Page 156 of Shadows Of Dusk
Lara:Hey Claire. Appreciate that you’re reaching out again, but I’m still taking some personal leave. TBD on my availability to meet, I’ve been busy recently.
The message is instantly marked as read, and my phone begins to ring. I let out an exasperated sigh before swiping my finger across the green answer button.
“Hello?” I respond, my tone laced with a hint of annoyance.
“Lara! I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time,” Claire chirps cheerfully.
I inwardly roll my eyes.
She didn’t even bother to ask if it was convenient for me to talk.
“Nope, I have a minute to chat. What can I do for you?”
“Well, I was hoping to catch up on how the past few weeks have been for you. What have you been up to?” Her voice is cheerful, but there’s an undertone of concern that I don’t miss.
Shit. I can’t tell her upwards of 90% of what has transpired recently.
“Uhh well, I went to see Tammy and I’ve been on the coast since. Nothing really new, just needed some R&R.”
Claire remains silent for a moment, as per usual before she finally hums in acknowledgment.
“Well, perhaps you could give Henry and Candace some time off soon too. They seemed quite busy when I called the office last week, and now my calls aren’t even being answered, so they must be swamped.” she suggests.
I nod, even though she can’t see me through the phone. “Yes, they definitely work hard. I’ll make sure to give them some time off once I’m back,” I assure her, knowing full well that their sudden unavailability was likely due to her persistent calls.
Her caller ID is saved on every phone we have, after all.
“Good, good—” Claire’s drowned out by Darian’s loud voice from the hallway as he calls out, “Hey Lara! Any idea where the ibuprofen is? I looked in the bathroom and—”
My head snaps toward the door, startled by Darian’s sudden entrance. He stops mid-sentence as he sees me on the phone.
The tension in the room becomes palpable as his eyes narrow on my cell phone.
“Lara, who is that? Is that why you’ve been taking time off?”
Claire’s persistent questions ring through the phone without a beat, and I lean forward, rubbing my temples in an attempt to soothe the building headache.
“There’s just a lot going on, and it’s a long story. I really have to go now.”
“But we haven’t talked abo-”
“Goodbye!” I chime, pressing the end button with more force than necessary.
I toss my phone aside, having no desire to read the disappearing text from Claire’s name that momentarily appears on the screen.
“Ibuprofen was by your side of the bed, last I saw,” I respond, and he snaps his fingers in a triumphant manner, a classic “Aha!” moment, before disappearing down the hallway again.
I can’t help but chuckle at the sight of the slightly domesticated version of Darian I just interacted with.
My phone buzzes once more, and with an angry sigh, I assume it’s Claire and grab it, seeing ‘unknown number’ on the message ID.
A wave of horror washes over me as I open the text to images of Tammy, Candace, and Henry, tied up against a tree and bearing numerous bruises. Their disheveled appearance, torn clothes and bowed heads fills me with a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Unknown Number:Come to the following coordinates immediately. Come alone. Their lives depend on it.
A second text message comes through with a location that I quickly input into the GPS on my phone.
The destination is a mile away from the area where I’ve been conducting my research and not too far from where I am now.