Lose Your Breath (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Yeah, he was my dad.” Dave shrugged. “Go figure, two general’s kids deciding to get married.” He laughed. “Your dad suggested we use your last name to keep mine secure. I can take any identity, but we’ll have to marry under my real name to make it legal.”

Annie looked at him and smiled. “Can I still call you Dave? I think it suits you. Being named after your father must have been terrible growing up?”

“Yeah, well they never used my name; they called me Junior most times.” He reached into his pocket. “So, Dave is fine by me and I’ve gotten used to it. It’s our special name.” He opened a ring box. “I hope you don’t want a long engagement. I’ve purchased matching sets of wedding rings to go with this.”

Annie gaped at an exquisite diamond ring. A simple pear-shaped diamond set in yellow gold. “I’d have been happy with a cigar wrapper.” She held out her hand as he slipped it on her finger. “Wow! I love it and I don’t want to wait either.” She giggled. “How about tomorrow?”

“As soon as we can get things organized, works for me, but I have another confession.” Dave pressed kisses to her cheek. “I’m loaded.”

Laughing, Annie hugged him. “I have one too. You do know I want a dozen kids?”

“Me too and we’ll get a dog. Kids need a dog.” Dave let out a long sigh and looked chagrined. “I already asked for your dad’s blessing. I didn’t want any complications. He figures, because of my past, a secret wedding will be safer. So, if you really don’t want to wait, call your dad. He wants to be involved.”

Annie laughed. “My dad is a teddy bear, isn’t he?” She looked at him. “My parents have a lovely home with a pergola. I’m happy with a marriage celebrant or a trip to Vegas, whenever we can arrange it.”

“Okay.” He grinned at her. “Let’s go and celebrate.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

After dinner, Dave had gotten as far as the elevator in Annie’s apartment building on the way from dinner when his phone chimed. “Yeah?”

“This is the dean of Georgetown University. I have your number down as the next of kin contact for Professor Josephine Henley. Am I speaking to Mr. Henley?”

An uneasy feeling crept over Dave. They’d used his sister’s married name and assumed they’d contacted her ex-husband. “I’m Josie’s brother. Is she okay? What’s happened?”

“I’m sorry to call so late, but she was due to drop by this week and we haven’t heard from her. The new semester starts on Monday. I’ve called her cell and home with no response. I became worried, so asked the local police to drop by. They spoke to the neighbors and one of them mentioned she planned to go by your grandparents’ house. She’d received a call about a tree down from a storm. It seems so strange she wouldn’t return my messages. As she still hasn’t called, I thought I should contact you.”

Why wouldn’t Josie call him about the tree? It was his house. Not that he ever went there. It held too many sad memories. The smell of death still lingered after his grandma died there and being the one to find her at just sixteen years old, hadn’t endeared him to the place. He’d planned to sell it long before now. However, because of Josie he’d delayed the sale. She had a habit of visiting the old place, switching off her phone, and just chilling for days without informing anyone. He’d left the power connected and found the supplies she’d left for her visits in the freezer and pantry. Being at the house obviously offered her some comfort in times of stress, but when he’d offered to give her the house she’d refused.

Although the home had passed to his father, Dave’s parents hadn’t raised their kids there. Like most military brats they’d been raised all over the world, but Josie had often spent summers with their grandparents. Her memories were obviously different from his own. He drew in a deep breath. “Okay, leave it with me. I’ll track her down. Thanks for calling.” He disconnected.

“What’s happened?” Annie gripped his arm.

Dave shook his head. “Maybe nothing. My sister isn’t picking up her phone and her work is trying to get in contact with her, so they called me.” He sighed. “This isn’t unusual for her but I’ll try and track her down.”

Dave called the local general store close to his grandparent’s house. The family had owned the store for as long as he remembered and lived above the store. Josie could have dropped by for supplies or information. The number picked up after a minute or so. “Hi, Mrs. Philibert. I’m really sorry to disturb you so late. This is Junior, the general’s son. Remember me?”

“I sure do, Junior, and it’s no trouble. We always stay up and watch the movie on Friday nights.” The old lady sounded happy to speak to him. “I was just talking to Josie about the tree that came down in the storm. There’s many around here who could make use of the wood.”

Dave smiled to himself. “When did you last speak with her?”

“That would be Thursday morning.” Mrs. Philibert paused a beat. “She’s stressed out about something at work and will be staying a few days. She posted a sign in my window to give away the wood. She had the tree service cut it up for her. It must have cost a pretty penny. I told her she should sell it but she’d have none of it. She made up the notice right there and then.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Philibert. I’ll drop by tomorrow and give her a hand.” Dave disconnected and contacted Terabyte. “My sister has gone AWOL. I’ll need a couple of days to go and check if she’s okay. I’m on duty this weekend but one of the guys will cover for me.” He explained the situation. “Can you do what’s necessary to clear it with the boss?”

“Sure, that shouldn’t be a problem. Where are you heading?”

“Virginia, to my grandparents’ old home.” Dave rubbed his chin. “It’s not going to be fun driving there in the snow, but my truck has snow tires, so I don’t think it will be too much of a problem. It’s too late to leave now and we’ve been out celebrating our engagement, so it will be safer if we head out first thing in the morning.”

“Congratulations! I’ll clear it with everyone. Take your com and stay in contact. I react faster than the local cops if there are any concerns.” Terabyte cleared his throat. “You don’t sound too worried.”

Dave shrugged as he pushed the buttons inside the elevator. “I’m not. She goes AWOL all the time, and if she’d been in an accident, the cops would have called me. I’m down as her next of kin. Josie often takes off for days. She turns off her phone when she doesn’t want to be disturbed. I couldn’t reach her for a full week one time. She considers cellphones an invasion of privacy. This is the problem with geniuses; they live in their world of academia and forget we all live on the outside.”

“Okay, I’m here if you need me.”

Dave thought for a minute. He’d broken protocol one time when Terabyte went missing for days and asked after his health on his return. He’d discovered his handler’s wife had died, leaving him with three kids to raise. That’s all the information he had about him but as Terabyte knew what he ate for breakfast, knowing this small part of his handler’s life wasn’t going to cause a national security breach. “Hey, how are things at home now? Are you coping okay with the kids?”

“Yeah, I’m working hard to keep sane. My ma helps with the kids. I’ll never get over losing my wife but I’m taking it one day at a time. It’s all we can do, right?”