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That was Friday night. Saturday and Sunday stretched agonizingly long.
Sharlee called a conference call on Sunday afternoon. “Okay, check in. We’ll start. Tracked the cell to the loop, Highway 4, and then on Highway 27 toward Paris.”
“She would have had to drive past you then,” said Garrett.
“She would have indeed, but I don’t believe she was driving. Her car is in her office building parking lot,” said Monroe.
“There are a shit load of farms out there. And land.” Mark pointed out the obvious, but Ryker needed all the information he had to process correctly.
“There is,” said Jac. “So we had to expand.”
“She has been having stalkers or creepy stuff happen to her before we got together. It’s how we met, actually. When I had just arrived in the hotel’s parking lot, she was yelling for help as she fought off an attacker. It happens in her line of work, but this person seemed random. Thinking she was an easy target.
“A few days later, a parent of a recent foster child she was seeing decided that she was the social worker for some reason. Possibly they weren’t satisfied with their child’s treatment and followed her to the conference. The police will have to get the information on those two.”
Garrett said, “Write down everything you can remember about that and share it with the police tomorrow when you make the official report.”
Carter spoke. “Levi and I went over the area and found nothing, so we tagged the car for sight and sound. Then we tricked the office door to alert us to her office door opening and her outer door opening.”
Levi added, “Checked her apartment, nothing. Did you say you spend weekdays there, Ryker?”
“I do, but Thursday, I didn’t. I had a case in court at eight am Friday that I was still working on and needed to be fresh the next day. But we talked that night and during the day on Friday, after court. She seemed fine. She wanted to grill that night.” He sounded tortured at the memory.
“Okay, well, that all fits what we found. She had takeout for one, and it looks like nothing else spectacular happened after that. We left cameras inside and one for the walkway outside. The parking is already covered, but only the police are given access. Let’s leave that to IT.”
Kaden nodded. “Got it covered already.”
“We have gone over the footage, and I am waiting for my program to work to get into the office building’s system. Meanwhile, we are still going through cams, but we aren’t sure when she left the building until we get through to the office manager. We found her, but she hasn’t answered her phone, and when Carter went around, no luck. She was gone for the weekend.”
“Could Oakley have gone somewhere with her?”
“No way. She was thinking of firing her to get a replacement. It wasn’t working out.”
“You don’t think Oakley sacked her and Shandra lost it?”
“Shit. I didn’t think about that, but no, I really don’t. Garrett and I are checking out the area around her car and the car again. See if we missed anything.”
“Keep us informed,” said Monroe.
Ryker climbed out of his car with Jac and Sharlee on the video on his phone. “It’s getting colder, and she doesn’t have her coat. I saw it in her car. She isn’t someone to wear one, but she does get cold.”
Ryker stood in the dimly lit parking garage and thought they should put more light in here. He hadn’t noticed that before. A cold gust of wind ruffled his hair as he scanned the area for any signs of Oakley. His heart pounded in his chest, and fear coiled like a serpent in his stomach. He clenched his jaw, frustrated by the lack of progress in their search.
“Get out of the cold, man. When you file the missing person’s report, that will add our friends on the force and get us access to the office building. Sharlee and Kaden are still working on it, but for some shit reason, something is blocking them in real-time.” Jac sounded frustrated and concerned.
“Damn it!” Ryker cursed under his breath.
The high stakes of waiting the weekend after Oakley’s disappearance weighed on him like a thousand-pound anchor. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her–not when they had only just begun to explore the depths of their connection.
Garrett encouraged Ryker back into the car. “Sitting out here will do no one any good. We need to go in and make our plan for tomorrow morning because at seven am bright and early, you will be making an official missing person’s report, and then we will be at Oakley’s office figuring this out.”
True to his word, the next morning, Garrett went with Ryker to make the missing person’s report, and at eight, Sharlee, Callie, and Carter met Ryker and Garrett at the office. Garrett and Levi made Shandra hesitate, her eyes widening as she took in the men. However, after Ryker explained, she apologized for not being available over the weekend and unlocked Oakley’s office.
“Won’t the police get upset about this?” asked Shandra.
“Maybe, but we have waited all weekend to get in here, and if it makes you feel better, cancel her appointments. I’ll take the flack if she returns this morning.”
“Yeah, like she will complain about anything you do. I think you are the only one she would allow to go through her office. She trusts you.”
