Another Missing Person

Mike’s telephone could not have started beeping at a worse time for him, but of course I don’t know this yet. I answer the telephone frantically, ignoring my angry boss behind me; of course, it is too late.

“I will get someone else to help me with the Chandler case if you are, um, too busy,” the attorney says, sounding exactly like the boss from Office Space.

“I am not busy,” I say, now desperately curious about the “Chandler case.” Can this really be about my friend Mike Chandler?

Apparently so. The attorney reiterates the gossip I heard from his secretary earlier: Mike Chandler is the unreliable son of his best friend, the firm represented Mike’s father in a private matter when Mike was kidnapped several years ago, Mike has disappeared again, the firm has been asked to privately look into the matter before anyone contacts the police.

“Is it true that you know Mike Chandler and his fiancee?” my boss asks.

I nod, unwilling to give away more information than I have to.

“I am sorry to have to tell you this, but it appears that his fiancee was murdered yesterday morning. As we understand it, the main suspect is a girl named Sonia who works at a local card club. Would you be able to help us find her?”

I look blankly at my cellular telephone, now on vibrate. I have four missed calls from my home telephone number. Sonia. As I slide my telephone into my pocket, the phone vibrates again.

“I will do my best,” I reply, suddenly very tired. “Can I get back to you tomorrow?”