The Player - A Short Story Read online

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  Lauren Hughes woke with a start and rolled over to check her alarm clock. Three thirty; she hadn’t heard Melanie come home to their apartment last night. Good for her, she thought. It’d been months since her sister had gone on a date. Maybe she fell for this guy. She’d sounded pretty excited when she’d come home from the pool and told Lauren about him. Lauren closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.

  When her alarm went off at six thirty, Lauren laid in bed for a few minutes. She opened her eyes, faced the window, and let the early morning sun wash over her. A lot easier getting out of bed at this time in the summer when it was warm and light out. Waking up in the cold, dark winter a whole different story. Even though she worked from home as a graphic artist, Lauren still forced herself to be at her computer by eight. Ready to face the day, she got up and put on her robe. She padded down the hall and peeked into her sister’s bedroom. The bed was made, no sign of Melanie.

  Unusual for her sister to spend the night with a man on the first date, but why not? They weren’t kids anymore. God knows, Lauren had had her share of hook-ups. Some were one-night stands; some lasted a few months. That’s what your twenties were for: to have fun, play the field before you settled down with a husband and kids.

  On the other hand, if Melanie overslept and missed work, she’d be beside herself. Lauren reached for her phone; she’d call her sister to make sure she was awake. As she listened to a recorded message saying the phone was out of service, Lauren felt the first tentacle of fear creep through her body. I’m just being silly, she thought. I’ve watched too many episodes of Criminal Minds.

  But after several more phone calls and still no answer, the fear ratcheted up a notch. Thinking her sister might have gone straight to work, Lauren called the high school where Melanie taught. When the school administrator answered, Lauren was ready with her spiel.

  “My name’s Lauren. I’m Melanie Hughes’s sister. There’s a family emergency. Is it possible for you to get Melanie out of class for a few minutes so I could talk to her?”

  “Actually, your sister didn’t show up for work this morning. I’ve been calling her cell, but I haven’t been able to reach her. We had to ask one of our teaching assistants to cover her homeroom, and I’m in the process of trying to track down a substitute.”

  Lauren struggled to keep her voice even. “That’s not at all like Melanie to miss work. At the least, she’d have called if she couldn’t make it.”

  “You’re right; she’s never done this before. Do you know if she was on her way in? Maybe there’s been a car accident.”

  Lauren paused. She didn’t want to tell the administrator Melanie had been on a date. “Actually, we share an apartment, but I didn’t see her this morning. She spent the night at a friend’s house. I’ll try to reach her there. If I get a hold of her, I’ll make sure she calls you.” Lauren hung up the phone before the administrator could ask any more questions.

  By this time, her fear was approaching full blown panic. It was totally unlike Melanie to go off the grid, not to call anyone, not to make it to work. Even if she’d met Prince Charming, she wouldn’t just disappear. Lauren scrolled down her phone contacts. Most of the women on her list were Melanie’s friends, too. She called each one; no one had seen or heard from her sister.

  Lauren considered calling the police, but she’d heard there was some kind of waiting period to report a missing person. The cops would probably tell her to sit tight and call back in a day or two. But she couldn’t wait around twiddling her thumbs. Melanie had written down the name, address, and cell phone number for her date. Lauren found the piece of paper on her desk and decided to call him. Even if she embarrassed Melanie, it would be worth it to make sure her sister was okay.

  The line rang twice before he answered. “Hello.”

  “Is this Jacob Flynn?”

  “Yes. Who’s this?”

  “My name’s Lauren Hughes. I’m Melanie’s sister.”

  “Oh, sure. You two live together. Melanie mentioned you.”

  “You mean last night? You had a date, right?”

  “Right. We went out to dinner, then she came over to my place for a glass of wine.” He chuckled. “I guess the wine hit us both. We fell asleep on my sofa.”

  “Is she still there?”

  “No. We woke up and she decided to head home. I told her she could spend the night, but she wanted to get going. I don’t think she wanted to go to work with the same clothes she wore yesterday.” He paused. “Is there something wrong? She made it home last night, didn’t she?”

  “No. Actually, she didn’t.” A chill spread through Lauren’s body. “What time did she leave your place?”

  “Around three, I think. I watched her leave, then I went to bed. I was going to call her this evening. Ask her if she wanted to go out again. We really hit it off last night.”

  “And you’re sure she told you she was driving straight home?”

  “I’m positive. I mean, where else would she go at three a.m.?”

  “Nowhere I can think of. I’ve called her at the high school and she didn’t show up for work. I’ve called all of our friends. I don’t know what else to do.”

  “I hate to suggest this, but do you think she could have had a car accident? Have you checked with the police?”

  “Not yet, but I’m going to call them now.”

  “Keep me posted.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  Lauren hung up and immediately dialed the police. Relieved when the detective she spoke to seemed to take her concerns seriously. He put her on hold while he checked to verify there were no 911 calls from Melanie or incidents reported with her car. Then he suggested Lauren come to the police station and file a missing person’s report. He assured her they’d issue a BOLO for Melanie and her vehicle immediately. If she didn’t turn up by tomorrow, he’d send an officer to speak with Jacob Flynn.

  As soon as she ended the call, Lauren hopped in her car and drove to the police station. When she finished filling out the paperwork, she asked the detective what else she could do.

  “Best thing’s to go home and wait. Hopefully, your sister will show up or call. If she does, let us know and we’ll take her out of the system.”

  “And if she doesn’t?”

  “Like I told you before, we’ll send someone to talk to this Jacob Flynn. But just so you know, I ran a check on him. No red flags. Nothing that would indicate he had anything to do with harming your sister.”

  Lauren drove home, hoped to see Melanie’s car in their apartment parking lot, but didn’t. She pulled out Jacob Flynn’s address, programmed it into her GPS, and studied the route. She decided to drive to Jacob’s house and look for Melanie’s car along the way. When she arrived, Lauren pulled over to the curb opposite his home. With one leg out of the car, she hesitated. Although he’d sounded nice enough on the phone, she didn’t feel comfortable going into his house alone.

  She got back in her car and sped off. The cops could interview Jacob tomorrow. In the meantime, she’d start working on some flyers to post in her neighborhood. She had to do something to keep busy. Otherwise her mind would go places she didn’t want it to go. Not when it came to her sister. If someone had harmed her, Lauren would move heaven and earth to bring that person to justice.