She's Gone!

It had been nice not being bogged down with a case for awhile.....Life for me and my wife Sepia went back to normal.....At my job at Hype Magazine...Sean Jackson's wife, Sheila got promoted to Co-Ceo, Group Publisher....I became the Editor in Chief and Sean Jackson got bumped up to Creative Director....That meant more money for all of us and more responsibility...I had just finished interviewing a group of new writers and photographers and had met with Sheila and Sean about covering a whole new wide range of music and fashion....Life was good at work. I was even able to make my man, Harry Charles, my Administrative Assistant...Something, I'm sure his wife, Bernadette would be happy about.

Sepia, my wife and Bonita, her partner in the Real Estate business had set up their own office in Chris and Chess's shopping center and were doing boffo business....They had already sold a few properties and had hired a staff....They were doing great also.

It was nice to work normal hours....Come home to dinner, make sweet love almost every night and not have to dodge bullets or punch out some playa...I secretly thought of a life without cracking cases.....Maybe giving all of this up for a normal life like I had before! Nah....Every now and then , I needed a little excitement...The excitement that a caper always gave me.
Clerow and Corabeth were busy with their lives...They had two children now and Clerow rented
properties, While Corabeth was partnered with her sisters, Mabel Jenkins, Anita Jenkins and Victoria Weathford in their Soul Food Restaurant business.

I didn't know what Kool Kat was up to...Hadn't seen him since he helped me get the goods on that crooked Deputy Commissioner. The same held true for Lockpick Johnson and Peeping Tom.....Hell, I hadn't been in Josies lately...Hadn't talked to Gus...The only members of my crew who I did see was Robert Foxworth and Cock Robbins...We had a couple of beers at Ciros one night last week.

My Blackberry went off as I was sitting in my office pondering all of this...It was Bonita...Robert's
fiance and my wife's business partner...

"Hey Bonita...How late do you plan to keep my wife at work today." I joked.

"That's the thing Kevin...She never showed up at work today...I thought maybe you two decided
to sleep in." she joked.

"Never showed up at work...What are you talking about? She left for work before I did....In fact,
She took my car because hers is in the shop...I'm waiting for her to pick me up." I said.

"She never showed up." said Bonita.

"Really?..Hmmmm...I'll call her and get back to you." I said.

I called her Android and it went straight to voicemail......That was strange...I noticed that I had missed a text message...It had been sent around 8:45 am....It was from Sepia!!!!

"Kevin......Help!" it said.

Oh my God!!! She had sent this this morning and I hadn't heard it....I had my phone on vibrate and it was in my bag....Oh My God....What could have happened??? I showed it to Sheila and Sean as they were leaving to go home...They gave me a ride to my house......I opened the door...
No one had been here since we left.....I looked in the closet...All of Sepia's clothes were there,
All of her personal effects......There was no messages on the answering service, No e-mails, no nothing!!! Just this haunting text....Where was my wife???

I called around different places and I didn't hear anything, No one had seen her...It was as if she had vanished into thin air...She was out there somewhere...In trouble and I had to find her....I wasn't looking for a caper....but now one had found me....One I most definitely had to get to the bottom of.

(To Be Continued........)