with? “He was a big guy. Older than her. I’d guess in his late forties. They just had coffee.”
“Anything else you can tell me about him?”
The server furrows her brows, tapping her chin, deep in thought. “Hmm. Brown hair. Had a striped polo on with khaki shorts. Seemed like a friendly guy.” She winces and then shrugs. “I’m sorry. There’s not anything else I remember about him. I know they left together. I overheard him say he’d give her a ride when I was picking up the check.”
What the fuck? A ride where?
“Find your manager and tell him the Texas Rangers are going to show up any minute. They’ll need any video you have from this morning.”
Her eyes widen. “Okay,” she says, hurrying off.
I call Martinez on the way out the door and tell him what I just learned.
“I’ll send some guys over, but are you sure she just didn’t meet up with a friend?”
No, I’m not sure. She’s been gone for over a year. I don’t know who her friends are anymore. Ted comes to mind. He fits the description, so I hang up with Martinez and call him.
“Hey, Ted, it’s Paxton Turner.”
“Hey, Paxton, how’s it going?”
“Not good. You don’t happen to be in town, are you?”
