Chapter 4
Ryder
S leeping on the couch wasn’t as bad as I expected. Might take that back in a few days, but I’m trying to be positive. Elara woke up before I did and was scrolling through her phone when I woke up. “You snore.” She comments when she hears me stirring. “I do not.” I respond, defensively. “Like a damn truck. We’re getting you nose strips today.” She replies, and I stick my tongue out at her in response, getting an eye roll.
It’s 9 AM when we drive into the city and find the coffee shop we agreed to meet Holloway at. When we walk in, he is already waiting for us at a small table, coffee in hand. He stands when he sees us and extends his hand. “Jack Holloway, pleasure to meet you.” We shake hands and formally introduce ourselves before sitting down. I notice how clammy his hand feels and can see how nervous he is. He and Waylan have been partners for a while. I feel bad because of how worried he is about his friend. Elara remains polite and professional, but I notice a shift in her voice as she jumps into interrogation mode. “Where did you last see, Bardot?” Jack sips his coffee and clears his throat.
“About four days ago. We left the medical examiner’s office, went to grab dinner and talked about how simple this case is turning out to be and just normal life stuff. Then we headed back to our hotel. Once we got to our rooms, we parted ways. The next morning, I knocked on his door and there was no answer.” He continues. “I called his cell and nothing, so I went down to the lobby to get the manager to open it. When we got inside, Waylen was nowhere to be found.”
Elara writes on a notepad as we listen. I chime in with my question. “Was anything troubling him at all? Whether it be a personal matter or something to do with the case.” Jack shakes his head. “I can’t think of anything about the case that would alarm him. He seemed a little on edge the day we went to the M.E’s office, though.” He takes another sip. “I asked if he was okay, but he was off put-ish about it, just waved it off as a headache. I didn’t want to press.”
Elara continues writing in silence. “We’ll check the room as well, but did you notice anything unusual when you went in?” I ask, trying to think of anything that could help us. “He left his phone and work computer, but took everything else. I thought that was odd. At first I thought maybe he got a hunch in the middle of the night or something and wanted to check it out, but it didn’t make sense for him to take everything but those things.” He pauses. “I called the medical office to see if he had stopped back in, but no luck there. When I tried everything I could think of, I called the bureau and reported him missing.”