Chapter Twenty-Nine
Janea
I stepped inside the police station, trudging toward the receptionist’s desk.
The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting a sheen across the scuffed white tiled floor.
I looked like someone who had been crying in private and was barely holding it together in public.
While I knew what happened to my father, that didn’t take away the pain I felt at the loss of the man I once knew.
Behind the front desk, a phone rang followed by another one. The cop sitting at the receptionist’s desk answered one with urgency. “Officer Ruiz, your wife is on line one,” he said.
“I need to file a missing person’s report,” I said, my voice steady but low enough to invite concern.
The officer glanced at me the same time he hung up the phone. “Name?” he asked, as he rolled to the desk behind him, then pulled papers from the printer before he rolled back to the desk he was sitting at, knocking over a cup of coffee in the process.
“Shit!” He grabbed a bunch of white napkins as he tried to soak up the brown liquid now staining the papers.
“Roger Thorne,” I said. “The Lieutenant Governor.”
That got his attention as he stopped trying to clean up the spilled coffee. “Did you just say the Lieutenant Governor? That Roger Thorne?”
“Yes. He’s my father.”
“Oh, fuck. Okay.”
His fingers danced across the keys of the keyboard. Somewhere down the hall, a door slammed shut, and I slightly jumped. I was so nervous, but hopefully everyone believed I was a little out of sorts because he was missing.
“When did you last see him?”
“I’m not sure,” I said.
“Then why do you think he’s missing?”
“He always answers my phone calls even if it’s just to check in. I’ve heard nothing, and that’s not like him. I called my brother too, and he said he hasn’t heard from him either.”
“Was he acting unusual the last time you spoke with him?” the officer asked.
Janea nodded. “Yeah, he hasn’t been himself as of late. Paranoid. Agitated. But that’s not unusual around this time of the year.”
“And why is that?”
“It’s around the time my mother died.”
Eros and I had sat down with Axe to come up with the best story to feed to the police.
I was against going to them at all, but they convinced me it would be odd if I didn’t.
I made several phone calls to his phone to match up with the storyline as well.
Eros assured me if I stuck to my story, everything would be fine.
Even the Governor could back up my story that I was concerned about his behavior if they asked.
The officer scribbled notes, the scratch of pen against paper oddly loud in the moment. “I didn’t want to believe he’d disappear. But now… I’m scared.”
“You’ll need to sign this statement and write your phone number down under your signature,” the officer said, handing me the paper. “It’s just a written account of what you just told me. The detectives will call you to follow up once they are assigned.”
I signed the paper as calmly as I could. If we got caught in this lie, we would all be up shit’s creek.
“How long does that usually take?”
“With it being a high-profile missing person, I would say around an hour.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll be in touch, Ms. Thorne.”
I nodded, eyes glassy. “Thank you for your help.”
When I stepped outside, I released a deep breath. Eros was sitting on his bike, smoking a cigarette, waiting for me. When I walked to him, he tossed it on the ground. “How did it go?”
“Just told them what you said and signed an account of that. He said the detectives would be in touch within the hour. I was scared out of my mind.”
He grasped my hand. “It’s going to be alright. Just a little while longer, and you’ll be home free.”
I sighed, nodding.
“You ready to go home?”
That was another thing we discussed. He thought it was best I went back to my father’s house and play the grieving daughter. At least until they found my father’s body. I didn’t want to step foot back inside that house, but the less suspicion on us, the better.
“Yeah.”
I slid behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He squeezed my hand before he started the engine and pulled into traffic. I had a few more things to do, then once they found my father’s body, I would be home free.
***
It had been two days, and they still hadn’t found his body.
Eros assured me it would take a few more days, and to stay strong.
I wasn’t going to lie, it had been so hard staying in the house.
All the memories from when our family was together kept flooding my mind.
But I knew it needed to be done so we could make it through this.
“Are you ready to do this?” Eros asked.
“I wish you could come out there with me.”
He had been such a solid support system for me. All the guys from Savage Order and even Axe had since my father’s death. But I understood why he couldn’t be out there with me today. We needed all the focus to be on my father and not who I was dating.
We decided to hold a press conference since it had hit the news that he was missing.
Also, to keep up appearances. While my brother was on his way from Hawaii, and should land in a few hours, he wanted me to handle this without him.
So, I was going to stand in front of a shit ton of cameras and plead for my father’s safe return.
He pulled me into his arms, and I laid my head against his chest, feeling his heartbeat against the side of my cheek. “I’ll be right here, when you get done.”
A knock at my bedroom door caused me to sigh. We’d been hiding away up here while the house was flooded with police and even the Governor was stopping by to show his support despite knowing what my father had done. I guess he needed to go along with the act as well.
“Ms. Thorne? It’s Detective Monroe,” he said, his voice filtering through the door. “Everyone is here. We’re ready to go whenever you are.”
“Thanks, Detective. Give me a few more minutes and I’ll be right there.”
“Take all the time you need,” he said then his footsteps faded away.
“Stick to the script and you’ll be fine. I love you.”
“I got it. And I love you, too.”
It had been easy to say those words to him now. Without Eros by my side, I’d be dead. Without Eros by my side, I wouldn’t be able to make it through this. And because of that, I would love this man until my last breath.
I smiled at him before I closed the door behind me. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, it was like everyone stopped talking and their eyes zeroed in on me. The Governor was the first one to reach me.
“I’m sorry, Janea. How are you holding up?”
“As well as can be expected. Thank you for being here.”
“Of course. Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Before we go out there make sure to tell your friend the FBI won’t be bothering him anymore.”
My eyes widened. It had been one of the things Eros had been stressing—that they would get raided again.
“And make sure he knows we’re even.”
I nodded then he escorted me to the front door of my home.
When he opened the door, the questions from reporters as well as the camera flashes bombarded me.
I stood just behind the governor as he approached the microphones from the various news stations.
Both the detectives who had been assigned to my case stood on my right, and my family attorney, Mrs. Jackson, stood to my left.
And the two FBI agents assigned to the case stood behind us.
“Good evening. I stand before you not just as the Governor of this great state, but as a colleague, a friend, and a very concerned citizen. Lieutenant Governor Roger Thorne has been missing for 48 hours. His absence is not only a personal tragedy but also a matter of grave public concern.
“Roger is a devoted father,” he said even though it was a lie.
“He’s a tireless public servant, and someone who has always put the people of this state above politics.
We are doing everything in our power to locate him.
Law enforcement is working around the clock, and we are coordinating with federal agencies to follow every lead.
To whoever may be responsible for this. If you’re listening, please, let him come home.
This is not a political game. This is a family in anguish.
His daughter, Janea, is here with us today.
Her courage in speaking out is a reminder that behind every headline is a human story.
The story of a family who just want answers.
If you know anything, please come forward. Call the tip line. Speak to the authorities. We will protect your identity. We just want Roger home. Now Janea is going to say a few words. All questions will be directed to the police department, FBI, as well as the Thorne family attorney. Thank you.”
The governor stepped away from the microphones, and I slowly took his place, trying to block out the noise of the flashing cameras.
“My name is Janea Thorne. I’m not here as the daughter of a politician.
I’m here as a daughter who hasn’t heard her father’s voice in days.
My dad isn’t just the Lieutenant Governor.
He’s the man who taught me how to ride a bike, who stayed up late helping me with science projects, who always made time for his family even when the job pulled him in a hundred directions,” I said.
That was the man he used to be for me, but that man had died right along with my mother.
“He’s the kind of person who shows up. But now he’s gone.
Me and brother don’t know where he is,” I said, wiping away a tear that made its way down my cheek.
“We don’t know why he’s gone. But I’m begging if anyone out there knows something, anything, please come forward.
You don’t have to give your name. Just help us bring him home.
Dad, if you can hear this, we’re looking for you. We won’t stop. Thank you.”
As I walked away from the microphones and stood beside the governor waiting for all this to end, all I wanted to do was to go back inside and be with Eros.
My dad made his bed, now he had to lie in it.
I was grateful I didn’t have to be the one who squeezed the trigger.
And I was grateful that my mom got the justice she deserved.