Hiding In The Dark. Sava Mathou

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СКАЧАТЬ her. Ellie thought Janet’s motives were more to check up on her and see firsthand where she would be working.

      Ellie and Sue got the walls painted. Fresh curtains hung. Office plants to green the place up a bit. Ellie thought she went a bit over the top, buying the big executive desk at a real estate auction. Looking at the desk, she thought it gave the room presence and added a masculine touch to all the feminine decor. She had seen the desk in the paper and thought it would be perfect to add a touch of authenticity to the place. Its dark paneled wood and gilded leather top anchored the room. The moving men had a heck of time, getting it down the stairs and through the door. Now she sat back in her overstuffed desk chair and was quite proud of the new surroundings.

      The walls were freshly painted in an earth tone that Ellie felt would sooth and ground her clients. The ceiling painted a fresh crisp white gave the ceiling some height and made the basement office less claustrophobic.

      The couch and chairs were a plush maroon-red leather that she got down and the local furniture store. They were a bit overstuffed but still had graceful lines. They complimented the desk and softened it a bit.

      She brought down some of the old bookshelves out of John Sr.’s library that were no longer being used. It was nice, having a bit of John in the room. She could see John, looking down from heaven with his arms crossed and a big smile on his face. He would be proud, and the shelves added a touch of dignity and class to the room.

      Ellie had filled the shelves with every kind of book from skip tracing to picking a lock. Sue and Chuck had to be happy at the number of books she had ordered for the office. It was probably a bit too much, but she wanted to be prepared. Every night, she took a different book home and skimmed through and read a little. When her first client walked through the door, she would be prepared.

      Tomorrow, her sign would arrive. She had picked out an oval-shaped sign with a white background and green-and-gold lettering. She wanted to the sign to stand out. She had the sign company write out Moore Detective Agency with her new office number listed below. She kept it simple and did not want to overcrowd the sign.

      Ellie also placed ads in the local newspaper, the Independent Record, and the local circular, the Mini Nickel. These ads made it feel all the more real for Ellie. She would have to wait a couple weeks for the new phone books and yellow pages to come out to see the ad she had placed in there.

      After the sign went up, and the ads ran, she would be open for business.

      The first week, the only time the phone rang it was from Sue or one of the kids. Her brain began to run over scenarios of what her first case may be like. It was starting to drive her a bit nuts, sitting in the office all day, waiting for the phone to ring. Ellie decided to run down to Books by the Volume for a coffee run. She needed a break from the office.

      Sue looked up from the cash register as Ellie came through the door and said, “So how is the life of the private detective?”

      “Let’s just say that if I stare at that phone any longer, it’s going to spontaneously combust right there on my desk!”

      “That bad, huh?”

      “No, not bad. I am just wondering if that phone is ever going to ring. I think I just have a case of the first-case jitters, not knowing what to expect and all.” A bit of blues, coming out in her voice.

      Sue knew that voice. “I think a nice raspberry mocha decaf latte is in order. Nothing like a little sugar and a heap of chocolate to chase the doldrums away.”

      “Sounds good. Could you throw a shot of whiskey in there too?” Ellie said half joking and half serious.

      Sue arched her eyebrows and gave her friend a rueful smile. Much surprised because Ellie rarely, if ever, drank anything harder than her occasional glass of wine. Instead of liquor, she added extra raspberry and extra chocolate. At least she would get a nice sugar buzz.

      *****

      Getting back to her office, Ellie’s heart began to beat faster as she saw the red light, flashing on her phone on the desk. Someone had a left a message while she was out! It was probably just her daughter or son, but you never know. She sat down in her desk chair and took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, releasing some of the built up tension in her shoulders. Slowly, she extended her arm until her finger was just over the play button. Trembling, her finger pressed play.

      A man’s voice sounded on the machine.

      “This is Bill Wallace over in Wolf Creek. I saw your ad in the Independent Record. I would like to sit down and talk with you about the disappearance of my daughter, Shelby, last month. Please give me a call at 406-555-1298 to set up an appointment.”

      “A real call. A real live person just asked me to help him find his daughter!” Her mind was racing. If she had been twenty years younger, Ellie would have jumped up and done some cartwheels across a lawn!

      Ellie seemed to remember seeing something on the news about a local girl gone missing, but she couldn’t bring up the circumstances of what had happened.

      Quickly, she booted up her new computer and brought the Independent Records web page and started looking for an article on the Shelby Wallace. Typing the girl’s name into the search bar brought up the article quickly.

      It read:

      Local Girl Gone Missing, Foul Play Suspected

      Wolf Creek. The local police reported that Shelby Wallace had not returned home Friday night after going to a party with some of her friends. Her abandoned vehicle was found parked along Little Wolf Creek Road just outside Wolf Creek. The keys were still in the ignition, and her purse was lying on the passenger seat.

      A search was done of the local area. Tracking dogs were brought in and searched the area with no luck.

      Her parents, Jane and Bill Wallace, were unavailable for comment at press time.

      Anyone with any news or tips is asked to contact the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s office, or can leave a message on the Crime Stoppers hotline.

      This didn’t give much for Jane to go on. She picked up the phone and dialed the number that Mr. Wallace had left on the answering machine. On the third ring, a voice answered the phone.

      “Bill Wallace here.”

      “Mr. Wallace, this is Ellie Moor, calling from the Moore Detective Agency. You called earlier to talk about your daughter that is missing.” Ellie was hoping her voice wouldn’t crack, or sound nervous over the phone.

      “Yes. I am in Helena. Do you have time to meet today?” An urgency was in his voice.

      “Let me just check my book.” Empty pages, staring at her. She didn’t want to seem too eager. “How about one o’clock?”

      Mr. Wallace agreed quickly, and Ellie gave him directions to the office. It was 12:30 p.m. now, and he would be here in a half hour. Ellie quickly threw out the old coffee and brewed a fresh batch. She set out a tray of mugs and some cookies on the coffee table next to the sofa. Walking quickly to the bathroom, she splashed some cold water on her face and fixed her mussed hair. Straightening her blouse, she thought, This is it.

      A real case.

      Mr. Wallace arrived early at ten to one. Ellie got up from behind her desk and welcomed the man and shook his hand. She СКАЧАТЬ