Samantha went in to work the following morning, right on time. She couldn’t give them anything to ponder over later, not even the slightest change in routine. It was just after ten when she and a couple of others started asking questions. Pam was never late - she always arrived at her desk at exactly eight thirty, right down to the second. When several calls to her cell, her home number, and her answering service netted nothing, Samantha grabbed her keys and started for the door, injury or no injury. Lieutenant Willis took the keys from her.
‘I’ll drive.’
‘In MY car? Not on your life.’
‘You’re walking like a damn sideshow freak and right now I’m your boss.’
Pam’s front door was unlocked. Not a chair, or a pillow, or a Disney ornament was missing, but still the place felt empty. Samantha took the kitchen and living areas and left it up to Willis to search the rest of the place.
‘Here.’
For the first time in her life, Samantha actually felt herself perspire. Carey didn’t come across as a stupid person - quite the opposite, actually - so the chances of him panicking and forgetting to move the body were slim. If he had left Pam there, it had to be part of a game. She followed Willis’s voice and went into Pam’s bedroom, one hand on her gun holster, only to find the closet wide open and, like the room itself, almost empty.
‘Oh my god.’
The only thing left in the closet was a typed note, (Samantha bit down on the inside of her cheek at the sight of this, having perfected Pam’s handwriting to a science and slaved over the tone of the letter for three hours), taped to a hanger.
I’M NOT OKAY. I HAVEN’T BEEN FOR A LONG TIME. I WON’T BE UNTIL I FIND THEM. PLEASE TAKE CARE OF BOSCO FOR ME.
Right on queue, Pam’s beloved, boat-jawed Staffordshire Terrier gave a plaintive howl from the back yard.
‘Poor thing,’ Willis said. ‘As if Pam’s weird hours weren’t enough for him to put up with, now she goes and abandons him.’
‘I’m thinking catching her brother’s killer might have been weighing slightly more heavily on her mind than the welfare of that thing when she took off.’
‘Seems she wasn’t doing as well as we’d thought.’
‘I would assume not, seeing as how she’s off gallivanting god knows where chasing a ghost. If this guy isn’t in jail already he’s either dead or working very hard at appearing so.’
Samantha sniffed back angry tears.
‘Sorry, this is just…she was over this.’
‘Or she’s just a great actress.’
Samantha answered the IAB guy’s questions calmly, but with the air of cool authority they were used to from her. Too large a change in demeanor would be just as suspicious as none at all.
‘So how’d she seem the last time you talked?’
‘She seemed fine. A little tightly wound, but that wasn’t unusual for her.’
‘Had a lot on her mind, did she?’
‘She’s a career cop, so I’d imagine that the unsolved murder of her own brother would take quite a toll, yes.’
Samantha refused to go home until she was ordered to, and even then she had to be driven there by her partner. Morales was nice enough - he was by the book, and had thus far managed to hold his temper despite constant inquiries from brass about his legal status.
‘Those assholes are loving this. A senior officer running off and going rogue? This opens the door for a whole bunch of other shit.’
‘You’ve got nothing to worry about.’
‘I’m Mexican! They’ll dig something up! I’ll be sweatin’ bullets in Tijuana before the year’s out!’
Samantha grinned. ‘They might just demote you.’
‘Shit…I’ll end up workin’ a school cross-walk.’
‘I’d pay to see you scaring junior jaywalkers straight.’ Samantha bit her thumbnail.
‘You really do care for her, don’t you?’
Samantha shrugged. ‘I never had a sister.’
Morales nodded. ‘I s’pose I don’t need to tell you that if a cop doesn’t want to be found, chances are she won’t be.’
‘You s’pose correctly.’
Samantha opened a beer, sat on the couch, and watched a movie once Morales was gone. A two and a half hour epic. She strolled over to visit her neighbor a half hour after the movie finished. Carey took his time coming to the door.
‘Don’t rush on my account,’ said Samantha.
‘Had to be sure you weren’t followed.’
‘I’m a DETECTIVE, you nit.’
‘Your friend managed to get the drop on you.’
‘Shut up.’
‘You gonna let them see you like that?’
Samantha’s smile dropped.
‘THEM?’
Carey grinned. ‘Thought I’d mix things up a bit.’
116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35uFh5MDFp
