Vanishing Act. Liz Johnson

peppermint, the main door of the office opened with an obnoxious squeak.

      “We don’t keep any money back there, Mister.”

      Nate spun around to face a rather short woman flanked by silver crutches that looked to be several inches too tall for her, causing her arms to stick out at odd angles.

      Dramatically contrite for being caught red-handed, Nate hung his head slightly and held up both hands, pinching the mint between his thumb and forefinger. “I was just looking for a mint. Morning breath.”

      “Oh.” The middle-aged woman shrugged and hobbled across the slick tile floor, the rubber tips of her crutches slipping with each step. She glanced toward the window where Danielle closed the hood of his car then wiped her hands on a greasy rag as she stepped through the door connecting the garage and the waiting room. “Better pop that in before Danielle gets in here. She hates morning breath.”

      Nate let out a chuckle, not quite sure if the woman was teasing him or if Danielle really did have a vendetta against bad breath. Figuring his first instinct was definitely right, he quickly unwrapped it and popped the fresh-tasting candy into his mouth in the nick of time.

      “Well, Mr. Andersen, it looks like you cracked your transmission pan, but that’s all. It’ll only cost a couple hundred bucks to replace it, but I don’t have a spare part in the garage. I’ll have to order it, and it could be a few days. I’m sorry.” Danielle’s face filled with compassion at the same time he could feel a frown spreading across his face.

      He jabbed his hand through his cropped hair. This was definitely not part of the plan, but he didn’t have any choice but to take it in stride. Try to be flexible. Admittedly not his strongest trait.

      He could call a regional bureau office. They could get him a replacement car within a day. They would also draw completely unnecessary attention to him, possibly jeopardizing his ability to get the job done under the radar.

      Pushing the candy into his cheek, he sighed. “Okay. I guess this town isn’t that big anyway. I can walk wherever I need to go until it’s fixed. Do you have a shuttle that could drop me off at my apartment?”

      Nate followed Danielle’s glance over his shoulder to the receptionist noisily settling into her chair behind the counter. “Gretchen?” A lilt in her tone changed Danielle’s question into pleading.

      The other woman held up her hands. “No can do. Jimmy dropped me off this morning. I can’t do any driving until my ankle heals. Doctor’s orders.” She paused for a moment, obviously assessing Nate from head to toe. “But I’ll watch the garage until you get back.”

      “Thanks,” Danielle said, in a tone that indicated she meant anything but. With a nod toward the exit she continued, “Come on, then. I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”

      Nate quickly followed, waving his thanks at Gretchen. “I just need to grab my bag out of my car.” He hurried to retrieve the nondescript, black duffel bag from the backseat. Running his fingers over the side pocket, he confirmed that the file with his assignment information was still tucked safely inside, then he walked out through the raised garage door.

      Danielle pulled a beat-up truck with the Andy’s Auto logo on the door to a stop next to him, and he hopped in. “Thanks for dropping me off.”

      “No problem. Where is it?”

      “The Eagle’s Den apartments. Do you know where that is?”

      “Sure.”

      She kept both hands—delicate, fair-skinned hands that looked like they had no business working on cars—on the wheel as she expertly maneuvered through the side streets to arrive at the apartment complex. He had selected them specifically because they offered clean, furnished apartments. Nate calculated how much attention it would draw, and the Eagle’s Den had passed his preliminary inspection. The apartment would do nicely—but not too nicely.

      After several minutes, the silence seemed a bit awkward. “So how long have you worked at the garage?” Nate said finally.

      “Awhile.” Then, as though she thought he was fishing for her credentials, she added, “Long enough to be good at my job.”

      “So you like it.”

      She shrugged, keeping her eyes straight ahead. “Sure. Andy and Gretchen are great.”

      Suddenly she whipped around a corner and they were at the front office of the complex.

      “You can drop me here,” he said.

      “Are you sure?”

      Truthfully he didn’t know which apartment was his yet. It was his first trip there, so he had no idea where to direct her. “Definitely. No problem.” He scooted out of the cab and handed her a slip of paper. “My phone number. So you can call me when the car is done.”

      “Thanks.” She flapped the paper in agreement before accelerating out of the parking lot.

      Nate chuckled. She was one strange girl. Evasive with every answer. Obviously a pro under the hood. And adorable as could be.

      After checking in at the office and finding his new, temporary home, he sank down onto the dark brown couch in his living room. Flipping open his phone and the assignment folder at the same time, he speed-dialed the number 9, and a familiar voice immediately sounded on the other end of the line.

      “Andersen. What’s your status?” Mitch Hollingsworth, his supervisor, asked.

      “Just got to my apartment. My car broke down just outside of Crescent City, but I’m here now. The car’ll be fixed in a couple days.”

      “What are you going to do until then?”

      “I’m going to enroll in the community college. Our guy on the inside said that the Shadow has been snooping around the campus. He’s obviously a step ahead right now, and I can’t afford not to know what he knows. It’s the biggest entity in town, so most of the grapevines will run through there. I’m bound to pick up something that either leads me to the Shadow or Nora.” He scrubbed a weary hand across his face. “I’m also going to try to find the church she attends and see what’s going on there. I’ll check into bike clubs and such. It’s not that big of a town so it can’t be that hard to find the girl.”

      Mitch sighed. “Parker James could be the most important witness the state has ever had against Goodwill. His daughter has to be found.”

      “I know, sir.” Nate felt the weight of reality settle once again on his shoulders. He knew the gravity of the situation. They’d already lost one man to a stray bullet in pursuit of Goodwill’s conviction in that dark alley a-year-and-a-half before.

      Mitch exhaled and said exactly what Nate already knew to be true. “If you don’t find the James girl and the Shadow, he’ll make sure Parker won’t testify against him. Ever.”

      TWO

      The phone in her kitchen rang obnoxiously as Danielle heaved two bags of groceries on the counter. “Hello?” she panted into the receiver.

      “Danielle, it’s Andy.”

      She almost returned the smile she always heard from her boss through the phone line, but this time his voice was quiet, sad. Andy McDougal’s typically exuberant self didn’t produce a smile this morning.

      “Is something wrong?”

      “Well…” Andy’s voice trailed off, tattling that he was going to ask a favor. He never failed to start requests in the same way, but whatever he needed, she’d gladly offer it. “See, my mom’s had a fall. Broke her right wrist and sprained her ankle bad.”

      “Oh, Andy. I’m so sorry to hear that.” Danielle had often wondered if Andy was still a bachelor at forty-seven because his mother needed him so often, and he never complained about dropping everything to travel two hundred miles to help her. “I’ll be happy to cover the shop for you