Charade

Vic

Eight a.m., the phone buzzed on the nightstand. I groaned and rolled over, cursing whoever was on the other end.

"Hello?" I asked, voice groggy.

"Vic, it's Paul. I've got the... information you require," he said carefully, as if other people were in the room.

I sat up in bed, instantly alert.

"What does it say?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said.

I frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing," Paul repeated. "Edward Quentin Louis – or Eddie Louis, as you know him – might as well be a speck of dust on the rug. No arrests, no felonies, nothing. A few speeding tickets, but that's about all."

"What? Nothing?"

"Nope. He suffered a serious house fire recently but moved out of state. His parents are alive. He's an only child. Oh, but his wife and two children were killed in 9/11."

"9/11?" I asked.

"Yeah, the family was over there for a holiday and decided to visit the biggest buildings in the city. It was tragic."

I thought back to the perfectly preserved rooms in Eddie's house and felt a terrible, gut-wrenching guilt. Had I destroyed everything he had left from his family?

"What about somebody called Dana? Anything about that?" I asked, wanting to forget about what I may have caused.

"His wife's name was Dana Louis," Paul offered. "But that's it."

"Where was he last seen, do you know?"

"He swiped his credit card at a petrol station not far from Adelaide about three hours ago."

"What was it called?"

"Marley's Truck Stop," he said.

"Thanks, Paul, but I have to – "

"Vic," he said. "Before you go, know that this makes us even. No more favours or my ass will be out on the street, okay?"

I nodded.

"No worries, Paul. Thank you for everything."

"You got it. And Vic?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck."

I hung up and jumped out of bed, running to Benjamin's room. I knocked on the door.

"Benjamin, get up. We've got a lead."

I opened the door and Benjamin's fatigue-ridden body lay sprawled across the bed. He looked up, eyes barely open and hair mattered and wild.

"Paul called," I said. "Eddie's credit card was used a few hours ago at a petrol station nearby."

Benjamin, looking rather dead, nodded and began to peel his body off the bed. He leaned down and collected his shirt, slipping it over his bare chest.

"Are we taking Lily?" He asked. "Or should I stay behind?"

I thought for a moment.

"We'll bring her along. I don't want her out of my sight."

Benjamin nodded again and I left the room, going to Lily's. I knocked first, remembering her number one rule back home.

"Lily, sweetheart, can I come in?"

Silence.

She's probably still asleep, I thought.

I knocked a little louder.

"Lily?"

Nothing.

Slowly, I opened the door and peered inside at an empty bed, the sheets ruffled and slept in.

"Lily?" I asked again, opening the door all the way.

The room was empty, the window open.

"Lily?!" I screamed.

I ripped open the wardrobe, checked under the bed, ran downstairs, but it was no use.

She was already gone.

© A.G. Travers 2015