Gone Missin

"I'm telling you Kevin....when we bought this property , we had no idea she was here." said Chris Thompson as he pointed to the human foot that was protruding from the floor of the crawl space
in the basement of a property in Mt. Airy he and his partner, my childhood friend Chess had just purchased.

Chess and their friend, Donald Smooth using latex gloves helped me dig the rest of the dirt and wood out of the space...and there, was the mouldering remains of a young girl....The three of us jumped back...

"Whoa Kev...it's a babe.." said Donald Smooth...

"Yeah...and from the looks of this body...she has been dead and buried here about a few weeks to a month." I said.

"Chess, Chris...this might be a dumb question...but why didn't you call the cops?" I said.

"Well ,we were going to....but we thought we'd call you first...since you're the resident sleuth around these parts." said Chess.

"What do you make of this Kev?" asked Chris Thompson.

"Well, she was obviously murdered and buried here...Who did you buy this property from and why?" I asked.

"We bought it on the sherrif's sale." said Chess.

"So you don't know the previous owner?" I asked.

"Nah...but we buy properties like this all the time Kev..Rehab em and rent em or sell em...Just like your boy Clerow...but probably on a larger scale." said Chris.

"Hmmm.....rigor set in a long time ago....and she looks like she was young......okay...well, you better call the cops....I'll nose around, see what I can find." I said.

"Shame...somebody kill a young girl like that...she look like she might only be twenty, twenty one." said Donald Smooth.

"How can you tell?" I asked....Chris and Chess looked at him too.

"The clothes...I got a daughter about her age..she dress like this." he said with a shrug!

Chris smiled...Chess just shrugged his shoulders and looked at me.

"We were going to rehab this place , and rent it out as a duplex Kev. We didn't figure on this." said Chess.

"Yeah, who would?" I thought....

An hour later, I was back in town and at my office...Sean Jackson ,my buddy and ace photographer stopped in my office...

"Hey man....I'm ready with the photos from Reed and 88's tour.....Did you write the story?" he asked.

"Yeah...I sent it by email to you." I said.

"Oh, well ,like you, I haven't been by the office lately...I had another shoot." said Sean.

"Well I told Annjanette to tell you." I said.

"Who?" asked Sean.

"The new girl that I hired to work out front...the twenty year old." I said.

"She never showed up for work." said Sean.

"Huh? What? She was very eager and excited about working here, you gotta be kidding, I talked to her a few days ago." I said.

"Yeah, well see...that's why you should visit your job more often Kev and stop chasing killers and cheating husbands on the side...the broad never showed up for work...In fact..aint nobody seen
hide nor hair of her in three days....I checked." said Sean....

"Yeah?.....Hmmmmmmm. that's the second one today." I said.

"Second What?" asked Sean...

"Nah, Nah...before I came here...I was with Chris ,Chess and Donald Smooth....They bought a property that they were gonna rehab and we found a body buried in the basement...a young girl,
twenty, twenty one maybe....looks like she had been there a few weeks, a month, who knows?" I said.

"So we got us another case huh?" asked Sean...

"Maybe...but first, I want to find out what happened to Anjanette...Just wait til I see her..She begged me for this job." I said, thinking nothing of it.

I called it a day and drove home...I wanted a meal and to just chill with Sepia, my wife....To my surprise..We had guests....It was Robert Foxworth, the attorney and his sometimes girlfriend and business associate, Bonita Turner...

When I got home ,they were in deep conversation....

"Oh Kev, are we glad to see you." they almost said in unison....

"What's up guys?" I asked.

"Our assistant seller is missing, you gotta help us find her." said Bonita.

"Huh? All day today, I been dealing with seemingly missing people...you may have to take a number ," I laughed.

"Honey, we were about to sell a house...a very expensive house mind you....I was sharing the commission with Bonita and Robert here...and our connect, Alma Sanford never showed."
said Sepia.

"Yeah, so maybe she had another appointment." I said.

"Yeah Kev, that's what I said...but we went to her office and they said that she never came to work.. " said Robert Foxworth..

"That's not like Alma...I've known her for years and she has never not come to work without calling...Especially a big deal like this.." said Bonita.

"We went to her house and her car was there, so was her keys and purse with her credit cards, but there was no sign of her....Bed was made, place didn't look tossed or nothing..I don't like it Kev." said Sepia...

"Me neither man." said Robert Foxworth..

"Okay...Okay....Robert....tomorrow, round up Lockpick and Peeping Tom.. I'll get Sean and Clerow....I need the van... We'll look into it...but I gotta find my missing receptionist and look in on another case..." I said.

"Okay Kev, I'm on it." said Robert.

That night, I sat on the edge of my bed by the window and caught a cool breeze....I was sipping on a Coke.... Sepia sat up in the bed....

''Kevin?" she said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Something don't feel right..." she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, honestly perplexed.

"Well , You said you found a body of a dead girl today in an old building....Your receptionist is missing and Alma is missing...isn't that strange?" she said.

"Well,I don't think these cases are related...it's just strange that all of this happened today." I said.

"It feels like something evil is coming down the pike Kevin...something, someone real bad...and it scares me." she said.

I took her into my arms and kissed her forehead....I didn't say anything, but I had that same feeling of dread too!


(To Be Continued......)