While I turned to my freezer just to make double sure my ice cream had made it safely inside despite my distraction with the Devil and his porn star body, my phone had the audacity to start ringing again. This time the sound was closer but kind of muffled. Realization dawned on me.
I whipped the freezer open and found it there sitting on the shelf next to my ice cream. Grabbing the phone off the shelf, I didn’t look at the caller I.D. as I swiped it on.
“If you’re not the ice cream fairy telling me I can have ice cream for breakfast because I’m an adult and I can make my own damned decisions, you can go screw yourself.” I snapped into the receiver.
“I’m sorry, Miss Mehr, but I don’t think adults are supposed to have ice cream for breakfast,” Captain Welling’s voice came through the phone, and I instantly felt embarrassed. “But I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“Oh, captain.” I mumbled, rubbing my hand over my face. “I didn’t know it was you. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He chuckled. “I have a wife. I know not to come between a woman and her ice cream.”
“Uh, yeah.” I chuckled nervously. Clearing my throat, I asked, “Did you need something, captain?”
“Ah, yes.” A thudding noise came through the phone like the captain had tapped some papers on the table. Did people still do that? Shaking the random thought from my head, I focused on the captain’s words. “I was calling to see if you would head down to the civic center. O’Connor and Stevenson are already down there.”
“Okay?” I drew out. “What am I doing there?”
“The missing girl went to a therapy group there, and while we already talked to the group we thought —”
“That I could get a read on them,” I finished for him. “Sure, but I don’t see how that’s going to help. I already told Detective Stevenson that she ran away. Didn’t she give you a report?”
The captain coughed and then said, “Of course, of course, but we really should cover all our bases. It couldn’t hurt, and if you are right, then we have no reason to worry that she’s in any danger.”
Dragging a hand through my hair, I stifled a groan. Sure, it’d been fun and would net me some extra money, but I’d thought I’d finished it yesterday.
Unfortunately, as much as my ice cream called to me, I couldn’t back out when I’d already agreed to help. Not if I wanted them to think of me for future work, anyway.
Forcing myself to smile so I sounded happier than I felt about it, I said, “I’d be more than happy to make sure we’ve covered all our bases, captain. I’ll head down to the civic center now.”
“Thank you, Miss Mehr, I am happy to have you on our team.” From the sound of his voice, I believed he actually meant what he said. I didn’t think anyone had ever been happy to have me around on their team or not. Not unless there was vodka involved.
I said my goodbyes and started getting ready for what promised to be an even more eventful day. I wasn’t sure what to expect at the civic center, but I found I was actually excited to find out.
Throwing on some clothes, a t-shirt with a band logo from my college days, and a pair of jeans - no rips or stains for once! - I was ready to go.
Since I hadn’t seen delectable hide nor hair of my angels, I had to assume they’d show up when they were ready to. Until then, I just hoped whatever they needed me for was something I could fake on my own.
Detective O’Connor was waiting outside the civic center when I arrived, looking every bit like he’d swallowed something foul. I searched the area for Mandy but didn’t see a lock of her golden head of hair, the traitorous twat. Worse, O’Connor had already seen me so I couldn’t hide in my car until she arrived.
Oh, God. He was coming over.
I grabbed the bag of fast food on the passenger seat and pretended to be intrigued with my breakfast burrito. Just as I shoved a big bite into my mouth, Detective O’Connor knocked a knuckle on the window.
Still chomping on my burrito, I lowered my window. “Yes, detective?” I said through a mouthful of food. The look of disgust on his face really warmed my soul.
“Come now, Mehr.” Detective O’Connor shook his head. “How old are you?”
Swallowing hard, I smirked. “Well, my birth certificate claims I’m twenty-five, but I feel more of a round number like five.”
“Five’s not a round number.” O’Connor put his hands on his hips, showing off his badge and gun. Oh, detective, what a big gun you have! I kept my comment to myself though. See, I was mature.
“Where’s Mandy?” I asked instead, searching the area behind him, hoping God heard my prayers and sent her in to save me.
“Detective Stevenson,” O’Connor corrected me with a raise of his thick eyebrows. Really the man needed a wax, those things were lethal. Could poke someone’s eye out! Obviously oblivious to the signals his eyebrows were sending me, O’Connor continued, “Stevenson is inside finding out when the meeting ends. The real question is what are you doing here?”
With a smug grin on my lips, I asked, “The captain didn’t tell you?”
The unfriendly look on O’Connor’s face answered that. Of course, he didn’t. I wouldn’t tell this dick anything either. Who wants to hear someone bitch at every command given? Not me.
“We don’t need you,” O’Connor informed me.
“Well, I don’t want to be here either, detective,” I shook my head with a wry smile. “But sometimes we all have to lay back and think of England.”
“What does that even mean?” O’Connor scoffed.
Discarding my burrito, I opened my door, forcing the detective to step back. I clapped him on the arm making him flinch. “It means we are stuck together. So, deal.” O’Connor opened his mouth, probably to object when Mandy stepped out of the building and came toward us. Squeezing O’Connor’s bicep, I did my best cheerleader impression. “Oh my god, your biceps are huge! You must work out a lot.” I nodded my head and hummed my approval. “I can really appreciate a man who takes time to work on his guns.”
“Jane,” Mandy warned, but she was a day late and a dollar short.
O’Connor jerked his arm from me and stomped past Mandy. “I’m getting a coffee.”
Staring after her partner with an exasperated expression, Mandy then set her eyes on me and raised a curious eyebrow. “What did you do now?”
Shrugging, I said, “Nothing. Just being myself.”
Mandy smirked. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”
“What can I say?” I held my hands open innocently. “He’s an easy target.”
My bestie started to say something else but thought better of it. “The meeting Clarissa usually goes to doesn’t end for another hour. So, we have some time to kill.”
“Sounds good to me. I have a breakfast burrito calling my name.” I reached for my car, but Mandy’s hand stopped me.
“I have a different idea.” The wicked gleam in her eye told me I wasn’t going to like whatever she had in mind.
“Whatever it is, no. I woke up hella early on my day off to help you guys. I’m not being subjected to whatever nonsense is going on in your head.” I waved a finger at her face.
Grabbing my finger, she dragged me toward the civic center. “Come on. It will be fun. I promise.”
Mandy pulled me through the center and down a hallway full of doors. The gray carpet beneath our feet was doing nothing for the beige walls. It was like they wanted to make this place as depressing as possible.
We came to an abrupt halt in front of one of the doors. I tried to read the little piece of paper taped on the wall next to it, but Mandy shoved me inside before I could read it. The carpet and wall coloring followed us into the room. A table sat alone one side of the room with coffee and donuts which I tried to make a beeline for, but Mandy’s vice-like grip on my arm kept me in check.