Fearless Encounter

Chapter 7

The evening he’d spent with Brooke felt like a turning point for Gabriel. For sure, he’d shared more than he intended to. He’d felt comfortable with her and talked about his wife’s death. The more she’d listened with compassion, the more he’d talked. Opening his heart to Brooke had been a good thing, although he couldn’t have predicted that.

Try as he might, Gabriel had been unable to enjoy dating. He’d tried a bit, mostly because his daughters encouraged him. They were old enough to understand love and relationships. He understood that they cared about him and wanted him to find a woman to share his life with. That was surprising, as he would have thought it would be the other way around—that they’d resent any other woman he’d have a relationship with.

But his daughters weren’t young children, fearing that another woman would replace their mother. Although they had each grieved in their own way—and it had been rough—they’d come through it well. It was clear that their mother had a forever place in their hearts. But they loved him too, and wanted to see him happy.

Dinner had been more of a date than a business meeting. Gabriel could no longer deny that he had feelings for Brooke. It surprised him that it had happened in such a short time. But he supposed it didn’t take long for attraction to surface. He’d proposed to his wife not long after meeting her, and she’d felt the same. It appeared Brooke felt something for him too.

Gabriel felt close to her. He wanted to hold and caress her. But he settled for a kiss—two kisses, to be exact. The memory of her soft lips, of her tender touch, sparked desire. And she’d seem to enjoy the intimate gesture as he had.

But that didn’t mean that she was ready for a relationship. Or that she’d chosen him for anything permanent. Brooke was warmhearted and caring, which he appreciated. Yet that didn’t signal a deeper connection. He’d have to feel his way. For now, he needed to get to work protecting her and rescuing her friend. It had only been a few days since the abduction, but it seemed like weeks—because things seemed to be moving so slowly.

Gabriel had showered and headed for the office. He’d said goodbye to Brooke while she was doing laundry. For some reason, the sight of her involved in the domestic task turned him on. He had a flash from the past, how he’d liked being married, and how the simple daily chores were a joy when he had someone to do them with.

He got in his car and refocused. He needed to concentrate on more than a vision of Brooke in his arms.

He couldn’t keep her at his house indefinitely. It was only fair that she went home to her condo. Gabriel was aware that he’d pressed his luck already by persuading her to stay longer. He couldn’t stand the idea of her alone when criminals lurked. She may have a rosier view of the situation, but he’d dealt with the shadier side of life for too long to not be somewhat jaded.

First, Gabriel went to the office. He needed to check on cases to be sure there were no emergencies. Although his team did a lot of the investigation work, he outsourced other duties—particularly surveillance. Plus, Weston was known to work at all hours, so it was possible he’d learned more related to the recent disappearance. When he entered, Amalie greeted him.

He stood by her desk, staring at a swath of purple in her long blonde hair. “What did you do to your hair?”

“Oh, Dad,” Amalie said. “It washes out. I was just in a purple mood last night.”

Whatever that was—but he knew better than to ask. Gabriel had learned to wait it out when his daughters went through a phase. He hoped the purple was short-lived, because he much preferred blonde.

“Got anything?” he said, peering over her shoulder.

“Just going through social media,” Amalie said. “Looking for any sign of threat.”

Weston was at his desk banging away on his keyboard. He put up a finger to let Gabriel know to wait. Then he tapped enter and leaned back in his chair. “Good morning.”

“At least you don’t have purple hair,” Gabriel said.

Weston smiled. “It looks cool. I think she should keep it.”

Gabriel sighed. “Any chance you have more to tell me about Capstone Security?”

“I’ve researched the company, when it was founded, its mission statement and all,” Weston said. “So far, there are no obvious red flags. I looked into Peter Schwartz, the CEO. On the surface he appears clean, but I’m digging deeper. And I’ve started background checks on the other key employees. There is a guy named Luis Valdez, the company’s head of security.”

“And he’s important?”

“He’s a guy you’ll want to talk to,” Weston said. “He handles cybersecurity for the company, tracks vulnerabilities. I’d pick his brain, find out what kind of recent situations came up.” He swiveled in his chair. “After all, the company’s lead researcher was abducted. If it was related to what she was working on, he might help spot the source of the attack.”

“I’ll check into it,” Gabriel said. “Today, I’m meeting Abe. We’ll interview the party attendees…see if they can ID the guy who left with Meghan Reid. Or point us in the right direction. I’ll text the list of names when I get it. You can check them, see if there’s anyone we should focus on.”

Weston nodded, then went back to work. After Gabriel handled any pressing email and looked at updates on their usual cases, he headed to the police station.

*****

Some days it felt as if he hadn’t left the force. Gabriel walked past the desk clerk and raised his hand. “Going back to see Abe.”

He found his buddy digging through piles of paper. “You’d think with all the technology we have these days that I wouldn’t have to deal with so much paper.”

“Not gonna happen.” Gabriel dropped into a chair. “You got the list?”

Abe shuffled papers aside and lifted a folder. He opened it and retrieved a document. “I put an officer on it immediately. Here’s what we’ve got: the name of the party hostess and a list of the attendees.”

“Phone numbers and addresses?”

“Got that too,” Abe said. “Turns out the party was a yearly event, so it wasn’t difficult to get the list. I phoned the hostess, let her know we’re coming.” He stood and grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. “You ready?”

Gabriel followed him out the door. “I’ll drive.”

Once in the car, Gabriel headed for the apartment in the French Quarter where Meghan Reid had last been seen. He was familiar with the location. The French Quarter wasn’t that big. At the building, Gabriel pulled into the alley in back to park. They took the stairs to the second floor and rang the bell.

A middle-aged woman wearing glasses opened the door. She reminded Gabriel of a librarian, studious and smart.

“Pamela Williams?” Abe said, flashing his badge.

“Yes, come in.”

The apartment was decorated in keeping with the historical building. The blue and white theme with brighter accents was popular in cottages in the area. Pamela invited them into the living room, and each took a seat in a plush, velvety chair.

“Can I get you anything?” Pamela said.

“No thank you,” Gabriel said. “We’re here to ask you a few questions, hoping you can help us.”

“I was distressed to learn that Meghan didn’t show up for work Monday. I believe that Sandra Wilson already sent you the photos she took.”

“Yes, that was helpful.” Abe leaned forward, arms on his knees. “We appreciate your cooperation. Apparently you saw Meghan Reid when she left the party. Can you give us any details you can think of?”

“Well, let’s see,” Pamela said. “Meghan is a good friend. She attends my party every year. Sometimes she brings a date, but often not. That night she was alone, until that guy came to pick her up.”

Abe leaned back. “How do you know Meghan?”

“We became friends in college,” Pamela said. “We took different career paths, but we still had a lot in common.”

“Can you describe the man she left with?” Gabriel asked.

“Not that well,” Pamela said. “Sandra got a photo of him, as you saw. But he was in costume. I didn’t recognize him, so he wasn’t anyone that Meghan dated regularly.”

“Did she mention him to you?” Gabriel said.

“No, she didn’t. We chatted over drinks, and she circulated to see other friends. I think if she was expecting someone, she would have told me.”

“Likely so,” Abe said. “Can you think of any reason she would want to keep the man a secret, someone she might have dated privately?”

Pamela shook her head. “You don’t know Meghan. She didn’t do clandestine stuff. She’s a very up-front person. And she didn’t date much anyway. If a new guy had popped up, I would have heard about it.” She looked thoughtful. “I didn’t speak to the man. But it is odd that Meghan didn’t introduce him. That’s not like her at all. He just appeared in the room, didn’t even ring the bell. Then she left without a word. I was in the middle of a conversation but happened to notice as they went out the door. I didn’t see any reason to chase after her. I assumed his arrival to escort her elsewhere was planned. It’s not my business…but I am upset that she’s missing.”

Abe handed her a list of the party attendees. “This is a copy of the list you provided. Can you look it over and confirm that all the attendees are on there?”

Pamela ran her finger down the list. “I’m sure that’s everyone.”

“We plan to interview each person,” Abe said. “Of those on the list, who knew her the best?”

“I’m her closest friend from college,” Pamela said. “Then there’s Sandra Wilson, the one who took the photos. The other four people on the list knew her. Two were from the college gang with a couple of newer friends. But no one was close to her. My party is just a yearly social event, sort of like a reunion.”

“Do you communicate with Meghan on a regular basis?” Gabriel said.

“Not really,” Pamela said. “She has a very busy career, so her social life is limited. We texted prior to the party about costumes and food and things. Occasionally we meet for a drink. But we hadn’t done that in over six months.”

“Take a minute to think about it,” Gabriel said. “In any of her communications with you, were you aware of anything wrong, anyone threatening her?”

Pamela shook her head. “I’ve thought about it a lot since she was reported missing. It doesn’t make sense. She’s more of a homebody and works a lot. I don’t know of any enemies she had. Meghan is an intelligent, likeable woman. I just don’t understand what could have happened to her.” She took a deep breath. “I hope you find her soon. Maybe it’s a misunderstanding. Even though it doesn’t seem likely, possibly she ran off with that guy.”

*****

Once back in the car, Abe said, “I think she was being straight with us. But we didn’t learn much. I had a background check done on her. She’s worked for the school system since college, has a conservative lifestyle—no record except for a couple of traffic tickets.”

“I guess Sandra Wilson is next,” Gabriel said. “Put her address in the navigation and we’ll head over there.”

“She’s at work today,” Abe said, “but we got her employer’s address.”

On the way, Abe gave an update. “Our team is working hard. We tracked her cell phone, which was easy enough to find but not helpful. It was dumped a block from the incident. Clearly, the perp was smart enough to know we could track it.”

“That figures.”

“We are researching her call and text records,” Abe said. “If she had any calls with the perp or his cronies, I’ll let you know. And we provided a list of databases to her boss so he can put the missing person report online, including to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.”

“What else?”

“We are tapping into all avenues,” Abe said. “We’re running down anything that sparks interest, using a list of any nicknames used, places she frequented. Plus, we have a list of medical conditions, medications, allergies, and so on that her cousin provided. But that wasn’t too helpful, since she’s not diabetic and has no known disabilities.”

“You were hoping to spot an instance of acquiring meds and such things?” Gabriel said.

“Yes, that leaves a trail sometimes,” Abe said. “But not in this case, it seems. The cousin is working up a list of all relatives and friends with their contact information, so we can interview as needed. She has already alerted those close to Meghan, but no one has come forth with any information.”

“I think our best bet is the party attendees,” Gabriel said, “or her coworkers. I have my team working the cybercrime, dark web aspects, and other angles.”

In the business district, Gabriel found the office building and parked in the lot. Abe had to take a call from the station, so he stepped out of the vehicle.

Gabriel took the opportunity to text Brooke. She’d assured him that she’d be safe during the day, but at this point he preferred confirmation. She replied that she was still with her sister. Everything was fine and she’d see him later. He felt relief hearing that. He was a protector by nature, and Brooke was rapidly becoming a special person in his life.

Shortly, Abe was ready to proceed with the interviews, and Sandra Wilson was next. She worked as a legal secretary. The door to the office read: Christensen that was her personality.” Using a tissue, she wiped tears from her eyes. “I am concerned about her. It’s not like her to vanish without a word, or to leave a party with a man that hadn’t been invited. And…”

“Something else?” Gabriel said.

Taking a moment to compose herself, Sandra took a deep breath. “I don’t know if this is anything or not. I’m not prone to intuition and tend toward facts over feeling.” She paused. “But that evening as I snapped photos, the guy who appeared caught my attention.”

“How so?” Abe said.

“It all happened so quickly,” Sandra said. “One minute he was there beside Meghan, and the next they were gone. But I got a bad vibe. In that brief glimpse of him with her, I sensed tension. It was subtle, and I doubt anyone else noticed. But I know Meghan well, and she didn’t appear to have good rapport with him. She’d been drinking with the rest of us and should have been having fun. But I picked up resistance in her body language and didn’t like how the man stepped behind her—almost as if forcing her out the door.” She expelled a breath. “I should have said something, stopped her. But in that split second, I didn’t realize it was important. It crossed my mind to ask Meghan about the guy later. It didn’t occur to me that she was in danger.”

The rest of the interview wasn’t revelatory. The key takeaway was that Sandra confirmed that Meghan was coerced to leave. Some fear drew her away, and she left with a man she didn’t fully trust. Gabriel had handled people and cases long enough to understand that much.

The others on the party list didn’t take long to interview. Each knew Meghan but had no helpful information. Except for Pamela and Sandra, no one had even noticed the man escorting Meghan from the party. Whoever he was, the guy was smooth. He had something on Meghan, some leverage to get her to obey and go with him. But it wasn’t clear who’d targeted her and why.