Background
A slew of people are missing, an influential family and a rookie cop. Who dunnit and who will solve it?
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"Hi Joe, you're back early" said Linda smiling at her husband as he walked into the backyard of their modest home.
"Yea, work was slow." He replied while handing his wife a basket of fresh vegetables.
"More veggies from the farm, how nice. If it's not a bother babe, I need you to take me to the pharmacy. Doctor refilled my prescription and I need to go pick it up." Linda implored.
"Woman, you really should have gotten your drivers' license" Joe said while he swatted the behind of his wife.
"Why would I ever do that when I have the most handsome chauffeur in the world right here?" Linda replied with a slight giggle while she cuddled inside the hug offered by her husband.
"All right then woman, let's go before I distract you with a different vegetable that I still have in my pants." He was in a great mood today.
"It's a good thing I am a vegetarian!" She said while she swished away to get her purse.
Soon enough the two are outside of the pharmacy. Linda headed inside while Joe stepped out of the car to light a home rolled cigarette. He lifted up the lighter and it slipped out of his hand and onto the sidewalk. Just as he bent over to pick it up, an unaware pedestrian did a quick sidestep and said, "Oops! Almost got you there!"
Joe straightened up with the lighter in hand and watched Aliss open the door of the pharmacy with a quick wave behind her to Joe.
"Sorry miss" said Joe. He took an even longer look at the woman who just passed him. She was familiar to him, although they had never met.
Inside the store Linda was humming along the isles shopping while waiting for her prescription.
Aliss, for the second time, had to sidestep someone who was suddenly in her path.
"Oh! I am so sorry!" Linda said to Aliss.
"That's quite alright, I seem to be in everyone's path today. What a lovely scent you're wearing. Is it jasmine or lilac?" Aliss complimented the simple woman as she stopped in the aisle.
"Lilac. It's probably my soap. I make all of my own." she relied graciously.
"Ahh yes! I think I bought some at the market recently. I love it." said Aliss now recognizing the woman beside her.
"I am Aliss" she offered.
"Linda....Linda Smythe. I am so glad you like my soap. I also make shampoo and conditioner. No preservatives and all natural. You should try some sometime. I live at the old Sampson farm, stop by anytime and I will give you some." Linda liked Aliss immediately.
"Sounds great. Have a lovely afternoon." Aliss walked away from Linda and toward the back of the pharmacy.
"Good afternoon" Aliss said to the clerk at the UPS counter. "I received a notice of a package delivery in the mail. I am here to pick it up."
Aliss produced the delivery slip and her ID. The large envelope is addressed to her husband.
"There have been a bunch of these coming in for Dr. Conners lately. I think there may be one more in the back, I haven't put it on the truck. Want me to look?" Offered the clerk.
"Oh yes please, that will save me another trip." Aliss replied.
Most of the time these packages contained information about prescriptions or medical equipment that were new to market. It wasn't often they were actually for the family.
The clerk came back with 3 packages of varying sizes. 2 boxes and one more large envelope. Aliss wasn't aware of anything coming, usually Mark would let her know if there was. She took the bundles out to her car, barely able to carry it all. She was kind of curious of what would be inside and thought to get them home and open them up.
On the way home she stopped at Bond Private Investigations agency, luckily it was only a few blocks away from the pharmacy. Both were very close to the university as well.
She walked into the lobby not exactly sure what she was going to do or say. But lately she had found herself with more and more courage.
A severe looking woman closing on retirement looked directly at Aliss, "Can I help you?" Was her short question. The look on her face was as if Aliss's presence was disturbing her busy work schedule.
"Yes, can I please speak to, Garry Noble?"
"What is this regarding?" Again, irritated at Aliss's presence.
"I would like to speak to him about and investigation he completed a few years ago." Aliss looked directly back at the woman, almost daring her to challenge her. Aliss adopted a look she had seen her mother-in-law using when directing her house staff.
"Who may I say is here to see him?" That seemed to work. The woman immediately backed down and buzzed the person in question.
"Mrs. Conners." If anyone knew her in-laws that name was about to get people moving in that office.
"Of course, Mrs. Conners I will ring him right away." Yep, she knew the family name.
It was only a few moments later when a portly grey-haired man in a very tight suit came to the front desk.
"Mrs. Conners, pleased to make your acquaintance." The formality of the words didn't seem to fit the man in front of her. She surmised he thought she may be her mother-in-law. "Please follow me."
Soon enough they were inside a large board room with more than 20 chairs around an oval table. On one end of the room is a large whiteboard and at the other a side table with a pitcher and glasses for water.
"What brings you here, Mrs. Conners?"
"I have this file from a few years ago and I was wondering if you could tell me anything about it?" Aliss asked curiously.
With that she pulled the folded paper out of her purse and presented it to him.
He unfolded the document and looked at it. It was only 3 seconds when he said. "This was closed years ago. We determined that we couldn't find this woman, don't you recall?" he offered after a deep drink of water and a loud swallow.
"You must be mistaking me for my mother-in-law Mrs. Cindra Conners, I am the wife of her son, Mark, the person who hired you to find this person."
Aliss was excited inside and very curious. There was something going on here. Why was this man so nervous all of the sudden?
"Oh, of course Mrs. Conners. Of course. Is there anything else I can do for you?" His nervousness didn't calm down, in fact it seemed worse.
"Why did my husband hire you in the first place? Who was this woman? And what happened to her?" she asked.
"He said she was a friend. That she left without any warning or forwarding an address. He said he wanted to make sure she was ok. He told us the police weren't interested in his report of a missing woman so he had no choice but to come to us. We determined that she just wanted to be gone and she was." His eyes kept darting to the closed office door.
That was interesting. Why would he just stop looking? Why wouldn't the police want to know about a missing person? Why would the not follow up on this? She now had more questions than answers.
"If there is nothing else Mrs. Conners." He said while standing up.
She could tell he wasn't going to say anything else so she stood up as well and headed out of the room.
"Thank you, you have been most helpful." Actually, he was.
She put the file back inside her purse. At the front desk she asked the receptionist. "Can you please tell me if there is anything left owing on this file? If there is I would like to pay any balance."
The secretary clicked into her computer. "This is an old one but it comes up associated with some other files we have here. No, there isn't anything owing. It's all been paid by you, Mrs. Cindra Conners." She looks up with puzzlement on her furrowed brow.
"Ok thank you very much." Aliss took her leave before the receptionist put together that she wasn't Cindra herself.
