Chapter 13
Thirteen
Michael couldn’t give up, but he was so tired of hitting wall after wall with his mom’s case.
Another dead end that had looked so promising.
He’d found some of her notes at Donner’s house.
The two of them had been investigating something off the books, and it was looking like Donner had known more than he’d said.
Which burned inside, especially after all Michael had done to reach out to him.
Why hadn’t he said anything?
It was possible he’d been trying to protect himself.
But there were unexplained payouts from Contra Corp, a security company.
Maybe Donner had been doing side work, but Michael couldn’t find any local office, and the phone number listed online was a bust. Now, without names or contacts in Mom’s notes, he was dead in the water.
Michael dropped the file on the desk and scrubbed his face.
He picked up the small silver medal lying by the lamp and ran his thumb over the engraving of a cross and shield. Then he flipped it over and read the inscription.
To my beloved son, Michael.
Like your angel namesake, may you continue to protect and declare the good work God has done.
Mom
He closed his eyes against the sharp sting of tears. He still missed her.
Every single day.
But she’d be heartbroken to know how cold his faith had grown. Maybe, like Finn had said, it was time to do something about that.
Lord, I know it’s been a while, but please. Gimme something here. Her death can’t be for nothing. She wasn’t who they’re saying she was. She deserves justice. Where is Your good work in this?
He waited.
The only sound was the thrum of bass spilling over from his brothers’ room next door. With a heavy sigh, Michael pocketed the medal and walked to their closed door, ready to knock.
They really should be doing homework.
But would nagging them change anything? Michael dropped his fist and continued down the hallway. He needed a drink.
Opening the fridge, he scanned the contents. Nothing looked good. He shut the door just as his phone rang.
Josh? What was he calling for this late?
Michael answered. “What’s up, J?”
“Hey, you haven’t seen my sister, have you?”
“Not today.”
“She’s not there? With Maria or anything?”
“Maria is in Denver tonight for a work thing.”
Josh blew out a long breath.
Michael’s pulse kicked up. “What’s going on?”
“Probably nothing…but she was supposed to watch the kids tonight so Lily and I could go out. You know how impulsive she can be, jumping from one thing to the next so quickly that sometimes things get lost in the shuffle. But I can’t reach her on her phone.”
“When was she supposed to be there?”
“We never really set a time. Maybe I’m becoming too much like my parents and sounding an alarm too soon…”
“No, you’re not. She’d never blow you off like this. I’ll go look for her.”
“You think she’s in trouble or something? Should I—”
“Stay there with Lily and the kids. Let me worry about Dani. I’ll find her.”
“Thanks, bro. But call me as soon as you know anything.”
“I will.”
Suddenly, Michael wasn’t so weary anymore. He took the stairs two at a time to his room, where he found his shoes and slipped on a sweatshirt. He called Maria as he started his car and backed out of the driveway.
“Michael?” Maria’s voice was accompanied by chatter and background music.
“Are you at a party?”
“Unfortunately. My coworkers insisted we go out after our workshop. But why are you calling? This can’t be good.”
“Have you heard from Dani today?”
“Just the usual texts around lunch time.”
“Nothing since then?”
“What’s going on?”
“She didn’t show up to watch Josh and Lily’s kids tonight.”
“What? She’s been looking forward to that all day, had the whole evening planned.”
“Okay, so it’s not just me who thinks it’s weird?”
“She wouldn’t miss a night to hang out with the kids. Especially with all Josh and Lily are doing for her.”
“Any idea where she might be, then?”
“She really hasn’t done a whole lot except work.”
“See anything on her socials?”
“I’ve been checking since you asked, but I don’t see anything. She doesn’t share her location on any of the apps.”
“Maybe she’s still at work. I know where she’s investigating. I’ll start there.”
“Michael, make sure she’s okay. Please.”
“I will.”
Michael raced across town to SL Trucking. This time, he studied the buildings and layout more closely. It was a big outfit, a huge warehouse-looking building and a smaller office that sat in the middle of the fenced-in compound. A row of semitrailers sat off to the side of the parking lot.
Michael approached the entrance as a pickup truck drove over and blocked his way.
“Can I help you?” A man with a mechanic’s shirt leaned out his window. “The place is closed up for the night.”
“I’m looking for Dani.”
“Don’t know any truckers named Danny.”
“No, she’s not a trucker, she’s an…accountant. She’s new.”
“Oh, well, all the office people left a while ago. They check out by five.”
“Is anyone else here?”
“Nope. The mechanics close shop by six, and I just finished cleaning the offices.”
“So you’re the janitor. See anything unusual while you were cleaning?”
“No, sir.” He narrowed his eyes. “You a cop or something?”
“Actually, yeah, I am.” He didn’t want to break Dani’s cover, but it was true that she was a friend.
He should probably play that angle. “But I’m here because Dani is my friend and she missed an event tonight.
I’m out looking for her.” He studied the buildings and parking lot.
“Are you positive there’s no one else here? ”
“I only clean the office building. I guarantee you no one is in there. I cleaned closets, bathrooms, every nook and cranny of that place. But now that you mention it, I did see a purse and phone in one of the offices. I figured they were just left behind.”
“Do you mind if I take a look around?”
“I’ve gotta lock the gate. Sorry. And I don’t feel right letting you in without the owner’s approval or a warrant or something. He’s big on his rights and such.”
A bright-yellow vehicle caught Michael’s eye. Shrubs blocked most of it, but it was the right color for Princess Buttercup, which Dani had just gotten back from the shop with the new transmission yesterday.
Maybe it was for the best that he let the janitor think he was leaving. The chain-link fence was tall, but climbable.
“Thanks for your time.” Michael went back to his car and left. He pulled into the parking lot of the furniture business next door and killed his lights.
The janitor locked the entrance gate and got back into his truck.
Michael waited until the taillights were out of sight.
He kept his car parked where it was and quickly found a shadowed corner to scramble up and over the fence into the SL Trucking compound.
No doubt if Dani was hiding in the office, she could’ve avoided detection, but she wouldn’t have left her purse and phone out.
Best to start in the big warehouse building with the loading docks and large bay doors.
Michael avoided the pockets of light around the parking lot poles and ran to the car he’d noticed earlier.
Yup. That was Princess Buttercup all right, with its new transmission, sitting next to two sedans with the SL logo on them.
But where was Dani? He found a cargo-bay door with a broken latch. It slid up enough for him to crawl under, making way more noise than he wanted.
He stopped inside. Listened. Nothing.
The huge warehouse area was dark, lit only by red Exit signs on the other side of the building.
One section was set up like a mechanic’s shop, lifts and tools divided around three different bay doors.
Michael used his phone flashlight and checked all the areas.
One section of shelves held automotive parts.
No trace of Dani there. Two trucks had been backed into a loading dock.
They were both locked up tight. One was plugged in, humming like an air conditioning or refrigeration unit, but no other sound, really.
He jumped down off the open loading dock and headed back outside. Road noise carried over from the interstate. The sky rumbled with a promised storm.
Michael looked up.
God, I need some help here. Where is Dani?
Dani shivered. She needed to get out of here soon, but she was getting sleepy. Her fingers were numb and too clumsy to work on the door latch anymore. Probably hypothermia setting in. Dani tried blowing on her hands, but the icy air stole whatever warmth her breath tried to give.
She slid down to the floor of the truck bed, wrapped her arms around herself.
What was it Yelena Belova said in the Black Widow movie? “This is so not a cool way to die.”
Tell me about it, Yelena.
What would this headline be? “FBI Agent Fails First Mission, Locks Herself in Refrigerated Truck and Dies.”
Her father would probably say she was being too dramatic. She was just seeking attention by getting into trouble. Trying to stand out.
All she wanted was for him to see her. To notice her. To embrace her. She’d never meant to ruin his work presentation and cause him to lose his job. She never meant to get into any of these situations.
Maybe if she’d think things through before jumping in, then she wouldn’t be here.
She really thought this was her God-given purpose. To fight the darkness and corruption of this world. But she kept running headlong into disaster. And while she had been focusing on her career and future ambitions, right now it all seemed futile.
Maybe she needed to stop worrying so much about how everyone else saw her.
Maybe her father would never approve. Maybe the headlines of her life story were nothing heroic.
She just wanted to hug her nephews and make sure they knew she loved them.
She wanted Josh to know that he was an amazing brother and she was so proud of him.
She wanted to thank her mom for loving her and tell Maria that she was sorry for losing touch after moving away.