Reed
“The car was stolen?” repeated Jesse in horror. “Who in God’s name is this freak?”
“I don’t know,” I said, sitting down next to him in the dining room. “The cops should be here shortly. Maybe they’ll know something more.”
“I’m so sorry,” sobbed Mimi as she wiped her eyes with a tissue. “I had no idea he was lying to me. No idea.”
“Mom, obviously we were all duped. It could have happened to anyone,” I said, especially to someone as gullible as her.
Jesse ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up in disarray. “What in the hell did he want with Sinclair?”
“Oh, God,” moaned Mimi. “I hope he doesn’t rape her. The poor thing.”
That had been my first thought, but hearing it spoken out loud was enough to make me want to kill the bastard who took her several times over. “Did she ever mention anyone stalking her or threatening her?” I asked Jesse.
Jesse shook his head. “No. Never. She doesn’t go out much, she isn’t dating anyone, and she pretty much keeps to herself.”
Mimi’s eyes narrowed. “I thought she was dating you?”
Jesse sighed. “We’re just friends, mother.”
Mimi leaned forward. “But I thought…”
“Jesus Christ,” I said. “You already know the answer to that. Quit lying to yourself.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” said Mimi.
“I’m gay, mom!” snapped Jesse. “Open your eyes.”
She opened her mouth but no words came out.
“Congratulations,” I said. “You should have announced it a lot sooner, though, don’t you think?”
Jesse didn’t say anything, he just stared at the fireplace in despair.
“It’ll be okay,” I told him. “We’ll find her.”
“I hope so,” he mumbled. “Sinclair doesn’t deserve this. She’s my best friend and I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
***
The cops showed up sometime after three in the morning and questioned us along with the valet who’d watched her leave with the pastor. After filling out a report and making a final search of the premises, they prepared to leave.
“That’s it?” I asked. “Isn’t there more you can do?”
One of the men, a young officer named Drake, who looked to be around Jesse’s age, shrugged. “There isn’t more we really can do at this point. She hasn’t even been missing for twenty-four hours.”
“But there’s foul play involved,” I said. “She may be dead in twenty-four hours.”
“Are you sure this friend of yours didn’t know the perp?” asked Drake.
“No, absolutely not,” said Jesse.
“Have you checked around to see if anything of value is missing?” asked the other officer. “The guy is obviously a thief.”
“The only thing valuable missing is Sinclair,” I snapped.
“Listen,” said Drake. “We’ll look into everything you’ve given us and get back to you. For now, I’d call her family and friends, to see if she’s been in contact with them.”
I nodded. “Okay, fine. But call us if you find out anything.”
“Will do,” said Drake. “We’ll check the phone company’s records, too. See if it brings us anything.”
“Okay,” I said, although the odds were that the cell phone he used was probably stolen, too.
***
Reed
I couldn’t sleep. All I could do was pace around the house and stare outside, wondering where the hell Sinclair was. It wasn’t until the sun finally rose and I had coffee in my system that I decided to try searching for her myself. I had no idea where to start, but I couldn’t sit around the house and just do nothing. I grabbed the keys to my car and started towards the front door when Jesse stopped me.
“They found her!” he hollered. “She just called me. She’s okay.”
I sighed in relief. “Thank God. Where is she?” I asked.
“Midway Hospital,” he said. “She has some minor bruises, but she’s doing fine.”
“Thank God,” I said. “Let’s go.”