Page 15 of Special Agent Murphy

“You mean Gina and Alex? When the bouncer was IDing us at the door, Alex and Gina were behind us and jollied the guy to let us in, said they were with us. I think some money passed hands. That’s all it took to let us through.”

“So, this Alex and Gina approached you?”

“Yes. And asked if they could join us. Friends they were supposed to hang with had backed out, and they hated to celebrate alone.”

“Celebrate? What were they celebrating?”

“A new job. Gina had gotten a new job and had an advance she wanted to spend on having a good time.”

“Whose idea was it to go to the other place?”

Murphy spoke up. It’s that dive bar on 14th called Coopers.”

The Senator roared,” What?”

Ryan groaned and turned away from the Senator’s glare. “That’s it. Gina said she had a friend behind the bar who’d give us good drinks, not like the watered down kind. Said it was always a fun time at that place and they often had live music. I’d never heard of it and neither had Misti. Gina convinced us we’d like the band, you know how Misti loves to dance. They told us to leave our car and go with them ‘cause the cops were out checking for drunk drivers. We’d had a few by then so we agreed.” He shrugged. “But the place reeked of hipster douche. You know – spilled drinks, dirty carpets, vaping and the stench of pot. Misti wasn’t comfortable, not until Gina got her up to dance. Alex kept the tequila shooters coming and pretty soon, we were both toast.”

“What happened then?” Edna listened without judgement, which kept Ryan’s eyes glued to her face.

“It’s pretty fuzzy after that.” Ryan clutched his hands together, his voice, having firmed as he talked previously, became shaky. Now his eyes darted from one person to the next. “There was a fight. People began running out of the place. I-I wanted Misti. But she’d left. Even left her cellphone, and like, that’s a big no-no. I-I couldn’t find Gina or Draper. They’d left too. Alex kept talking, making jokes. I… Then I must have like… passed out.”

“Jesus Christ.” Senator Bond hissed under his breath, his disgust plain to see. “Way to take care of my daughter, idiot. As far as I knew, she had no plans for the evening. Led her mother and I to believe she’d stay home to binge watch The Bachelor or some equally inane show.”

“Yet you’re here to report her missing.” Edna asked Ryan, “Were these party plans just spur of the moment?”

Ryan lowered his head. “No. We’d decided yesterday that we’d go. Misti knew her folks would be out for most of the evening and figured they wouldn’t even miss her. She should have stayed with me.”

The Senator made a disparaging sound, cussed and pointed. “This mess,” he meant Ryan, “scared my wife to death. She insisted we take steps to find Misti. First, we contacted her closest friends; everyone we could think of. No one heard from her, not since earlier yesterday. My wife stayed home in case Misti called. But she insisted I come here and fill out a missing person’s report. Now you tell me she’s been kidnapped.”

“Agent Murphy set up an Amber Alert after the incident at the bar. Agent Edwards here, tried to stop them from taking Misti but couldn’t get past the gang who attacked her to stop her interference. Though her and Agent Murphy followed for a short while, they had an unfortunate incident with their vehicle and were forced to stop. The car with your daughter got away. We’re doing everything we can to find her as we speak.”

Senator Bond shuddered, his expression darkening. “I want you to use whatever influence my position might have to find my daughter. Whatever it takes. I’ll do anything you ask. She’s our only child.” His voice broke. The seriousness of the nightmare hit home.

“I’ll have the best from this office working the case. It’s top priority. Trust me, Senator, we’ll do everything we can to bring Misti home safe and sound. I want you to go with Agent Edwards to fill out the formal missing person’s report. She’ll have questions for you to answer.”

Hanging on by a thin thread, Senator Bond’s patience wavered. “I’m not interested in reports and papers, I just want you to do your job and find the scum who have Misti.”

“Yet we both know the information you can give us is invaluable and will be used in the search. I’ll also have agents at your home later today to see Misti’s room and talk with your wife.”

The Senator’s gaze shifted from Edna to Murphy and then back to Kayti. “This one. Send this agent. I want her on the case. She tried to protect my girl. She cares. I can see it. And my wife is fragile, needs careful handling. Agent…?”

“Katherine Edwards, sir.”

“Agent Edwards will be the perfect person to handle her.”

“Then it shall be so. I’ll speak with you again after you’ve answered our questions.” Edna’s control of the room wasn’t doubted by any of the occupants. She was boss.

“Ryan, you’ll go with the Senator and Agent Edwards. There’ll be paperwork for you to fill out also. And, son, you need a coffee. Agent Edwards will look after that too.”

Ryan’s face mirrored the color of the carpet, white with gray streaks, and his trembling had increased. What had been dread earlier now became certainty. Kayti could see the shock.

At the door, her aunt gestured for Murphy to stay. Then she held Kayti’s arm for a quick consultation, “You haven’t slept, have you?”

“It’s fine. I couldn’t rest with Misti out there.”

Edna’s expression firmed and her resolve became solid. “You set up the Senator with one of the other agents who’s qualified to take care of him. Go home and grab a few hours’ sleep. It’s six a.m. I’ll expect you back here right after lunch. I want to go over a few points with you before you visit Senator Bond’s house.”

“I—”

“That wasn’t a suggestion.”

“Yes, okay.” Kayti had no choice. She looked down and then added, “I’ll be back at one.” Before she finished the sentence, her aunt had turned back into the room and began closing the door. All Kayti heard before it shut completely were words that sounded like, “What the fuck, Murphy!”

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