Page 42 of Degrees of Power
His phone vibrates and he glances at the incoming message, shaking his head before pushing a button to dial out.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“What’s going on,” Chase says, pausing and scowling at the other end, putting it on speaker as he listens.
“Shit Chase, no disrespect, but the guys know how to do their job and don’t need Brian breathing down their necks every minute. They thought he would eventually tire and go home, but he’s apparently pulled in security of his own and plans to stay with the guys all night.”
“I’ll talk to him Jay. I don’t know why he’s so interested in this, but I’ll find out,” Chase says.
“Well you might want to do that sooner than later. I overheard him talking to his security team and he’s planning to go back to Ty’s house. He seriously needs to be reigned in,” Jay says.
“I’ll find out and get back to you,” Chase repeats before disconnecting.
“What the heck is going on?” I say.
“I don’t know what the hell has gotten into Brian. Jay had the intel team set up in one of the suites adjacent to the one Jenny stayed in and Brian hasn’t left all day, bossing people around and pulling in teams of his own to search for Jenny. I need to call him,” he says, getting off the bed where he’s been sitting.
“I feel so useless, I can’t just sit here and wait while she’s out there somewhere,” I say.
“Actually, the team has thoroughly investigated any possibility of travel to her mom’s. You’re free to call her and let her know what’s going on. The police plan to do this later today, but it may be better coming from you,” Chase says, kissing my lips before leaving the bedroom.
I sit up, still nude and reach for the cami strewn on the back of the armchair. I slip it over my head contemplating what to say. How in the world do you tell someone that their daughter is missing, and that no one has a clue why? I scroll through my contacts and look into the numbers I have listed for Jenny and with trepidation push the button that will connect me with her mom.
“Hello, this is Mira,” a soft-spoken voice says on the other end of the phone.
“Hi, is this Ms. Torzial, Jenny Torzial’s mother?” I ask.
“Yes, that’s right. May I ask who this is?” she says politely.
“Yes, absolutely. How rude of me not to introduce myself right away, Ms. Torzial. I’m Kate Meilers, a very close friend of Jenny’s,” I say.
“Of course. Jenny talks about you often,” she says, and the sudden apprehension in her voice is apparent. “Is she okay, Kate?”
Oh, God, how to tell her. “Ms. Torzial,” I begin, but she interrupts me.
“Mira, please,” she insists.
“Mira, I am so sorry to have to break this to you, but Jenny was with us at the grand opening last night and hasn’t been seen since then.”
“What do you mean, she just disappeared?” she says, pronouncing each word slowly and methodically.
“She was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and then went to tour the facility with a couple of prospective tenants. She ran into Ty, her, umm boyfriend…” I say.
“Her ex-boyfriend. Jenny told me about him. Apparently he was offered a job in California and they went their separate ways,” she says.
She obviously didn’t tell her about the rape and I decide to keep it to myself, but am puzzled. “Mira, my husband is doing everything in his power to find her. He has a security team that has been searching the city, interviewing anyone she talked to last night, trying to identify any methods of transportation that could have been used to leave the city. I was hoping she may have come to your house,” I say.
“My God. She couldn’t have simply vanished,” she says, her voice a mere whisper, hard to understand from her emotion.
“The police are going to be contacting you, but I wanted you to hear it from me first. You can be assured that my husband has the best teams money can buy working on finding her,” I say.
“Thank you. That’s so kind and I appreciate everything you are doing and that you took the time to call me yourself,” she says, sniffing.
“I wish that I were in person and could give you a hug,” I say, wiping the tears beginning to pool in the corner of my eyes.
“Please find my baby,” she says before disconnecting.
I let the tears fall, helpless against the fear and anxiety I feel for my dearest friend, my heart in pain for her mother who must feel completely powerless and bereft and will no doubt need to endure the long interview process with police at some point in the day.
