Page 4 of Tough as Steele

She had to get started right now. She retrieved her phone from her jacket pocket and set a twenty-four-hour countdown timer. The first hours of a missing or abducted person were critical. It was a proven fact that if a search went beyond three days, the missing person was rarely found alive. Also, the first forty-eight hours were critical for interviewing people. After that, their memories began to fade and became less reliable.

She had to hurry.

She stepped into the hallway and nodded at Damon. “Be sure to stay put until you have further orders from Zeke and do me a favor. If Detective Ryder asks where I’ve gone, you don’t know.”

“Will do, Ms. Steele.”

She’d told Damon plenty of times to call her Londyn, but he liked the formality, and she appreciated his manners. “If you happen to hear or notice anything, I would appreciate an update.”

“Roger that.” His smile was as pleasant as his personality. And he was a fine looking man. Tall. Muscular. Head of thick russet brown hair. Wide jaw. He was also kind. Considerate. Respectful. Everything she would be drawn to if she was looking for a mate. And the exact opposite of Detective Ryder’s personality.

So why did the confounding detective intrigue her but Damon didn’t? No accounting for her taste, that was for sure.

She turned her focus to Wendy, who was gripping her large cell phone like a lifeline. Londyn took a moment to really look at the other woman and noticed her pale but perfect complexion, her shapely curves. She looked to be in her mid-thirties and was a stunner even in the plain black skirt and white blouse. Her makeup was overdone, her jewelry over-the-top. Londyn was surprised Mimi would hire such a flashy woman as her assistant.

“Is there a private place where we can talk?” Londyn asked.

“Follow me.” Wendy took off at a quick clip, obviously eager to leave the bedroom behind.

Could be because she was terrified. Could also be because she was in on the abduction and was hoping not to get caught. She rushed down the stairs, her heels clicking like a metronome counting the beat. When she passed Zeke at the bottom of the steps, she accentuated the swing of her hips and gave him a quick smile.

Londyn paused by Zeke, who still had a watchful eye on the foyer. If he’d noticed Wendy’s obvious ploy to gain his attention, he didn’t show it.

He faced Londyn. “Sorry Ryder got past me, but no way I could stop him.”

“No worries,” she said. “Leave the other guards in place, but take Damon and search all the rooms. I’ve heard no reports of Mimi being taken out of the house. Maybe she’s still here.”

“Ten-four,” Zeke said in his favored patrol lingo.

“And make it quick. Detective Ryder won’t waste any time before calling deputies in to help him with the scene. Also, have the rest of the guards subtly question the catering staff and suppliers. Keep me in the loop on anything of interest.”

“You got it.” Zeke took the steps two at a time toward Damon.

She heard him giving the guards directions over his communication device and was thankful her dad had hired such a talented and hardworking manager.

She hurried to catch up to Wendy, who’d passed a gilded entryway table holding a landline phone, a small notepad with Mimi’s monogram embossed on top of the page, and an expensive gold pen.

Londyn caught a whiff of vanilla from a flickering candle when she grabbed the pad and pen as she followed Wendy into a hallway. It led to a small sitting room that held a strong hint of those gardenias and faced the back of the house.

“Mimi likes to read in here.” Wendy sat on a floral sofa and swung one long slender leg over the other, allowing her heel to dangle. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind us using it.”

Londyn took a seat in a blue chair across from the wide-eyed woman. “Tell me about Mimi’s day.”

Wendy blinked long lashes, liberally coated with black mascara. “What part of it?”

“Start with when Mimi woke up this morning.”

Wendy sat straighter and continued the death grip on her phone. “Her alarm goes off at seven every day. I start work at five to supervise her breakfast and organize her day. Then at seven on the dot, I take breakfast to her room and retrieve the clothing she picked out the day before. After breakfast, I help her with any dressing needs she might have. But today, because she would be awake late, she chose to stay in bed all morning and read. Before she dressed for the party, we went through her mail which took some time due to the birthday wishes.”

Growing up on a farm with many messy chores to do, Londyn couldn’t imagine such a life. “Anything unusual except for her staying in bed?”

Wendy shook her head. “She had lunch and napped for two hours. When she got up, her makeup team and hairdressers were here. She showered, and they did her hair and makeup. She had a quiet dinner in her seating area at six. After that, I helped her get dressed for the party. She shooed me off and told me to come back at precisely eight-fifteen. That’s when I found the note.” She shuddered.

As far as Londyn could tell, the woman was speaking the truth. At least her shudder seemed involuntary. “So the last time you saw her was when you left her after she ate and you helped her dress. What time was that?”

“Around seven. She was so excited about the party and now…” Wendy’s voice broke in a sob.

Normally Londyn would wait for a witness to calm down before moving on, but it was only a matter of time before Ryder came looking for Wendy or her, and she had to hurry if she wanted to get her questions in before he arrived. “Do you have any thoughts on how she might’ve been taken from the home without my guards or the guests seeing them?”

---