I woke up to twenty-three missed calls. Twenty-two of them were from Alexandria. The twenty-third was also from Alexandria, just from her work phone.
I stared at my phone.
Then at the ceiling.
Then back at my phone.
This seemed a little excessive.
I answered the next call before it could finish ringing. Answering in a cheerful tone.
"Good morning, Queen. Lovely day we are having, right?"
"You've been awake for six seconds."
"I've been awake for at least thirty staring at some calls roll in."
"You count like a drunk."
"I am a drunk."
She audibly sighed before sitting in silence for a split second before she spoke.
"We have a problem."
I sit up, already smiling and ready for whatever surprise is next.
"I hope it is another fun one."
"Joe."
Her tone was clearly tired. Unusual and different from her usual serious and disappointed one.
I prop my head up on my fist before answering.
"What happened?"
There was a moment of silence.
Then.
"Thomas Carter is missing."
I blinked.
Well.
That was unexpected.
Ihad assumed our mysterious detective had merely hidden him away somewhere. Maybe put him in a motel or a safe house.
But fully missing? There is no way we wouldn't be able to find him with the people we have in the force.
Missing was different.
Missing was fun.
I swung my legs out of bed.
"How missing?"
"I mean his daughters haven't seen him since last night. He never came home. Never called or texted."
"Hmm."
"The police are looking for him, and I have already dispatched people, including the ones we have in the force."
"Oh." I say back, lost in thought, wondering what could have happened. My brain already working overtime.
"I hate when you do that." Alexandria spoke, breaking me from my trance.
"Do what?"
"Say 'oh' like you've just discovered a new flavor of ice cream."
I smiled.
"To be fair, this is only slightly more interesting than ice cream."
"Joseph."
I sighed.
"Fine. I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"You said that last time and arrived in an hour."
"I had to shower."
"You don't shower for forty minutes."
"I enjoy the experience."
"You sing cartoon music."
"I enjoy many experiences." I think back to my showers.
She hung up.
Rude.
I got dressed.
By the time I arrived at the church, Alexandria already had our office transformed into what looked like a military command center.
Papers covered the desk.
A map of the city had been pinned to the wall.
Names were written in red marker.
Schedules.
Addresses.
Phone numbers.
There were three cups of coffee beside her.
I wasn't entirely convinced she had blinked since I left the diner.
She looked up as I entered.
"You took forty minutes."
"I showered quickly." I said proud of my time and not being too late this time.
"You smell of wine."
"I may have celebrated my victory with a wine glass...or two." I rub the back of my hed sheepishly.
She pinched the bridge of her nose.
I walked over to the map.
"So."
I looked at the names.
"We're going to war."
"No."
"Boooring."
She handed me a folder.
"We're containing a disaster."
I opened it this time. I wasn't fond of these things, but this time I'll open a couple.
Thomas's phone records.
Bank information.
Security footage.
A timeline.
Jeez.
She really had gone insane. Did she really have to be this meticulous?
Raising an eyebrow I glance up at her.
"Did you sleep?"
"No."
"Eat?"
"No."
"Blink?"
"I don't have time for your jokes."
I frowned slightly.
That wasn't good.
Alexandria liked my jokes.
Well.
She tolerated them.
Which was close enough.
I sat down.
"Tell me."
She took a deep breath.
"Thomas never returned home. His car was found in a parking lot downtown."
"Any signs of a struggle?"
"No."
"Blood?"
"No."
"Witnesses?"
"None."
I nodded.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"So our accountant simply evaporated." I bring my hands together and part them as if mimicking an explosion.
She glared at me.
"People don't evaporate."
"I've seen stranger things."
"You absolutely have not."
I leaned back in my chair, tapping my fingers on the chair's armrest.
There are no signs of violence. Not a single witness to step up and speak. No declaration of ransom has been made, and no demands have been made.
No signs of violence.
No witnesses.
No ransom.
No demands.
I closed the folder.
"He's definitely alive."
She blinked.
"What?"
"Thomas is alive."
"How do you know that?"
"Because if he were dead, we'd most likely already know."
She stared at me.
I smiled.
"Dead people are messy."
Silence.
"You say things that concern me."
I ignored that.
If the detective had killed Thomas, the body would have appeared somewhere.
If he wanted leverage, we'd already have demands.
No.
This was something else.
Which meant...
I smiled.
"You've figured something out."
I looked at Alexandria.
"No."
"You did."
"Nuh uh."
"You have that look."
"What look?"
"The one right before you say something terrible."
I stood and walked toward the map.
"There are three possibilities."
She crossed her arms.
"I'm listening."
"One."
I raised a finger.
"The detective killed Thomas."
"Possible." She mumbled, looking down in thought.
"No."
Alexandria looked back up at me puzzled.
"Why?"
"Too messy, and I just have a faint feeling our detective is too much of a hero for that."
I raised a second finger.
"The detective hid Thomas."
"Likely."
"It is a possible outcome since it seems the detective is working a bit separately from the police force."
Then I raised a third.
"Someone else took him."
Silence.
Alexandria frowned.
"What do you mean someone else?"
I looked at her.
"Our detective threatened Thomas to expose us and supposedly take away Thomas's children."
"Yes."
"He didn't threaten him to kidnap him or anything like that. Only threaten his family."
I pause, smiling before continuing.
"Someone moved one of my pieces."
The room became quiet.
"No..."
"Oh, yes."
She looked over at the board. The names, timelines, and other information before looking back at me.
Then slowly looked back at me.
"You think there's another player.
"I think there may be."
Silence.
I could practically hear her blood pressure rising.
"That's impossible."
"Tsk Tsk Tsk Queen. This is why you didn't think of it first. Your controlling nature keeps you from looking to straight forwardly. Very little is impossible."
She glared at me before grumbling.
"This is bad."
"This is a surprise party."
"This is not a surprise party!"
I grinned.
She looked like she wanted to strangle me.
I sat back down.
Then something occurred to me.
I looked at Thomas's file.
Then at the map.
Then at Alexandria.
"When did Thomas go missing?"
"Approximately an hour after he met with you."
I blinked.
"Oh."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Oh?"
I looked back at the file.
That...
That was very interesting.
Someone had been watching.
Someone knew Thomas had spoken to me.
Someone had moved quickly.
Very quickly. Before I could even send someone to watch him.
I slowly smiled.
"Joe."
"Mm?"
"Why are you smiling?"
I looked up.
"Because I think our mystery just became bigger."
I pointed at the timeline.
"Whoever took Thomas knew exactly when to move."
"Which means..."
"They were already watching him."
The room fell silent.
Alexandria looked genuinely disturbed.
I, meanwhile, was delighted.
Someone had entered my game.
Then another player had entered after them.
This was becoming crowded.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
But I wonder. What would someone who is seemingly completely unrelated to this want with a simple accountant?
I stood.
"Get me a list."
She blinked.
"A list of what?"
"Everyone."
"...Everyone?"
"Everyone who had contact with Thomas in the last six months. We need to start narrowing our search a bit."
"That could still be hundreds of people."
"Then it will be a slightly shorter list than the one we previously had."
She rubbed her temples.
I walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
I turned around.
"To find our detective."
Her jaw dropped.
"What?"
"I want to meet him."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
I smiled.
"Yes."
She looked tired and completely done with my antics.
"You can't be serious."
"I am completely serious."
"That's a terrible idea. Not to mention this could significantly destroy us even quicker."
"I know."
"You're insane."
"I've been told that."
As I reach for the door her voice calls out from behind me one more time.
"Joe."
I stopped.
Her voice was quiet.
I looked back.
For the first time all morning...
She looked concerned, more concerned than ever before.
"What if this actually destroys everything?"
I thought about it.
For almost three entire seconds.
Then I smiled.
"Then we'll throw another party. Celebrating the cleanliness of a new canvas."
She stared at me as if I'd grown another head.
I left before she could throw something.
As I stepped outside, I looked up at the morning sky.
Somewhere out there...
Someone was playing a game not of my design.
Someone had taken my piece.
Someone had entered my party with seemingly no relation to anyone else already partying.
And now...
I intended to meet them. I intend to meet them all.
I couldn't stop smiling.
For the first time in almost six years...
I had absolutely no idea what would happen next. The party was only fillling with more and more people before I can even start opening gifts.
Sigh, at this point, I am going to need to make a bigger cake.
It was exhilarating.