David

I called her again and finally gave up. It was the tenth time that I had called Carol. She just wasn’t answering. I had a lot on my mind and she was always good at helping that. There was something about her and I wanted to see her. I wouldn’t say that I was close to death on the floor of that house, but there were definitely a few moments that I thought about what my life had turned into, what was missing in it.

So instead of waiting for her to answer, I went back to the house around the corner where Carol lived. It was like it had been before, but after a few minutes of sitting across the street I noticed a few things were off. The screen door wasn’t latched and the wind kept catching it and banging it into the side of the house. It was the movement that caught my eye.

The door looked to be opened as well, just a little but enough that it had me wondering what was going on. Something was amiss and instead of waiting around for the car to arrive like before, I made my way to the porch. The door was ajar when I got there and my heart started to race faster in my chest. I wanted to think that I was wrong, but I had a bad feeling about this.

Pushing the door open, I called out her name a couple of times before I walked in. The place was void of any light and I turned one on by the door. It flooded the living room with an eerie glow. Nothing looked out of place. It just looked like someone had momentarily stepped away. Another door led to the garage and that was where I found her car.

If I hadn’t found the car, I would have left. I didn’t want her to come back and find me there, not after how the last meeting between us went. But something was wrong and the feeling in my stomach was stronger. So, I kept searching around for any clues as to where she was. I no longer felt like a robber or stalker. Now I felt like I was going to find something that I didn’t want to. Where was Carol?

The only room that had anything out of place was her bedroom. There was a glass of wine on the nightstand and the closet door was wide open. Missing clothes on hangers made me believe that she had grabbed a few things before she left. It just didn’t make sense and instead of calling it a day, I called Joel to see if I could talk to Cameron.

“Hey David, did you find anything out?”

I had, but that wasn’t why I was calling. I wasn’t worried about my mess anymore, I was worried about Carol and even though I had no proof of wrong doing, it sure felt like it.

“Yeah, but I am calling about something else. Is Cameron home?”

“She just got in a little while ago, why?”

“Well I need to talk to her about her friend Carol.”

There was a moment of silence and then a little noise as the phone was given to her. She asked how I was and I told her I was fine. I didn’t want to share niceties around the bush and I just went right into it.

“Have you seen Carol in the last couple of days?”

“No, she isn’t returning my phone calls. I figured that she was mad at me because she thinks I gave you her address.”

“Where does she work?”

“I am not going to tell you that David. She is already mad at me for you going over there before.”

“I went back to her house a little while ago and the screen and regular door were open. Some clothes are gone and her car is in the garage. Do you know where she would be?”

I wasn’t trying to reveal that I was in the house, but I was losing Cameron quickly and I had to say something. I wanted her to tell me that Carol was vacationing somewhere, anything opposed to what I was thinking about in my mind.

“Are you serious? Her door was open?”

“Yeah, it looked off and now I can’t get a hold of her. I just want to make sure she is okay.”

“You really do care, don’t you?”

I was irritated at best and I didn’t want to talk about my feelings with her. I didn’t want to tell her that I just had a bad feeling that I was usually better off listening to. There was no concrete evidence, but circumstantial was stacking up quickly.

“I just want to make sure she is okay. I didn’t tell her that you gave me the information, so I apologize if that started something between you. I would be more than happy to tell her if I could just get a hold of her.”

“I haven’t seen her, honestly. I will give you the address to where she works, but it would be easier if you just let me call and see what is going on. They know me over there and it isn’t the type of place that people off the street can walk in.”

I agreed, even though I didn’t want to. I wanted to see or speak to Carol right now. The few minutes that it took for Cameron to call me back was enough to get me pacing the small apartment.

“Her job says that she hasn’t been in for a couple of days. Some guy called in for her and said she was taking some time off, but they didn’t give any more information. I don’t know where she is David.”

I believed her and I wondered who it was that had called in for her. I found out about her boyfriend, the one that I was aware of and I decided to start there. Steve Getts might know where she was and I had a curiosity about him. I wanted to know who was the man that she had turned me down for.

***

“I’m sorry, Mr. Getts isn’t in today.”

“When will he be back?”

The woman at the receptionist desk was looking me up and down like I was about to pull a gun out and rob her. I probably did look like a mess because of all of the cuts and bruising on my face. I wasn’t thinking about that though. I was thinking about finding Carol.

“I’m sorry Sir. He had taken a vacation and won’t be back for another week at least.”

“I need to get a hold of him.”

She looked around and then leaned in. “He is on a boat Sir and won’t be available for phone calls either.”

I asked a little more, but it was clear that she was either unwilling or unable to help me further. I was just going to have to figure it out. It could all be some romantic week that he had planned for her, whisking her away. But it didn’t feel right. After talking to Cameron, she told me that it could be true. They were getting close and I wasn’t sure if I liked hearing that.

If everything was okay, I didn’t have any excuse to butt in. I would, but now that there wasn’t such a rush, I could take my time and take care of my problems first. I was still trying to figure out why Leo had jumped me. It felt too personal and there had to be a reason beyond what it appeared. But first thing first, I had to find out what was going on with Leo. Marcus and a few of his guys were going to help me. It wasn’t sanctioned by Lucas, but I wasn’t going to wait.

***

We found Leo outside of the bar where I had first met him. He was with a few of his friends, some that I found myself recognizing, but I would get to them later. Leo was the one in charge and he was the one that had started it all, so he was the one that I wanted. He didn’t want to come easily. He didn’t have a choice. I wasn’t letting him get away, not after what he had done to me. If I didn’t get a good reason as to why he had done what he had done, I was going to make sure that he figured one out. He was going to see the error of his ways if I had anything to say about it.

Marcus knew a place that we could get some privacy. I wanted to make sure that no one was going to walk in on what I had planned. I knew of only one way to get information that wasn’t easy to get. I didn’t mind if that was what I had to do, but I certainly didn’t want to get caught. I had enough explaining to do when I saw Lucas. I didn’t want to have to explain to a cop why I had a guy duct-taped and tied to a chair in an abandoned house, much like the one that he had left me in.

Pulling the tape off of his mouth, he let out a groan that I found enticing. It was only going to get worse from here.

“Good to see you again Leo. We haven’t been introduced, but I feel like we know each other well already, don’t you?”

There was fear in his eyes that was rightfully placed. I had never been so angry in all of my life, not in a long time anyways and I wasn’t one to just let things go. I was incapable of it as far as I was concerned. Past experience told me that it was better to make sure that I got my revenge quickly, or I would sit and stew about it and ultimately make it a whole lot worse.

“What do you want? Just do what you are going to do. I know what kind of man you are.”

“If you think that this is going to be quick and I am just going to let it all go, you really don’t know me very well Leo. I want answers before I do anything else.”

He looked at me as if he wasn’t going to give me any, but I knew better. Everyone talked, eventually. I smiled at his show of bravado, knowing that it wasn’t going to be there for long.