Captured

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Alexa

“Where is she?” I asked between sobs. “Why can’t they find her?”

My mother wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. She ran a shaky hand through my hair as she murmured, “We’ll find her sweetheart. Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

A nearby police officer lowered his gaze and shifted his weight uncomfortably.

Pulling away, I wiped a wet strand of hair off of my face. “What can we do? There must be something we can do to help?”

A short stocky man dressed in a dark gray suit knelt down on one knee and pulled a small notebook out of his pocket. “I’m Detective Sam Lock. We have sent detectives over to your sister’s apartment. Her roommate mentioned that she was going out on a date with someone she met online. Did she tell you anything about this?”

“No,” I said shaking my head. “We got in a fight Thursday night and I haven’t talked to her since then…” More sobs erupted, causing my entire body to shake.

“What about her laptop? Addison said she had one with a bright pink cover, but we can’t find it anywhere. Any idea where your sister may have kept it?”

I sniffled and held back a fresh round of tears. “She usually kept it on her nightstand or under her bed.”

The detective peered at her over his glasses. “Do you think she would have any reason to hide it?”

Dabbing the skin under my eyes with a tissue, I shook my head. “She used it all of the time for school. It should be in her apartment.”

The detective reached over and put his hand on top of mine. Giving it a light squeeze, he said, “We’re doing all we can to find your sister.”

I nodded before dropping my face into my hands.

Detective Lock stood up and placed the notebook back in his pocket. “Thank you for your help, Alexa. If you can think of anything at all that might help us, please let me know.”

Without another word, he stood up and walked over to a group of men standing near the front door. They spoke quietly with solemn expressions on their faces.

“Mom, I’m scared.”

Her mother pulled her in for a tight embrace. “I’m scared too, Lex.”

***

The police officers and detectives continued to mill throughout the house for the next several hours. They spoke in whispers and kept looking toward my grief stricken mother.

“I don’t feel well. I think I’m going to take a shower and lay down,” I told my mother.

She planted a kiss on my forehead and hugged me before I headed upstairs.

Locking the door behind me, I turned on the taps and pulled a towel off the hook on the back of the door. I placed the towel carefully on the floor and pulled a dime out of my pocket. Lowering my body, I used the dime to open up an access vent on the side of the bathtub.

Plunging my hand into the darkness, I felt around the floorboards. There you are… Giving a slight tug, I pulled a canvas bag out of the hiding space and into the light.

Licking my lips, I pulled out Abriana’s pink laptop and my burner phone.

Looking over my shoulder, I double-checked that I had locked the bathroom door. Satisfied that it was safe, I turned on the cheap flip phone and waited for it to come to life.

Once the screen lit up, my fingers flew across the keys and clicked on the green phone key.

A smile broke out on my face as his sexy voice answered the phone.

“Easton, here. How can I be of service?”