Vanished

Questions

I waited behind the pillar in the garage for the man came back outside. During the time he was inside, I'd familiarized myself with the surroundings, just like Austin had told me to. I knew there were three possible ways to get out of where I was. I could go inside the building, or use the staircase in the middle of the floor which went both up and down, or use the actual exit a floor below. There could be a fourth possibility if I counted the car entrance.

I put the tea down on the ground. My stomach was no longer interested in it, and I wanted my hands free.

I pulled the key fob to my sister's car out of my bag in case I needed to leave, and squeezed it like it was a lifeline. My other hand had a tight grip around the purse, so I could move quickly if needed, but I stayed where I was with my eyes focused on the front door a floor below.

Regretting the fact that I'd worn heels, I considered checking Aubrey's car for any other shoes, but I didn't want to let the man out of my sight. It wasn't like I expected I'd be hiding from bad people when I got dressed for work.

The suspicion that the man was bad, and that he somehow had a connection to Austin won out, and remained where I was.

The smart thing might have been to get in the car and get the hell out. Since I had my sister's, he wouldn't recognize it, but I felt I needed to know what was going on.

That thought registered, and I gulped as my anxiety spiked up to panic level. Was that why the man was here? Did he actually know who I was? Was he looking for me, or was he looking for Austin?

Those questions made me even more determined to stay exactly where I was. I needed to figure out what the hell was happening.

A few minutes later, my armpits were sweaty and I could barely control my anxiety. I jumped when the front door opened up, and the man stepped outside. He slipped on a pair of sunglasses and, after another quick sweep of his surroundings, walked towards the garage.

And that was all the motivation I needed to get moving.

"Oh fuck, fuck, fuck," I hissed to myself as I scrambled to get to the second floor door. In the haste I dropped the key fob when I tried to shove it into my purse and get the badge out instead. I hurried to pick it up and ran the rest of the way, not caring if he heard me. I'd be safe inside.

Nobody that wasn't employed by BioloGen could follow me inside. The doors required the swipe of the badge to open. As soon as the door unlocked, I stepped inside the small vestibule and made sure the door closed and locked behind me.

There was a small alcove directly to the left of the door for employees to hang their coats. It was empty since it was summer, but it was the perfect hiding spot. From there, I had a view of the garage through the glass door.

The man never made it up to the second floor, and I was pretty convinced I saw him get into a dark sedan and pull out of the complex and into traffic.

Despite that, I was a complete mess. My hands trembled so badly by the time I reached my office that I couldn't get the computer up and running. Every little sound made me jump, and I suddenly understood why Austin had blown me off all those times I tried to get to him. He'd been protecting me from a life of fear. From the kind of life he had.

"Shit."

Then I got worried for a whole other reason.

Austin.

It was very possible that the man had been searching for Austin. I needed to find out what it was he wanted.

It took me a few minutes to get myself together, but my knees were still weak when I entered the lobby. It was empty except for Carol, our front desk receptionist. She looked up at me with a big smile when I approached her desk.

"Good morning, Ellie."

"Good morning, Carol."

"What brings you down here so early?" she asked.

It wasn't unusual that I went through the lobby, but normally it was on my way to some meeting, or in search of a snack from the kitchen.

"I have a question." I leaned closer to her over the desk, even though there was nobody else around.

Carol nodded, so I continued, "the man that was just in here," I said and gave a quick description, "did he sign in?"

"No." She shook her head. "He wasn't here to do work. He was just looking for someone."

That spiked my anxiety all over again.

"Did he say who?" I asked.

She cocked her head, which made her tight curls bounce. "Yeah, why?"

I tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace. "Thought I recognized him."

That made her giggle. "He was rather handsome, but unfortunately he didn't ask for you," she made a face like that was regretful, "he was looking for a man."

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

"Let me guess, William Rodger?"

"Yes," she responded, as her eyebrows jerked up. "How did you know?"

I forced myself to remain calm, and that wasn't easy. "Like I said, I thought I recognized him."

"Okay."

"Can you do me a favor, Carol? If he shows up again, will you let me know?"

She looked a bit surprised at that, but nodded again. "Sure."

"Thanks."

I turned around to go back upstairs when I realized there was one more thing I needed to know. "What did you tell him?" I asked, and turned back around to face Carol.

Her eyebrows narrowed like I asked her a trick question.

"That there is nobody with that name here."

"Was he satisfied with that?"

"No, he said that they were supposed to have a meeting, but that there had been some trouble with the communication, so he wasn't sure whether it was at this location or at another one."

Dread filled my stomach all over again as I nodded for her to continue.

"But when I looked at the employment register, there was nobody with that name, except for a man in West Virginia, but he's on vacation."