My Fake Fling

“Who was the last person to talk to him?” he asked.

I could hear him writing things down. The scribbling sound echoed through the phone. “I don’t know.”

“How do you not know?” His frustration could be felt through the phone.

“I was there for five minutes on a totally separate matter,” I explained. “Dad was there to see Kathy. I left and he was still there.”

“Is that finally happening?” he asked. He was referring to our father and our aunt finally getting together.

We all knew Dad had loved Kathy first. His brother swept in and stole her away. Now that Dad and Kathy were both widowed, it seemed like they were ready to make it happen before they took their last breaths.

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Not exactly something I want details about.”

“Did you ask Kathy about his state of mind or the last thing he said when he left?”

Clark was an investigator. I was not. This was his thing, not mine. “No. I didn’t want to stress her out. The last thing I want is that brood coming after me for giving their mother a heart attack. She was worried enough as it was.”

He let out a long sigh. “Fine, I’ll be the bad guy. What else? I need any little detail you have, even if you don’t think it’s important.”

“I have nothing,” I told him. “I know he never made it back to Vancouver from New York. That’s it. I have no idea when he was leaving. I expected him about three weeks ago. I assumed he was enjoying his visit with Kathy. I kind of hoped they were able to get away for a few days and reconnect. I was busy with this project. It never occurred to me he might be missing.”

“You should have called me sooner,” he growled. “He could be anywhere at this point. His trail is going to be very, very cold. Was there anything happening at home that would make him want to run?”

“Like what?” I said. “We’re not shady businessmen. Our business is legit. Our business is doing better than ever. Dad is mostly retired. He’s in the best place in his life that he has been in a long time. There is no reason for him to run. That’s not something I believe.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll get into it.”

“Call me as soon as you find out anything,” I said. “Anything at all.”

“Yeah,” he said and ended the call.

I put the phone back in my pocket and looked to Thea.

“I don’t want to pry, but what the hell was that about?” she asked. “Your dad is missing? Is that really what I heard?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“Reese!” She reached out and put her hand on mine. “Why didn’t you say anything? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said.

“How long have you been living with this?”

“It only occurred to me I hadn’t seen him about two weeks ago,” I said. “I feel like I failed him. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Do you think he just decided to take a few days to himself?” she asked.

“Initially, that’s what I thought,” I said. “But there is no way he would have missed the opening of the tower. He would have shown up with an oxygen tank and in a wheelchair if that’s what it took. He would not miss that. There is just no way. That’s when I realized something was wrong.”

“Did I hear you tell him you went to the police?” she asked.

“I did. That was surreal. I filed a missing person’s report. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the impression they took it seriously. I was told he’s an adult with means. They think he’s running around the world on a yacht or something. I don’t know how to make them understand this isn’t right. This is not okay. Dad would not just disappear for weeks. He would have checked in. He would have told his housekeeper he wasn’t going to be home. He checked in with her more than he did us. She hasn’t seen him.”

“Holy shit,” she breathed. “Are you sure you want to do this thing tonight?”

“I have to keep up appearances,” I told her.

“What about your brothers? None of them have talked to him?”