Caitlin: I could come over to your parents’ for dinner.
I cringed. This breakup was going to be bad. Caitlin was a lot of wonderful things: funny, caring, great in bed. But she didn’t always take not getting her way well.
Me: Sorry, just family tonight. But why don’t I come by after work tomorrow.
Caitlin: That would be great! I’ll wear that red number you like.
I dropped my head into my palm.
A knock sounded on my door. “Come in.”
Clark pushed open the door, stepped in, then closed it behind him.
“Hey, Chief. What’s up?”
Clark took a seat in one of the chairs opposite mine across the desk. “We’ve got another missing girl.”
My earlier worries seemed insignificant now. I straightened in my chair. “Another hiker?”
Clark rubbed a hand along his jaw. “No. This is a gal in her twenties from Willow Creek. Her boyfriend reported her missing when she didn’t come home from her shift at the diner in town. Her car was still in the lot. No signs of a struggle. Just vanished.”
“Is it possible she ran off? Another guy?”
“Don’t know. The chief down there didn’t know her well, but they have an even smaller department than we do, and way more citizens to cover. He just called to give us a heads-up and asked us to keep an eye out.”
“You got a picture?”
Clark reached into his pocket and fished out his phone. After tapping a few things on the screen, he handed it to me.
The photo had me sucking in a breath that felt like it was made of glass shards. The woman on the screen looked eerily like Julie. Straight, dark brown hair, deep brown eyes, and rounded cheeks. My heart spasmed. I swallowed against my dry-as-a-desert throat and looked up to meet Clark’s gaze. “I don’t have a lot going on here today. Why don’t I head down there and see what’s what. There might be something else we can do, but at the very least, I can get the full story.”
Clark studied me for a moment, surely weighing his options. “Sure, Walk. That sounds like a good idea.”
I shoved to my feet, my chair rolling back to softly collide with the wall. “You’ll be my first stop when I’m back.”
Clark jerked his chin in affirmation and headed out the door.
Ashlee startled behind the reception desk as I strode through. “Everything okay, Walker?”
I was sure I didn’t have the happiest of looks on my face. But I did my best to soften my expression. “Yeah. I’m heading out. Will you forward all calls to my cell?”
Ashlee’s eyes took on a look of concern, but she nodded. “Of course. Let me know if I can help with anything.”
“Thanks. Will do.” With that, I was gone.
I clenched my fists so hard, it was a wonder I didn’t dislocate a knuckle as I paced the floor in Clark’s office. I’d spent the past three hours doing recon that the Willow Creek Police Department was either stretched too thin or too lazy to do. I leaned towards lazy.
“The boyfriend is a total waste of space. A drunk. Word around town is that she supports him, and he thanks her with his fists.” Rage was coursing through my veins. This guy had a beautiful, kind woman who only wanted his love, and what did he do? Abused her trust and broke her body.
I didn’t know that for sure, but all the pieces led there. “That fucking joke of a PD down there hasn’t done shit. Too stupid or too lazy, sitting around with their thumbs up their asses.”
“Walker, take a breath.”
I scowled at Clark. I didn’t want to take a fucking breath. I wanted to plant my fist in that jackass of a boyfriend’s face. It was a miracle I hadn’t. I clenched and unclenched my fists, trying to slow my breathing.
Clark leaned back in his chair. “Did you fill the WCPD chief in on what you found out?”
I ground my back molars together. “Yes. Of course. But I’m not all that optimistic they’re going to do their fucking jobs.”
“I’ll make sure they do. I’ll get county or state involved if I have to, but I’ll make sure they follow through.”
I let out a slow breath. “I need to get out of here, clear my head. You mind if I take off an hour early? I’ll make it up tomorrow.”
“I know you’re good for it. Get out of here and come back tomorrow with your head on straight.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Clark nodded and I took off. Thankfully, Ashlee wasn’t sitting at her desk when I passed through reception. I wasn’t sure I could’ve made polite conversation this go-around. I jogged down the steps of the building and towards my truck. In less than a minute, I was pulling out of the lot.
I drove in circles for a while, aimlessly crisscrossing town streets, going out into the country and then coming back to town again. But I knew there was only one place I really wanted to go. Somewhere that would bring me peace. It had been the same when Julie was alive. She was always my port in the storm.
I pulled over next to the cemetery and shut off my truck. Climbing down, I let the fresh air soothe my frayed temper. I could only hear the rustling of the branches in the wind, my footsteps silenced by the cushion of lush grass.
I navigated the familiar path to her grave and touched the curved stone’s surface, worn rough by weather over the years. “Hey, Angel.” It was fitting that the nickname I’d bestowed on her was what she’d become. In my darkest days after her death, I’d convinced myself that I’d caused her demise by giving her the name. I didn’t think that anymore, but I was still more cautious with my monikers these days.