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“Fuck.” Sondra repeated as she swallowed hard and hung up the phone.
Sondra was hesitant to call William Hartman, but what else could she do? It was him or the police, and, until she knew for sure that something bad happened, she preferred to leave the cops out of this.
Sondra needed help and William was one of her few friends. Since he had unlimited resources at his disposal, in addition to the fact that he was in love with the girl in question, she knew she had no choice but to involve him in the matter, even if it meant extreme repercussions for herself. She threw a few things in a bag and texted William that she needed to see him right away and was on her way over.
William was waiting for her at the door, wearing plaid pajama bottoms that were slung low on his hips and nothing else. Even after all this time, seeing him this way still caused her breath to catch. She’d never seen a man more beautiful than he was in that very moment.
William grinned wickedly. “So I take you’re here to do my session? Why so late? And why here? What happened to Laelia, anyway?” William suddenly paused looking out the window, a smile playing across his lips. “Damn, I really, really liked that girl.”
Sondra froze. Seeing the look on his face, she lost every ounce of courage she might’ve had and decided right then and there that explaining everything was a bad idea. “She’s, uh, tied up.”
William laughed. “Nice pun. I’d like to tie her up.”
Sondra took a seat at the bar. “I need water. Do you have a Perrier?
William walked over, opened the fridge, took out the bottle, opened it, and slid it across the bar to Sondra.
“So what’s up?” William asked, nodding wearily.
Sondra gulped the water. Here goes nothing. “I’m here about Addison Greyer. She’s missing.”
“What do you mean she’s missing? What the fuc—?”
Sondra cut him off. “Sit down, William.”
William stayed put.
“Listen, she went to interview a potential client this afternoon, and no one has heard from her since. The nanny said she didn’t show up to get the kids. And when I typed the client’s name into our database, nothing came up. I Googled his name and address. It doesn’t exist.”
William’s expression changed from wary to stone cold. He picked up his phone from the bar and began dialing numbers. “What time? How long has she been missing?” he
asked as he quickly analyzed the risk, knowing the statistics.
“Six hours. Who are you calling?”
“Addison. I’m calling Addison!” William paced back and forth. Come on. Pick up. Nothing. It went straight to voicemail. Next, he dialed Carl. “Assemble the team. I need everyone in here ASAP.”
William kept firing questions. “How did this happen? Has anyone notified the police? Her husband? Checked with the rest of her family?”
“No.” Sondra said, trying to remain calm for William’s sake.
“She wouldn’t just not come home to her children or ignore Kelsey’s calls. Something bad has happened to her, Sondra. Why in the hell didn’t you call me sooner? Or call the fucking police?”
“I wasn’t sure she was really missing. I mean . . . This isn’t the first time my calls have gone unanswered.”
Thankfully, William’s security team came through the door at that moment, taking the pressure off. William explained everything to them, and then Carl interrogated Sondra, asking her the same questions multiple times, until he seemed satisfied. She then wrote down all of the information she had on the client and handed it over.
But there was something about the way Carl looked at her when he she gave him the client’s name. There was something behind that look that terrified her. All at once, the room was in motion; there were calls being made and computers being set up. Not knowing what to do with herself, Sondra went to Carl and tapped him on the shoulder, interrupting his conversation. “Do you know someone by the name of Simon Peter?
Carl looked at Sondra, though his expression giving nothing away. “Why do you ask?”
Sondra crossed her arms, feeling uneasy. “I just need to know.”
Carl nodded. “Simon Peter was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. The leader—he was known for bringing people to Jesus.”
Sondra didn’t follow. “Ok?”
Carl spoke slowly, carefully choosing his words. “The name this person, this client, choose to give, gives us a glimpse into his mental state.”
