Chapter 5

Karen's POV:

"She's in!" The guy behind me said. He sounded even more excited than I was.

Heaving a sigh of relief, I handed the PC back to him with all pride, letting him know that I was this good. What a relief it was to know that today was not the day for me to die. We would all die eventually of a truth. I was not going to die like this.

"You are one lucky daughter of Eve. Keep an eye on her," he said and left.

I was happy I was given another chance at life but I was sad too. This was not my life. This was not where I wanted to be. I had so much more to do and give the world out there. There had to be a way.

"Boss, we do not have to go back," I heard one of the guys say.

What did he mean? Go back to where? Carefully watching my steps, I went closer.

"Italy leaves us no choice. We have to do what is in the best interest of all of us. Right now, going back to Italy is the only option except you have a better idea," he had replied.

If they were going back to Italy, it only meant one thing. They would no longer have use of me and I have seen what these guys could do to someone they have no use for.

I went back just as carefully as I had come in. Only this time, backward. My feet hit something and I slowly turned to find out what it was. As I lived and breathed, it was a phone, old but useful.

Thankfully, I knew the hospital's office number by heart. I had it memorized for situations like this. Meghan should be at work now I thought.

"Pick up, pick up, Meghan," I kept whispering as if she could hear me.

"Hey!" Someone shouted, hitting the phone off my hand fast.

Detective's POV:

"Sir, someone has been waiting for you."

"Who?"

"One Meghan, she says it's urgent."

What a terrible way to begin the day. Meghan being here only meant one thing. Karen did not show up at work last night.

In all my years of working in this department, I have come to accept it as normal. People went missing all the time and I was given the task of finding them. I have had eighty-five percent success in all cases. The more reason I had more work to do.

This week had looked good and less busy. I was hoping to use the opportunity to spend some time with my wife and children until a nurse called.

"Ma'am, please sit."

"Thank you. I could not reach you on the phone so I came. She did not show up yesterday."

"I guessed seeing you here so early."

"I came straight from the hospital, immediately after my shift ended. Does this mean we have to file a missing person's report?" She asked, concern written all over her face.

"Yes but that has to be done by close relatives and I take it you are not a relative."

"I am not. We just have to call the fiancé."

"He did not seem like someone who would want to be bothered with matters like this. I noticed the last time we spoke. If she is indeed missing, I'll take him in as a suspect. Is there no other relative you know of hers that we can call?"

"Her mom. But she might not take it well if she heard her daughter was missing. I learned she has cardiovascular disease and it would be a great risk putting her in this position."

"I guess we have to work with Mr. Jon then. Do you by chance know anyone who might want to harm her? Did she tell you anything that evening?"

"No, Sir. She was very jovial and kind. I cannot think of anyone who might want to hurt her. To be honest, we were not that close so I would not even know."

"Give me her number," I said, handing her a piece of paper and a pen.

"Mario, hand this to the ICT department. I want this phone number tracked," I said, handing him the piece of paper.

"Ma'am. I'll just ask you a few questions, and then you can go home. I'll take it from here."

"No problem, Sir. Just find her. Please."

"I will," I said with an air of confidence. It was not pride. It was an assurance and a promise.

Angelo Simone's POV:

I was vexed for no genuine reason. I was angry at myself. That I had let her prove herself and show us how indispensable she was. Now, I had a reason not to kill her. I had given her 30 seconds hoping the time would elapse before she would be able to even figure out what to do with it.

A knock alerted me.

"Come in."

"It's Mario, he wants to speak to you."

"What's the update?" I asked.

"The cops are working on her case now. Her phone will be tracked. I hope you already dumped that."

"If this is all you called to tell me, I should kill you. Of course, I am not dumb to let her bring her phone here let alone keep it," I retorted, fuming

I was working with a bunch of stupid people.

"All of you. Stupid. Look why he called. I thought he had something better to say. Make sure he doesn't call me again."

"Yes, boss. Giuseppe is at the door with the doctor. He said she tried to make a call."

I have had enough of this.

Detective's POV:

I had been calling Mr. Jon for hours now and he wasn't picking up. How could someone be so negligent when your fiancée has not called? He had to know something. Else he would not be so nonchalant.

I decided to pay him a visit to his office.

"I'm here to see Mr. Jon. Tell him it's the detective from yesterday morning," I said to the receptionist.

"Do you have an appointment, Sir?"

"This is a matter of urgency. I did not have the time to book an appointment."

"I am so sorry, Sir. But you have to book an appointment to see Mr. Jon. Besides, he is very busy at the moment and is attending to clients."

"Do you know his fiancée?"

"If you mean Miss Wilson, yes. Everyone knows she is to be married to Mr. Jon."

"Good. Well then, this information is about her. I assure you, your boss would not deny me entrance should he find out I am here. All I ask is that you take that telephone, call him, and tell him I am here."

"All right, Sir. I will try that."

"You can go in now, Sir. The third floor, by your right."

"Thank you, miss."

"You have a nice office," I said, trying to lighten the mood by complimenting his office.

"Detective, I am sure that is not why you are here. As you can see, I have tons of people waiting out there. Just go straight to the point."

"For someone who hasn't heard from his fiancée. I would think you would be bothered or at least, show some concern."

"I told you already. We quarreled, and we do not speak too often."

"If I may ask. What was this little quarrel about? No one has heard or seen her since that little 'quarrel’ you claimed to have."

"Do you think I might have done something to her?" He asked with widened eyes. I could not tell if he was surprised or afraid.

"I did not say so. You tell me."

He was about to say something when my phone rang. It was from the office.

"Yes? Talk to me."

"We have a lead. The number has been tracked. We have a location." I stood, ready to get to the action.