Manhunt. Tyler Anne Snell

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СКАЧАТЬ and I haven’t been on the best of terms this past year,” Sophia almost spat, trying to defend herself. “You should have known that. She didn’t tell me she was coming, so when she didn’t show up I assumed it was on purpose.”

      There was a heated silence, not at all like the thoughtful one she seemed to share with the detective when they were sorting through new information. This was weighted. This was bogged down with ill feelings and regret.

      “Continue, Mr. Vega,” Thatcher said, commanding the two of them to snap out of it. Richard looked back at the detective and let out a loud breath.

      “When I still hadn’t received any word by Tuesday morning, I decided it wasn’t just Lisa’s forgetfulness. The phone call with Miss Hardwick here just confirmed it. I left work and began looking for her, only to come up empty.”

      “Why didn’t you call us?”

      Richard sat up straighter. “At first I thought...” He paused, trying to find the right words. “I thought that Lisa had left me, using Sophia’s party as an excuse to disappear.”

      “Why would she leave you?”

      “Over the past year, I’ve grown to trust Lisa more than I’ve ever trusted anyone else. She has become not only a woman I care about, but a confidante.” At this admission, Richard for the first time seemed uncomfortable with what he was saying.

      “She knows secrets about you,” Thatcher said.

      “Not only personal, but professional. Secrets my competitors would pay big for. Secrets that could undo everything I’ve worked for my entire life. I’ve had much worse attempted by people who want my money or business before.”

      “Lisa wouldn’t do that, though.” Sophia spoke up with certainty. “From what I know, she has been very happy with you.” Richard’s intense expression softened at that.

      “I couldn’t rule it out entirely. So I called in a few favors and had her phone traced.” He didn’t bother acting sheepish. “I found it.”

      He shared a look with Detective Thatcher. It sent a chill through Sophia.

      “And?” she prodded.

      Richard stood and went to retrieve a box under his desk. He presented it to Thatcher. The contents made Thatcher’s brow furrow. Sophia was almost afraid to look but she had to be strong. She had to be strong for Lisa.

      Holding her breath she peeked in.

      “Is that it?”

      Richard nodded, frowning deeply while Thatcher pushed around the several pieces of what once was a cell phone. Sophia felt her stomach drop.

      “Before it was smashed, I was able to follow it to the main road, just past Tipsy’s Gas & Grill.” Sophia looked at Thatcher questioningly.

      “It’s a family-owned gas station and mini-restaurant off of the main road,” Thatcher explained. “Busiest gas station in town.” He motioned to Richard to continue.

      “When I went to where it last was turned on I found it scattered along the side of the road.” He sent another significant look to Thatcher.

      “I’m assuming you already tried to salvage the SIM card inside? To recover any pictures or—”

      “None of it could be saved.” Richard dropped back into his seat. “I couldn’t even find the remnants of the card.”

      “So, what does that mean?” Sophia asked.

      “It means,” Richard began, running a hand through his hair, “that either Lisa doesn’t want anyone to find her or someone doesn’t want us to find Lisa.”

      * * *

      THE AIR SEEMED to zip out of the room—leaving behind an unsettling silence. Braydon felt Sophia tense next to him. It was a response he was familiar with when bad news was flitting around.

      “Did you find anything else?” Braydon asked. He wanted to know if Richard was aware of the other missing women.

      “I called the hospitals and even morgues in the neighboring cities looking for her or a Jane Doe who matched her description, but nothing came up.” He pulled out a card and handed it to Braydon. “I even hired two PIs from this firm to search the cities.”

      “You hired out-of-town private investigators before you contacted your local PD?” Braydon said incredulously.

      “I hired them to stay out of town to find her. Culpepper is small. I had faith, if she was here, that I’d run into her.”

      Braydon was fighting the urge to yell at the very rich, very pompous man in front of him. If he had just called the police when he first realized Lisa was missing, it could have made all the difference, but instead he wanted to handle it himself. He had as much pride as he did wealth.

      “You still should have filed a report,” Sophia barked out, breaking her silence. “Did you ever think ‘What if she didn’t run away?’ ” Braydon could tell her composure was cracking.

      “Of course I did. I’m not an idiot.”

      “Well, you could have fooled me!” Under different circumstances, Braydon would have smiled at Sophia’s brashness. She didn’t bottle up her emotions—she let them pour out instead. The two of them would have kept on, but Braydon had had enough.

      “Do you know Trixie Martin or Amanda Alcaster?” Braydon watched the man’s facial expression closely. He could see wheels turning but there was no concrete recognition of either name.

      “Not personally. The Alcaster name sounds familiar, but what has that got to do with Lisa?”

      Braydon took a breath. Sophia’s hands fidgeted across her lap. He wanted to hold them still, to keep her worries at bay. Personal experience had taught him that as long as a loved one was out there in trouble, no one, not even he, could quell all worries. That didn’t mean he didn’t want to, though. He cast another look at Sophia; the realization that he wanted to make sure she was okay was an odd one. He’d only known her for two hours at best and yet he empathized with her completely.

      “They were reported missing today,” he said, squaring his shoulders. Richard’s brow furrowed, his frown deepened. Braydon balled his fists again, his body winding up. “This is why you let us know when something like this happens. This is why you call the police. It doesn’t matter if you’re taking time off of your job to locate Miss Hardwick because it’s my full-time job to do that. I help people for a living, Richard.” Braydon wasn’t yelling. In fact, his voice had taken on an eerie calm. That calm voice indicated how furious he was that Richard had not reported the disappearance of Lisa. The missing woman who had a sibling drowning in a sea of worry—one beautiful woman desperate for answers. Professionalism was dialing his volume back but it wasn’t diluting his intensity. “Now let me do my job and tell me everything else you found out or I’ll arrest you for impeding an investigation.”

      It turned out that Richard was almost as clueless as they were. Apart from the cell phone, he hadn’t found any evidence of blatant foul play or anything that pointed to Lisa running away. He had instead kept eyes and ears out for the woman he loved, hoping СКАЧАТЬ