Lynette Eason - Justice Mission

Silence fell between them for a moment.

“I know about hidden pain,” Sophie finally said, her tone subdued. “But that doesn’t mean it always leads to suicide.”

“I agree. But sometimes it does—or at least thoughts of it.” His low words had her looking at him more closely.

She had a feeling he was speaking from experience. “Did someone you know commit suicide?”

He blinked. “No, nothing like that. I’ve just worked with a lot of people over the years and I’ve worked a few suicides. People who’ve killed themselves, and their families had no idea they were struggling. I guess what I’m saying is that the face a lot of people show the outside world in no way reflects what’s really going on inside them.”

“Jordan’s not like that.”

“You know him that well?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.”

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“I guess I’m just surprised. We’ve known each other for two years, worked together on a daily basis, and I don’t know you like that.”

She gaped. “You’ve never made the effort. Every time you’ve come into the office, you’re like, ‘Hi, how are you?’ And that’s about the extent of it.”

He shut his lips and she wondered if she’d spoken out of turn. Asking him about it would have to wait. Luke pulled into the entrance of the park. “Keep going,” she said. “You know where the bike trail is, right?”

“Yes.”

“I had to come out here on one of Jordan’s afternoons off to get his signature on some papers he’d been waiting on. He was running the trail with Snapper and said he’d come in to the office. It was a gorgeous day so I didn’t mind getting outside. If it had been raining, I’m not sure I would have offered.” She shot him a quick smile.

“Yes, you would have.” At her raised brow, he shrugged. “I’m beginning to get to know you a bit, I think.”

“It doesn’t take long. I’m pretty much an open book.”

“Hmm. Somehow, I wonder.” He cleared his throat. “Did Jordan have a favorite area out here?”

“Just the Parkway. Sometimes he ran, sometimes he biked, but he always had Snapper with him. And while it’s not near here, he also liked to run along the East River.”

“Someone else will check there.” Luke followed her directions to the entrance. While he drove, she took in the vast landscape unfolding before them. Right in the middle of Queens, the wooded area stretched endlessly. “I don’t know, Luke, this place is huge. There’s just too much ground to cover.”

“That’s why so many cops are looking for him.”

Already there were a multitude of law enforcement vehicles in the area. No one questioned one more pulling in. Luke got on the radio and reported his position and requested an update. “No one’s spotted Jordan yet,” he said.

“It’s still early.” She climbed out of the SUV and waited for Luke to release Bruno and join her. “This doesn’t feel right.”

“What do you mean?”

“While I know and understand that we’re following protocol in the way we’re conducting the search, I just feel like we’re on the wrong track and wasting precious time. We need to check that letter for fingerprints. Ones that don’t match ours.”

“It’s in an evidence bag. I’ll get someone to send it over to the lab immediately. Regardless of where Jordan is, that guy kidnapped you and we need to find out who he is.”

“No kidding.” She bit her lip and glanced around.

“Jordan likes this path a lot,” she said. “Katie says when he needs to be alone, he spends as much time as possible walking, running or biking this trail and praying. She says it calms him and gives him focus.”

Officers talked with those enjoying the warm spring day. One held up his phone and showed a young couple the screen. Jordan’s picture, no doubt. They both shook their heads and the officer’s shoulders slumped slightly, but he nodded and made his way to the next person.

“What is it?” Luke asked her.

“What do you mean?”

“Something’s been bothering you—other than the obvious—since we found the letter,” Luke said. “So, what is it?”

Sophie pressed her lips together, then looked at him. “The handwriting on the letter was Jordan’s.”

He stilled. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. I see it every day. He’s forever writing notes and placing them on my desk.”

Luke stared at her. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“Because I thought we’d have answers by now. I thought we would have found Jordan and he would have explained everything. The fact that we haven’t found him yet scares me to death, because while I don’t believe he’s suicidal, I definitely believe he’s in some kind of serious trouble and time may be running out for him.”

* * *

The problem was, Luke mostly agreed with her, although he couldn’t deny the little niggling of doubt that wanted to raise its head and demand attention.

He shoved it aside for the moment, slightly ashamed at the flare of uncertainty—and, if he was honest—jealousy of her unwavering loyalty to her boss. It hadn’t taken him long to discover there was a depth to Sophie he wouldn’t have guessed she possessed.

However, just in the last few hours, she’d proven herself a loyal employee—the kind who worked hard because of her innate integrity, not just because she was earning a paycheck. And she was Jordan’s friend as well as his assistant. She would defend those she cared about to the bitter end—including her fierce belief that Jordan wouldn’t kill himself. She’d made that abundantly clear.

And yet, Luke hesitated. While he admired that about Sophie, sometimes loyalty and devotion could blind a person to reality. Sometimes. He wasn’t saying that was the case with Sophie and their boss, but he wasn’t ruling it out either. And a small part of him couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to have someone like Sophie in his corner. For someone to have that kind of unshakable devotion to him.

Bruno jerked at the end of the leash, anxious to do his job. Only Luke didn’t have a job for him to do. Bruno was a cadaver K-9, whose specialty was finding dead bodies, and Jordan wasn’t dead. Luke’s jaw tightened, but he followed after the animal, determined to do his part in locating his boss. He had to keep believing it wasn’t too late. That he wasn’t too late. Please, God, please let us find him—alive—and let there be a reasonable explanation for his disappearance.

For the next two hours, he and the other officers searched the area without success. Jordan wasn’t there. Or at any of his favorite places according to reports coming in.

“Where could he be?” Sophie finally asked on the verge of tears.

Luke’s heart slammed against his chest in empathy with her worry. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re right, though. Maybe we need to sit down with Katie and talk through everything.”

“Like what?”

“Like Jordan’s morning. His schedule. What he said to her before he left? Everything. There’s no detail too small, but I’m pretty confident about one thing.”

“What’s that?” Sophie asked.

“Jordan never made it to the Parkway this morning.”

“Why?”

“Because Bruno didn’t even get a hint of his scent. That means he wasn’t there.”

“Then let’s go.” Sophie hurried to the SUV and Luke climbed behind the wheel after making sure Bruno was settled. He paused.

Sophie frowned. “What are you waiting for?”

“Do you have Katie’s number?”

“Of course.”

“Can you call her? I think we can do this over the phone and it will be faster than going back to the auditorium.”