Midnight Starling: An Urban Fantasy Romance Series Read online

  The police were swamped around here, so it was no wonder she got that impression. Don’t get me wrong, they did their jobs. They just didn’t dispatch a whole rescue team for everyone they were tasked to find, because not every report they received was a worst-case scenario. This situation, though, made me wonder how many were dismissed when they shouldn’t have been.

  “Ms. Echols?” I hoped I pronounced her name correctly.

  “Yes. Can you help me?”

  “I’m more than happy to look into it. And I know you’ve already gone over the details at the station, but if you could start at the beginning and walk me through what happened and why you think your daughter is missing, it would be helpful.”

  “Oh! Of course,” she replied. Before I could stop her, she began listing information.

  “Ms. Echols, can you slow down please?” I finally had to ask once I realized there was no way I could type as fast as she could talk.

  “You can call me Ellen,” she said before starting her story over—this time at a fraction of the pace, but still fast enough to test my personal words per minute best.

  “Mmhmm. And when was the last time you saw or spoke to her?” I asked quickly when she paused for breath.

  “It’s been seven, no, eight days now. She was headed to work when I got off the phone with her that evening.”

  “And where does she work?”

  “Oh, um, downtown at Morgan’s. It’s a restaurant. She’s a server there.”

  “Has she been there long?” I asked.

  “About six months, I guess. And I’ve checked her house, but she isn’t there either,” she added.

  “Did you notice anything unusual at her place?”

  “No, everything looked normal as far as I could tell,” she replied. Her voice wavered at the end of her answer. My gut was nagging at me. She wasn’t telling me everything.

  “And do you know of anyone who would want to hurt your daughter? An ex-boyfriend? Anyone at all?” I asked next.

  “No! Everyone loves Anna!” she insisted.

  I expected that reaction. I’d heard it many times before. “I know these questions can be upsetting, but I wouldn’t be doing a thorough job if I didn’t ask,” I said, trying to calm her.

  Thankfully, it worked, and her breathing evened back out. After a few moments of silence she answered, “Yes, of course. My apologies. I’m so upset I’m not acting like myself,”

  “I completely understand. No worries,” I assured her. “So, Anna is well liked by those around her?”

  “Oh yes, she is such a happy and kind person. Always making friends and wouldn’t hurt a gnat.”

  “That’s great and means there will be people to help us find her,” I said. But it was more a comment of reassurance than anything. Ellen was a mess, and my heart ached the more she rambled helplessly. If it came to it, I didn’t know if I could tell her that daughter was gone forever. Not after Vincent. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.

  I continued to ask her a plethora of questions, including anything on current or recent relationships among anything else I could think of to get me started in a solid direction. Ellen was pleasantly forthcoming, providing as much information as possible. Still, I had a nagging feeling in my gut that there was more to learn about Anna than what her mother knew.

  “I think I have everything I need, but I’ll call you if I have any more questions, okay?” Or if I need to check out her house, I thought, but didn’t say it out loud. If some surface detective work didn’t turn anything up by tonight, I was going to need to go through her things. It usually made people uncomfortable, so I saved the request until after I had done my preliminary research just in case the missing person really was off partying their tail ends off instead of being in actual danger.

  She let out another long sigh. “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to her. You’ll call me as soon as you know something, right?”

  “Absolutely. In fact, I’ll check in with you tonight even if I don’t find anything,” I assured. I rarely checked in with clients that soon, but missing person cases were unique and anxiety laden for the client. Not that I had dealt with many outside of a handful since I started this gig. Rewarding cases like these are why I originally got into this line of work. Fortunately, I soon found out how rare of occurrence they were, but unfortunately, I spent nearly all my time tracking down the depraved husbands of the world instead.

  “I can’t thank you enough! I’ll be waiting for your call!” she exclaimed before she hung up.

  I set my phone down and started searching the internet. Social media accounts were usually the best places to begin since they were like storyboards of a person’s life. I could not only get a feel for their personality but also get a good line on who they hung out with and what establishments they visited regularly. If they were a part of a younger generation, that was. It seemed like the older a person was, the less personal details they shared with the world. There was always an exception to the rule, but patterns didn’t lie.

  Anna was easy enough to find. I scrolled through her recent pictures and posts, which lined up with the image that her mother painted of her. Sweet kid from the looks of it. A shame she was missing. It made me even more determined to do everything I could to find her.

  I scribbled down a few notes, names, and addresses, popped another allergy pill, and then headed out the door. The internet only got you so far. The best way to locate a missing person was to trace their steps and talk to the people closest to them.

  Once I was outside, I noticed the grey stray lurking in the parking lot. Luckily, he was far enough away from my car to be a bother. My nose twitched anyway out of instinct, so I held my arm across it to quell its memorized response and slipped down into my ride.

  Once I slipped a pair of sunglasses on and started my car, something occurred to me. I fished my phone out of my pocket and dialed Poppy’s number. She answered right away.

  “So, Isaac’s a Mimic, right?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “And can he change into a wolf like Victor?”

  Poppy chuckled. “Heaven’s no, his other shape is an alley cat,” she answered.

  I knew there was something weird about that cat! “A grey one?”

  “Uh huh, why?”

  “No reason. Thanks!” I said, then hung up quickly.

  I put my car in first gear and crept toward Isaac’s furry body. He shuffled up next to the building and out of the way. Putting it in neutral, I set the emergency brake and then glared at him. He sat without a care in the world.

  Pointing two fingers at my eyes and then turning them in his direction, I yelled through the window, “I’m on to you buddy!”

  He looked at me, blinked twice, then meowed before sauntering toward the apartment entrance. I couldn’t believe his cover didn’t occur to me sooner, especially with the way he always appeared, as if by magic, whenever I came outside. He was going to get it!

  With Isaac confronted, I focused my attention back on the task at hand and started driving to Anna’s place of employment. If I could find it, that was. I’d never heard of Morgan’s before, despite having lived in the general area most of my life. And of course, I didn’t look it up or GPS it first because that would have made too much sense, I thought with a huff as I pulled off the side of the road.

  As I was pulling the place up on my map app, my phone rang. Thain’s name popped up on my screen, which elicited a frown.

  “Not today, Satan,” I mumbled, hitting the reject button so I could try to search for the restaurant again. I finally found it and hit start on the directions menu, but Thain’s name popped up again.

  “Seriously?” I ignored him for a second time.

  When his name appeared a third time, I was full-blown annoyed. Muttering, I turned my ringer to silent. Based on what my app laid out, I was pretty sure I knew where to go without the automated voice directing me, so I threw my phone in my bag and p
ulled back onto the road. Thain was the last person I wanted to deal with right now. He would be nothing but a distraction, which Ellen nor Anna deserved. For a split second, I thought about answering him just to ask about Victor, but that made me more frustrated.

  “Just let it go, Bea,” I said to myself and kept driving.

  I was still annoyed when I pulled into my intended parking lot a few moments later. Instead of hopping out of my car, I turned the engine off and tried to gather a plan. Once I was confident that I had my head in order, I exited and walked toward the unkept grey blocked building. Its roof was a dark-colored metal and a gigantic neon sign hanging in the front window declared its name was Morgan’s, with the words bar and grill crafted in smaller letters underneath. The parking lot was nearly empty. I had a hunch that this was mostly a dinner and late-night place. The hours on the door confirmed my suspicion.

  I grabbed the door handle and pulled anyway, hoping someone was inside. Sure enough, it was locked, so I cupped my hands around my face to peek in through the glass. No one was there. Great. I had no plans of waiting until it opened to keep investigating, so I glanced around the empty building for random stragglers—of which I found none. Tapping my fingers on my thigh, I headed back to my ride.

  My tapping transferred to my steering wheel as I let my brain churn for ideas about what to do next.

  “Screw it,” I muttered. I dialed Ellen’s number.

  She answered before the line could ring twice. She’d been waiting by the phone, the poor woman. Of course, if it were my kid, I would be too.

  “Hello?” she asked expectantly.

  “Morgan’s isn’t open yet. Would you mind if I check out Anna’s place? I don’t want to waste daylight.”

  “Oh, yes, of course. I’ll text you the address. I can be there in ten minutes to let you in.”

  My phone chimed soon after. I pulled up the message that included the location and figured it would take me longer than her to get there. “Give me twenty, I’m on my way.”

  I hung up, revved my engine, and headed toward the other end of town.

  As soon as I pulled into Anna’s driveway, a frantically waving dark haired woman on the porch flagged me down. Yep, this had to be the place. I pulled off the road.

  Ellen was all the way to my car window before I opened my door.

  “Bea?” she asked loudly through the glass.

  “Yep, that’s me,” I confirmed once I could. “Thank you for meeting me here.”

  She was one of those people who spoke dramatically with their hands. Her arms were waving madly in front of her expensive looking blue blouse before she even opened her mouth to reply.

  “No! Thank you! It’s right this way!” She scrambled back up the single step to the small porch.

  I followed, but she rushed through the door, leaving me behind. As I passed through the doorway, her head popped back into view, jarring me for a second.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” she apologized.

  I shook my head dismissively while I waved my hand toward the inner workings of Anna’s house. Ellen darted out of my way again. The living room was small, but warm. Robin’s egg blue curtains were hung open, letting in plenty of light to showcase the cream-colored couch. It wasn’t the most charming part of the room, however. It was obvious that while Anna had little money; she was clever. She made everything look intentionally pulled together, even though it was most likely a hodgepodge of thrift store finds. An old brown and white print recliner was pushed up against a bookcase. It held recovered treasures made up of primarily books, but was also dotted with occasional glass or porcelain figurines that drew the eye in. Everything about it screamed charming.

  I was drawn to the display of photos that dotted her home. One stood out.

  “Is this her?” I asked while I picked it up.

  I already knew it was because I had seen her photo online, but I hoped it would get Ellen talking. People sometimes let important details slip when they rambled. Oftentimes not even realizing they were significant. When I turned to find Ellen, she was nodding, tears pooling in her eyes.

  “Yes. That’s my beautiful Anna,” she whispered.

  I smiled sympathetically, then set the picture frame back down to re-focus my attention on finding clues.

  Continuing on, I walked through the entire place to get a feel for the layout, keeping an eye out for anything that seemed out of place. Her bedroom was just as tidy as her living room. Even her bed was neatly made, its pillows tucked beneath a dark blue quilt. Similar to the other rooms, you could see the care Anna put into her kitchen. Not a single dirty dish lived on her countertops or in her sink. I finally found something of interest, however, when my eyes zeroed in on a shiny silver laptop sitting on her small wooden dining table.

  I turned to Ellen and pointed at it. “Do you mind if I–?”

  She was already bustling toward it and pulling the top open before I could finish.

  “Anything you need,” she insisted.

  Nodding my thanks, I took her place while she sat in the chair beside me.

  Ellen was one hundred percent committed to finding her child, which was amazing, but it was also a bit distracting. I also had a hunch she saw her daughter through rose colored glass, which wasn’t helpful, but most good parents were like that. Either way, her hovering wasn’t good. Right now, I needed to zone into my mission and get lost in the work—it’s just how I did things. But her staring was making it a challenging task.

  “Do you mind if I have a moment alone?” I gently asked.

  Her searching eyes had shifted from my face to my hands about a million times in less than a minute. Ellen considered my words and then did something unexpected. She frowned and shook her head.

  “I know how I must seem to you. A helicopter parent who can’t let her kid live her own life–”

  “Ellen,” I interrupted, “you don’t have to explain yourself, or your relationship with your daughter to me.”

  “The way you looked at me, I’ve seen that expression before. I know what you’re thinking. I’ve heard it a hundred times.”

  “Ellen,” I said with more command. “You do not know what I’m thinking. I can’t work with you staring at me, that’s all.”

  There were tears forming in the corners of her eyes again. “You mean… you’re not going to tell me I’m too involved in her life, or that I’m overreacting? I know she’s only been gone for a short while, but she wouldn’t just disappear without telling me.”

  I forced a half smile. “On the contrary, it’s nice to see a parent who cares so much. I’m just trying to do my job. That’s it, I promise.”

  Ellen silently processed my words for a couple of breaths, then lost her mind. She crumbled into a disheveled, crying disaster against the tabletop, her head buried in the circle of her arms, poorly hiding her breakdown.

  Caught off guard, I slid awkwardly over to her, torn between deciding if I should pat her on the back or offer a hug. The situation reminded me of a meme I saw the previous week, about a friend who pats another friend with a broom because they didn’t know how to comfort them. It was hilarious at the time, but now it felt like a too real response as I grappled with what to do with myself and the hysterical mother.

  Ellen finally lifted her head up. Her mascara hadn’t stood a chance. It was running down her face in streaks. “I’m sorry,” she blubbered through sniffles.

  “You don’t have to apologize. Anna is missing and that’s scary, I completely understand.”

  She smiled weakly at me and wiped her nose. “Thank you,” she said, sounding lighter as she shakily pushed herself up from the table. “I’ll just be in the living room.”

  I nodded and watched her leave before I pressed the laptop’s power button. As the screen lit up, I said a silent prayer to whoever was out there in the land of the gods that I would find something helpful to bring Anna home with. Failing the accountant was painful. But failing Ellen would be much worse.


  Chapter 12

  Bea

  I was back in Morgan’s parking lot after having found next to nothing on Anna’s computer. She liked to run in the mornings and hang out with a small crowd of people on her days off. From what I could tell, her life seemed relatively mellow, and she appeared to be a genuinely good girl. It made me suspicious. No one was that good. If I found some weird hobbies, at least I would be semi-content, but I couldn’t in good conscience count a teddy bear collection as weird. Even for an adult.

  Anna was hiding something, and it had landed her in big trouble. And as much as I liked Ellen, I could see why Anna kept a closed lid on anything not wholly pristine in her life. Call it a hunch, but I suspected Ellen was way worse than Poppy with long talks and guilt tripping.

  It was nearly three in the afternoon now, so the people doing food prep should arrive soon. Or at least I hoped so. The door listed six o’clock as their opening hour, and I wanted to talk to as many people as I could before then. My legs bounced as I waited, my body as impatient as my brain. I half-heartedly scanned through Anna’s social media page for the hundredth time on my phone, trying to find a distraction. I was missing something; I just didn’t know what it was.

  I was about to give up when I saw a new comment appear on one of her posts dated right before she vanished. The words I told you to keep your mouth shut sparked both hope and sent a chill through my body.

  I clicked the name of the sender and opened his profile. He looked rough around the edges, but nothing screamed criminal. Pulling out my notepad, I wrote his name and information then took a screenshot of his page. Unfortunately, there was no address or phone number listed. I could still find him, but it would be much harder. I clicked back to Anna’s post to capture an image of his comment, but it had already been deleted. The little jerk realized his mistake. Well, no matter. I would get to the truth, whether or not he liked it. A swear word hovering on my tongue was cut short by the sound of a car door shutting, and my eyes shot up to find the source.