* * * *
Sage went out to dinner with Curtis and his girlfriend Liz. They met some more of Curtis’s friends from work, an office she visited during the day. She had to admit that she liked the high-rise buildings and the small layout of the city of Dallas. It wasn’t like Detroit and the city there. In fact it was clean.
They talked about the need for paralegals, researchers, and even new programs that entailed working for the government and helping in missing persons cases. It snagged her attention and she thought about Matt and Quaid. They probably knew a lot about such a position. She wondered if they had connections that could help her? She thought about all four of them a lot. And every time she had an idea, or was excited about something, she wanted to share it with Dale, Virgo, Matt, and Quaid.
“We were going to head to one of the dance halls. You promise not to get into another bar fight?” Curtis teased, and they all laughed. She had explained how she cut her arm.
“I will promise no such thing. Remember, I was defending myself and was an innocent bystander.”
“Hey, I went to college with you. You were a daredevil,” Curtis teased.
“What makes you think I’m still not?”
The others laughed and Liz smiled. As they headed out of the restaurant, she texted the guys in a group message and told them the plan. She also texted Amanda. She had yet to hear back from her and she was starting to worry. It wasn’t uncommon for her to go missing for a day or two after hooking up with some guy, but it was Tuesday night.
As they made it to the dance hall, she got a text back from Amanda.
Where are you?
In Dallas. Where the hell have you been? What happened with that guy you hooked up with?
I’m in Dallas, too, with the guy. Where are you now?
A dance hall.
Which one? I’ll meet you there.
Sage had a funny feeling in her gut. She didn’t think that Amanda would actually leave the area they lived in Pearl to go to Dallas with some guy she just met. Unless he was really that great? It was just a sensation, but she felt weird as she texted the address.
I’ll see you there. I’ll find you, don’t worry.
Even Amanda’s words sounded funny, and Sage reached into her small purse and touched the pepper spray. It had to be her imagination. There wasn’t anything strange about this situation.
Before they headed inside, she texted Davie to let him know about Amanda.
“Finish up your texts now, Sage. The place is so loud in here, and so much fun, but the signals are poor,” Curtis told her.
“Oh, okay,” she said and placed the cell phone in her bag.
* * * *
“We got a possible situation,” Matt stated as he came back into the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” Dale asked.
“Amanda Brentworth is missing. Her parents notified Wyatt that she never returned after going out with her friends Saturday night.”
“What does he think happened?” Virgo asked.
“They are questioning the other friends who were with her when Quaid and I were with Sage at the urgent care.”
“Fuck. Sage is going to panic. Should we call her?” Dale asked.
“Not yet. She’ll be home tonight and then we’ll be able to explain things to her,” Matt said.
“What can we do to help out now?” Quaid asked.
“I guess head to the department and help with the questioning. Wyatt has the parents calling friends and ex-boyfriends.”