.
An unexpected ring-tone woke him. It was his private joke, setting the dour and serious Lt. Moore’s number to mariachi music. Nobody else got mariachi for a ring tone, not even his great uncle who actually played the stuff… but, why was the Lieutenant calling him at this hour?
Roy thought it was crazy, how quickly he adapted to daylight hours after they put him on leave. Early morning had been the middle of his shift, just the previous week, but he was already adjusting to his girlfriend’s hours. He fumbled the phone open and got it to the general vicinity of his face.
“Mendez.”
Minutes later, Monica rolled over and blinked her eyes blearily at him, as he hurriedly searched for his clothes. He looked over to her as she pulled the blankets tighter around herself and rolled away from the light.
“Get up, Nicky. I need to go, right now. It’s work.”
Whatever it was she actually said, came out was “Mrurph.”
After a moment, though, she raised up her head, otherwise keeping curled up in the blankets. He would never have dared tell her so, but Monica Flores was crazy cute with a bad case of bed-head. She managed to get her eyes open against the light that he had turned on so he could track down his pants.
Her nose wrinkled. “So why do I have to get up?”
Pants recovered, he pulled them on. “‘Cause I don’ have a key for your deadbolt. An’ you gotta set the doorchain after I leave.”
She stuck her tongue out at him as she sat up, clutching the blanket. “You’re such a cop.”
He sat down to put on his shoes, and she stood up to pull on her bathrobe. She looked down at him while she made a futile attempt to make her hair behave. “So, what’s going on? Why would they call you when you’re on leave?”
After a glance at the clock before he could answer, she added, “Jeez, Roy, it’s three AM!”
“Jack’s kid is missin’.”
She blinked. “Oh.”
She followed a moment later, as the implications of the department calling to inform him of that set in, with a slightly more concerned. “Oh, God…”
He went back to tying his shoes. “The Lieutenant wants me to get over to his ex’s house, right away.”
She shook loose of the sleep, and the daytime Monica began to appear. This was a very different woman than the playful girl she channeled in the evening. Her professional self had kicked in. “Gone since when?”
“About an hour ago.”
She was puzzled. “That’s too soon to say ‘missing’! She’s probably just out somewhere! The girl’s gotta be a psycho mess with her father gone…”
Shoes tied, he stood back up and shook his head. “Wrong. Her bedroom window was forced open. From the outside.”
Monica went white, and a hand went to her mouth. “Oh, God, no…”
She shook loose of her anguish as quickly as it came on, the professional in her taking over again, and went into action, grabbing her clothing and dressing far faster than he would have guessed she could.
He frowned. “Whatcha doin’, Nicky?”
She rolled her eyes and looked over to him with a shake of the head. “Looks to me like I’m getting dressed, Roy. I’m going with you.”
Roy wasn’t sure how to respond. “Well… you don’t have to…”
She was now fully in resolute and confident mode, as she sought out her purse, her keys, her phone. “The lady needs somebody better than a clueless bachelor holding her hand right now.”
He looked at her, and speculated about Sandra’s prejudices. “Hmmm.”
“Hmmm, what?”
“Well, I’ve told you how her feelin’s about the police have gone after they broke up….”
Monica had already pulled the strap of her purse into place, checked for her weapon within, and headed to the door. She glanced back with a smile as he hurried to catch up. “I’m in plain clothes and I’m off-duty. There’s no need to tell her.”
