The Older Man Part II

Chapter 9

Suspicious Minds

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VINCENT'S POINT OF VIEW

As I drove out of the parking garage of the condo building, I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel in rhythm to a song that was currently playing on the radio.

It was 5:15 PM and I was driving to Cheyenne's job to pick her up from work. She started having trouble with her car the other day, so we took it into the shop to get fixed. Since her car was being worked on, I agreed to drive her around in my truck. I had to work out my schedule with my boss because I normally leave for work before she even wakes up; he needed to change my hours for a few days, but it was nice to be able to see Cheyenne in the morning.

It didn't take even ten minutes to get from the condo to Evans & Partners. Luckily, we lived nearby the downtown area, so it wasn't a long trip for me to make. I left a little earlier than I needed to, just to be safe.

The weather outside looked gloomy when I left. There wasn't anything I could find about rain showing up today but by the look of the grey clouds that banded together to cover the sky, I decided to play it safe. I made sure to grab an umbrella from the closet by the front door of our condo, and also, a coat from our closet so Cheyenne wouldn't be cold.

I could hear the wind howling as I drove to her job. A few light drops of rain started to cast themselves onto my windshield as I passed traffic light after traffic light. The rain didn't start picking up until I was pulling into the parking lot of Evans & Partners.

By the time I turned into an available parking spot closest to the door of the law firm, the clock had changed from 5:23 to 5:24.

Right on time, I smiled to myself.

I sat in the truck and texted Cheyenne that I was here. She would always leave at 5:30 on the button, so I knew she would be out soon.

We had a little routine for the past few days. I would text her when I was leaving the condo, then I'd let her know when I was waiting in the parking lot of her job, and she'd text me saying when she was clocking out. Shortly after she'd message me, I'd see her walking through the door of the main building.

This time, that didn't happen.

I waited for her message telling me that she was on her way out of work, but it never came. 5:30 turned into 5:40 and I began to worry about what was going on. If something came up, she would let me know immediately.

Growing very concerned, I grabbed the umbrella and Cheyenne's coat and got out of my truck to head into the building. I felt a few drops of rain hit me as I approached the glass door I saw Cheyenne walk out of when she'd leave work.

When I opened the door and let myself in, I was confused when I was met with an empty lobby. There was only a desk with a man sitting behind it.

"Hello, may I help you?" I heard the man say, stealing my attention.

I approached the desk he was at. "Hi, um, my fiancee Cheyenne works here and I'm supposed to pick her up today. She was supposed to get out of work at 5:30 and it's past 5:30 now. I was just worried about her, do you know if she's alright or..."