Chapter 3 #2
Catherine hesitated. “I don’t know,” she said cautiously. “I don’t know enough about Reid. If the first murder was an accident,
perhaps a girlfriend—someone who broke up with him or left him at the altar or turned down his engagement ring—then yes, I
think a long cooling-off period would be expected. It could be the Hendersons were his first . . . or his second after a long
period. But I don’t want to jump to conclusions on this. We’ll wait for the report from the LA office and go from there.”
Ryder looked down at his silenced phone when it vibrated on the table.
“Excuse me, I have to take this,” he said and stepped out of the room.
He answered his phone. “Yes, sir.”
Assistant Director Tony Greer said, “Where the hell is Costa?”
“He’s aware of your meeting. I’m sorry he’s late.”
“Don’t apologize for him,” Tony said. “He’s twenty minutes late and isn’t answering his phone.”
“His flight was supposed to land at one-oh-five this morning. Perhaps it was delayed. Let me check.” Ryder knew the flight
landed, but would verify.
“I have a meeting with the director in ten, so Costa’s going to have to sit and wait until I’m done.”
Tony hung up before Ryder disconnected the call. He went to his desk and immediately looked up Matt’s flight information—it
had been on time. Then he called Matt’s cell phone; he didn’t answer so Ryder left a message, then texted him. He called Matt’s
house phone; that, too, went to voicemail.
His stomach tightened. Something was wrong. But he continued making calls.
Kara didn’t answer her cell phone. Ryder left a message. She also hadn’t responded to his earlier text message. He sent another
with an urgent flag. Nothing.
He then reached out to the government liaison for the airline. After being transferred twice, he learned that neither Matt
nor Kara had checked in or boarded their flight. They also hadn’t canceled.
His bad feeling darkened. Something had happened to his boss. Never had Matt not been reachable without letting Ryder know
where he was going and when he would be in contact again.
Catherine approached his desk. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t reach Matt and he missed his meeting with Greer.”
She frowned. “I swear, Kara brings out the worst in him. Are they at her place?”
Ryder bristled. He didn’t like the tension between Catherine and Kara. They’d been getting along, more or less, for the last two months, but Catherine would dig at Kara whenever she found an opportunity.
If Matt had missed his flight, he would have called Ryder. Ever since the MRT was commissioned seventeen months ago, Matt
had been diligent in keeping Ryder in the loop.
“Matt and Kara stayed in Florida for the weekend,” he said.
“For shit’s sake,” Catherine mumbled. “I should have figured that when he canceled long-standing plans with Chris and me this
weekend—by text.”
“It was a stressful case,” Ryder said, though he didn’t know why he was trying to justify anything to Catherine. Matt and
Kara weren’t on duty this weekend, there was no reason they couldn’t stay in Florida.
“They got to play newlyweds for a week, I think they had enough fun and games,” she snapped. “We have a lot of work to do
today, especially since the case against Reid is tenuous.”
Ryder said, “I’m going to call the resort.”
Catherine walked out, but he didn’t breathe easier.
He called the resort and asked for Brian Valdez, the head of security. He already had a relationship with the man since Ryder
had coordinated the MRT’s undercover investigation with the resort.
“Agent Kim. How are you? We still can’t believe it was one of our people. The sheriff’s office has been all over the place
this weekend. But we’re relieved that an arrest has been made.”
“I haven’t been able to reach Agent Costa and Detective Quinn. They had a flight out yesterday evening, but can you please
check to see if they stayed another night?”
“Sure, give me a minute.” He put Ryder on hold.
It was eight minutes before Valdez came back on the line. “Agent Costa didn’t check out. I spoke with housekeeping and they
bypassed the room because of a Do Not Disturb sign on the door. It’s still there.”
“Will you please go down and check personally?”
“I’ll call you back.”
Ryder wanted to call in an alert immediately, but until he had more information from the resort, it would be premature.
He didn’t go back to the conference room because he didn’t have answers. He was worried, but there could be a logical explanation.
Technology failed. One or both of them could have taken ill. There could have been an accident.
But Ryder couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong.
Valdez called him back ten minutes later.
“Agent Kim, I entered the room after identifying myself. No one is there, though their personal items are, including three
firearms and two knives in the nightstand drawers. Two badges are on the desk—one federal, one an LAPD detective’s shield.
I’m reviewing security footage now to determine when they left, but no one on staff has seen them this morning.”
“I need access to any footage you find,” Ryder said. “I’ll contact the sheriff to send someone to secure their weapons and
ID. Did you see any cell phones?” He had already put in a request to track them.
“Yes, two phones were charging on the desk. You’re concerned something happened to them?”
“Agent Costa would never leave his identification behind.” Not even to go to the beach, Ryder thought.
Ryder ended the call as Michael stepped into his doorway. “What happened?”
“Matt and Kara didn’t make their plane last night, neither are answering their phones, and they aren’t at the resort—though
their guns and badges are in their room. I need to call the sheriff.”
“I’ll call the sheriff,” Michael said. “You get us booked on the next flight back to Florida.”
“I need to inform AD Greer first.”
“Whatever you have to do, but I’m going to be on the first plane down.”