Got Your Six

Chapter 25

Kayla - Present Day

I silence my alarm and reach over to the empty spot beside me. Calvin never came back last night. I check my phone for any texts or missed calls, but my notifications are completely empty. He's obviously avoiding me. I tried calling and texting him countless times yesterday after he left and he ignored every one of them. He must have eventually turned his phone off because my calls began going straight to voicemail and I can't even check his location. I was never trying to push him away. All I wanted was for him to talk to me and tell me the truth about what's been going on. He hasn't been acting like himself since Cameron died and then his boss shows up to arrest him. I'm beginning to worry that he's going to do something to wind up in jail, or worse. I don't want his boss showing up on my doorstep again to tell me my husband is dead. I need to find him.
I force myself out of bed and throw on a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt, my go-to lazy outfit. My mind whirls with the possibilities of what Calvin could be getting himself into right now. He's never gone so far off the rails as to get himself arrested. The coffee machine silently calls my name and I respond by going to the kitchen and brewing myself a tall cup of iced coffee with caramel syrup.
My phone sits silently on the table beside me as I sip my coffee, as if mocking me that Calvin hasn't bothered to respond to me. I rack my brain for anyone that might be able to tell me where he is. He doesn't have many friends nearby and I don't think he would drive all the way out to go stay with them. That's at least a three hour trip to his closest friend, excluding his work buddies. Something tells me he's not hanging out with them after just being arrested. The only other people I can think of that might know something is his parents. He calls his mom to vent sometimes, maybe he told her something.
"Hey, Kayla!" Caitlyn says cheerfully as soon as she answers my call. "What's up?"
I can hear the bus in the background, she must be working, something I should be doing too. I'll just have to tell my boss I needed another day off. "A family emergency," I'll tell her, just like last time. Technically, that's exactly what this is.
"Hey," I say, trying not to sound too worried. "Have you talked to Calvin recently?"
"No, is everything okay?" She asks me.
Everything is most definitely not okay. I don't want to freak her out too much though, especially while she's at work.
"Yeah, well, I don't know," I don't know how I'm going to put this without making her worrisome.
"What's going on?" She asks carefully.
"We just had a small argument last night and he left. He didn't come back last night, so I'm just trying to figure out where he might've gone. I just want to make sure he's all right," I tell her, trying not to make it sound like a big deal but I know it's probably coming off that way to her.
"Oh, well no, I haven't talked to him since the funeral," she says, getting quiet at the mention of it. I know that whole topic is still sensitive, it's bound to be that way for a while. "I noticed he left early that day. Do you know what that was all about?"
"He said that him and his Captain got some lead about the guy who killed Cameron," I begin.
"Oh, please tell me they got him," she jumps in, interrupting me.
"No," I say softly. "He said it ended up being nothing. They're still looking for him though. I'm sure it won't be too long before they get him," I assure her, trying to say anything that might make her feel better.
"Yeah, I hope so," she says quietly. "Well, I don't know anything about Calvin. I hope you can find him soon though," she says, changing the subject back to what it was originally.
"Yeah, me too," I say. "I'll keep you updated."
"Ok thanks," she says. I move the phone away from my ear, ready to end the call until I hear her shout, "Oh! Hey!"
"What?" I ask, putting the phone back up to my cheek.
"I saw on the news last night that some guy was found dead at the quarry. He didn't have anything to do with this, did he?" She asks me.
My first thought is of Calvin getting arrested and questioned about that guy's death. That's the whole reason Calvin and I got into this argument. I'm a little reluctant to tell his mother that though. "Uhh, I think Calvin had said he was there that night but he wasn't the one that killed Cameron," I tell her, keeping the rest of the details to myself.
Caitlyn gets quiet for a moment before saying, "Well, at least one of them got what they deserved."
I try to think of a response to that but I just can't. It reminds me too much of what I think Calvin is out there trying to accomplish right now. How would that make Caitlyn feel? The man that killed her son would be dead but her other son would be in jail. What good would come out of that?
"Well, I'll talk to you later," I say after a brief moment of silence.
"Okay, see ya. Love you," she says in a voice that makes me think she's smiling on the other side of the phone.
"Love you," I say and then end the call, setting my phone down on the table.
I finish my cup of coffee while I try to think of what to do next. I know the chances of him being at work are slim to none after being arrested yesterday, but I need to be sure. My chair scoots back with a single push and I get up, setting my cup in the sink and head to the bathroom. My hair is a mess and I can tell I've got coffee breath now. I take a few minutes to freshen up and then grab my keys. At least now people won't be able to tell I just got out of bed.
My hand reaches to unlock the deadbolt on the front door until I notice it's already unlocked. I could've swore I locked it before going to bed last night. Pushing the thought aside, I unlock the handle and swing open the door. There's streaks of mud all over the porch. I dismiss the thought altogether, assuming they're from Calvin's boss when he came to get him yesterday. Maybe I just missed how dirty his shoes were. I lock the door behind me and walk across the lawn, getting into my car to drive down to Calvin's work.

"Hello," I say to the smiling woman behind the front desk.
"Hi, how may I help you" she asks with a customer service voice.
"I was hoping I could talk to Captain Bennett. Is he here?" I ask confidently, hoping I got his name right but owning it even if I didn't.
"One moment," she says as she picks up the phone beside her.
"Hello, sir. There's someone here to see you," she says into the phone. "What was your name?" She asks me.
I tell her and then watch her repeat it into the phone.
"Okay, he'll be out momentarily," the woman assures me.
I drift across the room back to the entrance, looking out the window at the cars driving by.
"Mrs. Jenkins," says a voice behind me. I turn around to see the same man that arrested my husband yesterday. A part of me tells me to be mad at him but another part tells me he was just doing his job. "What can I do for you?" He asks.
"I was hoping you could tell me where my husband is," I tell him, skipping the small talk and getting straight to the point.
"I'm sorry?" He asks, clearly puzzled.
"Has he been here?" I ask him.
"Not since yesterday," he informs me. "Is something wrong?"
"No, I just don't know where he went off to," I admit.
"Well, that sounds like something might be wrong," Bennett points out. "How long has he been gone?"
"He left soon after you guys brought him back yesterday," I tell him. "He didn't come back home last night."
Bennett furrows his eyebrows, presumably thinking deeply about something.
"What? What is it?" I ask him impatiently. "Do you know something?"
"Well, I'm not sure," he admits. "Someone was seen snooping around the crime scene at the quarry last night but my officer on duty didn't get a good look at who it was."
"But you think it was Calvin," I say as more of a statement than a question.
"I think it's a possibility. He seems to be having a hard time leaving his brother's case alone," Bennett admits to me. It's more than Calvin has told me. "I told him that if he couldn't leave it alone I was going to have to fire him. He's already on a suspension."
Calvin failed to mention that as well. That would explain why he was so on edge after he got home yesterday. Not only did he get arrested and questioned about a murder, but he was suspended as well.
"I'm just worried about him getting himself hurt at this point," Bennett admits. "I'll tell the rest of my guys to keep an eye out for him. If we find him, we'll bring him in for his own safety."
If Bennett finds him before I do, Calvin will lose his job. Bennett just told me that much. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about Calvin getting hurt too, he's taking things too far. Calvin has clearly taken finding his brother's killer into his own hands. He's not just going to get himself fired. He's going to get himself killed.