28. Caleb
TWENTY-EIGHT
CALEB
The tapping of Lori’s nails on her phone grates on my nerves, even though I know she isn’t doing it on purpose. She’s not doing anything objectionable, simply entertaining herself while she waits for Trent to get back from his meeting.
I look at my calendar on my laptop, which shows me that I have a call in ten minutes. I text Trent to ask him where he is. After a few seconds, he responds.
Stuck with guest.
Originally Lori wasn’t even supposed to be here, but her hangout with Trent got derailed because of work.
I text Alice to see if she’s anywhere in the vicinity to take Lori off my hands, but she doesn’t reply at all.
“Lori,” I say. “I have a call. Do you think you can sit outside with Philadelphia?”
Lori looks up from her phone and pouts. “You too? Isn’t it Friday afternoon? Why are you working?”
I sigh. “Because it’s not Friday evening yet. And if I don’t get all of this done, I’ll have to work on Saturday.”
Lori nods in acknowledgment, although I don’t know if that means she understands. “Can I go hang out with Seven?”
“Yes, but not in the suite. I know you love Miss K and Nacho, but your parents would not be happy if your allergies got set off again,” I say.
Lori pouts at me. “Boo! I wanted to play with Nacho and watch Martial Law. Did you see the latest episode? I could rewatch it ten times and never get bored. When Mizuki?—”
“I did see it,” I interrupt. “And Seven has already watched it three times.”
I send Seven a quick text, and he lets me know he’s with Della and Georgie at the bar.
I’m glad he’s found people to be with even when Havoc and Vortex aren’t around. It fills me with more pride than I’m willing to admit that Seven went from somebody wary about other people to a person who has friends.
“All right, Seven is by the bar. Text him when you’re there and he’ll come out to meet you,” I tell Lori. “And tell Trent where you’re going too.”
“Yep, got it.” Lori gets up and waves to me with a smile. “Have fun with your boring work, Uncle Caleb.”
I roll my eyes. “I will. And if Trent doesn’t take you home soon, we can all do dinner together.”
Lori smiles wider and nods. “Make those reservations now! I’ll kick and scream if Dad tries to force me to leave early.”
She bounces out of my office, and I shake my head indulgently. I’m not particularly interested in children of my own, but I have to admit that having a niece is nice.
I turn back to my laptop and focus on work and the upcoming call. It runs longer than I’d like, forty minutes instead of the expected half hour, and I’m ready to strangle the other party when I’m through.
I’m definitely ready for that dinner.
I check my phone and frown when I see the text Seven had sent twenty minutes ago.
Didn’t you say Lori was coming? She hasn’t shown up.
Strange.
I send a text to Lori, then try calling. No response on either front.
It’s probably nothing, I tell myself. She got caught up with whatever she’s doing.
I close my laptop lid and open the office door to peer out. Philadelphia, my executive assistant, is still at her desk.
“Lori left earlier, right?” I ask.
She nods. “About forty minutes ago? Why? Was she not supposed to? She said she was going to see Seven.”
I pull my phone out again and text Trent.
Is Lori with you?
My phone dings almost immediately.
She said she was with Seven.
The bad feeling in the pit of my stomach gets worse. I go back into my office, shut the door, and call Seven.
He answers after two rings. “Caleb?”
“Did Lori show up after all?” I ask as calmly as I can.
His voice is instantly wary. “No… I went upstairs to make sure she didn’t come up here, and I’ve been waiting for her just in case I got the location wrong.” He hesitates. “Um. Where should I start looking?”
“If she isn’t up there, go back to the casino. Try backstage. I’ll go check with security to see if she’s on the cameras.” I hang up on Seven and make the necessary calls. There are cameras everywhere. They’ll find her.
Once that’s done, I call Vortex. “Where are you?”
“Just getting back to the casino,” Vortex says. “I had to escort one of the dealers home after… never mind, it doesn’t matter. Why?”
“Okay. Do me a favor, touch base with Greg in security. Lori was supposed to meet up with Seven about forty-five minutes ago but never showed.” I go out again and lock my office door. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Will do,” Vortex says. He hangs up. He must’ve been close to the office, because he’s already there when I arrive.
He and Greg are going through camera feeds, discussing the best options of where to look next.
Glancing up, he tells me, “We’ve followed her downstairs, but we’re not sure where she went from there yet. ”
Grimacing, I try calling Lori again, but like last time she doesn’t pick up.
“Keep looking,” I say. “I need to call Trent and Alice.”
This entire time, I’ve been worried about Seven. I try to make sure he’s always surrounded by people, that he has escorts to and from work. Even if it isn’t Havoc or Vortex, there’s usually somebody from the casino staff keeping an eye on him.
I call Alice first. I’m surprised she picks up, considering how she’d ignored my text earlier.
“Caleb? Sorry, I didn’t see your text earlier. I’m out near Cactus Ridge, scoping out a new property. I’m almost done here though. If Trent is still incompetent, I’ll swing by to pick Lori up.” Alice sounds like she’s moving around.
“No, it’s—” I take a deep breath. “I don’t want you to panic, but Lori disappeared. I wanted to check if she called you, or if there’s some place nearby she might have gone without telling anyone.”
There’s a long pause. The next time Alice speaks, her voice is a lot harsher. She sounds like our mother. “What do you mean, she disappeared? Lori doesn’t disappear. She always texts to let us know where she’s going.”
Except for her habit of running off with her friends. I know better than to mention that.
“I know,” I say. “But the casino is large. Maybe she found something interesting?—”
“The only things interesting in the casino are you and your boyfriend!” Alice snaps. “Oh my god. I expected this kind of shit from Trent, but you? How do you lose a twelve-year-old? She doesn’t wander off!”
Her accusation makes me stiffen. “If you recall, I didn’t sign up to be a babysitter today. I had to work. If you want to be mad at anyone, you can direct it at Trent for bringing her here in the first place.”
“Don’t worry! I’m going to be plenty mad at him too!” Alice curses loudly. I hear somebody in the background, before Alice continues. “I’m so sorry, a family emergency has come up. Can we reschedule for another day? I’m still interested in?—”
I guess she isn’t that worried, if she’s still willing to talk business. I end the call.
“Hey, boss,” Greg says. “We found something.” He points to the screen, where a figure I assume is Lori is visible. It’s hard to tell from this camera angle, especially since she’s wearing a generic pair of jeans and the same Roi de Pique sweater so many of the tourists wear.
She’s talking to a well-dressed woman with chin-length black hair and a pair of glasses. The camera angle is better on the woman’s face. It’s one I’ve seen in other photos and security footage.
Emily Lockwood, Seven’s older sister.
Vortex’s face goes pale, and he lets out a string of curse words. “How the fuck did she get past security?” he demands of Greg.
Greg looks taken aback by Vortex’s strong reaction.
“It’s… We give everyone the list of banned people, but unless they’re regulars, it’s hard for the staff to keep track of everyone.
” He clicks around and pulls up the photo of Emily we’d circulated.
She has a different hairstyle in that photo, and she isn’t wearing glasses.
The make-up is done differently too, but not so much that she’s unrecognizable to me.
“And the facial recognition programs aren’t great at finding people if the angles are different.
” He goes back to other cameras, and Emily manages to keep her head angled away from the cameras in almost all the footage.
“So everybody was fooled by a simple accessory change and looking down ,” I say with disgust. “Wonderful.”
Greg clicks to the footage of Emily with Lori again. As the video plays, we see Lori nodding and walking off, with Emily behind her.
Before they go off screen, Emily looks directly at the camera and smiles.
“Havoc should’ve strangled her when he had the chance,” Vortex says hoarsely. “There are no words for what needs to happen to that woman.”
Even though Greg has been with us for a while — and he knows more than a few things about the Spade family by proxy — his expression is still wary. “Should I call the police?” he asks.
I shake my head. “The police can’t help here.” I’m about to say more when Trent bursts into the room.
“Where the fuck is Lori?” Trent demands, face red and expression frantic. “Alice called—then I found Seven?—”
Seven steps around him, his own face showing his anxiety. It only gets worse as he looks between Vortex and me. “What happened? Where is she?” he asks.
“I need you to go straight upstairs,” Vortex says. “Upstairs, no stopping, no talking to anyone. Go straight up the stairs, lock the door behind you. Do you understand?”
Seven’s eyes flick to the computer monitors. When he recognizes Emily’s face frozen on the screen, his breath hitches, and that anxiety morphs into something different, something I can’t put words to. “Vortex…”
“I am fucking serious right now, Seven,” Vortex barks out. He seems about to say more, but he glances at me. “Caleb?”
Trent’s eyes are on the screen. “That fucking bitch. She fucking promised!”
We all turn to him.
“She promised?” I ask. “What did she promise , Trent?”