Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
“That’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Was he about to tell me my services were no longer needed?
SEVEN
Mitchell
The morning went off without a hitch. I got up in time to see Sunshine in action. She might have been a great employee, but at the same time, it wasn’t great she was an employee.
She was good with kids. She was good with my father. She could cook and, outside of our interactions, she had a sweet disposition. Totally wife material. Something I shouldn’t be thinking about for a woman I barely knew. Last thing I needed to do was fall for someone. Been there and done that.
Instead, I got my head back in the game with my daughter. I drove her to school. She was a curious one, peppering me with questions about where I lived and what I did. But the closer I got to her school, the quieter she got.
Mountainside was very different from the Creek. You might have thought we were on another planet. The town looked on the verge of being condemned from the number of boarded-up properties. Zoe’s elementary school had also seen better days.
As I pulled to a stop in the drop-off lane, I could tell Zoe wasn’t eager to go inside. “Everything okay?” I asked.
With half a smile, she shrugged and slung her blue backpack over her shoulder.
“You can tell me anything,” I said, hoping she’d open up to me.
“It’s fine,” she said. She was out of the car before I could open it for her.
I scrambled out of the car anyway and ran over to her. “Don’t forget your lunch.”
She took it, but I knew then we’d have to have a long talk tonight.
The car behind me honked. I wanted to give the guy a few choice words, but didn’t want to embarrass my daughter. So I got back in and made the drive back to the Creek.
Not knowing a lot about kids, I needed advice. I expected to find it at home, not on the side of the road walking to town.
Sunshine was certainly a spitfire, which only intrigued me more. She might not have agreed to my assessment of our mutual attraction, but we both knew it was there. Though I’d respect her wishes and keep my distance.
“How’d it go this morning?” she asked.
“That’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“What is it you want to say?” she asked.
“Actually, it’s not about me. It’s about Zoe.” I sighed. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say she has problems at school.”
Sunshine tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Why would you say that?”
“Everything was good until we got close to the school. Then she got quiet, like really quiet.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
I took a quick glance over before focusing on the road again. The woman was distractingly gorgeous. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. And with everything going on, I don’t know how far to push.”
“You mean because of her mom?” Sunshine asked. I nodded, pulling into the town square. “You can drop me here.”
I pulled the car to a stop in front of Java Jitters.
“I think you should ask. But don’t yet force her to talk,” she said before getting out of the car.
“I can give you a ride home when you’re ready,” I offered.
“I can find my way back. Oh, by the way, your dad went out. He took Nate’s car. He said something about the senior facility. I think he may have a friend there.”
Then she was gone. I didn’t miss the emphasis on ‘friend.’ What she was suggesting was maybe Dad had a girlfriend. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
I pulled into an open spot and took out my phone. I dialed a number and waited for an answer.
“Bigsby.”
“This is Mitch Bowmen. What do you have for me about Haley Stillman’s disappearance?” One thing I knew could help my daughter would be to find her mother.
“Communication is still down in the area. We know they made it to Fiji. But there are a lot of private islands around there. With the underwater eruption near Tonga, we just haven’t been able to get boots on the ground.”
I tightened my grip on the phone in my hand. “I already know all that. I’m paying you a premium to get results despite the conditions. If you can’t do it, I’ll find someone else.”
“We hope to have someone on the ground in a day or two.”
“No later,” I said and hung up.
A tap came at my window. I grinned when I saw who it was and rolled down the window. “Aiden Faulkner.”
“Mitchell Bowmen.”
“How the hell are you?” I asked.
“I’m okay. But you won’t be in a minute,” he said. “You’re in a no-parking zone.”
I looked up and noticed the signs. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”