Page 109 of Reckoning

Briar sat back down at her desk and sent Tate a text, then dug through the company records to notify the finance department about the new employee. She didn’t want to miss her first payday because someone forgot to dot an i or cross a t.

* * *

Tate heard his phone ding and stopped in the middle of what he was typing to read it.

I have a job! The office is a wreck. He hired me on the spot. I’m already at work. Funniest thing. I had to find and fill out my own contract and take it to him to sign. I’ve got this! I love you madly! See you this evening. Fifty-seven hundred dollars a month…before taxes.

Love, me.

He read it with so much joy and pride. She rocked, and that was a fact.

I am so proud of you, darlin’. Never once doubted how brilliant you are. See you later. Love you more.

When Briar left work that evening and headed toward her car, she wasn’t thinking about anything but getting home. But as she was nearing where she’d parked, a trio of dock workers were also going home for the evening, and when one whistled at her, the others laughed.

She paused, staring them down as she fired back. “Now that’s a blast from the past. Did your daddy teach you to do that, or did you see it in some old movie?”

They looked startled. They didn’t expect sass. They laughed again, took their hats off, and bowed at the waist.

“Much better,” she said, and kept walking. She heard the chatter behind her, but they didn’t feel scary anymore. They’d challenged her and were met with sass they hadn’t expected. Now she had their regard.

* * *

The weeks flew by.

Briar was the valuable asset she knew she could be, and David Gregory patted himself on the back daily for taking such a random chance, unaware that his life was going to take a frightening turn.

Summer was long over. Schools and colleges were all back in session and the season was nearing Halloween.

* * *

On this day, David was up early. He’d already showered and dressed for work. His wife, Greta, had just gone upstairs to wake their ten-year-old daughter, Mandy, when he heard an ear-splitting scream, then the sound of Greta running down the stairs, shouting his name.

“David! David! Mandy’s gone! The window by her bed is open. Her covers are a jumble.”

His heart skipped. “She can’t be gone. Maybe she’s hiding,” David said, and ran back up the stairs, looking under beds, in closets, even in the attic, but there wasn’t a sign of where she’d gone. He ran back downstairs to join Greta in searching there.

Greta was hysterical. “God wouldn’t do this to us twice. We already lost our son! Why would he take Mandy too?”

David was as desperate as she was but was trying to hold it together as he called the police. They arrived on the scene and searched the premises on their own, including the basement. They asked for a picture of Mandy, then began questioning David and Greta. The moment they began keying in on them instead of sending out an alert to be on the lookout for a missing child, David knew this was going to get worse. They were wasting time his daughter might not have.

“I need to call the office and let them know I won’t be in today,” he said, and when they gave him a suspicious look, his gut knotted. They were already looking for someone to blame, and a parent was the first place they looked when a child went missing. His hands were shaking as he made the call, and when he heard Briar’s voice, it was all he could do not to cry.

“Briar, it’s me, David. We just woke up here to hell. Mandy is missing. Greta and I have scoured the house from top to bottom, and now the police are here, standing around watching me make this call.”

Briar gasped. She’d met Greta and Mandy, and could only imagine how scared they were.

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry. Don’t worry about the office. I’ve got this. Nothing is pressing here, and whatever comes in that is out of my league, I will reschedule. I know this may sound weird to you, but have you heard of Tate Bandy?”

“You mean the psychic who just solved a cold case for the PD?”

“Yes, that one. I know him, and if I ask him, he will come to you for free. He’ll know where she’s gone and who has her. If you want him at your house, just say yes. I’ll give him your address.”

“This bunch already wants to pin it on me. Yes. Send him.”

“On it,” Briar said, and disconnected.

“Who were you talking to?” the detective asked.