Chapter 5 The Search Begins

"Good morning, sir." Paige greeted.

"Where is Reina?" Arthur asked, ignoring her greeting.

"She hasn't been to work for two days now, sir."

"She is my personal assistant Paige, I know that. Did she tell you why she has been absent?"

"No, sir. There was no notice prior to her absence, and I tried calling, but I've only been getting responses from her answering machine."

"Forward her address to me," he said, storming off to his office.

********************

Arthur sat in his office, contemplating what could possibly be wrong with Reina.

What game is she trying to play now? Not showing up to work for two whole days? She came here asking for a job in the most unusual way, which means she really needed it.

I don't know much about her, but I can tell she's not someone to be lackadaisical about her job. He kept pondering.

But what if she is terribly sick and unable to get up from the bed?

Or worse still-what if she is in danger?

With that, he sprinted out of his seat to the elevator.

"Drive me down to this address immediately," he said to his driver.

"Yes Sir." The driver responded.

************************************

"Hello?" he called out while knocking. "Reina, are you in there?" He knocked harder the second time.

"Who are you?" a voice asked behind him.

He swiftly turned around.

A police officer? Why would a police officer be in front of Reina's house?

"Good morning, Officer."

"Good morning," the police officer replied.

"I'm Arthur, the CEO of Koker Corporation," he said, handing out his business card. "Reina Pratt is my employee and has not been to work for two days."

The officer regarded him for a while. "You could have sent anyone. Why show up here yourself?"

Arthur shook his head slightly to the side and replied, "She is my personal assistant, Officer. Surely, it's not a crime for a CEO to try to find out what has caused his personal assistant to not show up to work for two days?

Let's cut this out, Officer. Where is Reina, and why are you here?"

The officer stared at him, debating if he should give out information about Reina. This made Arthur more agitated.

"Officer, you're not making this any easier for me. If something has happened, at least let me know."

"I'm Officer Parker," he eventually replied, "the lead investigator on Reina's case. She has been missing for two days now."

"Missing?"

A million thoughts ran through Arthur's head at the same time.

How could she be missing? What had happened to Reina?

Then he remembered the phone call he had in his office. 'Expect my wrath this time.' the caller had said.

I have been unable to get those words out of my head. 'You beat me to it'-what could that mean? Could that be related to Reina in any way?

"I had no idea she worked for you," the officer said, interrupting his thoughts.

"Yeah, that's because she was just employed and expected to resume work on Monday. I need to get back to my office. Thank you for your time."

"Wait! Before you leave-do you know anything? Did she give out any information-something that could help this investigation? Anything you may remember at all?"

Arthur debated whether he should tell the officer about the call.

What if the call isn't related to Reina? And this person clearly knows me. I have no idea what that call was about. It'd be foolish of me to tell the police when I haven't figured out what's going on. It could very well be a pissed-off business associate. If that's the case, I wouldn't want the police snooping around my business.

I can't tell him about that call either, not yet. At least, not until I'm sure of who that caller is. And if the call is related to Reina? I can still handle it my way. Sending the police to them could tip them off, and who knows how that could affect Reina since they still have her in custody? I'd like for them to think they still have total control over this situation, he concluded.

"No, Officer. Like I stated earlier, she was supposed to resume two days ago. I don't know of anything that could lead to her disappearance, let alone her whereabouts."

"That's alright, Mr. Arthur. If I have more questions for you-"

"You know where to find me, Officer. My address is on my card."

With that, he entered his car and drove back to the office.

*****************************

Arthur pulled out a burner phone and typed some digits into it. When the call went through, he said, "I have a job for you."

"Anything for you, boss."

"I need you to track a number for me. Tell me everything you can find about this person-name, occupation, address, family, age, spouse-any information at all."

"Yes, sir."

"Be discreet."

"As always, sir."

"I'll text the numbers to you now. Call me when you find anything."

"Yes, sir."

"This is very urgent. You should start working immediately. I need answers as soon as possible."

"On it, boss."

Arthur hung up.

I have a strong gut feeling this is related to Reina. But how did they discover in such a short time that she works for me to go after her?

"Coward." He muttered angrily.

"You should have come after me yourself. By God, if they lay a single finger on her, they will feel my wrath.Nobody messes with me or those dear to me, and I will make sure they understand that soon."

Arthur tried to go back to work, but it was difficult. Thoughts of Reina kept swimming around in his head, making it impossible for him to concentrate. He decided to leave the office and head to his club.

***************

"You showed up early today, Mr. Arthur."

"I just need to relax for a minute. Mix my usual, please."

She slid the glass to him.

Arthur took a sip of his drink. The mixture of cognac and syrup hit his taste buds.

"Hmmmm," he said as he visibly relaxed.

What's a good day without a classic champagne cocktail?

He momentarily closed his eyes as he felt the day's tension seep away slowly from his shoulders.

"Hello, Arthur," someone said behind him.

He turned-and it was the last person he expected to see in his club.