M Sellars - The End Of Desire

Getting no reply, I called out again as I headed down the hallway to our bedroom. I was afraid to admit it to myself, but I knew she wouldn’t answer the second time either. The house simply felt empty except for the cats and dogs. I reached the end of the hall and poked my head in through the door. My wife’s overnight bag was sitting on the end of the bed, but judging from its misshapen profile it was obvious that she had yet to put much, if anything, into it.

“Yo, Firehair!” Ben bellowed as I started back toward the living room.

I could feel my heart rate beginning to rise. I opened the door to the basement and called down the stairs, “Honey, are you down there?”

Again, there was no response.

I shut the door then stepped into the living room where Ben was still standing. “She’s not here,” I said, my voice a twisted mix of anxiety and confusion.

“Don’t panic, Row,” Ben said. “She set the alarm, so maybe she had to run out for somethin’.”

“Maybe so,” I replied, trying to believe what he was telling me, but my heart rate continued to ramp upward as I felt the thumping in my chest. “But, she hasn’t even really started to pack, and we were gone for quite awhile. It doesn’t make sense.”

I’m sure he could sense my growing agitation, and his words reflected as much. “I’m serious, Row. Don’t panic.”

“Aren’t there supposed to be police watching the house?” I asked.

“Maybe she’s with ‘em,” Ben suggested as he stepped around me and started toward the kitchen. “Give ‘er a try on ‘er cell phone, and I’ll check ta’ see if ‘er Jeep is here.”

I nodded reply then advanced across the living room and snatched up the phone from the bookshelf. With a quick stab at the keypad, I quickly dialed her number. While I waited for the connection to be made, I heard the sound of the back door open as Ben headed out to the garage. After a soft click, the handset began to trill with the audible tone of the ringer. A heartbeat later, as the second ring issued into my ear, a syncopated tune began to play from the vicinity of the dining room. I stepped forward and to my left then looked through the archway. There, on the buffet, was my wife’s cell phone.

Ben was just coming back around the corner as I was hanging up.

“Jeep’s gone,” he said.

“And, she left her cell phone here,” I told him, though I was certain he’d heard it.

My heart now advanced beyond a fast jog and directly into a sprint as panic wrapped its icy grip around my gut. Apparently it was obvious in my face as well because Ben looked at me and held up his hands.

“Stay calm, Row. Like I said, she probably just went to the store or something.”

“Dammit, Ben, someone was supposed to stay with her!” I spat.

“I’m sure they are, hold on a sec.”

He pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open then thumbed in a number. Placing it up to his ear, he waited a moment then began to speak.

“Yeah, this is Detective Storm with the Major Case Squad. Can you do me a favor and radio the unit you had watching the Gant household and check somethin’ for me?”

He waited a moment, turning to face me and nodding reassurance. “It’s fine, Row,” he said. “She probably just needed some girl stuff or somethin’.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Something doesn’t feel right about this.”

“Twilight Zone?”

“It just doesn’t feel right,” I repeated.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he said, turning his attention back to the phone. “What do you mean you hadn’t dispatched a unit yet? I called it in over two hours ago!”

He listened for a few seconds then spat, “Yeah. Thanks.”

“They didn’t send anyone to watch the house?” I asked, distress rising in my voice.

I knew he wasn’t ignoring me, but he didn’t respond because his cell phone was pressed up against his ear once again, and he was already talking to someone else.

“Yeah, this is Storm,” he barked. “I need ta’ get a BOLO out on Felicity O’Brien right now…”

“Yeah, ya’ got that? Yeah, Victor, X-Ray, November… That’s right, black Jeep,” Ben said into his phone.

My friend had made a circuit through the house while calling in the “Be On The Lookout” but hadn’t come up with anything he felt necessary to share. He was now standing back in the living room with his cell still firmly planted against his ear.

“Yeah… She’s about five-two, around a hundred and five pounds,” he continued. “Long red hair. Really long, like waist length. Yeah. Green eyes. Uh-hmmm… No… Right now we aren’t sure. We have reason to believe she’s being stalked by a woman fitting the same physical description. Yeah, no kiddin’. No, there’s no evidence of it being an actual abduction, but we might wanna treat it as a possible. She was last seen at the house in Briarwood, and that was about an hour ago. Maybe an hour and a half… Yeah, by a coupl’a crime scene techs who were goin’ over the yard… Yeah, had ta’ do with the possible stalker… Yeah. Thanks. Call me at this number if ya’ get anything.”

My friend folded the device and shoved it into his pocket then simply stared across the room at me. I was sitting on the edge of the sofa, making a concerted effort at remaining calm. So far I had been keeping myself on an even keel, but I wasn’t sure how much longer that would last.

“What did they say?” I asked after a long pause.

“In about two minutes, every cop on duty in the metro area is gonna be keepin’ an eye out for ‘er and the Jeep. It’s all good. They’re gonna find ‘er and she’s gonna be just fine.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Look, Row,” he said. “I know you’re worried, but it’s gonna be fine. I’m tellin’ ya’ we’re pro’bly overreacting as it is.”

“I’m all about overreacting when it comes to my wife’s safety.”

“Believe me, I know that. Hell, ta’ be honest I’m impressed your head hasn’t spun all the way around yet.”

“Give me a minute,” I replied. “It could still happen.”

“Did ya’ check her schedule? Maybe she had an appointment or somethin’.”

I shook my head. “There was nothing on the calendar. But, I will admit that she sometimes forgets to write them down where I can find them.”

“Well, ‘er purse is gone. Could ya’ tell if she took any equipment?”

“No,” I replied. “I looked, but I couldn’t begin to tell you what all she has down there, so she could walk out with a case full of stuff and I’d never be able to tell. Besides, she usually keeps a case in the Jeep as it is.”

“Don’t worry. It’s gonna be fine,” he offered again.

I simply nodded then got up from my seat and walked over to the open door. I wiped my hand across the opaque condensation that had formed on the glass of the storm door and silently watched the world continuing on about its business outside.

“You’re thinkin’ about it, aren’t ya’?” Ben asked after a long silence.

I knew all too well the “it” to which he was referring. It was something that haunted me every December, especially on the anniversary, which was only a bit over a week away on Christmas Eve. “It” was the night I had returned home from working an investigation with Ben only to find Felicity missing because she had been abducted by a serial rapist. Given the situation, it was hard not to draw a few disturbing parallels.

“Yeah,” I mumbled. “Yeah, I am.”

“This ain’t the same, Row,” he told me.

“Of course it isn’t,” I replied. “He wanted to rape her. Annalise wants to kill her.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” he huffed. “There’s no real reason to believe Annalise has anything to do with this. For one, Felicity’s vehicle is gone. For two, like I said, so is her purse. For three, there’s no sign of a struggle. And finally, the dogs weren’t locked up. Firehair had to have left here willingly, you know that.”