Disgruntled (19 page)

***
Todd came out of the bathroom practically growling with
impatience.
Eric,
for
all
his
mature
conversations
and
playfulness, was still a little boy. He’d wet himself on the way
to the bathroom. Couldn’t hold it any longer, poor kid.
Todd had noticed him squirming on the way down and
twice suggested he take care of it behind a rock or the few
scraggy bushes they’d passed. No. Too embarrassing in front
of Reva. Fortunately, Todd had thought to bring a change of
clothes in the backpack.
After working Eric out of the clothes, washing the skinny
legs and body, and slipping on the clean undies, shirt and
shorts—the kid was fine. Except for the dust all over his
face, and dirt on his hands. Todd lifted him over the sink
and propped Eric on a knee with the water running. A bit of
soap added to the mix made sure that the face was once
again clean and sparkling. Ten minutes later they walked out
of the bathroom with the soiled clothes in a plastic bag.
“Dad, where’s Ms. Reva?” Eric asked.
“She probably got tired of waiting and went outside.” The
jingle of the door as they exited caught his attention. He
surveyed the lot. She’d left? Seriously?
He whipped the phone off the dashboard and sent a quick
message.
Where’d you go?
No answer.
You okay?
he added.
Nothing.
Eric skipped to the car. Todd walked back inside and looked
around while Eric waited in the passenger seat. The jingle of
the bells over the door eerily signaled his entrance and it
occurred to him that he’d heard it twice while in the store.
Reva had left.
Someone else too?
The store clerk sat behind the counter watching a small
television screen.
“Did you see a woman leave just a few minutes ago? Long
brown hair, tank top and shorts?”
“Yeah. They took off down that way about five minutes
ago.” The man’s tattooed finger pointed toward town.
THEY?
“She was with someone?”
“Sure. The guy she was with went with her. Why?”
“The guy she was with
was me.
Who did you see with her?”
“I don’t know. Just some dude. Dark hair. Medium height.
Dressed in bicycle gear.” The clerk gestured to signify height
and weight. “She knew him. They seemed okay.”
“Did you get his name? Did she call him by name?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember, but his truck wouldn’t
start and he ran out after her.” The man gestured at the
brown truck sitting in front of the window. Todd froze.
Dark windows. Brown truck. Taillights looked the same.
Shit. Shit.
He dialed Officer Teckley’s number. Voicemail.
Dammit.
“Officer Teckley, this is Todd Grisham. I’ve got
kind of a situation here. I think I found Reva’s friend. Can
you call me back right away? She might be in trouble.” Todd
ended the call and phoned Tim, Ben, and her parents.
Eons later, he’d rallied the group and realized that, for all
their preparation, the plan to saturate the neighborhood and
ward the guy off had failed.
He’d
failed. His iPhone buzzed
into action and Todd jerked it to his ear.
“Todd.” It was impossible to mask the impatience now.
“Wow. Having a bad time, sweetie?” Annie’s voice surfaced
a cringe.
“What do you want, Annie? I don’t have time to talk.”
“I just wanted to check on Eric. We’re going out to eat
tonight and I need him home asap.”
Todd rolled his eyes.
Not now.
Eric sat in the car, glancing
through the book he’d slid out from under the seat. He was
completely unconcerned with Reva’s disappearance.
“Sorry, but I can’t bring him. I have something going on and
I can’t leave. You can come get him.”
“You’re addicted to your work, you know. That’s why it
never worked for us. I’ll be over in thirty minutes.”
“I’m not getting into an argument with you right now,
Annie. I’m not at home. We’re still at the park.”
“Still at the park? And you can’t even drop him by on your
way home?” Her voice rose.
“Look, Reva’s missing. I’m not leaving until the police get
here and we can figure out what happened or she calls.”
“Reva? She went
with you
?”
“Yes.”
“But I told you—”
“And I am telling you, it’s none of your business.
She’s
none
of your business. We’re not discussing this. If you need Eric
home, come get him. Otherwise, I’ll drop him by as soon as
I can. Reva’s in trouble. Get it? Or don’t you care?”
Todd hung up. He jogged to the street and peered both ways
down
the
road,
hoping
to
see
her
car.
Nothing.
The
brightness of the sun glared off a broken glass down the
street as if to wink at him. Sure, they were likely way gone by
now but he could hope, right?
“Dad! Where’re you going?”
He turned back to Eric. “I’m not going anywhere, bud. I was
just checking for Reva’s car.” He looked at the cover of the
book Eric held. Todd had an idea. “You remember those
walkie talkies we used when you and Mom first moved
around the corner?”
“The
red
and
blue
ones
that
I
called
you
on
before
bedtime?” Eric asked.
“Yes! They’re under the back seat of the car with the other
stuff your mom gave me a while back.” It wasn’t time to
explain
that
Annie
had
told
him
Eric
needed
more
independence and his need to call Todd whenever he got
scared had been a problem. “Can you get them?”
Eric pulled the car door. When it wouldn’t budge, he leaned
backward and yanked with both hands. Todd smiled despite
his worry as the door gave way and his young son scrambled
to get the toys.
“Got ’em.” Eric held one up and pushed the button on the
other. “They’re not working, Dad.” He shook them, then
pushed the button again.
“The batteries are probably dead. Here, take this money in
and get some new ones. The guy inside will help you. We’re
gonna need them.” It was a big job for a little guy, but Eric
was smart and puffed proudly with the trust he’d been given.
Minutes ticked off. Todd heard gravel spray as Ben’s pickup
flew into the parking lot and spun to a stop. Tim jumped
out, followed by a petite blonde, then Ben.
“You find her?” Tim asked.
“Not yet. Cops are on the way though.”
Sirens in the distance punctuated his statement. The blonde
stepped forward and held out a hand. “I’m Ben’s wife. Ben
talks about you a lot.”
Todd nodded. She swirled the bottled water in her hand and
took a sip. He looked past her to Eric’s small frame running
toward him.
“I fixed them. Look.” His big eyes beamed up as the child
held out the walkie talkies. They both clicked into action and
hissed as he pressed the buttons up and down. Wasn’t it
amazing how a small victory could boost a kid’s confidence?
“I knew you would. Thanks. Now, listen up, son. I’m going
down the road there and I need you to take this one. I’ll take
the other. We’re going to play a game sort of. This is going
to be the command post and you and Ben here are going to
be in charge of it. Tim is going with me. Reva’s hiding and
we’re going to find her, okay? You can be Ben’s lieutenant.”
Ben
nodded
when
Todd
lifted
a
brow
his
way.
He
understood. They had to get moving. If this guy, whoever he
was, had her—they’d already given him too much time. He
switched his gaze to Tim. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t be surprised if we get out of range. I’ll use the cell if
there’s a signal.”
They scrambled into his Jeep and he careened it toward
town. The patrol car whizzing by would have to talk to the
others. No time for delay. He had no idea where to go or
how to find her. He hated not having a plan. The man’s
truck was at the store so they couldn’t be far, right? The sun
glared off the broken glass he’d noticed earlier on the road
and he swerved to miss it. The rearview mirror showed a
bottle rolling to the grass by the pavement—not broken
glass, a
water bottle
. A completely full water bottle.
He jerked the wheel and did a one-eighty. “What the hell?”
Tim peered sideways.

“Look!” Todd pointed at the ruts that disappeared into the
trees
beyond where the bottle had slowed to rest. He
grabbed the radio from the dashboard and clicked the
button to call Ben and Eric. An unfamiliar voice said,
“Here.”
“Where are Eric and Ben?” The radio crackled when Todd
released the button.
“They walked over to talk to the cops.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m David, Reva’s cousin. She’s told me a lot about you.”
“Yeah, well, she hasn’t told me shit about you.” Todd knew
his patience wasn’t making any friends but he didn’t care.
“I’m the family lawyer.”
“Good for you. Tell Ben we turned down the first dirt road
on the right.” Todd tossed the radio to the dashboard.
“I wouldn’t get on his bad side just yet.” Tim rolled down
his window and the scent of leaves and dirt pelted in on
them. “He’s going to help you with Eric.”
“No kidding. How’s he going to do that?” Todd checked the
rearview but dust clouded so high it wasn’t possible to see.
“You’d be surprised what David can do. He’s a pit bull when
it comes to the law and Reva spent most of last night telling
him what a great Dad you are. Since David’s divorced and
only sees his kids once a month, you’re his next big case. He
has a soft spot for kids. And dads.”
Well,hell.

Reva took a sip from the bottle of water and rested her arm
on the open window. The day was still young but the trees
blocked the afternoon sun. As she lifted the bottle for a
second sip it slipped from her hand. She reached down to
grab it, saw the bag from the store, and tossed both out the
window.
She slid a glance toward Brent. “There’re bike trails down
here?” she asked.
“Yeah, it gets a little rough, but when you get closer to the
river it opens up and there’s a lot of trails along the water
and up into the trees. It’s more for mountain biking, not
street bikes. You ever do any of that?”
“No. I jog. Never took up cycling. I’m not sure why, I just
didn’t. I think it’s cool that you do that though.”
“You play softball too.”
“Yes.” She remembered when she’d been in a hurry to get to
practice. “So, were there a lot of people out here today? I
don’t see any cars or bikes.”
“Just my group. Not many. Turn up there where the tire
tracks are.”
She gulped down the last of the second water and tossed it
out the window as she spun the wheel. It was a long shot but
she had nothing else to use. From what she saw, very few
traveled this way. What possessed a person to take off on a
deserted road just on a whim?
“You shouldn’t litter.”
“It’ll deteriorate. Those new bottles are biodegradable.”
“Yeah, in a hundred years.” His voice grated. The birds
chattered away in the trees. A siren in the distance increased
in volume to signify an emergency vehicle approaching.
Brent rested an arm over the seat and glanced back. “Must
be a fire somewhere.”
“Hope not. We’re right in the middle of a forest full of dry
trees in the middle of a drought. How far is this place where
your friends are?”
“Just up there.” He pointed at an opening in the trees where
a dock extended over river water that barely rippled.
Reva pulled to a stop just clear of the trees and got out. The
only sounds were birds and wind rustling through the leaves.
Brent stepped out also and walked toward the dock. She
thought it odd that he wore a fanny pack on his hips.
Didn’t
those go out of style years ago?
“They’ve already gone,” he said without turning back. “So,
what do we do now?”
“I can take you back to the store. My friends are waiting for
me.”
He whirled around. “Who? There wasn’t anyone with you.”
“They were in the bathroom.”
He nodded and she knew he didn’t believe a word. Brent
smiled and strode toward her. “So, what is it with you and
me, Reva?”
“Huh? There is no you and me. What are you talking
about?”
“Why is that? You obviously are attractive and so am I.
Haven’t you thought about it?” Brent stepped in a bit too
close.
Reva went into her protective mode. She stared down and
kept a monitored awareness of his movements. “Off limits,
Brent. I’m your boss. But since you’re asking—no, I hadn’t
thought about it.”
“Never?”
“Never.”
“Why not? You’re fairly active, socially.”
“What?” Her eyes shot up.
Active?
“Well, you date a lot. If that’s what it is.” The chill of his
forefinger
trailing
down
her
arm
caused
a
shiver.
She
stepped back. Her shoe crunched on dried leaves and twigs
underneath.
“How do you know whether I date or not? That’s none of
your business.”
“I’ve noticed.”
The only way he would possibly notice something like that
would be if he had watched.
He had watched
. With another
step backward, Reva glanced into the trees on both sides.
The birds ceased their chatter as if sensing a pending storm.
The silence punctuated his movement as Brent clamped a
hand around Reva’s forearm.
“Brent, let go. We need to get back. My friends will be
concerned.”
He laughed a single snort but dropped his grip. “Yeah, right.
There’s no one back there. And we’re going to stay right
here. It’s kind of romantic, don’t you think?”
No. No. Not Romantic. Not a bicycle trail. Not even safe.
Reva’s
gaze swiveled again to the trees, searching for an escape. She
glanced back at her car. She’d left the door open, keys in her
pocket. Unfortunately, his door was also wedged open and
ready.
“I’m going back,” she announced. “You can either go or
stay. That’s up to you.” She turned and tromped three steps
toward the car. Three steps that took great strength and
escalated the tension building in her gut.
“Why do you hate me so much? Are you afraid I’m better
than you? That I’d actually do a better job? They all like me,
you know. At the office. They like me a lot more than you
because I can talk and joke with everyone. And I make sense
when I talk about the project. I don’t try to over-explain or
condescend like you do.”
She kept moving. Step. Step. Step. One after the other,
slowly so that it didn’t alarm him. The crunch of his feet on
the ground behind her kept pace. “I don’t hate you, Brent.
You’re an employee. Your success is important to mine.
We’re too big of an organization for it to only be about one
individual.” She felt the cold metal of the keys in her pocket
but held them still so he wouldn’t hear.
“The truth is, Reva, dear,” Brent said, “I don’t really care
about anyone else’s success. Neither do you. You only care
about you. That’s why we belong together. We’re the same,
you and I.”
Brent strutted past and shoved the car door closed.
The
thump sent a few birds fluttering above. The crunch of tires
against the dirt and gravel road caught his attention. They
both turned and squinted behind her car. The rumble of a
motor signaled an approaching vehicle. Brent growled.
Through the fading light behind the trees, Reva made out
the shape of a truck bumping along the ruts of the road. The
engine revved and sped closer as if the passengers had seen
them too.
“Your friends?” she asked before she recognized the vehicle
color and silhouettes inside.
No, mine.
Relief almost made her
giddy. It definitely warmed the cold feeling that had started
through her shoulders.