Chapter 21
HARRISON
Sunday.
The Lord’s Day.
The day of rest.
At least for some.
Technically it’s a day off for me, but I’m on call for the hospital. If someone has to leave, they’ll need me to come in.
It’s the life I signed up for.
I’m never truly off the hook. Won’t be until I retire.
Even then, if someone called me saying it was an emergency and they needed me, I’d swing by.
I’ve tried to focus, home in on any clues Maddox and Alissa left behind, but my dumbass monkey brain can only think about Bianca.
The way she kisses me. The way she sucks my dick.
The way we made love—yes, made love; it was more than just fucking—in that courtyard behind Brassica Rex.
But it’s not just the sex. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. But it’s Bianca herself who has enchanted me.
She has this indescribable allure about her. One that draws me in every time we’re in the same room. Hell, she’s drawing me in now and I’m miles away from Aces.
Damn it. I have to do something productive with my day. We’ll be looking for clues about Maddox and Alissa later. Today, I can get something done around the house.
I strip my bed and toss the linens in the wash.
Okay, that took thirty seconds.
What else?
I keep a pretty clean home. I can get a little messy, especially when it’s a busy week at the hospital. But messy is different from dirty. I never allow things to get gross, and my kitchen and bathroom are in decent shape.
But they can always be cleaner. I wipe things down in the kitchen until I hear my washer beep, indicating that the load of sheets is done. I toss them in the dryer.
What else to keep me busy?
I really should look into Maddox and Alissa. But it’s not like I can go on Google and find out where they went.
I don’t know where Alissa lives. I could pull her information from the hospital staff directory, but that would be an invasion of privacy.
I do, however, know where Maddox lives. Right over his haberdashery in Uptown.
I don’t know why the thought hasn’t occurred to check out his place. I don’t have a key, but I can scope the area, see if anything arouses my suspicion.
Worst case, I can have the cops break in for a wellness check.
Hopefully it won’t come to that.
Technically, I have no evidence that Maddox is doing anything other than going on an extended romantic getaway with the love of his life.
But something is nibbling at the back of my neck.
I get into my car and make the drive into Chicago, up Lake Shore and then Sheridan to Maddox’s shop. His Rolls-Royce isn’t in his private spot, so I pull into it. It’s not like he’s using it, after all.
I walk the perimeter. Nothing out of place, except for the fact that it’s closed. The Maddox Hathaway I know would never miss an opportunity to make money, especially for such a prolonged amount of time. I can’t see through the windows as his curtains are drawn, but everything seems normal.
I walk up the back staircase to the rear of the apartment he keeps over the shop. I try to peek through the window, but again, the curtains are drawn.
Out of curiosity, I try the door. It’s locked.
Did I just drive thirty minutes for no good reason?
I have to keep looking until I find something. I walk the perimeter of the shop again, keeping a watchful eye out for anything out of place.
Of course, if there were any clues of foul play—footprints, evidence of a break-in—they’d be long gone by now. It’s been a month. And if Rouge is behind this, she would cover her tracks very well. She may be unhinged, but she’s not stupid.
Still, I keep my eyes fixed on the pavement for some sort of clue—something small that a perpetrator might have missed.
My eyes are so glued to the sidewalk lining Maddox’s shop that I walk right into his mailbox.
It hits me right in the gut, knocking the wind out of me.
Without thinking, I kick the post that holds the mailbox up. “Damned thing.”
And now my stomach and my toes are in pain.
But wait.
Maddox’s mailbox.
It must be filled to the brim if he’s been gone a month.
It’s a federal crime for me to open his mailbox. But I could say that I was a concerned friend, wanted to make sure his shop didn’t come under foreclosure or something like that.
Whatever. No one’s looking anyway.
I open the box.
It’s empty.
Maybe Maddox is having a neighbor clean out his mailbox. Or he had his mail stopped at the post office.
Still, I reach in, grope around.
And my fingers land on a small piece of paper. I pull it out.
It’s from the Chicago PD.
What the hell?
It got stuck to a piece of wayward metal at the top of the mailbox. If someone is emptying Maddox’s mailbox, they could have easily missed this.
Again, it’s a federal crime to open another person’s mail.
But Maddox would never press charges against his best buddy, would he?
If he’s truly on this protracted holiday, then I don’t know him anymore. It’s so out of character.
But again, I can defend myself as a concerned friend. I look over my shoulder and slip my fingers under the flap of the envelope, pull out the letter.
I widen my eyes as I read it. It’s from the city’s Traffic Enforcement Division.
Dear Mr. Hathaway,
Our records indicate that the citation issued to you on Monday, the ninth of February for speeding has not been paid. This ticket is now overdue.
Failure to resolve this matter promptly may result in further enforcement actions, including additional late penalties, referral to a collection agency, vehicle immobilization (booting), and/or initiation of driver's license suspension proceedings with the Illinois Secretary of State.
To avoid these consequences, please remit payment immediately or contact the Department of Finance to request a hearing if you wish to contest the citation.
I raise my eyebrows. February ninth? That’s the Monday before Maddox took off with Alissa.
Behind the letter is a copy of the citation Maddox received. Officer Toby Brillig was the cop who pulled him over.
Maddox is usually a safe driver. He’ll sometimes go five or so miles per hour over the speed limit, but as far as I know he’s never gotten a ticket.
I read the citation.
Wait…
What?
The ticket was issued at four thirty a.m.
The fuck?
What was he doing out so late at night?
I could go to the police station, see if I can meet with this Officer Brillig, find out if Maddox was acting suspiciously that night.
I’m about to Google directions to the police station where Brillig works when my phone starts ringing.
It’s Dinah.
Shit.
They need me at the hospital.
Just when I finally have a lead. Damn it!
I accept the call and bring the phone to my ear. “Hey, Dinah.”
“Doctor, I’m so sorry to call you on your day off.”
“No worries. Do you need me to come in?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. But I just learned something that I felt you should hear. It’s…about Maddox and Alissa.”
My pulse quickens. “What?”
“A friend of mine works in the box office at the symphony. Maddox and Alissa were there a few nights before they took off.”
“So? They went on a date there. Alissa loves the symphony. She goes there all the time. Doesn’t she take you sometimes?”
“Yeah. It’s not really my cup of tea, but she is my best friend. But that’s not the point, Doctor.”
“What is your point then?”
“While she was there, apparently she was approached by one of the assistant conductors. He invited her to audition for a part in the flute section.”
I nearly drop the phone. “Alissa plays the flute?”
“Yeah. She has two degrees in flute performance. She got them before she decided to switch to nursing. Apparently she had auditioned for the Chicago Symphony in the past, and they remembered her. They have an opening for a new flautist and were interested in hearing her again.”
“Okay…”
“She said she’d come to the audition. But never showed up.”
“When was the audition?”
“It would have been the week after she and Maddox skipped town. My friend in the box office overheard the assistant conductor talking about it in the lobby before a performance. They thought it was super unprofessional for her not to even give notice that she’d be missing the audition.”
I rub at my forehead. “That’s not like Alissa.”
“Exactly my point. Even if she had gone on some romantic vacation with Maddox, she would have at least emailed them to cancel the audition. Plus, playing for the CSO is a really big deal. They could have waited until after the audition to skip town.”
My heart thrums. “I don’t like this, Dinah. I don’t like this at all.”
“Me neither.” Dinah’s voice cracks. “Doctor, I’m scared that something terrible happened to her.
I always got the feeling that she wasn’t a hundred percent in love with nursing.
That part of her regretted not sticking to her musical career a little longer before giving up on it.
I don’t think she would have let this opportunity slip by. ”
“I think you’re right. And I know Maddox. He wouldn’t have let her allow the opportunity slip by. He would have insisted she give it a shot.” I look down at the overdue notice in my hand. “I just found something else that might be a clue.”
“What?”
“I’ll tell you about it later. Right now, you just focus on your job. But I’m on this, Dinah. Don’t you worry.”
“But—”
I end the call before she can ask any more questions.
Maddox not paying his speeding ticket on time, and then Alissa not showing up for what could have been a life-changing audition.
A part of me has always been concerned since Maddox and Alissa ran off with such little notice. It didn’t really line up. But I always figured it was two people in love doing something crazy before their hormones ebbed and they landed back on the ground.
But now, with these two new pieces of information…
I’m officially concerned.
Hell, I’m more than concerned. I’m fucking terrified that my best friend’s life might be in danger.
I need to get to the bottom of this, and fast.