Page 17 of The Last Straw

Then tears rolled.

The reality of her situation was that no one deserved this. Ever. But for whatever reason, it had happened to her, and she wasn’t ready to die.

Four

Millie Chriss was already in Oklahoma City by 9 a.m., and heading for the I35-I40 interchange. It was going to take more than three hours to get to Dallas, plus the time it took to get to her hotel. As she was approaching the interchange, she deftly moved into the far left lane of I35 to take the southbound turnoff that would take her into Texas.

The highway straightened out after she headed south, and with the sun on her left shoulder, and her attention on the crazy amount of traffic, she kept driving, every mile taking her that much closer to Rachel.

Detectives Floyd and Mills were frustrated. Even though the Rachel Dean case was new, they had nothing that would even lead them in the general direction of finding out where she’d gone, or if someone had taken her.

Between them, they’d worked hundreds of crime scenes in their careers, but this one was a puzzle. Unless the crime scene team came up with some DNA, they were at a loss.

They’d interviewed every resident at the Detter House yesterday, and talked to at least eight people who’d been outside grilling, who’d seen her come home alone the evening before. They knew from the security footage that she also entered her apartment alone, and then basically disappeared into thin air.

They’d confiscated security footage from the exterior and interior of the property, checked her car and confiscated her personal laptop. One of the techs had it at the lab now, going through it, looking for clues—like a relationship no one knew about—or looking for threats she might have received, looking for a hidden lifestyle.

It wouldn’t be the first time a seemingly “good girl” was also walking on the wild side. It didn’t appear likely, but detectives didn’t operate on odds. They worked with facts, and now and then, gut instinct. Unfortunately, right now they were short on both.

Sonny woke up with a hard-on for Rachel. He had options. He could call in sick and play with her all day. Or he could go to work, and spend the day in anticipation.

The thing about playing with her all day was the less than appealing location, and lack of ambience. The mattress was filthy. The room was cold. He wanted in her, but since he did not want to spend the day there, work won out.

He crawled out of bed and headed for the shower.

Charlie was in his office going through morning messages and personal email when Wyrick walked in.

“Turn on the television to KTVT.”

Charlie reached for the remote and aimed it at the television.

“Why am I doing this?” he asked, seeing film footage of police at a location, and then the picture of a young woman flashing across the screen.

“That woman went missing from the Detter House. We’re going to get that case.”

Charlie frowned. “I’d ask how do you know that, but that would be redundant. Have we been contacted by family yet?”

“No, but we will. Tomorrow morning.”

“Who is she?” Charlie asked.

“Her name is Rachel Dean. I’m going to start a background check on her now.”

Charlie nodded. “They just said on the report that she’s an ad executive with Addison-Tunnell.”

Wyrick nodded. “Her sister isn’t going to be able to afford us, but she’s going to put her house up for collateral to get the money. I’m going to tell her we have a fund set aside for situations like this, and I’ll be good for whatever costs we incur.”

“I’m down with that,” Charlie said. “But why pro bono her...why now?”

“Because it feels like Rachel Dean is still alive, but not for long. And Merlin gave me all that money...which I already didn’t need. Might as well put some of it to good use.”

“I won’t tell,” Charlie said.

Wyrick frowned. “Tell what?”

“That you aren’t as fierce as you look, and that there really is a heart beneath that dragon.”

She glared, her eyes narrowing. “As you were,” she muttered and walked out of his office, slamming the door behind her.

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