Jack Stratton: Jacks Are Wild Part 12

Replacement shrugged. "I just got the case this morning. I started with online stuff. I got zip. No social media. She said their finances are pretty thin. She had to stop working."

"Maybe that's why he's working more."

"Nope. He's salaried."

She sat there, swinging her legs, and looked at the pile of clothes.

"What's with the weird clothes and your hair?"

"Huh?"

"The clothes. They're totally not you, and-" She jumped down and stared at the pile. "Did you go undercover?"

"No, it was-"

"You did." She pulled the curtain open, and Jack yanked it back.

"I didn't. I'm not going to get into it now."

"I can't believe you went-" Replacement suddenly froze and then fumbled for her phone. She looked down and pressed a few b.u.t.tons as she called out, "This is about my case. I have to go." She dashed out of the bathroom.

Jack stood there for a minute before he turned off the water. He watched the drops fall from his body and splash below. He heard the front door close. The last of the water swirled down the drain as he climbed out of the tub.

I need some sleep. A couple hours, and I'll start fresh.

He walked into the bedroom and checked the phone Ilario gave him, but there were no messages. He laid it on the table next to his bed and set the alarm on his clock.

Two hours and I'll go back to Marisa's apartment.

He picked up his phone and hit redial. Marisa's voicemail clicked on so he hung up. Forcing himself to slowly lower the phone to the table, he unclenched his hand and shook his head.

Jack lay in bed, listening to the hum of cars driving by, and quickly fell asleep.

Bra.s.s knuckles Jack sat bolt upright and looked out the window.

It's dark. d.a.m.n.

He grabbed his alarm clock: 6:30 p.m.

Someone turned it off.

He kicked his blankets back, and stormed into the bathroom. After he got dressed, he threw open the bedroom door and headed into the kitchen. A note was propped on the counter.

HI. LEFT A SANDWICH IN THE FRIDGE FOR YOU. SINCE YOU HAVE THE NEXT FEW DAYS OFF, I FIGURED YOU WANTED TO SLEEP. BE HOME LATE. A.

"If I set my alarm clock, I do it for a reason," he growled in the general direction of the empty computer chair.

He crumpled up the note, but when he opened the refrigerator, his scowl softened. Replacement had made him a roast beef sandwich and an iced tea.

It's hard to stay mad at someone who's trying to watch out for you.

He bowed his head.

G.o.d. Please let her be okay.

Jack hit redial on his phone and then waited.

Nothing.

As he ate the sandwich, he went to get his shoes and jacket. He took both phones, wallet, keys, and his gun as he headed out the door. He looked for Replacement's blue Bug, but it was gone. Jack frowned as he started up the Impala. He took out his phone and hit redial, again.

Nothing.

He drove to the tattoo parlor, but the lanky guy shook his head as Jack pulled up to the curb. Jack slid the transmission into park and then marched up to the door. Three girls and seven guys hung out at the tables. All of them looked up as he flung the door open.

The lanky guy held up his hands. "She hasn't showed," he answered quickly.

"She call?" Jack asked.

The lanky guy shook his head.

Jack turned to address the groups at the tables. "Have any of you seen or spoken with Marisa?"

Silence and blank faces were their response. Jack took four steps forward before he stopped at a table with three guys in their early twenties.

"I asked a question. Have any of you-"

A guy with wide set eyes and an angular nose scoffed, "Like we'd tell you if we did."

Jack grabbed him by the hoop in his ear. The man shrieked.

"Sorry, but my hand accidentally caught your earring. What did you say?" Jack growled.

"I haven't seen her. I haven't." The man's voice was now two octaves higher.

"What about the rest of you?"

More silence.

Jack flexed his finger, and the man whined, "Answer him, answer him."

They all shook their heads, accompanied by a mumbled, "no."

Jack let go of the earring as he turned to the guy behind the counter. "What's your name?"

"Shawn, Shawn Miller. I'm the a.s.sistant manager."

"Are you sure she hasn't been here? Maybe she came in and went right to her office?"

He shrugged. "Only she's allowed in there. If she did, I wouldn't know."

"I need to get in there." Jack walked over to the opening to the back rooms.

A short girl with black eye shadow who had been there earlier scurried over to Shawn. She scrunched her face and then whispered bitterly to Shawn, "Don't be spineless."

As Jack walked past the statues, he pulled the curtain aside. "Come on," he growled, and then stormed down the hallway with Shawn nervously following. He tried the door, and it wasn't locked. He looked at Shawn, who shrugged.

"I don't know if she keeps it locked. No one would go in there."

Jack walked in and scanned the room. It looked just how he remembered it. Her computer was in the corner, and there was a separate desk covered in papers.

Jack walked over to the computer and moved the mouse.

I need to get Replacement to come and take a look at it.

"Does she use this for work?"

Shawn shrugged. "The building doesn't have Internet access."

Jack looked at the back of the computer where only a power cord went to the wall. He walked over to her desk and started going through some of the papers.

"You can't-"

When Jack looked up, Shawn shut up.

"I'm going to need a couple of minutes." Jack nodded toward the door, which made Shawn's shoulders slump a little.

"Listen. I know you can kick my a.s.s, but Marisa wouldn't want anyone going through her stuff."

Jack crossed his arms. "Shawn. Has Marisa ever said anything about me?"

Shawn nodded. "Once she offered any takers a million dollars to put a bullet in your head, but I think she was just mad."

Wow. I know I got her upset but...

"Women get like that. Marisa and I are more than friends, and right now I'm worried about her. That's all I'm going to say. So ask yourself this: when Marisa comes back, would she be more bent out of shape if you let me look in here or for the mess that happened because you tried to stop me?"

Shawn swallowed, looked nervously around, and then walked back down the hallway. Jack turned back to the papers on the desk.

After half an hour, he got up from the chair and rubbed the back of his head.

Bills. Receipts. Payroll. Nothing.

He headed back down the hallway and tossed the curtain back as he walked out. Everyone looked up.

"If she calls, or you see her, tell her I have to talk to her. It's an emergency. Got it?"

Everyone nodded. Jack stormed back out to his car. He saw the guys in the tattoo parlor talking animatedly to one another, and he could only imagine what they were saying about him yanking the guy's earring earlier.

Jerk should have just answered the question when I asked nicely. If he has an earache, it's his own fault.

He pulled out onto the street and headed for Marisa's apartment.

Jack walked up to Marisa's apartment building, opened the door, and headed to the third floor. The old wood stairs creaked, and the higher he went, the lower his spirits sank.

No word. She could be anywhere. She could be safe or...

Jack grabbed the railing as he hurried up. He unlocked the door, knocked, and then walked in.

"Marisa?" he called out as he headed for the bedroom. "Marisa?" He scanned the rooms but everything looked the same as when he was there last. "Marisa?"

Empty.

He grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen.

MARISA, PLEASE CALL ME AS SOON AS YOU GET THIS. IF YOU DON'T REACH ME, COME TO MY APARTMENT. JACK Is there anyone she talks to? The people at her store? Artists? That festival...

Jack hurried into her studio. He grabbed the flyer for the art festival that was taped to the easel. He dialed the number. An answering machine picked up. "Thank you for calling the de Lorme Fine Art Galleria -" Jack hung up and then put the flyer down on the table.

Picking up an empty easel, he taped the note to it. He placed the easel in front of the door so she'd see it when she walked into the apartment. He turned the light off as he walked out. The click of the lock echoed, and he hesitated to pull the key out.

Her apartment is the only one on the third floor. No neighbors.

He walked down to the second floor, where he knocked on both of the doors. No one was home in either unit. Jack debated about going back up for paper and leaving a note, but decided against it.

She doesn't like the downstairs neighbors. She wouldn't tell them anything.

As he walked back to the car, he checked both his phones.

Nothing.

Jack gripped the steering wheel harder as he tried to force down the panic that rose in his chest. He pulled out to head back home, but he only made it two blocks.

I should leave a d.a.m.n note for the neighbors. They could know something.

He spun the car around.

I'll just tell them I'm trying to get in touch with her and see if she said anything about going out of town. I could find out if she's seeing someone or...and I could sound like a crazy old boyfriend who- As the Impala rounded the block, Jack looked up at Marisa's apartment and saw a sliver of light illuminate the window and vanish. Jack yanked the wheel over and parked.

Light? That wasn't the light in the apartment, but there was something.

Jack jumped out of the car and ran for the entrance.

It must have been the light from the hallway. Someone came into the apartment.

Relief washed over him and he stumbled.