Critical Point (Cas Russell #3) - S. L. Huang Page 0,1
edge of one of the client chairs in front of my desk. “I need your help.”
She didn’t say any more. I suppressed a sigh. “What’s your name, kid?”
“Tabitha.”
More silence. “Okay,” I said. “Tabitha. Do your parents know you’re here?”
“Well, that’s what I’m here about,” she said, fidgeting. “My dad, he—he’s not answering his phone.”
“He’s not answering his phone?”
“He always answers his phone.”
I tried to speak delicately. “He may have lost it temporarily, or been busy—”
“No. He always answers when I call.” Her face was tight and tense, and her voice quivered slightly. “And he warns us beforehand if he thinks he might be out of touch—and other than that, he’s only not answered once, and it was ’cause he was in trouble, and he called me back right after. Now I haven’t been able to reach him in two days, and I think he’s in trouble again, and his message on his other phone said to come find you—”
My thoughts smashed to a halt with the grace of a car crash. “Wait, what? He said to come find me? Kid, who’s your dad?”
“Arthur Tresting.”
The bottom dropped out of my stomach.
“Are you a friend of his?” Tabitha asked.
I turned away from her, grabbed out my phone, and dialed Arthur’s cell. Voicemail. I hung up and tried his office number, the one he listed online as a private investigator. The message informed potential clients he was away from the office for a few days, and sure enough, advised any current clients with an emergency to contact me, complete with the address of the brand-new office Arthur himself had only recently strong-armed me into renting.
Well. Nice of him to tell me. “I’m not even a PI,” I growled into the speaker, and jabbed at the button to hang up before tossing my phone on the desk.
Then I turned to face Arthur’s daughter.
Arthur had a daughter. I’d known Arthur almost two years now, and I didn’t know he had a daughter.
For all the enemies I had been expecting to come feinting out of the dark, this was a sucker punch.
“I’ll track him down,” I promised her, finding my voice. “Do you have a number where I can contact you?”
She gave me her mobile number, the beginnings of relief sketching her features.
“Did he tell you anything? Or, uh, anyone else in your family?” Was Arthur married? Wife? Ex-wife? I had no idea.
She shook her head. “My sister and brothers don’t know anything. Dad never wants to involve us in his work; he won’t talk about it. They keep telling me not to worry, but…”
“Better to be safe,” I agreed, trying for comforting. “I’ll find him.” A sick worry had started squirming in under the shock. “What about your mom? Would she know anything?”
“My other dad,” Tabitha corrected. “I have two dads. No, they don’t—they don’t really talk anymore.”
So Arthur liked men. In the name of everything holy, how had I never known that he had what sounded like an ex-husband and a family? These seemed like pretty basic things for friends who regularly saved each other’s life to know. Forget the shock and worry, I was settling on pissed off.
“I’ll find him,” I vowed to Tabitha again, even more firmly. So I can punch him. “Are you okay getting home?”
She nodded. “I’d better go. My dad will miss me if I’m home too late.”
Her dad—Arthur’s ex. I seethed with curiosity, but forcibly behaved myself in front of Tabitha. “Go home. I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.”
“Thank you, Ms. Russell,” she said solemnly, and hitching what looked like a school bag on her shoulder, she ducked awkwardly out of my office.
I picked up my phone.
I knew exactly who my next call would be.
“Hey, Cas!” said the voice of the best hacker I knew—who also happened to be Arthur’s investigative partner and information broker. “Did you hear David Tennant is doing an event in Los Angeles next month? David Tennant. I might have to leave the Hole for that.”
“Checker, have you heard from Arthur lately?” I interrupted.
“Uh, yeah, talked to him last week. We don’t have any cases right now, though. What’s up?”
“Have you talked to him in the last two days?”
“No, why?”
“Me neither. And guess who was just in my office worried she can’t reach him? His daughter.”
Long pause.
“Checker, did you know Arthur has a family?”
Another long pause. Then Checker said, “Yes.”
“And did you find this out through Internet stalking, or am I justified in feeling shafted right now?”